Charlie Angus

Two things you should read today

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Charlie Angus’ latest Substack is a must read for Canadians:

https://charlieangus.substack.com/p/canada-is-at-war-with-the-united?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2946092&post_id=190301292&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=cgren&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Simon Tisdall writing in the guardian states, “Know your enemy is the first lesson of war – and Britain’s enemy is now Donald Trump.”

This is a lesson that ordinary Canadians have known for well over a year. Trump continues to taunt us and belittle our nation in the same way that Putin ridiculed Ukraine prior to the invasion.

Canadians are like Ukrainians in many ways. When pushed to the wall, we have spines of steel. When forced to choose between Vimy or Vichy, I know where ordinary Canadians will be. There is no return to normal.

Canada’s future is tied with Ukraine. If Putin is allowed to win, Trump may be willing to try his luck bombing our cities and trying to terrify our civilians.

The second one from Viktor Kravchuk:

https://viktorkravchuk.substack.com/p/every-one-of-us-came-from-a-woman

I write often about courage here.
About resilience, about hope.
About strength.
But today is International Women’s Day.
And this is the day to remember that many of the greatest lessons about courage do not come from war, from politics, or from history books.
They come from women.
Because for many women, courage is not a heroic act.
It is everyday life.
The courage to prove your value again and again in a world where men have long been used to holding power.
The courage to speak in places where your voice is questioned, and to carry responsibilities that often remain invisible.
In a world that has often tried to crush your voice and your possibilities.
A courage that rarely receives applause.
And here you are.
Still carrying life forward.

I responded to Charlie Angus:

https://substack.com/@judithnewman/note/c-225279675
I feel it, for sure. I’ve felt it from the moment trump made open threats against our sovereignty. 

This is a lesson that ordinary Canadians have known for well over a year. Trump continues to taunt us and belittle our nation in the same way that Putin ridiculed Ukraine prior to the invasion.

Canadians are like Ukrainians in many ways. When pushed to the wall, we have spines of steel. When forced to choose between Vimy or Vichy, I know where ordinary Canadians will be. There is no return to normal.

Canada’s future is tied with Ukraine. If Putin is allowed to win, Trump may be willing to try his luck bombing our cities and trying to terrify our civilians.

I’m 83. That doesn’t mean I have to sit back and watch what’s unfolding. I’m trying to do my part – make sure other Canadians understand what’s going on and what we will have to do about it.

Look no further than Ukraine.

If you aren’t reading Viktor Kravchuk you should be.

We must be prepared. Each one of us will have a role in sustaining Canada. 

trump IS THE ENEMY!

_____________________________

It’s a sunny morning here in Halifax. 

It’s 8°. 

The snow is melting. 

Patches of grass are visible. 

You can small spring in the air.

Treasure the calm moments you have. 

I hate what’s been happening to the CBC!

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Charlie Angus’ Substack piece this morning is about how he feels he’s being “gaslit” all the time – by the CBC, by the US Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, by several political writers. (Read the piece – it’s another strong bit of writing worth thinking about.)

Half way through I knew I had to respond because I’ve been feeling the same way, about the CBC, The Globe and Mail, my local news sources. The CBC is where I go for news, but for quite a while now what passes for “news” just makes me angry.

What you’re seeing with the CBC is very real! A friend of mine has for many years been a political commentator on our local community oriented programs and she describes several recent meetings with CBC personnel where she and the other panelists have been told to “tone down the political stuff!” She’s furious – the point of those panel discussions is to make the political explicit. Her take – the CBC is terrified of pp (at their convention last week the Conservatives just reaffirmed their plans to close down the CBC). She, and the other panelists keep sneaking in their political views, yes watered down some (she enjoys the gig and wants to keep doing it but I’m guessing there’s a line she will refuse to cross and will find other outlets to tell it like she sees it).

As a dedicated CBC listener, I’m just angry all the time with the banal, often subtle anti-government/anti-Carney position constantly being passed off as “news”. I read The Globe and Mail opinion columnists some of whom still dare to push back against the escalating economic warfare being waged against us by trump and his cronies, but the “news” pieces are often wishy-washy – afraid to call out what’s really happening.

One topic that has me screaming is the blaming our federal government for the rising food (and other commodity) prices as if Carney can wave a magic wand to fix what is a global issue! The Canadian press keeps harping on pp’s claim that he can fix it – I say B**LSH**T to that! The cost of living is definitely higher, it definitely is a challenge for more and more people, but really folks? There isn’t a whole lot any government can do to change that directly. And our government, right now is doing what it can to make it a bit easier for those most seriously impacted. If pp thinks he can do any better, he’s plain out of his mind. But it makes good talking points on the CBC, doesn’t it!

Nothing Feels Urgent Anymore…

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I just finished reading William Finnegan’s “Nothing Feels Urgent Anymore – And That Should Terrify You”

He writes of the US –

“In the early stages of collapse, the warning signs come like alarms: loud, unmistakable, emotionally triggering. You feel compelled to respond. To signal. To warn others.

But we’re not in that phase anymore.

We’re in the part where everything bleeds together. Where Trump’s criminal and idiotic antics, Supreme Court nullification, dollar decoupling, tariff tumult, and cabinet secretariat stupidity all feel like background noise.

We are experiencing the flattening of outrage.

This isn’t a failure of attention. It’s a feature of the system now. And it’s not just cultural. It’s strategic.”

It feels like that here in Canada – we’re in limbo – although I’m sure a lot is going on in preparation for the reconvening of Parliament on May 24 (I think that’s the date), there isn’t a ton of stuff in the news so there isn’t much to react to.

It feels weird!

I feel like I’m holding my breath.

I’ve just reached out to Charlie Angus to see if we can get a “Resistance” event going in NS – but here’s the thing – I haven’t sorted out what we’re resisting at the moment – trump’s 51st State threats have gone quiet right now. Resistance to Poilievre was essential during the election- that’s now over. While still Conservative Party leader, he lost his parliamentary seat so he won’t be there delivering his bombastic nonsense (Andrew Sheer will be acting opposition leader in the House – who knows how he’s going to handle responding to the government’s proposals). Poilievre will continue making pronouncements (likely unchanged from his carping before and during the election) but it won’t have the same force until he’s elected in his “safe” Alberta seat – he won’t be back in Parliament until the fall.

I feel we need to maintain our wariness and opposition to trump and those stupid tariffs. Yes, trump has dropped the “51st state” crap, for now. But it lurks, just the same. He’s moved on from threats against Panama and Greenland to his shiny new jet (how silly is that!), and all the lovely AI deals he’s made in the middle east, and he’s just today more or less given up on his buddy Putin, he says. What does he turn his attention to today?

Here in Canada we’re left waiting for the third or fourth shoe to drop – no clue what it’ll be about. So yes, resistance to this all the idiocy – but at the moment it has no shape. We’re in limbo here.

Another week or so, we may find ourselves with focus – we need to continue working at being informed so we can jump in the moment there’s some real issue that needs our attention and voices!

By the way, if you happen to live in Nova Scotia and still need connection to Resistance, please get in touch. I believe Charlie Angus has a bigger picture shaping his Resistance efforts. I need to know more about that. If you feel you do, too, get in touch. I can’t organize an event on my own – I need colleagues willing to put in some time to make the phone calls and help set up the structures for an event – this isn’t a commitment to a long term project – just the one gathering. I’d love to make it happen – I think it could provide some focus to shape this “slow” period for all of us.

A Warning From Charlie Angus

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Charlie Angus sounded an alarm this morning – those of us who voted for an independent, more self-sufficient Canada need to heed it.

I know what you were thinking: the election is over, Canada will negotiate a new deal with Trump, and life will return to normal.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that’s not how it’s going to play out.

In a world of gangster leaders like Trump and Putin, Canada’s repudiation of the MAGA march just won’t stand. The authoritarian, anti-democratic “project” has been years in the making. It’s been driven by the likes of Bannon and Hungary’s Victor Orban — and they aren’t going to let Canada stand tall as a model of liberal democracy.

The online platforms are already gearing up with BOT farms disrupting online conversations. It’s all about undermining both Carney and Canada.

He goes on:

On the domestic front, there is no way the Conservatives will give Carney the grace period needed to build trust with the public. The Maple MAGA machine will do everything it can to undermine Carney. 

Just watch.

He ends with:

In the MAGA world it is unacceptable that Canada is seen as a symbol of the resilience of liberal democracy.

In the coming months, it will not just be the new Prime Minister who is put to the test. Canada, our shared values and nationhood, will be tested as well.

I know we will rise to the challenge, but only if we can identify the toxic playbook being used by Maple MAGA and the far right.

Here’s my reply when I restacked his message:

Thanks Charlie for sounding the alarm. I think I’d have come to the realization myself eventually, but better I should get here sooner.

I believe we need the resistance you’re building right now more than ever. We Canadians need to keep pushing back against Maple MAGA, trump MAGA, and Russian efforts to bring Canada to heel.

We need to keep those protests going – both to support American efforts to resist trump, but also to make complacent Canadians aware of the bumpy future we also face – not from our Liberal government, so much, as from Poilievre and Conservative efforts.

What Canada needs at the moment is a strong collaboration of politicians and citizens to work through the problems we face. I was hoping PP losing his seat might send a message that Canada needs a different approach from him. I wasn’t hopeful he could actually bring that; I was pretty sure he had but one song. But I was holding my breath allowing him the possibility of actually putting Canada first.

I can see from your piece, my hope is naive. You’re right. The attacks have already started. We need to build our resistance as quickly as possible so we can fight back in support of our independence, our autonomy.

We need to be alert for every opportunity to rally – at the moment it’s quiet out there. But as soon as the distractions and stonewalling start up (I suppose that will come with the opening of parliament), we better be ready with our signs. 

One of the things that’s made the protests in the US effective, particularly with regard to the deportations, has been the advance organizing done by community groups who have been in a position to jump into action as soon as someone in the community has been rounded up. People have predetermined what roles they would play, who would call the lawyers, who would bring out the signs, who would make calls, who would sent emails. Within hours, protests have arrived at the right places and they’ve been able to interfere with the disappearing of community members. We need similar advance planning. 

I haven’t found that group of friends who will march with me. I know, I just need to start by calling one or two people to plan for what’s coming….