NightOwl

Now signals of cuts across departments seem, if anything, inevitable. There are overt promises to trim back the public service to pay for income tax cuts as frontrunners Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre vie for voters' trust at a time of economic insecurity.

Nate Prier, the president of CAPE, argues that now is not the time for cuts, particularly for IRCC, pointing to geopolitical instability and the hardline immigration policies of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. He questions whether Canada is ready to handle an influx of claimants after IRCC workers survive the wave of cuts to their teams and salaries.

“When America starts vomiting up its refugees, like it is right now, when they drive more wars to create more refugees, when we need to delink from the American economy, and we’re going to need skilled workers from around the world to help build the next chapter for Canada, that is a terrible time to start gutting the federal public sector, and especially people that you’ve already trained,” Prier said.

Archive: [ https://archive.is/Ygjjs ]

Archive: [ https://archive.is/VQNuO ]

In perhaps his most disappointing policy announcement thus far, Carney has indicated he will scrap the Liberal's plan to increase the capital gains inclusion rate. This mildly progressive measure was directed squarely at the passive incomes of the wealthiest sliver of Canadians and would have served as a healthy revenue generator. Instead, it's destined for the scrapheap.

Archive: [ https://archive.is/amZJ4 ]

The Chinese government promised a 100 per cent levy on Canadian canola oil and meal, plus a 25 per cent duty on seafood and pork. Those tariffs on Canadian goods imported to China kick in on Thursday.

As the tariffs take effect, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe called on the federal government to remove its levies on electric vehicles amid fears that his province could face job losses and face the brunt of the blowback.

Moe pointedly called it “a Western Canadian expense at the benefit of a non-existent EV auto industry in Eastern Canada.”

Faced with calls to rethink the tariffs, Ford’s office said the premier continues to back the tax on Chinese-made vehicles.

Norman Paterson School of International Affairs Professor Philippe Lagassé told CBC the US could "probably" prevent upgrades or new parts for Canada's offensive fighter jets, but the "entire armed forces has this problem."

Former F-35 test pilot and retired lieutenant-colonel Billie Flynn echoed Lagassé.

"There is nothing unique about the vulnerability of the F-35", Flynn noted. "Remember that every missile that we own and fire on the CF-18s and all our frigates, all our offensive weapons are American and necessarily the United States government has control over what's loaded into the latest version."

Canada's military is desperate to avoid this discussion. According to retired Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, "senior officers are likely terrified by the perceived abandonment of their USAF [United States Air Force] relationships" that's been caused by questioning the F-35 purchase. The RCAF leadership is facing a "crisis of identity", adds Norman, since they have "a cultural bias towards the USAF".