Responsibility & Reciprocity

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It’s your turn to make the drive!

Ross Boulton a couple of days ago posted this piece – an apology, of sorts.

(rossboulton1.substack.c…)

Except, he doesn’t get it!

Paula, does – it’s about shared responsibility and reciprocity. 

And all Boulton can say is “That is not called for, Paula”! That’s it. 

She’s pointing out it’s his turn to make the drive north to New Brunswick.

Boulton even ends the piece with this:

Because the day she (his cousin) does decide to make the drive, I don’t want her sitting at the end of my road in the dark, doing the math on whether it’s worth pulling in.

He doesn’t get it – it’s his turn to make the trip!

His cousin (a New Brunswicker) is not coming back – likely ever – and he’s not going to understand why – typically American! Self-centred. Not reaching out to do his part in the relationship. 

Doesn’t occur to him he has a part!

Am I annoyed?

You bet!

BTW

Turns out Boulton’s “story” is a fiction – he wrote me:

I’ve made that drive more times than I can count. My dog has been to Canada more than most Americans have.

Of course its 2 ways. What wasn’t called for is the personal attack.

The fictional family who hasn’t gone yet is in today’s Sunday Lunch. They’re at the table working out what it would take now.

My point is, however, in the story he doesn’t acknowledge the reciprocity of the relationship – he lays it all on “her”. 

I wrote back that maybe the story reveals more about him than he realized! He doesn’t use it as an opportunity to comment on his responsibilities in the relationship. Nowhere in the “story” does he acknowledge maybe Americans need to be willing to see beyond themselves. 

If he is actually planning on continuing the “story” (as he implies) – he better recognize the immediate context: yesterday, Canada told trump to go F*&K himself. Canadians are in NO mood to kowtow to American self-centred pity (American reporting of the collapse of the trade talks is complete BS, he should perhaps read Canadian (or at least British) accounts of what actually took place). 

“He” the American in the story, better make it clear what he’s personally prepared to do to make amends, not just an apology, but something concrete like actually getting in the car and driving to NB with “his honey”!

The Day After – Phew, Carney didn’t cave…

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I came across a Substack post by a “sympathetic” American this morning: 

Ross Boulton

My Fellow Americans: Canadian Porch Light Off

The Story…

Read more

It’s an interesting read – here are snippets of what he had to say:

Two hundred and seventy-one years. Eleven generations. …. And through the whole of it, somebody up there kept a light on for somebody down here.

I send honey in December, two quarts packed in newspaper, from hives in a field off the parish road. She sends back mustard pickle, and every year I tell her it’s too sour, and every year she sends it anyway….

This year the pickle came. A card came with it. Three sentences and an initial:

“We’re not coming down. It isn’t you. Love to all of you. — Y.”…

And here’s the thing I’ve been counting up since the card came. She drove. Every time, for thirty years, it was her car and her thirty-one hours and her cooler on my counter. I have never once made that drive north. It never occurred to me that I should, because the light was always on up there and a light that’s always on is easy to stop noticing….

I went out last night and put a bulb in the fixture on my own back step. Sixty watts. There’s nobody coming up those steps from New Brunswick, this year or probably next.

It isn’t her Canadian porch light that went off – it’s been his American “friendly” light that never was turned on (and he never noticed, right)! 

I had to leave a comment:

Last evening I mentioned to a friend that the number of US inquiries regarding Canadian ancestry this past year in PEI increased approximately 1000%! Says something about lots of Americans and their disillusionment with what’s happening at home.

I also said, “We don’t want them here.” She said, “Don’t paint them all with the same brush.” I said, “I do – our values are fundamentally different than theirs!”

She got in the car for, what, 30 years and drove her pickles to you and it didn’t even cross your mind to reciprocate? Not once?

That’s the difference I’m talking about – deeply ingrained, unconscious values that violate mine and were you to move to Canada you’d be moving the needle in the wrong direction – more of Canada would begin to experience the selfish discontent we’re seeing played out in Alberta.

I sure don’t want any of it in NS! Not now, not ever!

Maybe she won’t bring her pickles to you.

Maybe you could just drive your honey to her?

The light on your porch means nothing (you had to go buy a bulb and screw it in – so looks like yours was off and you didn’t notice ) – get in your vehicle, pay the cost of gas (which isn’t cheap), and deliver the goddam honey.

Maybe you could arrive at a dark back porch (although her light probably isn’t off, BTW), and you know what?

You could walk up the path and knock politely on the door!

That’s the difference – they don’t notice. “Me, me, me” is so deeply ingrained they can’t notice. The difference is, in Canada our Tommy Douglas roots say we are responsible for one another, and we act on that in all kinds of ways, DEI, not the least of it (well, not so much in Alberta, but that’s another rant).

Even the most sympathetic Americans arrive expecting the porch light to be on, when theirs burned out years ago. They want an escape from the “chaos” they’ve been unconsciously supporting all these years. Maybe they didn’t vote “trump” in 2025. But they’re not engaged in the big resistance fight, they’re looking for an escape to Canada. 

I’ve been helping out several Afghan refugee families over the past four years, and what’s been obvious to me has been their efforts to retain cultural identity while trying to become more Canadian. It’s hard being first generation in a new country, I see them struggle every day trying to balance the old and new.

Americans coming to Canada aren’t remotely aware there’s any adapting to do – they think they’re “like us” – haven’t a clue they’re not!

Stay home, stand and fight if you’re not happy with how America has turned out. Use your vote wisely. Actively join the resistance. Do your part to change the direction. 

Maybe we should turn off our porch light to those American cousins who eye Canada as a refuge; help them see that escaping to Canada won’t solve their problems for them.

“Make Pete Hoekstra Persona Non Grata”

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I signed this petition a couple of days ago when Charlie Angus first mentioned it – it won’t bring down Hoekstra – that’s not the point. If, as Charlie mentions near the end of the piece, several hundred thousand Canadian citizens sign the petition, Carney can shrug and say Canadians are angry – he’s not going to do anything before August 19 (or likely afterward) but it gives him negotiating power with this CUSMA deadline. Even if an actual deal gets worked out by next week, and even if trump signs it, it still won’t be worth the paper it’s written on. But signing the petition makes it clear Canadians ARE angry. The link is mid-way through Charlie’s piece.

And you might consider passing the Angus posting on to others – we might actually reach some kind of large number of signatures….

If you are a Canadian citizen, please sign parliamentary e-petition 7531 calling on the government of Canada to make Ambassador Pete Hoekstra persona non grata. https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7531

Does a parliamentary petition have the power to force Pete Hoekstra out of the country? No, but if enough people sign, then it forces a conversation about the role the US Embassy is playing in interfering in our affairs and working to sabotage our longstanding relations with our ext-door neighbour.

The petition sends a message to Washington that Canadians are not intimidated or fooled by the constant gaslighting coming from the US Embassy in Ottawa.

Judith

Here’s Charlie’s Substack piece:

https://charlieangus.substack.com/p/make-pete-hoekstra-persona-non-grata?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2946092&post_id=210646928&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=cgren&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

BTW – Our Canadian media are misrepresenting Canada’s negotiating strength in these meetings!

If you haven’t found Shankar Narayan he’s worth keeping tabs on:

Canada’s Hand Against Trump Just Got Stronger

Canada Is Entering the CUSMA Fight From Strength

https://conciscanada.substack.com/p/canadas-hand-against-trump-just-got?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=8151447&post_id=210886872&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=cgren&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

There are other writers I’m reading these days – a couple of military analysts (who see the situation very differently than the MSM are reporting.) I’ll not bore you with a list of names, but if you hop over to my Substack and tap into my Notes, you will find a lot of support for how Canada IS handling these and all those international agreements that are coming together fast and furiously. The picture is incredibly interesting.

One interesting piece I’ve read this afternoon puts a lot of what’s going on in a very interesting global perspective:

https://substack.com/@judithnewman/note/c-313504631?r=cgren&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web

Things are happening – and more important – not being handled well, if at all, by our Canadian press, tv news outlets.

Canada’s Response To The Latest Tariff Threats

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“July 22, 2026 

We finally figured out — after eighteen months of letters posted to Truth Social at midnight, blown deadlines, “suspended” talks that un-suspend themselves 72 hours later, and a trade agreement Trump personally negotiated, personally bragged about, and personally let die — that there is no deal to get. You cannot negotiate with a man who treats every signed agreement as the opening bid for the next shakedown. Carney knows it. The premiers know it. And this week, the entire country started acting like it.

https://open.substack.com/pub/deanblundell/p/breaking-canadian-politicians-are?r=cgren&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

“The Nuclear Option Is “On The Table” 

Look at Monday’s tariff list. Not what’s on it. What’s off it.

Oil and gas. Potash. Critical minerals.

The man who tariffed hockey sticks and honey — who threatened to bill us for smoke — tiptoed around the three things his economy cannot live without. That exemption list is not mercy. It’s a confession. It’s Trump telling you, in writing, exactly where Canada’s kill switch is. He didn’t spare our energy out of kindness. He spared it because he knows what happens if we ever tax it on the way out the door”

“…somewhere around August 19, the country that supplies two-thirds of his oil, the world’s potash, a quarter of his uranium, and $400 billion of his debt stops absorbing punches for the first time in this entire fight — with 75% of its population cheering it on.

The loud phase was 2025. This is the quiet phase. Cancel the party. Sign the pact. Two words and a thin smile.

All options.

It’s about time. And I am VERY here for it.

We all are.”

(Quoted from: https://open.substack.com/pub/deanblundell/p/breaking-canadian-politicians-are?r=cgren&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web)

If you still think there’s a CUSMA deal to be had – give it up!

Carney’s known for a long time there’s no deal. The premiers have made it clear this week they know there is no CUSMA on the table.

trump’s motivation isn’t a “better” deal – it’s annihilation! Get it through your thick skull he’s out to subjugate Canada – 51st state crap and all. Doesn’t matter that he’s doing untold damage to the US economy and to US citizens. He doesn’t give a s**t.

Tariffs on hockey sticks? Really?

Tariffs because forest fire smoke is making it murky in the US north east?

If this is trump’s idea of negotiating – we’re done with it.

Come August 19 – time for our nuclear option.

Our national media will moan about how vulnerable Canada is. US media will make it sound like we’ll all be starving and wearing rags if we make a stand. The media (in Canada it’s mostly US owned, remember) does NOT understand the leverage Canada actually holds. If trump doesn’t TACO – they’re going to find out!

And then there’s this Blundell piece about the opening of the Gordie Hull Bridge: https://deanblundell.substack.com/p/breaking-canada-kicks-us-officials?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=4163578&post_id=208050361&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=cgren&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Looks like the “playing nice” is coming to an end!

Read the timeline – this nonsense has been going on for quite a while. I offer it in case you haven’t been following this bit of chaos.

What Carney’s Been Up To

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Two longish reads explaining why/how what Mark Carney is doing strengthens Canada:

1. https://substack.com/@judithnewman/note/c-266527521?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=cgren

2. https://carolineboudakian651916.substack.com/p/mark-carney-three-moves-ahead

Which is why I’m prepared to wait a bit to see how these moves play out.

I’m willing to bet he’s not lost sight of the environment, just that the global political and economic imperatives are so critical, and things are moving so fast, that establishing a reliable consortium of middle nations where economic decisions can include deliberations about the environment will come – Germany has done a lot of green development – but they need to keep the lights on in order to keep their country functioning on a relatively even keel. So right now, purchasing natural gas is an important decision – ours is to provide it for them – so we can cooperate later…

To side step selling the LNG (and not building the needed infrastructure) leaves us more vulnerable to the US – and trump is becoming crazier by the hour, likely to make a wild decision against Canada that we’re not in a position to counter. Being under further attack by the trump regime / being overrun by them leaves us in no position to explore environmental solutions. 

I do wish Carney would spell out the layers of his strategies – I would be more comfortable were he to do that. But I can also see that explaining his strategic moves shows trump his hand and so he’s been quietly creating these alliances / deals and they’re being announced once they are done. I know we can’t yet see the whole picture – there are surely lots more deals in the works. [Carney’s June 30 YouTube update to Canadians is helpful for understanding what he’s been up to – regarding energy and the environment.]

When this new alliance of middle level countries is more stable, able to stand on its own feet, I think we’ll see environmental concerns come into focus. They have to, because the impact of the changing climate is being felt everywhere.

And for a chuckle – Michael deAdder’s cartoon June 3 2026 from the Hill Times

BTW – July 1 has come and gone and the sky hasn’t fallen. trump has gone silent on CUSMA, at least as of yesterday (I haven’t had a chance to go through all my inbox today). So CUSMA chugs along as it was designed to do.

On Canada Day 2026

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I just read an analysis of Mark Carney’s YouTube Video on Canada’s Economic/Energy Future he uploaded to YouTube yesterday. It helped me understand the bigger picture at play here.

The analysis of Carney’s video is very interesting.

He, Carney, was up front about the environmental costs of working to secure Canadian economic sovereignty. He didn’t go into a ton of detail, but he’s not hiding the difficulties Canada faces both with regard to the environment and to our economic future.

I highly recommend you take a read through the article (it’s an amusing and strongly “anti-trump” piece, but certainly supportive of what Carney is trying to pull off for Canada).

You’ll also find it very informative to watch Carney’s update to Canadians about our economic/energy future.

I’ve had misgivings about several economic manoeuvres Carney has made since coming to office, wondering where the environment stood as he’s been busy negotiating energy and trade agreements with many of the world’s “middle countries”.

In this video he makes it clear what his larger strategy is and why he’s choosing this current path for Canada and Canadians.

Do take the time to read the article then watch the video. You’ll find them clarifying what’s been happening so quickly and why it’s essential for Canada going forward. (Read the article first; it will help you pick up on the subtleties of what Carney has to say.)

Full Circle

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Central Library Blog

The quilts and wall pieces in FULL CIRCLE were designed by me, pieced by me, and quilted by me.

These quilts and wall art pieces are for sale.

To view the quilts in this exhibit click here

If you’re interested in owning one of them please get in touch

Anti-democratic Forces in Canada

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From A Letter From A Maritimer

The far-right messaging is getting louder. There’s more of it, more aggressive, more targeted. The same narratives that ran during the federal election are back, repackaged with new language but aimed at the same people. 

My read? Someone changed tactics. The Conservative Party took a beating in the recent by-elections, and this looks like the response. Flood the zone. Crank up the machine.

I want to be honest about what I know and what I don’t. I’m one person watching feeds. I don’t have access to real-time platform data. I can’t hand you a number and say “here is the proof the level of activity has increased”.

What I can tell you is this. The machine capable of producing exactly what I’m seeing was identified and documented in public, in detail, less than a year ago. And the institution that should be monitoring coordinated anti-democratic messaging in Canada between elections does not yet exist.

Canada carries a particular vulnerability that most democracies don’t. In 2023, Meta removed Canadian news from Facebook and Instagram in retaliation for legislation that would have required the platform to compensate Canadian journalism for content shared on its feeds. The practical effect was to create a vacuum where credible, fact-checked reporting used to be. Canada Proud moved in. Because it isn’t classified as a news organization under Meta’s content policies, it posts freely on the same platforms that now block the CBC, the Globe and Mail, and every local news outlet in the country. 

The result is an information environment where a politically connected attack operation with 1.4 million followers reaches more Canadians on Facebook every week than any legitimate news organization in the country, and the platforms have no obligation to treat it differently than they would a neighbourhood community group. Meta didn’t intend to build a disinformation delivery system. But that is what it built. And Canada Proud has been one of the primary beneficiaries.

https://aletterfromamaritimer.substack.com/p/anti-democratic-forces-are-using?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=3257973&post_id=194525971&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=cgren&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

I’d say this is serious. Not something to ignore.
I have sent a letter to my MP – Lena Metledge Diab.

We can all see what is happening. Anti-democratic forces are using a bullhorn in this country, in the open, and they have been doing it for months. The research is on the record. The network is documented. The government has been told what is at stake and what needs to be built.

What is missing right now is the political will to act, and that only moves when citizens demand it.

I’ve said it before that this is not the Conservative Party of the past, the one that many of us Canadians voted for. That is a separate conversation, and it is one we need to have.

But right now, today, the ask is simple. We see the threat to our democracy. Say so. Loudly. To the people we elected to protect Canada, our people, this democracy.

That is not someone else’s job. It is ours.

The disinformation is getting louder, more targeted, more mean and disruptive. We can’t sit back and wait for someone else to step up. Each of us has to engage before it’s too late and the hate rolls across our country like that anti-vax truck covey two years ago!

Why protest matters…

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I had a conversation yesterday with a friend who was worried that protesting was meaningless – that nothing changed afterward.

After yesterday’s No Kings protests, there are two points of view I want to share – first, this piece from MSNow.

ms.now/opinion/no-kings…

The No Kings protests that took place across the country this weekend were massive. These demonstrations continue to drive home how Trump’s presidency is not only unpopular, but unpopular in a manner that infuriates and mobilizes people. But something is missing, writes Zeeshan Aleem. There is an absence of friction. The contained and routine choreography of these demonstrations every few months is central to their mass appeal, and, paradoxically, it is also what limits their power. Americans interested in using collective action to push back against Trump’s authoritarian agenda will need to show more ambition and creativity to move the dial.

In other words, protest, in and of itself, won’t get you where you want to get.

The second is Tim Snyder’s 1 minute explanation for why joining the protests matters: substack.com/@snyder/no…

Protests

  1. change the atmosphere;
  2. they change the sense of what’s normal;
  3. show people who aren’t protesting that others see what’s wrong, see a different future – maybe they’ll come along next time;
  4. they’re a first step toward working with other people;
  5. because protesting build coalitions, and coalitions win elections – they help people make the connections with the ongoing work needed to organize the vote

(That’s my synopsis of Snyder’s brief video)

In other words, protests set the stage for bringing people together to set up the work that needs to follow.

This just in from Joyce Vance:

The national protests are that first step toward pushing against trump’s authoritarian agenda; No Kings is the immediate face of the growing coalition that knows it now must turn its efforts to organizing for the November elections – if you read the newsletters from 50501 and Indivisible, for example, you see they understand what they have to do next!

Some people have suggested these marches are meaningless. But that is not true. Today, we put Donald Trump and his cronies on notice that we are coming for them at the ballot boxes and that we understand how this democracy works and who holds the power. By showing up, we show that we are not afraid. That we will jump through whatever hoops they put in front of us to vote. Be wary of anyone who tries to convince you that people like us aren’t powerful in a democracy—it smacks of trolls, or worse.

I’ve heard from many people this week expressing sentiments similar to what one Civil Discourse reader wrote to me today: “We sense some of the Republican voters in our area are beginning to grasp, and question, the costs of their loyalty.” Courage is contagious, and we spread it by showing up today and continuing to push for democracy.

In Freeport, Maine, where I was, we saw children, teenagers, and young people lining Main Street in increasing numbers as the morning drew on. I hear that’s the case across the country. Young people engaged, fired up, marching. We need more of them!

And I guess a final word to Michael Cohen:

Yesterday was loud. It was visible. It was, in many ways, inspiring.

But if it does not translate into ballots, into turnout, into sustained pressure, it becomes just another moment. Another headline. Another day where people felt good about showing up before going back to a system that continues, largely unchanged.

Still, I walked away from 7th Avenue with something I did not expect. A cautious sense of optimism.

Not because everything is fine. It is not. Not because the system suddenly fixed itself. It did not. But because people showed up. In massive numbers. For different reasons. With different grievances. But with a shared understanding that something is not right.

And sometimes, that is where change begins.

I don’t generally watch videos, but…

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I just watched yesterday’s video conversation between Tim Snyder and Heather Cox Richardson. They’re discussing Snyder’s writing about autocracy, freedom, tyranny, relating it to the current political reality in the US and the trump/Israel war against Iran, with Richardson providing historical analogues and analysis.

First of all, if you closed your eyes you might think the conversation had been scripted – it wasn’t – it was spontaneous. What you have are two well informed minds, able to be concise and still broad in how they articulate questions, and how they respond. This is basically an interview of Snyder by Richardson but there are no slow parts, no hesitations. It’s amazingly clear and to the point. It’s about 45 minutes – it will help you understand the complexity of the chaos being created by trump’s (and his advisors’) naivety and lack of understanding of what it takes to undertake “war”. I recommend watching it and passing it on to other people.

Second, the other evening I watched “Breaking The Deadlock” on PBS – this simulation/discussion was about sports gambling and what it’s doing to  young men.

pbs.org/show/deadlock

The format of this program comes from the original Fred W Friendly Seminars [youtube.com/results] – the ones I remember most vividly are on Ethics in America [youtube.com/watch?v=8-9…]. 

This program on sports gambling was gripping because the panelists have to improvise responses to the escalating scenario slowly laid out by the moderator, who is terrific at controlling and containing the conflict between panelists as the story becomes more and more complicated, and they become more and more invested in their positions!

It’s an hour well spent!

This is how I’ve been spending much of my time these days – not watching videos, but reading the arguments of some fine minds as they’re struggling to make sense of what’s happening each day. 

I try to share what I find most compelling; maybe it will help you think about the issues with new information.

With that in mind, I want to share a piece of writing I came across the other day:

From the Globe and Mail: As a Palestinian, this is what I wish the Jewish community could hear – [ theglobeandmail.com/gif…

As a Canadian Jew, this Palestinian’s perspective helped me understand how the Israeli destruction of Gaza and the West Bank looks from where they stand in the rubble!

It’s now also happening in Lebanon! Bridges destroyed, the country cut in two with the obvious intention of Israel occupying that southern 1/3 of Lebanon. Where does this leave the non-Hezbollah supporting Lebanese stuck in a new annexed strip of Israel? Refugees in their own land!

I keep reading, trying to make sense of what is essentially unintelligible, certainly beyond my understanding….