
MacDougall: Can Carney keep the Canadian dream from becoming a nightmare?
Add this to a public service very much still resisting the urge/unable to work in offices in the downtown core, and the sense of impotence compounds.
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And while it's surely un-Canadian to kick a man while he's down — and irrelevant — a lot of the blame can be placed at the feet of Trudeau. The former prime minister called an unnecessary election in the midst of the COVID pandemic. He got dinged three times by the ethics commissioner. He urged his MPs to stonewall legitimate lines of enquiry. He puffed up the public service to enormous levels. Is it any wonder the system isn't delivering?
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Worst of all, Trudeau and his team saw the incoming threat of Trump and did zero to prepare. Instead of realizing that he was a busted flush and leaving in the summer of 2024, Trudeau soldiered on until early 2025, when the Trump nightmare was fully formed. And while Carney proved more adept than Kamala Harris in replacing a problematic leader, the process left our systems in neutral when the country needed to be in top gear.
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Carney's assured start has him riding high in the polls. But the dream start will turn into a nightmare unless the prime minister finds ways to both galvanize and trust others to help. Re-establishing the Canada dream is beyond the efforts of one man, no matter how smart he might be.

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Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Brazil hosts BRICS summit, eager to avoid provoking Trump's ire
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil will play host to a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies Sunday and Monday during which pressing topics like Israel's attack on Iran, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and trade tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to be handled with caution. Analysts and diplomats said the lack of cohesion in an enlarged BRICS, which doubled in size last year, may affect its ability to become another pole in world affairs. They also see the summit's moderate agenda as an attempt by member countries to stay off Trump's radar. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will have some of his priorities, such as debates on artificial intelligence and climate change, front and center for the talks with key leaders not in attendance. China's President Xi Jinping won't attend a BRICS summit for the first time since he became his country's leader in 2012. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will make an appearance via videoconference, continues to mostly avoid traveling abroad due to an international arrest warrant issued after Russia invaded Ukraine. Debate over language on hot-button topics The restraint expected in Rio de Janeiro marks a departure from last year's summit hosted by Russia in Kazan, when the Kremlin sought to develop alternatives to U.S.-dominated payment systems which would allow it to dodge Western sanctions imposed after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A source involved in the negotiations told journalists Friday that some members of the group want more aggressive language on the situation in Gaza and Israel's attack on Iran. The source spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter publicly. 'Brazil wants to keep the summit as technical as possible,' said Oliver Stuenkel, a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation think tank and university. Consequently, observers expect a vague final declaration regarding Russia's war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East. As well as suiting Brazil, a watered-down and non-controversial statement may be made easier by the absences of Putin and Xi, Stuenkel said. Those two countries have pushed for a stronger anti-Western stance, as opposed to Brazil and India that prefer non-alignment. A Brazilian government official told The Associated Press Thursday that the group is expected to produce three joint statements and a final declaration, 'all of which less bounded by current geopolitical tensions.' The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the summit's preparations. João Alfredo Nyegray, an international business and geopolitics professor at the Pontifical Catholic University in Parana, said the summit could have played a role in showing an alternative to an unstable world, but won't do so. 'The withdrawal of Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the uncertainty about the level of representation for countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are confirming the difficulty for the BRICS to establish themselves as a cohesive pole of global leadership,' Nyegray said. 'This moment demands high level articulation, but we are actually seeing dispersion.' Brazil skittish in light of Trump tariffs Brazil, the country that chairs the bloc, has picked six strategic priorities for the summit: global cooperation in healthcare; trade, investment and finance; climate change; governance for artificial intelligence; peace-making and security; and institutional development. It has decided to focus on less controversial issues, such as promoting trade relations between members and global health, after Trump returned to the White House, said Ana Garcia, a professor at the Rio de Janeiro Federal Rural University. 'Brazil wants the least amount of damage possible and to avoid drawing the attention of the Trump administration to prevent any type of risk to the Brazilian economy,' Garcia said. While Brazil will continue to advocate for the reform of Western-led global institutions, a cornerstone policy of the group, the country wants to avoid becoming the target of tariffs — a predicament it has so far largely escaped. Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs against the bloc if they take any moves to undermine the dollar. Other leaders shun the summit Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Egypt's Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi will also be absent. Those two countries joined the BRICS in 2024, alongside Ethiopia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has been invited and is participating in member discussions, but it has yet to send its confirmation letter. As well as new members, the bloc has 10 strategic partner countries, a category created at last year's summit that includes Belarus, Cuba and Vietnam. That rapid expansion led Brazil to put housekeeping issues — officially termed institutional development — on the agenda to better integrate new members and boost internal cohesion. Despite notable absences, the summit is important for attendees, especially in the context of instability provoked by Trump's tariff wars, said Bruce Scheidl, a researcher at the University of Sao Paulo's BRICS study group. 'The summit offers the best opportunity for emerging countries to respond, in the sense of seeking alternatives and diversifying their economic partnerships,' Scheidl said. For Lula, the summit will be a welcome pause from a difficult domestic scenario, marked by a drop in popularity and conflict with Congress. The meeting also represents an opportunity to advance climate negotiations and commitments on protecting the environment before November's COP 30 climate talks in the Amazonian city of Belem.


Canada News.Net
5 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
Bob Vylan's ban by US is message to those promoting antisemitism
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration has made public a visa decision that would usually be kept private. It did this to send a strong message when it cancelled the U.S. visas of a British punk-rap band called Bob Vylan. The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, posted on social media that the band's visas were revoked because of what he called a "hateful tirade" at the Glastonbury music festival. At the festival, the band's frontman had led the crowd in chanting "Death to the IDF" (Israel Defense Forces). British police are investigating whether a crime was committed during that performance. The band denies any antisemitism and says they are being punished for speaking out against the war in Gaza. They said they are being "targeted for speaking up." The U.S. government does not normally discuss individual visa decisions publicly. Laws like the Immigration and Nationality Act and privacy rules usually prevent this. Exceptions are sometimes made for foreign officials or their families when they are banned for corruption or human rights issues. But the Trump administration has been more public when it comes to revoking visas of people accused of supporting hate or violence, especially if the speech is seen as antisemitic or pro-militant. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the administration wants to show it has firm rules for who is allowed to enter the country. She said, "Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors." She explained that the band's public behavior crossed a line, so the government decided to make their visa cancellation public. This case is part of a broader effort to cancel visas of people accused of antisemitic or pro-Hamas activity. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this year that about 300 visas had already been cancelled for such reasons, and that more would follow. Most of those cases were not made public. One that was publicized involved Rumeysa Ozturk, a student in Massachusetts. She was detained after writing an article criticizing Tufts University for not condemning Israeli actions in Gaza. Her visa was cancelled, and U.S. officials said her stay in the country would have adverse effects on foreign policy. Public visa bans for political reasons are not new in the U.S. In the past, famous people like actor Charlie Chaplin in the 1950s and singer John Lennon in the 1970s also faced visa problems. Amnesty International said in 2020 that the U.S. has a long history of using visa bans to block people with political views the government disagrees with, especially during the Cold War.


CTV News
7 hours ago
- CTV News
‘A step forward with a deal on the table,': former Israel ambassador on Israel-Hamas ceasefire
Watch Former ambassador to Israel Jon Allen discusses the potential outcome of Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks in Qatar and Trump's impact on both parties' deal.