The Maple Leaf Lounge

[Timewalker]

There are more than a few people on FB who want Hoekstra kicked out of the country. Of course if we do that, our own ambassador would be kicked out of the U.S.

And Trump would probably up the tariffs to something like 10,000% and do some more childish crap as well.

I heard about this "disappointment" a short time ago in a Guard the Leaf video on YT.

 

[Marc]

The US administration is: taking part in a massive memorial to honour and celebrate a despicable human being who spewed his vile misogynist, racist, and anti-LGBTQ sentiments for all to hear, and who the administration is lionizing and somehow trying to gaslight us into believing was such a good, respectful person who was only "engaging in debate", and who any criticism of, including quoting their own words, is somehow now being framed as "disrespectful" and "hate speech". (And yes, I know we have our own issues with that, re: the standing ovation by some parliamentarians. Let's make sure they're called to task on that.)

And that same administration is giving the memorial to a man who was a antisemite at the same time they condemn Canada and other countries for recognising a Palestinian state (with conditions such as hamas disarms and has no involvement in the governance) but some how we're the antisemetic ones?

 

[Timewalker]

Bravo, Charlie Angus!

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Of course that useless waste of atoms won't bother to say 'thank you.'

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, simply stated as well. Charlie Angus is a class act. He doesn't mess around and mince words. Notice he's part of the Meidas Touch network now as well?

 

[Timewalker]

Yeah, simply stated as well. Charlie Angus is a class act. He doesn't mess around and mince words. Notice he's part of the Meidas Touch network now as well?

Yep.

The only thing that annoys me is that if/when his speaking tour might come here, I won't be able to afford a ticket.

 

[Owain Taggart]

See, when I saw him, it was part of the NDP campaign, and he was simply the main speaker at an NDP rally. They didn't start charging until shortly after that when he started speaking at private engagements.

 

[Timewalker]

I get that it costs money for gas and lodging and food, and while he's well-off he's not a zillionaire. He won't have been skimming and grifting like so many politicians all the years he was in office.

But what it would take for transportation and a ticket would mean a not-insignificant portion of my food budget. And what with the crap going on here, the people on AISH currently have no idea how much we're actually getting each month until this mess is sorted out.

And I doubt it's going to be sorted out any time soon. The caseworkers are overwhelmed, the doctors are overwhelmed, everything's backlogged, and Smith just grins and smirks through the whole thing.

It's in the social services minister's best interests to create homelessness, since his family runs The Mustard Seed, a chain of homeless shelters they get government funding for. Of course this is inappropriate and an egregious conflict of interest. But like in the U.S., Smith doesn't care. There's no one to complain to, because they either helped set this hellscape up, or they could be fired if they try to help.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Well, there we go, Canada Post on strike again. I had thought we'd have some advance warning to prepare.

 

[Timewalker]

Right when a whole bunch of AISH clients in Alberta need to mail stuff. I'm relieved that no clawback happened to me, so I get to eat this month.

Plus, I just got an email to say I've been chosen as one of the counters for next month's municipal election.

I'm actually qualified to be a Deputy Returning Officer (would have paid a hell of a lot better), but on the other hand, I'm still getting over minimum wage plus paid training. As long as it doesn't go over the allowed amount for earnings, it shouldn't be too much of a bureaucratic mess.

 

[Marc]

Well, there we go, Canada Post on strike again. I had thought we'd have some advance warning to prepare.

think cupw have kicked a massive own goal.

they've cost canada post the amzon returns business, they were costing them money with refusing to delivery fliers (which on some days would have made a large part of the carrier's rounds).

on rural routes the corporation has to pay for both a mail carrier and their driver.

they frequently don't deliver parcels instead just card so you have to go collect (and that's frequently at shoppers).

but the union was demand that people be put on full time for a saturday parcel deliery service when there wouldn't have been the work to justify it but hey more members and dues for the union.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Hey everyone, listen... no, come on, listen, everyone.

Pete Hoekstra is disappointed in us.

I don't think I heard you loud enough!

What gets me is that Canada is perhaps one of the most generous, most helpful and giving countries. We often go out of our way to help. Say for instance the Wildfires out in California. We do so not because we have to, but because we feel the need to help out because it's in our very nature to help, and yet we don't ask for anything in return. We haven't heard much in the way of Thanks though. In fact, when it came to our wildfires this year, Americans were complaining that it was ruining their ways of life. And yet Pete Hoekstra has the gall to say he's disappointed in Canada.

I like what Charlie Angus pointed out, with the fact that it was Canadian soldiers that saved his ancestors and liberated the Dutch and why the Dutch still has an ongoing friendship to this day, sending tulips to Ottawa every year. And Hoekstra isn't even well-liked by his own people. He was Ambassador there for a while before he was kicked out of the Country.

And of course, we can't forget 9/11 when Canada opened its borders without question when flights had to be diverted to land at Canadian airports across the Country, most famously at Gander, a small town that welcomed them with open arms and made room for them and had them hosted in personal homes shared with families, creating lasting friendships. Yet Pete Hoekstra is disappointed in Canadians and the efforts that were made seems to be conveniently forgotten in favour of the rhetoric against our Country. It is US, the Canadian people who are disappointed in the United States right now, and we have every right to be. Right back at you, Pete. We are disappointed in you.

 

[Timewalker]

Well, there we go, Canada Post on strike again. I had thought we'd have some advance warning to prepare.

Hooray. I didn't even get October's AISH statement that includes my health card. Hopefully I don't get into an accident or need anything more than what's already prescribed, because I'm screwed. Not to mention that I use that as one of my voter IDs and we're having municipal elections in October.

Oh, and the Sociopath-in-Chief says we have to "pre-order" our covid vaccines by Sept. 30. At least I'm in the category that still gets them for free. Other people are being charged over $100. The Sociopath has decided that it's not enough to have a measles epidemic. She wants more covid deaths, too, which she will deny is happening.

So the Canada Post strikers can go jump in a live caldera, as far as I'm concerned. They're supposed to deliver the government benefits-related mail, but I guess they opted not to this time.

 

[Marc]

. It is US, the Canadian people who are disappointed in the United States right now, and we have every right to be. Right back at you, Pete. We are disappointed in you.

seems hoekstra has decide to double down on the stupid by saying the pre-clearance of Canada passengers travelling to the U.S by air may need to be reassessed.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/canadian-airlines-airports-financial-hit-1.7645299

nothing like giving Canadians even less of reason to travel south of the border.

Removal of it would also impact anyone travelling into the U.S to get another flight though not sure if that happens that much any more though becasue of the modern long haul aircraft.

Air Canada use to stop in Hawaii on the transit to Australia because the 767s didn't have the range so you'd have to do customers an immigration even though you never left the sterile area.

 

[Owain Taggart]

seems hoekstra has decide to double down on the stupid by saying the pre-clearance of Canada passengers travelling to the U.S by air may need to be reassessed.

Yeah, I saw that today, and it might be a direct result of the fact less Canadians are getting in, therefore he's technically correct as it must cost a lot to operate and keep it open when there's less traffic coming in. It's cause and effect from the aggressive rhetorics coming into effect.

 

[Avro Arrow]

seems hoekstra has decide to double down on the stupid by saying the pre-clearance of Canada passengers travelling to the U.S by air may need to be reassessed.

Yeah, I saw that the other day too.

Imagine thinking that the answer to winning us back over was to threaten us more...

Then there's this guy:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

To be honest, I didn't actually need any more convincing, but thanks for the good advice anyway!

 

[Owain Taggart]

They really want Canadians to visit, don't they? Between this and the way the Quebec fisherman was accosted and harrassed by the American Coast Guard in June, it sure paints a pretty picture. And people like Hoekstra are perplexed as to why we're upset. Gee, Ambassador, perhaps some time looking at yourself in the mirror for some reflection might do you some good.

 

[Timewalker]

I guess Charlie Angus didn't spell it out enough so this idiot could understand it: He owes his very existence to the fact that the Canadians saved the people in the place where he was born in the Netherlands. Literally saved their lives, so two of them could become his parents so he could later take up valuable space and atoms that could be put to a far better use.

The least he could do is say, "Thank you."


The first inkling I had of how important this is to the Dutch people was years ago on FB, when I was watching a travel video. I mentioned I'm Canadian, and the next thing I knew, somebody posted a comment in reply to mine. He said he was born in the Netherlands, and a Canadian soldier had rescued his grandmother and mother (his mother was a young child at the time). It was because of that Canadian soldier's actions that his mother survived, grew up, married, and had children. He said, "It it wasn't for that Canadian soldier, I wouldn't be alive. So when I saw that you're Canadian, I wanted to say thank you."

That really hit me, in an emotional way, and in the sense that things that were only in history books have real consequences. Here was a complete stranger, thanking me for something I had no part in, wasn't even born when it happened, and none of my relatives were ever in combat in WWII (they had other things to do with the war, as I found out later; those bombs that hit Japan didn't make themselves).

So I had a good cry about it, and told him that I would pass his thanks along on Remembrance Day (which I did, via the CBC comment section; this happened before that was shut down). After all, at that time it was possible that the soldier who'd helped his mother and grandmother was still alive.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yes, exactly!

In fact, I realized I was responding to the followup rather than the original video and the followup had never been posted. I'll fix that though. The whole situation with the tension surrounding the trade war and 51st state rhetoric, feels a lot like when you have two different parties with two completely different backgrounds talking past each other. One party gets offended after the other's actions, but rather than finding out why the other party is offended and apologize and promise to do better, dismisses the offended party and continues to make offending remarks, effectively digging themselves a hole each time they speak. In this particular case, I feel like what hurts the most is that we're not even feeling like there's an effort to be understood. We're being dismissed in the way we feel and the way we matter by the constant rhetoric and it's like adding salt to the wounds.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Timewalker]

It's too bad we can't send "Pete" real, physical letters.

Thanks, Canada Post.

Does he have an email address?

 

[Owain Taggart]

It's probably publicly available somewhere. I was watching a Guard The Leaf video about a few months ago, where angry Canadians were sending Pete some angry emails. I think he might have even pointed out where it can be found.

You know, one thing often not mentioned throughout all this are the unfortunate side-effects of the Online Media Act, aka Bill C-18. This was supposed to be something put in place to compensate news sites for news articles shared on social media platforms. In theory, it would have meant that each time an article was shared by someone from an official news site, the social media platforms would pay a fee to the news organization. This was a formula followed by what was being done in Australia. Well, Facebook among others balked at this and said, hell no, we won't have none of that! We won't pay! In fact, what we'll do instead is ban the sharing of news for Canadians."

Try it. Try sharing a news article via Facebook. It will tell you the sharing of news on Facebook in Canada is banned. This was not the intended effect, but it more or less indirectly has curtailed the voices Canadians have during a difficult time, and it's why the voices on social media might feel a little one-sided.

Some of the bigger organizations are getting around this via sponsored content, ie paying Facebook instead of Facebook paying them. But the smaller organizations can't do this and and end up being squeezed out of much exposure, important given that every click matters for their revenue.

I'm lucky enough to have two big online papers aka news sites in my city. One is run by Village Media, the other by Post Media, and I notice the difference right away in the quality of the reporting. There is so much syndicated content in the one run by Post Media run out of Toronto, and whatever counts as local news usually is limited to a single paragraph or a couple sentences. The one run by Village Media has a much more local focus, actually putting some thought and content towards the community, but they are sadly not able to share their content on Facebook. And that is just one example.