Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province plans on moving ahead with a tax on electricity sent to several U.S. states starting early next week.
Ford said the 25 per cent tax will be announced on Monday, with it likely being enacted on Tuesday.
“We are moving forward with it. I feel terrible for the American people because it’s not the American people, and it’s not even the elected officials, it’s one person and that’s President (Donald) Trump.” Ford told 640Toronto radio host Ben Mulroney on Thursday.
“It’s totally unacceptable, but he’s coming after his closest friends, closest allies in the world and it’s going to absolutely devastate both economies.”
I find it so odd the U.S. thought the nicest people on the planet were simply going to lie down and get steamrolled by a snake oil rapist felon into submission.
As a Canadian, I’m now running low on sorries, and that’s scary.
I think what people don’t understand is how incredibly petty Canadians can be.
The Canadian population will accept things getting 25% worse for themselves personally if it means things get 5% worse for the people that inflicted it. With these terriffs, there is an asymmetry of effect… But there is also an asymmetry in the amount of pain that can be stomached by the populations as well.
If the two countries find themselves dragged into an “economic winter”, there is one population significantly more familiar and comfortable with the idea of riding out the winter.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/the-forgotten-ferocity-of-canadas-soldiers-in-the-great-war
The English poet Robert Graves was less charitable. In his 1929 bestseller Good-Bye to All That, he wrote “the troops that had the worst reputation for acts of violence against prisoners were the Canadians.”
Beware the wrath of a gentle man.
The meek are not to be fucked with.
Mate, I fucking love this quote! Thanks for sharing this. Cheers.
incredibly petty
I’m not sure that’s the best description.
We’re easy-going, until someone breaks a rule or an agreement, or is impolite. Then we get bitchy. Sometimes we reno state buildings in a drunken pub crawl.
I only apologize to allies. I have a bountiful field of "fuck off"s to give to fascists, though.
I ran out a long time ago. Fuck around and find out!
Canada needs to cut oil/electricity and keep it cut for 2 years until elections. Americans have no memory. Trump will backtrack in a couple of months and go on a victory tour before the next election. (That things will not be improved won’t stop him from claiming victory.) Americans need to be hurting right before the election.
We could do the full cut, or we could flick the lights on and off like your annoying sibling, 5 minutes of blackouts a couple of times a day could send that message fairly well.
I was really hoping that was going to happen during the Superbowl. Maybe there are some other events we could mess with.
That’s a great way to get invaded.
Edit: cmon. Don already said lumber supply is somehow a national security concern, and that’s the label they’ve used to invade for oil in the past.
Now playing Sabaton - White Death
Alas, this is the correct path forward. FAFO, IF #47 can learn, the US might be saved by these sorts of actions, “Gentle discipline” from our long time friends and neighbors.
Good move by Doug Ford.
Until US stop the flow of drugs and gun into Canada this tax should remain in place.
Actually it should just remain in place whenever Trump and his gang members are president.
Fuck around and find out!
Has there been any talk of Quebec/Newfoundland doing the same? The eastern seaboard of the USA depends on Canadian energy. Including New York city.
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Go for it. We need to feel the pain to have a chance to pull our heads out of our asses.
Thanks for taking one for the team.
Out of curiosity and I seriously doubt people will know, but how does the US pay for hydro. They don’t stop it at the border and they can’t return it. Rates have to be agreed upon prior to delivery.
I’m quite sure the actual transaction is between private American utility companies and their counterparts across the border. There likely is a contract in place between the two companies which agrees on pricing, which would either spell out how rates are calculated, require a guaranteed warning period before rate increases, or disallow rate changes until the contract expires and is renewed.
However, Ford isn’t talking about a rate change between the companies. Even though it’s not a physical good, it’s cross-border trade which means it happens at the pleasure of the governments on both sides. Ford is talking about applying a tax to the electricity, which I assume his government has the power to do. Contracts between private entities cannot stop the government from levying a tax if it chooses.
- power flows
- probably a meter like on the side of your house but bigger
- pay that monthly or it gets dark
I’m sure there’s a hydro Ontario surprise line item joke in here somewhere.
