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VIDEO: This is why Canada’s population just dropped for the first time in decades

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I actually posted three comments to this article, but the other two were censored and did not get approved. All comments here are subject to the discretion of the staff, so the truth can only be discussed so far. But at least we can talk at all. The federal government is making laws that increasingly ban free speech, and the Liberal-appointed judges in our courts right up to the Supreme Court of Canad support their censorship. We are living in dark days now, like the Inquisition Periods in Europe when heresy was banned and heretics were condemned. It will only get worse as social norms deteriorate, our economy crumbles under the weight of trillions of dollars in unsustainable debt, and our national productivity levels continue to drop like a stone from over population, under capitalization of businesses, and stifling of resource extraction. And we won't be allowed to speak pubicly about it. John Hagopianwhitby

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VIDEO: Minimum wage is going up, but it’s still nowhere near a living wage

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The minimum wage ought to apply to everyone the same way regardless of age and it should apply to all kinds of work including farm labour. The minimum wage should be $30 per hour and at this rate we will not need any temporary foreign workers because Canadians will accept work at this pay rate. Any business that cannot afford to pay this wage should not be in business in Canada. Our workers should only be employed in businesses that are profitable and add significant value to their products. Everything else is a waste of the skill and education of our workforce, and a waste of our resources. Cheap products ought to be produced in a foreign country and imported. The $30 rate should also apply to all service workers. John HagopianWhitby

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VIDEO: This is why Canada’s population just dropped for the first time in decades

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The world is being homogenized by globalization of the economy and by open borders. The global elite want an undifferentiated playing field for their operations so that they face the same labour supply, environmental laws, labour laws, labour union activity, wage levels, tax rules, business regulations, etc., in all jurisdications. The global elite want the eliminate all other variables so that strictly economic factors can be implemented when organizing the various aspects of their resource extraction, product fabrication, and product marketing operations. Their objective is to eliminate national differences by weaking the powers and jurisdiction of sovereign governments, and substitute global entities in their place. Trade tribunals and other private bodies are their preferred form of authority, rather than elected, democratic governments. This is why the First World nations are being degraded into Third World status -- it levels the playing field.John HagopianWhitby

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VIDEO: What is Doug Ford trying to hide? More than ever before

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Doug Ford isn't really a conservative; he's an elitist. Conservatives believe in small government, personal freedoms, balanced budgets, equality under the law, and low taxes. Ford does none of this. He relies on his ability to charm gullible people into thinking he's a regular working guy. Doug had a job waiting for him in his father's company, so he didn't bother getting a college diploma, university degree or a skilled trade. He isn't smart or skilled, he's just a talker, like a carnival barker or other salesman. He loves being among rich people and favouring his rich friends. He shows a startling indifference to basic rules regarding propriety while governing. Though he doesn't have his brother's addictions, he is just as embarrasing to have as our elected premier because of his other shortcomings. He will sacrific all principles for political power for himself, which explains his goal of stifling public access to government information. John HagopianWhitby

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The rise of the citizen developer

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..... and if our governments didn't insist on needlessly increasing the population of our country then we wouldn't have a housing crisis, a housing shortage, unaffordable housing, lot splitting, infilling, demolitions and redevelopment, densification, provincial interference in municipal planning, light rail projects ripping up our roadways, loss of heritage structures, loss of trees and woodlots, loss of open space and grassy areas, and the loss of the essential character of our cities and neighbourhoods.John Hagopianwhitby

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Doug Ford’s PCs vote to end access to political officials’ records

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Doug Ford is premier because his predecessor was Kathleen Wynne, and the NDP was led by Andrea Horvath. The Ontario political parties offer us no decent options in terms of leaders, and no decent platform of policies from the parties themselves. The decline of governance in Canada has been gradual since the 1960s, but marked in its totality. Federally too, all parties support the same core policies that are causing our national decline. The free flow of information is essential to trace the chain of command and the rationale behind political decisions. This chain will lead to persons both inside and outside of the government. This is why Doug Ford is cutting off the public's right to know the identity of the major figures in his party's deliberations, and that motivations behind the policies that emerge as priorities. This is part of the global process of undermining both democracy and an understanding of what is happening in our world and why. John HagopianWhitby

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BREAKING: Carney Liberals clinch majority with wins in two Toronto byelections

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We can expect more homelessness, emergency room overcrowding in hospitals, crumbling infrastructure, a military force in shambles, overwhelming demands for social services, and high unemployment rates among youth. Why reward a government that brought us all this during the past 10 years with a majority government??John Hagopian

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Doug Ford’s PCs vote to end access to political officials’ records

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We have low voter turnout because there is nothing to vote for. It's like going to a restaurant and having a choice of meals that all contain spam. The parties are interchangeable. Doug Ford has no college diploma, no university degree, and no skilled trade. And he is leading the province.

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EDITORIAL: What is Doug Ford hiding from you? Way more than ever before

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Doug Ford doesn't concern himself with protocol, traditions, conventions, rules of propriety, or common decency. He is concerned with political power and enriching his friends. He fines rules to be pesky hindrances to his personal preferences and ambitions. I hope people realize that Doug Ford's carefully crafted image as a beer swilling, barbecuing, workingman's best friend is just a facade, and he is actually an elitist who hates democratic safeguards on abuses of power.John HagopianWhitby

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THE PAIKIN PODCAST: Can Donald Trump actually kill NATO?

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NATO is a disingenuous organization and Donald Trump would be right to leave it. Ukraine tried to gain admittance to NATO and the EU long before Russia's invasion, but NATO refused. Germany largely controls NATO and the EU since they have the largest European economy, and Germany and Russia are deeply invested in each other. Germany has no desire to irritate or oppose Russia either militarily or economcially, and Germany pulls NATO in this same direction. Germany and NATO pretend to be supportive of Ukraine, but Germany's real allegiance is with Russia. So, Germany and the European NATO countries essentially invited Russia to invade Ukraine, and thus they are responsible for the war. NATO still refuses to admit Ukraine into NATO or the EU, thus perpetuating the war. Donald Trump sees all of this happening, and rightly sees NATO is both dishonest and uncommitted to their stated objectives. America ought to leave NATO.John HagopianWhitby

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THE PAIKIN PODCAST: Can Donald Trump actually kill NATO?

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NATO has shown itself to be a hypocritical freeloader. They say they are interested in showing unity in opposing threats to European nations, which these days mostly are represented by Russia and China. Yet, when America launches attacks on the proxies of Russia and China such as Iran, NATO does not participate in the attacks, and also refuses America permission to use their airspace, airfields, and resources to conduct the attacks. No further evidence is needed of both NATO's lack of commitment to unity, and to nullifying threats to European security, and to opposing the machinations of Russia and China. If America can't count on the European NATO nations in this relatively minor skirmish in Iran, then certainly America would not receive any assistance worth mentioning in a direct confrontation with Russia and China. NATO is a fraudulent organization, and America would be right to leave it.John HagopianWhitby

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THE PAIKIN PODCAST: Can Donald Trump actually kill NATO?

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NATO's lack of commitment to its own military obligations under the NATO agreement is obvious from the failure of some member nations to meet the required military spending targets for so many years, and they were not compelled to do so by the organization. They reluctantly 'say' they will now meet those targets, only because Donald Trump demanded it. But it shows how unserious NATO is about military capacity or deployment. Mark Carney claims that Canada will now be meeting the spending targets, but he isn't actually spending the money on weaponry or other legitimate military items. It is all soft spending, likely going toward personnel, all chosen with 'equity' objectives in mind, thereby just taking more federal money and using it to expand the federal staffing with more people representing the profile of a diverse society as defined and sought by the Liberal Party. It is just another slush fund, if you will, for Liberal social and political purposes.John HagopianWhitby

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VIDEO: Ford plus Carney equals more housing across Ontario?

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Municipal governments ought to have the right to control development within their own cities. The federal and provincial governments should not be ordering cities to achieve 'density targets' and should not be withholding funding until cities surrender to the dictates of these 'higher' governments. Yes, municipalities are legally under the jurisdiction of the provincial government, but that does not have to mean that provincial politicians now usurp the role of elected mayors and council members. There ought to be variations between cities in Ontario regarding preferred levels of industrialization, degrees of white collar employment in office buildings, housing types and density, heritage preservation, etc. People ought to have a choice in terms of the type of city they want to live in. Instead cities are going to become blandly interchangeable, looking the same, functioning the same, all full of newly built 'densified' neighbourhoods.John HagopianWhitby

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THE PAIKIN PODCAST: Can Donald Trump actually kill NATO?

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NATO isn't the only organization that Trump ought to leave. The United Nations has on its security council the two nations that represent the greatest threat to international security. China makes no secret that it wants to take over Taiwan, and has warships controlling the ocean around it. Russia has already invaded Ukraine, Crimea, and Georgia in the past 20 years, and Poland and Romania are fearful of their own future in light of Russian aggression. It makes no sense to have a NATO alliance which exists largely, in theory, to oppose Russia and China, but then allow Russia and China to sit on the security council of the United Nations. That is patently absurd and self-defeating. Most member nations of the United Nations including many of the larger ones do not respect America and are dedicated to undermining America's strength. There is no reason for American to belong to either the UN or NATO when the other members are not fully supportive of America.John HagopianWhitby

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VIDEO: This is why Canada’s population just dropped for the first time in decades

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These two men make it seem like the federal government realized they had "inadvertently" allowed to many immigrants. It wasn't inadvertent, it was deliberate, and I wasn't alone in foreseeing the devastating impact the population increase would have on social services, health care, housing costs, transit, among other services. The Liberal federal government works closely with the World Economic Forum, the McKinsey Group, and the Century Club, all of which favour open borders and rapid population growth in developed nations from Third World migration. Even the Conservative Brian Mulroney was a supporter of the Century Club, which wants Canada's population to reach 100 million by the year 2100. Rapid population growth favours the rich by increasing land values for owners of real estate, and by stoking a large consumer market for producers of goods and providers of services. Governments in this way are managing the decline of Canada, and favouring globalism.John Hagopian

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Reflections on the Guthrie years (so far)

GuelphToday

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I strongly disagree with the writer's assertion that we were dealing with "the worst existential global crisis since the end of World War II. In our collective efforts to memory hole the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve forgotten the ambiguity and the uncertainty, the difficulty to understand how it spread, and the struggle to pivot to entirely secluded lives and ensure no one was being put in any unnecessary danger. With what we knew at the time, we did our best and we fail to remember that." I for one knew that the reactions by governments and health agencies to the virus was irrational and unjustified. Politicans should not be excused but instead they should be blamed for their radical intrusion into the lives of people and their businesses. Our Charter rights were trampled for no good reason. It was obvious that the 'six foot rule' was completely arbitrary, and that reusing masks in non-sterile environments was a good way to spread germs, not stop the spread.John HagopianWhitby

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Councillor Dan Gibson considering run for mayor

GuelphToday

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The sad reality is it doesn't really matter who sits on municipal councils in Ontario because the provincial government now dictates what decisions will be made locally. Local governments do not have a separate constitutional existence in Canada, unlike America where they do. Local governments in Canada are creations of and subordinate to provincial governments. In Ontario, provincials statute are now quite extensive and detailed in establishing the narrow parameters within which cities can now operate. The federal government is making matters worse by imposing its own values on muncipal councils by withholding funding from councils that do not follow its preferences. And Doug Ford's Ontario government has shown itself to be particularly overbearing, intrusive, and dictatorial by enacting legislation that whittles down local autonomy considerably, including by establishing land boards that will readily overturn decisions opposed to rampant development.John HagopianWhitby

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Reflections on the Guthrie years (so far)

GuelphToday

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To " Gruntfutak": I am a lawyer; are you? The authority for the government measures that superceded our rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedom wasn't found in any statute like the Health Protection Act. No, the authority came from the emergency declarations by both the provincial and federal governments that suspended the constitutional rights of citizens. That was the egregious intrusion into our lives and businesses and it was based on nothing. Covid was obviously not the superkiller we were told it was; the fear mongering was deliberate. Those persons who died were those who were likely to do soon anyway because of 'co-morbidities'. Hospitals were encouraged to report all deaths as caused by covid rather than by the seasonal flu or other respiratory disorders; they got paid more per patient by calling each death a covid death. The death stats were inflated, the 'vaccines' were next to useless, yet people were socially ostrasized for demanding their rights.John Hagopian

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Councillor Dan Gibson considering run for mayor

GuelphToday

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Local decision making by municipal councils mattered in the 1970s when the 'small is beautiful' movement pervaded the thinking of progressive people. The goal was to avoid large scale, distant enterprises and entities and focus on local independence by having small scale, locally-owned businesses and projects providing for local needs. The thinking began with development theories applied to Third World nations to avoid exploitation by colonizing countries, but the same principles were soon seen to apply within North America. Communities in America saw the value in owning and controlling their own business entities and other organizations. But the globalization movement has targeted the small is beautiful thinking, and now wants to "think global and act local", which means subordinating and subduing local communities to the dictates of multi-national corporations and international financiers. The World Economic Forum expresses their values which oppose local autonomy.John Hagopian

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VIDEO: This is why Canada’s population just dropped for the first time in decades

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There is nothing wrong with a decreasing population in Canada. We have too many people and it would be ideal if by attrition we returned back to the 30 million level. The balance sheet of costs and benefits of admitting immigrants to Canada has been a net liability. The argument that we need immigrants to support an aging, retiring population is invalid, because we spend far more settling and supporting immigrants than they will contribute toward pension balance. And the pension argument simply sets up a never ending cycle: if you admit increased immigrants now to balance the retirees, you will have to continue doing it in increasing numbers forever into the future. A well managed country has a stable population, is selective about who it allows into the country, and self-sufficiently produces the goods and services it needs. Switzerland was for a very long time the ideal in these regards, though in recent years it too has had too many migrants enter.John HagopianWhitby

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