By Pepper Parr
March 12th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Managing the tariffs that President Donald Trump declares and then changes his mind on, only to change his mind again, is what concentrates the thinking Prime Minister designate Mark Carney and his team on a daily basis. What sits at the back of their minds is the rock hard date of March 24th – that is the date at which Parliament must meet.
Prime Minister designate Mark Carney.
While Leader of the Opposition Pierre Poilievre would love to call a vote of confidence that would result in an election if the Liberal government lost the confidence of the House. The Liberals are not about to let that happen.
The New Democrats might once again come to the aid of the Liberals and vote with them to keep the government alive.
The rules of the game call for the Government to prepare a Speech for the Governor General to deliver. That Speech would set out what the Liberals intend to do.
Keep in mind that Justin Trudeau will still serve as Prime Minister.
There are all kinds of procedural steps the Liberals can and will take if that’s what is needed to stay in office until THEY can ask the Governor- General to call an election
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with Governor-General Mary Simon.
Tricky – it certainly is.
For the average person the issue is – what are groceries going to cost, and is there a chance that I will be laid off because my employer isn’t able to operate under the tariffs that are in place?
The balancing act for Mark Carney and his team is to do everything they can to manage what President Donald Trump does with his tariff dreams to show Canadians that they can do the job of protecting the economy and put an end to the silly 51st state game that Trump is playing.
Donald Trump on March 9th, 2025
There are two major political forces at play here. A decade from now historians will write about how those two forces – the American attempt to muscle their way into what Canada has in the way of an economy and what the Canadian government is going to do to reshape its economy and ensure that the Dominion of Canada prevails, and the border that Trump sees as nothing more than a line that someone put in place years ago. The man has no idea what makes a country what it is – for Trump it is a deal that he thinks he can make – something similar to his Trump University – remember that one?
We are living through perilous times with a leader of the most powerful nation on the planet who controls a nuclear arsenal that could prove to be very dangerous should the wheels fall off the train that is moving very very rapidly.
Salt with Pepper is an opinion column reflecting the observations and musings of the publisher of the Gazette, an on-line newspaper that is in its 12th year as a news source in Burlington and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
My view, Trump is simply shaking down businesses largely American corporations to invest in America. It looks like he is and will succeed in that.
Counter tariffs are a replacement for a consumer carbon tax if indeed it is even cancelled. A tax is a tax is a tax. Counter tariffs by David will not bring Goliath to his knees. It will simply fuel inflation and worsen the Liberal affordability crisis. Our interdependence on commerce with the USA far exceeds most other nations.
If the Liberal NDP coalition attempts to continue to hold power then our coronated non-elected private citizen Prime Minister will be rudely surprised at the result this brings. It will not get better from here.
The recent lack of judgement shown by King Carney in anointing the Knight of Misinformation Mendicino as his Chief of Staff is jaw dropping. It rivals his outright
own misinformation statement about his own involvement in relocating the Brookfield Aeet Management offices to New York City on national TV. It is also becoming clear that Carney has even more propensity to run from any questions and is less than transparent then his retiring ideological twin.
Finally, an offer to the Editor. I have access to some great nuclear fallout shelters in Nunavut if there is interest. Perhaps those concerned can convince the UK and France to extend their nuclear umbrella over our undefended rather large land mass.
Editor’s note: On that offer – can you put a $$ number on it – and will Canadian Tire currency be acceptable?