Connect with us

National

Canadian health minister implies summer road trips will make ‘the planet burn’ in unhinged rant

Published

4 minute read

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre responded to Mark Holland’s outburst by saying, ‘This. Man. Is. Wacko.’

Canadian Health Minister Mark Holland claims that recent comments he made in the House of Commons about car road trips that were blasted by the Conservative Party as “wacko” were taken out of context.

Last Thursday, Holland chose to mock Conservative Party MPs who have been calling for a summer pause in the carbon and federal fuel tax that amounts to 35 cents per litre.

Conservative MP Rachael Thomas had observed that many Canadians “just simply look forward to a small summer vacation, a road trip. Perhaps it’s normally a time when they can go and camp in the mountains or go to a national park or visit loved ones.”

In reply, Holland went on a nonsensical unhinged rant, saying “Good news, kids! You can take a summer of fun time vacation where you’re locked in a car for 10 consecutive days nonstop with no bathroom breaks, and the conservatives have a plan for you to have that summertime fun.”

“And the cost? Give up the future of the planet. Don’t worry about climate change! Don’t worry about taking action on the planet! Enjoy your 10 hours in the car and let the planet burn.”

As a result of Holland’s rant, one Conservative MP shouted in the House, “Get a life jacket on! The Titanic is sinking!” he said in reference to the Liberal Party under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and its tanking in the polls.

Thomas, unfazed by Holland’s words, called out the Liberals and Trudeau for being “out of touch” with the reality that costs have shot up for Canadian families in the past eight years.

“While this out-of-touch Prime Minister might be able to take a $230,000 taxpayer-funded vacation to some fancy islands, that’s not an option for most Canadians,” she said.

“Most Canadians just simply want to be able to get in a car and drive a few kilometres to enjoy a national park or the mountains for the day. But that’s even out of reach for so many of them.”

As for Thomas, she noted that a cut in the fuel/carbon tax for the summer would “make life affordable for Canadians and allow them to enjoy their summer.”

“Will the Prime Minister vote with us so Canadians can afford a simple road trip, or will he force them to stay home while he enjoys his luxury vacation?” she asked.

On Monday, Holland claimed, while speaking to reporters, that his rant on Thursday was taken out of context.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, Trudeau’s carbon tax is costing Canadians hundreds of dollars annually, as government rebates are not enough to compensate for high fuel costs.

The Conservatives noted that despite warnings not to do so Trudeau added $61 billion in extra spending to his 2024 budget.

The Conservative Party took note of the carbon tax, which went up 23 percent in April, pointing out that Canadians “desperately need relief, but Justin Trudeau is no longer listening.”

Under Trudeau, due to excessive COVID money printing, inflation has skyrocketed.

A report from September 5, 2023, by Statistics Canada shows food prices are rising faster than headline inflation at a rate of between 10 percent and 18 percent per year.

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

Digital ID

Trudeau government claims digital ID system would remain ‘optional’

Published on

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

A briefing note from members of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet claims that a national digital ID system is “easier” and “more securer” than traditional identification, but insists it will remain “optional.”

According to Blacklock’s Reporteran October 30, 2024 briefing note titled Digital Credentials Issue And Verify Request For Information, said that “Digital credentials support a quicker, easier, safer, more secure and more cost effective way to access services digitally,” and that their implementation “would allow the Government of Canada to offer the use of digital credentials on an optional basis”  

The contents of the briefing note come after federal regulators previously disclosed they are working on digital credentials for Canadians despite the fact MPs have repeatedly rejected the proposal over safety concerns, as reported by LifeSiteNews.

Shared Services Canada, a federal IT department, is developing “digital credentials” for things like Social Insurance Numbers, the Canadian equivalent of America’s Social Services number, which one needs to work legally. 

The October 30, 2024 note is dated just two days after Shared Services Canada had disclosed to contractors that it was “working to establish digital credentials” for the public.  

On the other hand, the Conservative Party has repeatedly warned Canadians about “mandatory digital ID” systems. While the Trudeau government insists this program will be optional, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has promised to introduce a new bill that would “expressly prohibit” digital IDs in Canada. 

Poilievre is also opposed to a federal digital dollar, plans for which are currently on hold.

Digital IDs and similar systems have long been pushed by globalist groups like the World Economic Forum under the guise of ease of access or security.

However, critics have warned that with a “digital ID, there is no public consensus, only collusion,” and that the purpose of such a system is to eliminate “choice” in favor of “coercion and contradiction to confuse our cognition towards total control.” 

Continue Reading

Automotive

The Northvolt Crash and What it Says About the State of the Electric Vehicle Market

Published on

From Energy Now

By Jim Warren

Northvolt, a wannabe electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing superstar, based in Sweden filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US on November 21, 2024. In just eight years the company had blown through $15 billion USD in startup capital. Bloomberg says it was one of the most indebted companies to file for bankruptcy in the US in 2024.

Northvolt promised to be everything green transition crusaders could hope for in a company. And it isn’t surprising the “whiz kids” in the Prime Minister’s Office and the environment ministry made sure Canada got in on the action. According to Bloomberg, Canada made pledges amounting to $7.3 billion CAD ($5.4 billion USD) in loans, equity stakes and subsidies for Northvolt.

Canada’s investments included support for the construction of four electric vehicle (EV) battery factories—one in B.C., two in Ontario and one in Quebec. As of today, only a cockeyed optimist could believe those four plants will be churning out batteries any time soon, if ever.

Unfortunately, the Northvolt investment represents just 14% of money the federal government has bet on the future of EVs and electric batteries. According to Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), since 2020 the federal government has invested $52.5 billion in various projects throughout the EV supply chain.

Northvolt was supposed to be a cutting-edge EV battery innovator. It had the cachet of companies claiming to be implementing next-generation technology. When the company was launched in 2016 it was hailed as Europe’s flagship entry into the international race to produce enough non-Chinese batteries to support a widely anticipated boom in electric vehicle demand in Europe and North America.

For eight years Northvolt rode the wave of green propaganda that accompanied government regulations phasing out the production of vehicles with internal combustion engines. The company further endeared itself with environmentalists by claiming it would be at the forefront of development for the mammoth batteries required to back up solar and wind power generation.

The Economist reports that prominent Wall Street players like BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase ditched any aversion they might have had for getting into business with governments. They contributed to the $15 billion in startup money. Governments got on the Northvolt band wagon. Northvolt received $5 billion USD in grants from five countries:  Canada, the European Union (EU), Poland, Germany and of course Sweden.

Private investors weren’t deterred by the fact governments had “picked a winner.” They actually liked the fact governments were backing Northvolt. They assumed the governments of wealthy countries dedicated to Net Zero by 2050, would patiently nurse Northvolt through its growing pains and back it financially when setbacks arose. Risks would be minimized—success was as close to guaranteed as anyone could hope to expect.

Governments in Europe as well as Canada had been busy implementing policies designed to reduce CO2 emissions and combat climate change. Building EV batteries dovetailed nicely with those goals. It was a virtuous circle of mutually reinforcing virtue signaling.

Around the same time it was becoming fashionable for businesses to adopt the principles of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). “Progressive” investors including union pension funds required companies they invested in to adopt the goals of environmental sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion—the core missions of ESG.

Some of Europe’s car makers got behind Northvolt. They wanted to see a vertically integrated European EV industry developed to better withstand competition from cheaper Chinese imports. VW, BMW and Scania AB pre-ordered $50 billon USD worth of Northvolt’s products.

By the fall of 2024, Northvolt already had at least one foot planted on a banana peel. But that didn’t prevent 24 lenders including JPMorgan Chase from throwing it a $5 billion USD lifeline. According to The Economist, this was the biggest “green loan,” ever made in Europe. It apparently wasn’t big enough to prevent the company from filing for Chapter 11 protection.

Odd as it seems in hindsight, private sector investors had embraced a project led by politicians, bureaucrats and research scientists with little to no experience in commercializing their lab experiments. The company’s inability to meet the technical challenges of increasing production to the point of commercial viability was one of the reasons it failed. It turns out it is hard to transform next-generation technology from ideas that work in a test tube into something that makes money.

Ironically, it is car makers from China who are best placed to capitalize on Northvolt’s downfall and dominate Europe’s EV and battery markets. Without tariff support European and North American automakers simply won’t be able to compete with the less expensive government-subsidized Chinese made models.

In 2015 the Chinese government launched its ambitious “Made in China 2025” project. Under the program the government has plowed hundreds of billions into industries that combine digital technology and low emissions technologies. The EV sector was one of the program’s big success stories. Last year, BYD a Chinese manufacturer, overtook Tesla to become the world’s biggest EV producer.

This past November The Economist reported, Chinese auto makers already account for two-thirds of global EV production. They had sold 10 million of them in the previous year. Chinese manufacturers also made 70% of the EV batteries produced globally in 2024. Big investments in factory automation in Chinese EV plants have increased per worker productivity, reducing manufacturing costs.

Government subsidies combined with manufacturing know-how succeeded in creating the world’s most significant EV and EV battery manufacturing industries in China but similar efforts in Europe and North America (e.g. Northvolt) are struggling. It is embarrassing to realize China has become the world’s largest manufacturer and exporter. The West has been left in the dust when it comes to making things like solar panels and EVs.

Europe’s car makers are pressing their governments to limit the number of Chinese made EVs sold in Europe. Yet some EU member states like Germany are reluctant to antagonize China by putting tariffs on its EVs—many German manufacturers rely on access to the Chinese market.

EV sales declined by 5% across Europe in 2024 and high prices for European models are one of the factors responsible for declining sales. Allowing cheaper Chinese EVs into Europe tariff-free should improve EV sales making it more likely that governments’ emissions targets are met. But that makes it more likely that some European car makers will struggle to remain profitable. If large numbers of auto workers are laid off in Europe it will signify the breaking of a major promise made by environmentalists and governments. They have consistently assured people the green transition would create more than enough new green jobs, to make up for job losses in high emissions industries.

The bad news for EV champions extends beyond Europe. Donald Trump has signed an executive order killing federal grants to consumers purchasing electric vehicles. Getting rid of the Biden administration’s EV subsidies should give internal combustion engines a new lease on life. You have to wonder how Trump squared that move with Elon Musk. Perhaps Trump’s promise of tariffs on Chinese goods has been enough to satisfy Tesla. It helps that many EV purchasers in the US prefer big luxury models since the Chinese don’t make too many electric Hummers.

Here in Canada, the Liberal government has said it will cease subsidizing EV purchases as of March 31. It looks more and more like the wheels are coming off the Trudeau-Guilbeault environmental legacy.

While the EV markets in Europe and North America are on shaky ground it is unlikely Northvolt will find the investors required for another last minute bailout. That’s good news for people concerned about Canada’s fiscal health–the Liberals won’t be able to blow any more money on Northvolt if it doesn’t exist.

Continue Reading

Trending

X