Comment by lenerdenator

Comment by lenerdenator 6 hours ago

> If Canada wanted to, we could easily scale military spending by investing it in homegrown projects instead of spending it at the altar of the mililtary industrial complex.

That doesn't mean no longer spending money at the altar of the military-industrial complex, it just means having your own altar. Which you're free to do, by the way. You don't have to buy our stuff.

Canadians seem to consistently ignore the effects that a strong military-industrial complex has had on the US (and UK, to a lesser extent), particularly on foreign policy. When major components of the TSX Composite need sales, they're going to start lobbying MPs to get them. It's not a coincidence that a lot of the defense industry is based in Northern Virginia.

As far as the sovereignty... I don't think you have to worry about that.

cmrdporcupine 6 hours ago

"You don't have to buy our stuff."

You should see what happens when we even make motions like we're not going to.

https://skiesmag.com/news/bombardier-concerned-about-u-s-ret...

a legit concern because:

https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/us-government-slaps-...

and then again

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bombardier-cseries-boeing-1...

I seem to recall this being tied to our review the F-35 programme last time, but I can't find a reference to it. In any case, not buying F35s will have huge consequences with the US, if it doesn't happen.

Reply View 2 replies

lenerdenator 5 hours ago

Okay? So you might be selling fewer Bombardier aircraft in the US. There's still Europe, China, and the rest.
That's not a mortal threat to Canadian manufacturing and the country's defense sector. Unless, of course, Canada really is as reliant on American dollars as Trump makes the country out to be, which is why he feels he can be a pain in the ass and push tariffs higher.

Reply View | 1 reply
- cmrdporcupine 5 hours ago
  
  It's not a mortal threat to Canada, but it is a mortal threat to the Liberal party's base of support in Quebec :-)
  Seriously though, those are decent paying jobs that glue together a manufacturing economy that often times is barely holding on in the face of the same kinds of forces that have decimated American manufacturing, too.
  It's the same with the autosector here in Ontario.
  It's not that it's "American dollars" holding Canada together, per se, it's that this is a continental-wide trading system developed by ruling classes in both countries since the 80s and it barely serves the interest of working people here or in the United States because the bulk of work has been exported to China in the the last few decades... and so what is remaining is absolutely critical to hold onto.
  These are the facts Trudeau was trying to explain to Trump, who is too stupid and arrogant to grasp.
  In the end working people in both countries have more in common than not. And face threats from overseas as well as our own political classes. (And no, that's not a call for the dissolution of our sovereignty.) As much as I despise my premier Doug Ford (he's a corrupt buffoon) he was right to emphasize a "fortress North America" alternative approach to Trump -- continent wide security and prosperity insured by cooperation. That line worked with Obama and Biden, and IMHO strengthened both countries, but Trump is deadset on burning it all down.
  
  Reply View | 0 replies