Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
I don't believe it will ever get to that point because the political calculation has to be factored in. The Liberal base is Quebec, Ontario, BC, Environmentalists and Indigenous. So they absolutely will not push this pipeline to the point where it could go because of that. Alberta and Saskatchwan are minor players in the Liberal's political calculation. If the pipeline doesn't get built it might be less harmful to the Liberals election wise then if it does get built and the Government takes a hard line. We're even seeing it now, Notley wanted help with the train purchase, but the Government isn't even picking up the phone.
I firmly believe that the government didn't buy the project with a profit calculation in mind. They bought it because they were cornered by Kinder Morgan, and they bought it because they can control the public debate on the pipeline if they own it.
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Para 1- well let me tell you. If you truly believe that, you should move away from Alberta. Because we are absolutely screwed. I don't agree and I don't think we're there yet. There's a level of push back that is necessary and that can still make projects happen. People who: a) like Canada being a nice place to live; b) having jobs c) having an economy d) believing in a place that can raise their children and retire in...
this is the majority of people. And they're starting to get riled up and they're starting to get active and voicing their displeasure and concern. If governments choose to ignore these people, which are the masses, and which are across the entire nation- not just Alberta- it will be at their peril in the long run. So Justin can go play the short-term game and be a ####ing moron or whatever, but he may just absolutely decimate the Liberal brand across the nation if he isn't careful with this. The smart play, is to build this. And to build this, you're going to have to be firm. I mean- REAL ####ing firm. Message sending firm. It'll happen eventually. I guess I should back up. If it isn't with this pipeline, it will be with some other major project, some other infrastructure investment, some other economic engine... something's going to happen that is going to force this issue.
This isn't just a pipeline issue. This is a Canada "are we a country?" issue. "Do we want an economy?" issue. "Do we like our standard of living?" issue.
To your second para- 299%- absolutely unequivocably the government had profits and the business upside in mind. I believe they are idiots, but I give them at least that much credit. Even if it was just one bullet on a powerpoint presentation given to Trudeau by some political science summer student in Ottawa, I guarantee the point was made- "well, they were going to make money off it, why don't we buy it?"
Then they made a tragically poor evaluation, massively overpaid it, and didn't understand (nor consult with expertise) as to what they were getting.
edit- I should add. I thought it was interesting Trudeau used the terminology (paraphrasing) "Alberta is in a crisis". Yeah man, but, this isn't just Alberta. This is Canada. CANADA- is in crisis. CANADA, is in an economic crisis.
a) when your country for decades, based on geography and with a small population, has anchored its' economic engine to resource development and;
b) When foreign capital flees the way it has been, because they see the writing on the wall which is;
c) the absolute tremendous risk that is investing in Canada due to regulation and NIMBY'ism and being controlled by foreign interests (the States) then
yeah. This is a Canadian economic crisis. GM is leaving. Why? They don't make money. What companies in Canada make money? What companies are doing really well in Canada? And we need to recognize, again I have said this repeatedly on here. These are things that get measured in 3-5-10 year intervals. Not one year over the other. My friends all tell me 'but Coffee, look at economic stats and 2017 and things are all peachy'. Great! Let's talk about today. Let's talk about the future.
It's one thing to have a tax system that is high. It's one thing to have regulations that are strong. It's another, to have regionalism issues. It's another, to have NIMBYism on resource projects. And it's even more to have strong environmentalism proponents. And EVEN MORE- it's the worst of all- to have foreign special interest groups enter your country and invest in ways to unfairly manipulate all or some of these levers to push certain agendas.
Canada is in an economic crisis. Time to face the facts and get with reality. Time to adjust.