There has been so much going on lately, it’s hard to narrow things down into one column with too much news. So, here are a few tidbits gleaned from the news and my own delusions of grandeur.
BEST HEADLINE: “Does Daniell Smith know we can all see and hear her?” Globe and Mail, April 5, 2025.
MUSK MUSHERS: Quick question to all the folks who are damaging/torching Teslas – Are you posting pics of your political statement on your X account? Asking for a friend.
SINS OF OMISSION: The Council of Forest Industries recently released report entitled “Competitiveness & Sustainability in the BC Forest Sector,” comparing B.C.’s forest industry with other forestry regions around the world. In it, the authors say cut levels in B.C. have decreased 6.5 per cent annually since 2013. Sounds bad and, of course, “damn government getting in our way.” But they forget(?) to mention that cut levels were drastically increased prior to 2013 because of the mountain pine beetle epidemic. Oops.
PARK IT MANNING: Former Reform Party leader Preston Manning has crawled out of an un-capped well in Alberta somewhere to echo his protégé Danielle Smith and warn of renewed Alberta recessionist bafflegab should the Liberals win the federal election. Manning, of all people, should know that democracy is majority-rule, not minority-rule-by-bullying-and-threatening. We get enough of that from down south. If the secessionist folks in Alberta are tired of the Liberal government in Ottawa not understanding (or adhering to their tantrums), maybe, just maybe, they should elect a few more Liberals. That’s how democracy works.
ROCKET MAN: “… Like jet fuel … no rocket fuel,” beamed Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, enamoured with his own brilliance, while describing how his plan to defer capital gains tax would impact the Canadian economy. The tax deferral, he said, would apply if the capital gains (sale of assets) were reinvested in a Canadian company. The kicker … the tax would only be deferred. The seller still has to pay the capital gains down the road … likely when they retire. Yup, just like rocket fuel for one of those SpaceX babies that blow up on the launch pad.
DROPPING LIKE FLIES: Five Conservative candidates and two Liberal candidates have been dropped by their party so far for … opening their mouths. Best to keep them shut. Seems like urging people to hand your political opponents to over to India and/or China so they can lanquish in a foreign gulag simply because they’re doing better in the polls than you; or worse, encouraging public hanging, isn’t accepted by our political parties … but only after the public finds out. Better vetting processes are definitely needed. Vetting doesn’t really work in an echo chamber.
The guns are still out over Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn who said Canada’s residential school system did not constitute genocide and that the schools are “much-maligned.” Leader Pierre Poilievre is, so far, sticking with his Gunn.
ROOKIE MISTAKE: Liberal leader Mark Carney got some really, really bad advice, or maybe he ignored some good advice, when he defended candidate Paul Chiang. Chiang suggested people turn his opponent over to the Chinese consulate and collect a bounty the Chinese government put on his head. Carney supported Chiang because he’s a former police officer and highly-respected. I don’t care if he’s the Pope, making such comments should disqualify you as a candidate. Period.
POLES ARE FOR DOGS: I believe it was Diefenbaker who uttered that famous quote when confronted with bad polling numbers. The latest polling numbers from Canada 338 put the Liberals at 44 per cent, the Conservatives at 38 per cent, the NDP at eight per cent, the Bloc at six per cent, and the Greens at two per cent.
In terms of seats, that puts the Liberals at 192 (majority), the Conservatives at 125, the Bloc at 16, the NDP at nine, and the Greens with one seat.
This as we enter the dog days of the election.
Born and raised in Fernie, Bill Phillips is an award-winning journalist and columnist. He was the winner of the 2009 Best Editorial award at the British Columbia/Yukon Community Newspaper Association’s Ma Murray awards, in 2007 he won the association’s Best Columnist award. In 2004, he placed third in the Canadian Community Newspaper best columnist category and, in 2003, placed second.
