Will the real Pierre Poilievre please stand up?

[mimico_polak]

Well, lets revisit this thread in 5 years if PP becomes PM and we'll see how he's doin' with his vacations and travel.

There's a long, long track record of political candidates harping on others about their expenditures and vacations, only to do the exact same things if they reach office, and completely failing to care about the hypocricacy at that point. More yet don't seem to understand that there's a certain level of expenditures that those above them *must* spend simply as a matter of the realities of the position. Again, the PM can't travel in cattle-class along with others flying on Flair Airlines when he/she wants or needs to go somewhere.

(Reminder link added to my calendar to revisit this thread 5 years from today...)

Exactly. I’d wager anything that both Jagmeet and PP complain and chastise JT over…they will be doing the exact same thing, and see no issue with it.

Then the next person will chastise them, they’ll win, and they’ll repeat the process.

They’re all cut from the same type of cloth.

The only difference is the colour they show to the masses.

 

[PrivatePilot]

I hear PP saying a lot of good things over the last year,

He says a lot of things. Makes a lot of claims about how bad others are doing, and how he'll fix everything.

What he often doesn't say is how he plans to actually accomplish those fixes. A magic wand, I'm guessing, in a lot of cases.

His constant cries about housing affordability and inflation are two good examples. He's somehow apparently got some sort of magic solution to these issues, one of which is a global issue that apparently only he fan somehow fix in Canada. But good luck getting him to tell you what those solutions are, and how they work.

This is my personal biggest issue with him. I'm fvcking tired of politicians who scream the loudest to all that will listen with how bad the other guys are doing, but don't actually want to meaninfully sit down and discuss what *their* plans are, or how they're actually going to fix all the things they say are wrong, particularly in the case of PP who has people legitimately believing that he, and only he, can fix things that are effectiving the entire world right now, not just Canada.

 

[Shaman]

We don't have it anywhere near as bad as some seem to have convinced themselves, or been convinced by all the ranting and such on social media.

So we suck less? I really hate that way of apologetic pandering. We should aim for excellence rather than sucking less. We're not even close to excellence. Inefficient government, scandals, divisive rhetoric, political posturing, ethical breaches.... nah, we've got plenty to complain about.

We enjoy one of the highest freedom ratings in the world, with only a small number of other countries ahead of us, and not by that much, and take note, some of those countries are far more restictive on certain things that so many here seem to want to equate to "freedom", so again, deep breath everyone...bigger picture. Reality check.

None of these "ratings" means anything. They're typically reported by the governments themselves, and the freedom rankings themselves are biased towards some items which are either inconsequential or outright questionable. Same with so many other things, many of these "ranking" services only rate things they get paid to rate and only report what they're asked to report.

I see mostly failings, policies that are anti-entrepreneurial, anti-consumer, anti-freedom, anti-family and many that favor monopolies from this current crop of MPs; it disgusts me. I don't even know the country I'm living in anymore, it has changed so much. There's so much more crime and homelessness, so much drug use in my city. There's so many beggars that they've broken blocks up into multiple begging stations because there's not enough street corners to hold them all.

 

[Shaman]

What he often doesn't say is how he plans to actually accomplish those fixes. A magic wand, I'm guessing, in a lot of cases.

Not only is it on their website, he literally made a short documentary-style video about this within the last month. This claim just keeps getting repeated again and again, but it comes directly out of left-leaning echo chambers on social media and claims from those parties.

Meanwhile neither Trudeau or Singh even answer a question about it, much less talk about a plan. They just deflect. The housing minister's latest plan is a small step forward to getting housing through the process of municipal build evaluations faster (pre-drawn home designs) but it's not much. I hope they realise that homeowners are going to FREAK if they are asked to build houses for immigrants with their tax dollars.

His constant cries about housing affordability and inflation are two good examples. He's somehow apparently got some sort of magic solution to these issues, one of which is a global issue that apparently only he fan somehow fix in Canada. But good luck getting him to tell you what those solutions are, and how they work.

Inaccurate. Again, he's actually made a documentary video about this within the last month. Probably because left-leaning parties keep saying this despite the fact that they themselves neither have a plan, nor do they answer any questions about what they'll do.

Methinks thou doth protest o'er much.

View at your pleasure:

 

[Mad Mike]

The biggest first step would be changing the national economic focus from digging crap out the ground or chopping stuff down to sell to (much, much) more investment in high tech industry.

Rocks and trees create an enormous amount of our economy. Equipment, service, and a lot of technologies - it’s a lot deeper than Paul Bunion chopping a tree for firewood.

Better investments would be into value added products that have sustainable manufacturing jobs. Cars, plastics, furniture, batteries - more like BASF, IKEA and Monsanto than Silicon Valley

 

[TK4]

I see mostly failings, policies that are anti-entrepreneurial, anti-consumer, anti-freedom, anti-family and many that favor monopolies from this current crop of MPs; it disgusts me. I don't even know the country I'm living in anymore, it has changed so much. There's so much more crime and homelessness, so much drug use in my city. There's so many beggars that they've broken blocks up into multiple begging stations because there's not enough street corners to hold them all.

How would YOU as an obviously concerned citizen propose these failings be repaired ?
It's a messy, complicated situation and I don't trust any of the people currently in charge (or hoping to be) to fix it.

 

[Mad Mike]

I hear PP saying a lot of good things over the last year, but I'm concerned he's a WEF Trojan Horse. Anyone else wonder about this, or am I being paranoid?

I think you are just paranoid.

One thing PP does differently is hold his party to the platform. Past leaders have had trouble keeping harder right members at the heel. Dont underestimate how much work it is leading a party.

 

[PrivatePilot]

So we suck less? I really hate that way of apologetic pandering. We should aim for excellence rather than sucking less. We're not even close to excellence.

Except....we don't suck. Like it or not, it's reality. I swear, some of the people I see online and meet IRL who chirp this nonense turn out to be some of the least travelled people out there, who's entire meltal image of the world around them is emcompassed solely from inside our own borders, and based on viewpoints and mental images spoon fed to them via social media.

In early december I was in Haiti. We were on a glorious little tiny sliver of Haiti run by a cruise line and very, VERY well protected, but Haiti. A lot of people who visited that day surely left with a mental image of Haiti being this glorious little sliver of heaven on earth, because that little sliver of Hait really was. But the reality is that Haiti is a total ******** overrun with gangs, violence, murders, and poverty, the levels of all of those at and well beyond what anyone living in first world countries like ours could never begin to comprehend.

My point? Peoples images are formed based on what they perceive to experience, often shaped. by those they surround themselves with as well. What they "feel". What they choose to see. But often, reality is often very different. This is basically the reverse of what seems to be happening to a percentage of Canadians - they've convinced themselves it's horrible here. They've BEEN convinced. They don't look outside their own borders and step back and look around (or don't WANT to because it might contradict their preconceived ideas) to realise it's not reality..

People on that little sliver of heaven in Haiti probably went home thinking Haiti is awesome because they've never bothered to educate themselves outside that little sliver. Reverse that situation here in Canada, and you have people actually legitimately thinking Canada sucks.

Not only is it on their website, he literally made a short documentary-style video about this within the last month

So, I watched your video. Now go read the rebuttals to it.

Debunking Poilievre’s housing ‘documentary’

Despite highlighting the role of investors in artificially increasing the cost of housing across Canada, “Housing Hell,” Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s mini-documentary on the housing crisis, ends up proposing measures that will further enrich the same property developers and investors...

canadiandimension.com

In short, it's a lot about "removing red tape" and making forceful efforts to force new homes into being built, but again, we come full circle to this very thread about 3-4 pages back where the realities of just waving this magic wand and yelling at private companies to build homes they might not want to (or simply can't) buid isn't an actual real world solution.

Meanwhile neither Trudeau or Singh even answer a question about it, much less talk about a plan.

5 days ago....

"Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman says Canadians will learn how her party plans to "rein in" government spending, and what cuts that may entail, during the next federal election campaign."

"Her comments come after a pair of Liberal MPs took to the House of Commons foyer on Tuesday to decry what they saw as a lack of information around what Poilievre's plans are, more than a year into his leadership, but potentially still years away from the next campaign."

Poilievre's deputy says Conservative plans to cut spending will be outlined during next campaign

Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman says Canadians will learn how her party plans to 'rein in' government spending, and what cuts that may entail, during the next federal election campaign.

www.ctvnews.ca

They're ALL playing the same game, despite Poilvre dribbling out things like "housing hell" to say a lot about nothing in the end.

Inaccurate. Again, he's actually made a documentary video about this within the last month. Probably because left-leaning parties keep saying this despite the fact that they themselves neither have a plan, nor do they answer any questions about what they'll do.

See above comments.

Personally, I dislike ALL our options right now. All 3 should be flushed and we should start over, maybe we could get some new people that I could palatably vote for.

 

[TK4]

Personally, I dislike ALL our options right now. All 3 should be flushed and we should start over, maybe we could get some new people that I could palatably vote for.

Yes, unfortunately 'none of the above' is not a current option.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Yes, unfortunately 'none of the above' is not a current option.

I'm going to wait for the last few weeks of the actual election period to decide which flavour of dogsh!t I will decide to choke down.

 

[nobbie48]

Well, lets revisit this thread in 5 years if PP becomes PM and we'll see how he's doin' with his vacations and travel.

There's a long, long track record of political candidates harping on others about their expenditures and vacations, only to do the exact same things if they reach office, and completely failing to care about the hypocricacy at that point. More yet don't seem to understand that there's a certain level of expenditures that those above them *must* spend simply as a matter of the realities of the position. Again, the PM can't travel in cattle-class along with others flying on Flair Airlines when he/she wants or needs to go somewhere.

(Reminder link added to my calendar to revisit this thread 5 years from today...)

Preston Manning. Before he was leader of the opposition didn't he rant over the expense of Stornoway, the official residence of the leader of the opposition. Then he became the leader of the opposition. Oops.

I'm not sure what he did. It wouldn't make sense to let the place sit empty while paying rent elsewhere. Does crow taste like chicken?

 

[Brian P]

"Poilievre plans to hold hostage $4.5 billion of federal grants to the municipalities until they can build 15 percent more housing per year."

Where is Toronto going to put that "15 percent more housing"? It's full. The surrounding areas are getting close to full. We're already building on farmland, and douggie backtracked on building on greenbelt (thankfully).

ALL politician promises about affordable housing are destined to fail at the shrine of the laws of supply and demand. Do something to cut costs, the insatiable demand will drive up prices anyhow to the limit of what the market will bear, and maybe existing owners and businesses (of existing buildings, of land used for construction, of companies in the construction business) get a windfall.

The only way around this is to bypass the laws of supply and demand, via a concept the Brits have used extensively, "council housing". But ... that's socialist! And even at that ... in Toronto ... even if someone were to propose that not-going-to-happen concept - Where are you going to put it?

 

[nobbie48]

I hear PP saying a lot of good things over the last year, but I'm concerned he's a WEF Trojan Horse. Anyone else wonder about this, or am I being paranoid?

Ford promised fiscal responsibility and cut some unexpected necessities.

PP will do the same. Read between the lines. Fast track can mean skipping scrutiny. He can't fix housing in four years.

 

[TK4]

Ford promised fiscal responsibility and cut some unexpected necessities.

PP will do the same. Read between the lines. Fast track can mean skipping scrutiny. He can't fix housing in four years.

It took about 50 years to get us here, it will likely take another 50 to get out.

 

[Jampy00]

I'm of the belief that little to nothing will change regardless of who is in office.

 

[Evoex]

Ford promised fiscal responsibility and cut some unexpected necessities.

PP will do the same. Read between the lines. Fast track can mean skipping scrutiny. He can't fix housing in four years.

I think that's exactly the point. If you vote him in to 'fix housing in 4 years', then you'd be pretty naive to expect anything less than cuts to the money the current government has spent over the last 9 years.

 

[Evoex]

Ford promised fiscal responsibility and cut some unexpected necessities.

PP will do the same. Read between the lines. Fast track can mean skipping scrutiny. He can't fix housing in four years.

Well this is an interesting comment. Even left leaning media claims he's more progressive than typical conservatives.

 

[PrivatePilot]

I think that's exactly the point. If you vote him in to 'fix housing in 4 years', then you'd be pretty naive to expect anything less than cuts to the money the current government has spent over the last 9 years.

Make no mistake, Poilevre will start to "fix" things by making cuts. A lot of those cuts will come in places that will surprise, and without doube upset, a lot of people who voted for him.

There will be a lot of "I didn't think the leopard would eat MY face!" moments.

Poilievre's deputy says Conservative plans to cut spending will be outlined during next campaign

Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman says Canadians will learn how her party plans to 'rein in' government spending, and what cuts that may entail, during the next federal election campaign.

www.ctvnews.ca

Again, from the earlier link I posted....when asked *where* those cuts will be, he doesn't want to say...to counterpoint the claims that he's telling us all what he plans to do. He's not.

I'm not saying we don't need to rein things in, but the "take a knife to it, fix it all in 4 years or else!" approach will resuling in a schooling in the art of inintended consequences for Poilevre, if he decides to go that way even in the face of economists telling him it's not realistic. He doesn't strike me as the sort of person who takes criticism or dissention in his ranks particularly well. We saw how that went with a certain someone else south of the border not that long ago.

 

[Evoex]

Make no mistake, Poilevre will start to "fix" things by making cuts. A lot of those cuts will come in places that will surprise, and without doube upset, a lot of people who voted for him.

There will be a lot of "I didn't think the leopard would eat MY face!" moments.

Poilievre's deputy says Conservative plans to cut spending will be outlined during next campaign

Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman says Canadians will learn how her party plans to 'rein in' government spending, and what cuts that may entail, during the next federal election campaign.

www.ctvnews.ca

Again, from the earlier link I posted....when asked *where* those cuts will be, he doesn't want to say...to counterpoint the claims that he's telling us all what he plans to do. He's not.

I'm not saying we don't need to rein things in, but the "take a knife to it, fix it all in 4 years or else!" approach will resuling in a schooling in the art of inintended consequences for Poilevre, if he decides to go that way even in the face of economists telling him it's not realistic. He doesn't strike me as the sort of person who takes criticism or dissention in his ranks particularly well. We saw how that went with a certain someone else south of the border not that long ago.

Surprisingly i don't think they need to look that hard to cut things, the Liberals haven't missed many chances to empty the purse.

But let's call a spade a spade. Canada is in debt, in the heaviest debt the country has ever seen and the current government has no plan or willingness to address it. If people complain then i would just laugh at them. Doesn't matter what you cut, someone is going to feel it.

But they'll blame the people doing the cutting, when they should never have had those things in the first place if they had a government with their head on straight. But no one will want to talk about that.

 

[Brian P]

The bond market (free enterprise...) has Bank of Canada 10-year yield at a smidge over 3% and it has been coming down. (Peaked at 4.26 in early October). That says international investors aren't worried about Canadian government debt, and also means future direction of short-term rates is probably down.

Selected bond yields

View or download the latest data for bond yields, marketable bond average yields and selected benchmark bond yields.

www.bankofcanada.ca