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Now that the first 100 days of Joe Biden’s presidency are history, we should be asking whether his foreign and trade policies have been good for Canada. He certainly deserves credit for being open to working with his allies. This is an improvement on Donald Trump, who saw the world as a Roman arena with the strongest gladiator winning out. If we are being honest, however, we should be very disappointed with Biden – his America First orientation is not that far from Trump’s.
On the plus side, Biden is not looking to renegotiate NAFTA, which Trump called the “worst trade deal in history.” Thanks to first steps taken by the Mexicans and our own persistence, Trump finally agreed to a new deal. But the 25 per cent steel and 10 per cent aluminum tariffs he imposed in 2018 haven’t been lifted yet. He did lift some aluminum tariffs last August but the rest continue and the Biden administration shows little interest in removing them.
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I guess an election really is coming. On Monday I got an email from town hall in the small Montreal borough where I live (2016 population 5,050) announcing that the federal and provincial governments had themselves just announced funding for close to 200 “recreational and sports infrastructure projects” across Quebec and great news! our town was among the lucky 200. We’re getting a new arena and recreation centre at a total cost of $22.6 million.
Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna did the honours for the feds while Education Minister Isabelle Charest announced for Quebec. The usual clutch of MPs and MNAs from the cheque-writing governments were also in attendance and provided press-release quotes. You’re never sure whether these quotes, which almost certainly aren’t written by the people who supposedly speak them, actually ever do get spoken. Anyway, Minister Charest added to the annals of oratory by saying that “More than ever, we are becomin
A Nevada Department of Transportation worker repairs damage to Highway 95 near Tonopah, Nevada, May 15, 2020. President Joe Biden s American Jobs Plan calls for investing more than $2 trillion over the next decade in upgrading the nation s roads, bridges, buildings and energy grid as part of a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy within 15 years. (CNS/David Becker, Reuters)
When a family dispute just seems like it can t be solved, sometimes the best solution is to work on a home project together: painting the garage, upgrading the bathroom or kitchen, or finishing the basement. And in the process of building, family members also talk through their issues.