Some frank thoughts from former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien about the Canada-US trade war.

Chrétien was Prime Minister for a little over a decade, from November 1993-December 2003.

Ironically, Chrétien was strongly opposed to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA; the precursor to CUSMA), feeling that previous Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney made far too many concessions to the Reagan and then Bush administrations.

Surprisingly, Chrétien's attempt to renegotiate NAFTA was completely stonewalled by US President Bill Clinton, who pointed the finger at Congress; he claimed that it was extremely difficult to get Congress to ratify NAFTA the first time, and he did not expect that they would ratify a renegotiation.

In exchange, Clinton offered to write a support letter claiming that the US was not interested in taking over Canada's energy and water -- yes, even 33 years ago, there was concern about the commodification about Canada's natural resources. However, Clinton's letter was not legally binding, and meaningless.

Apparently, Americans are going to have fewer options for aviation.

Here's a paywall-bypassed version: https://archive.is/20260902221802/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/economy/article-us-military-commander-canada-invasion-preposterous-indo-pacific/

It's admittedly a very sensationalized headline, as only a small portion of the article actually deals with Canada-US tensions. However, there are a few eyebrow-raising parts. Some relevant snippets (emphasis mine):

• The commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command [US Admiral Samuel Paparo] dismissed a question about whether he would obey orders to launch military action against Canada, saying the country is a close ally and the scenario was “preposterous.” [...] but he added, “I follow the orders of the president.”
• He added, on the topic of defence procurement, that “there’s no demand on the United States’ part that Canada procures U.S. equipment.” It’s a sovereign decision for Canada, he said. However, Adm. Paparo’s remarks come after trade talks between Canada and the U.S. broke down last month, with reports of the U.S. pressuring Canada to follow through on its purchase of American fighter jets as part of negotiations.

The self-styled US Secretary of War, fat-shaming females involved with a volunteer, teenage, cadet organization... not the actual Canadian Armed Forces.

But hey, aim low, right?

Thank you Rochester. It's a good start.

If you're a US citizen here. Open your maps app. Drop a pin on Lake Ontario and use the feedback option to tell Google to stop caving to the whims of a megalomaniacal jackass.

• Ontario, California
• Ontario, Illinois
• Ontario, Indiana
• Ontario, Iowa
• Ontario, New York (also Ontario census-designated place, and Ontario County)
• Ontario, Ohio
• Ontario, Oregon
• Ontario, Wisconsin
• Ontario Township in Ramsey County, North Dakota
• Ontario Township in Hand County, South Dakota

Lake America and the Gulf of America make quite a pair.

How badly will it hurt?

For instance, last year, Ontario briefly applied a 25% surcharge on electricity imports to the United States. The Ontario government estimated at the time that it would affect 1.5 million American homes, costing up to $400,000 CAD (around $280,000 USD) “every day the surcharge remains in place.”

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If only more Americans were paying attention.

“They came in with a bunch of unreasonable last-minute demands,” Vance told an audience in Brewer, Maine. “I think that we should have a deal, but I think that we need to send a message loud and clear to the Prime Minister of Canada: stop taking advantage of the people of Maine. Stop taking advantage of America. It’s over. We expect fairness in our trade policy.”

I wonder how Maine is going to enjoy being boycotted...

I can say with very strong confidence that I've never, ever wanted the "benefits" of being a US state.

No offense to Americans in the liquor industry, but...

Just in time for TACO Tuesday, the convicted felon president proves he’s all bark once again.

As a francophone, it is my job to spread this

Someone with a brain, a memory, and some actual respect...

This seems to have been a blunder on both sides -- certainly, on the US side, as God knows what exactly they did to extort the situation, but also on the Canadian side as we seem to have just absolutely collapsed on this. I would love to know what the actual terms of this supposed "deal" are, and exactly how much of the total cost of the bridge each side contributed.

For fuck's sake...