Former Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall on working with (or against) Justin Trudeau

From a FaceBook post by former Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall

Your Mom likely told you what mine told me – if you can’t say something nice ..don’t say anything at all. So maybe that’s why it has taken me a day to offer a few thoughts on Trudeau’s resignation announcement yesterday. I miss my Mom everyday but I’m not sure I will be able to follow her advice for this post. (On the other hand.. remembering some of her comments during the Trudeau years – she might be fine with this!)

I truly believe that those who put their name forward for public office, no matter how much I might disagree with them personally and politically should be thanked for their willingness to wade into the increasingly toxic waters of politics. But the undeniable truth is that Canada would be better off today had he decided not to follow in his father’s footsteps.

His Prime Ministership was manifestly the most divisive and economically damaging of any in our history…including the record of the elder Trudeau ..who generationally knee-capped the economy of western Canada with the National Energy Program.

I dealt with this particular Trudeau in my old job at First Ministers’ Conferences, in bilateral relations and one on one discussions. He struck me as someone who was the product of an abiding central Canadian/Quebec world view with a focus on progressive trends rather than policy development or political and economic thought. That was my impression anyway.

Somewhere along the way he found and then clung to wokeism and an obsession with man-made climate change. They were very trendy things for those on the left. Shiny buttons that permanently distracted Trudeau.

His government continues to risk our economy, our trade competitiveness and exacerbate affordability issues for all Canadians with his forced march to a carbon tax that in 4 years will be a debilitating $170.00 per tonne. All in the name of reducing Canada’s emissions that account for less than 2% of global emissions. Imagine – stubbornly pursuing a policy like his carbon tax that is that damaging – in the name of maybe, possibly reducing emissions by a quantum that will make no impact..no change on this thing you’ve sworn us all to fight – climate change. A leader shoving his citizens ahead of him into a winless fight, forcing them to pay for the costs of that fight and risking the competitiveness of the entire economy (at a time when we are now facing the threat of Trump’s tariffs).

The carbon tax is just one policy on a laundry list of damaging and often feckless policies that Trudeau has introduced in his 10 years as Prime Minister. He all but declared his disdain for the western Canadian resource sector. He never much liked how we made a living in the west; how we live by and rely on fossil fuels in rural Canada. He never respected the values that a majority of western or rural Canadians hold dear.

He, more than any PM in contemporary Canadian political history, was found wanting in ethics and third party investigations. He chose to fire or force out strong female Ministers rather than be held accountable for things he very much said…and very much did. All this from a self-proclaimed feminist who would regularly lecture Canadians on the importance of his ‘feminist’ view.

He offered the same when it came to Reconcilation yet he failed to fulfill his promise for clean drinking water on First Nations reserves.

He demonized millions of Canadians who were represented by the Freedom Convoy or who had concerns about lock- downs and vaccine mandates – dismissing them as un-Canadian and fringe and ..much worse.

His fiscal record and tendencies were so bad that even the big spending, big government advocating Chrystia Freeland quit his cabinet.

People will observe that Canada has never had an NDP Prime Minister. I beg to differ.

He was unserious. He said things and believed things like “The budget will balance itself” and “I don’t think too much about monetary policy “

Incredible.

I recall when I was the lone Premier and Saskatchewan was the lone province opposing his carbon tax. I know the kinds of things he and his Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said about us…about Saskatchewan..behind closed doors and to some whom they believed had assured discretion.

And yet despite all of this – I did not feel as gratified as some did when the news broke yesterday. You see yesterday was a good day for the Liberal Party of Canada. Or at least a better day than they have had in a long while. Granted the Liberals have huge hole from which to dig out but the digging could not begin until Trudeau quit.

I’d rather he had decided to lead his party into the next election. We would be much more assured of much needed change had that been the case.

Because make no mistake – with him or without him – this is a new Justin Trudeau-shaped leftwing, woke, anti-resource development Liberal party of Canada. Long gone is the pragmatism of the Chretien/Martin era. Trudeau policies for the most part will continue to be front and centre with the Liberal party long after he is gone.

I hope the Conservative Party of Canada keeps it head down, humbly asking Canadians to be their agents of much needed change.. and running like they are 10 points behind – not 20 points ahead.

I believe that Canada as we have known it- hangs in the balance of the next election. If somehow, we continue to have a federal government with the ghost-vestigial policies of the man who announced his departure plans yesterday… well that would very bad for the west and not much better for the rest of the country.

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COVID-19

Top COVID doctor given one of Canada’s highest honors

Published on July 2, 2025

Todayville

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

Dr. Theresa Tam received the Order of Canada for her controversial COVID-19 response as the nation’s chief public health officer.

Canada’s former top medical advisor, known for her promotion of masking and COVID vaccines, has received one of Canada’s highest honors.

On June 30, Governor General Mary Simon awarded Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s former Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO), the Order of Canada award for her work implementing dangerous COVID regulations, including masking and experimental COVID shots.

“For decades, Theresa Tam has striven to advance global and national public health as a pediatric infectious disease specialist and public servant,” the press release read.

“Her tenure as Canada’s chief public health officer has been characterized by her commitment to health equity and highlighted by her leadership role in the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” it continued.

The award, given to Canadians who have made extraordinary contributions to the nation, is Canada’s second-highest civilian honor.

Tam’s reception of the award comes just weeks after she stepped down as CPHO, ending her eight-year tenure in the position.

In the early months of 2020, Tam became well-known by Canadians for leading the country’s response to the COVID “pandemic” and pushing arbitrary and dangerous regulations.

Initially, Tam assured Canadians that masking was unnecessary, ineffective, and could even pose health threats.

However, shortly after, Tam changed her policy, telling Canadians that they should even wear masks during sex, a practice which has not been proven to be effective in preventing the spread of COVID and can cause myriad health issues.

In 2022, after thousands of Canadians reported adverse effects from the vaccine, Tam announced that the federal government was reviewing all federal COVID vaccine mandates, claiming that Canada’s Public Health Agency has never outright endorsed mandatory vaccination.

Tam’s remarks come after more than 1,000 federal workers have been suspended without pay because they chose not to get the COVID jabs or disclose whether they had them per the Privacy Act.

The Order of Canada was also awarded to British Columbia Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry, who is known not only for her heavy-handed COVID response, but also for promoting drug use throughout the province.

In 2023, hundreds of British Columbia health care workers sued Henry for ongoing COVID shot mandates preventing them from working. Under Henry, vaccine passports were implemented which required residents to show digital proof of vaccination to enter gyms, restaurants, and other “non-essential” facilities.

Henry also pushed the experimental and dangerous vaccine on children as young as five, despite that fact that clinical trials would not be completed for another two years.

Additionally, in 2024, Henry recommended that British Columbia expand its “safe supply” program to legalize fentanyl and heroin, despite evidence that the program is not working and has worsened the provinces drug crises.

Energy

If Canada Wants to be the World’s Energy Partner, We Need to Act Like It

Published on July 2, 2025

Todayville

Photo by David Bloom / Postmedia file

From Energy Now

By Gary Mar

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With the Trans Mountain Expansion online, we have new access to Pacific markets and Asia has responded, with China now a top buyer of Canadian crude.

The world is short on reliable energy and long on instability. Tankers edge through choke points like the Strait of Hormuz. Wars threaten pipelines and power grids. Markets flinch with every headline. As authoritarian regimes rattle sabres and weaponize supply chains, the global appetite for energy from stable, democratic, responsible producers has never been greater.

Canada checks every box: vast reserves, rigorous environmental standards, rule of law and a commitment to Indigenous partnership. We should be leading the race, but instead we’ve effectively tied our own shoelaces together.

In 2024, Canada set new records for oil production and exports. Alberta alone pumped nearly 1.5 billion barrels, a 4.5 per cent increase over 2023. With the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) online, we have new access to Pacific markets and Asia has responded, with China now a top buyer of Canadian crude.

The bad news is that we’re limiting where energy can leave the country. Bill C-48, the so-called tanker ban, prohibits tankers carrying over 12,500 tons of crude oil from stopping or unloading crude at ports or marine installations along B.C.’s northern coast. That includes Kitimat and Prince Rupert, two ports with strategic access to Indo-Pacific markets. Yes, we must do all we can to mitigate risks to Canada’s coastlines, but this should be balanced against a need to reduce our reliance on trade with the U.S. and increase our access to global markets.

Add to that the Impact Assessment Act (IAA) which was designed in part to shorten approval times and add certainty about how long the process would take. It has not had that effect and it’s scaring off investment. Business confidence in Canada has dropped to pandemic-era lows, due in part to unpredictable rules.

At a time when Canada is facing a modest recession and needs to attract private capital, we’ve made building trade infrastructure feel like trying to drive a snowplow through molasses.

What’s needed isn’t revolutionary, just practical. A start would be to maximize the amount of crude transported through the Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline, which ran at 77 per cent capacity in 2024. Under-utilization is attributed to a variety of factors, one of which is higher tolls being charged to producers.

Canada also needs to overhaul the IAA and create a review system that’s fast, clear and focused on accountability, not red tape. Investors need to know where the goalposts are. And, while we are making recommendations, strategic ports like Prince Rupert should be able to participate in global energy trade under the same high safety standards used elsewhere in Canada.

Canada needs a national approach to energy exporting. A 10-year projects and partnerships plan would give governments, Indigenous nations and industry a common direction. This could be coupled with the development of a category of “strategic export infrastructure” to prioritize trade-enabling projects and move them through approvals faster.

Of course, none of this can take place without bringing Indigenous partners into the planning process. A dedicated federal mechanism should be put in place to streamline and strengthen Indigenous consultation for major trade infrastructure, ensuring the process is both faster and fairer and that Indigenous equity options are built in from the start.

None of this is about blocking the energy transition. It’s about bridging it. Until we invent, build and scale the clean technologies of tomorrow, responsibly produced oil and gas will remain part of the mix. The only question is who will supply it.

Canada is the most stable of the world’s top oil producers, but we are a puzzle to the rest of the world, which doesn’t understand why we can’t get more of our oil and natural gas to market. In recent years, Norway and the U.S. have increased crude oil production. Notably, the U.S. also increased its natural gas exports through the construction of new LNG export terminals, which have helped supply European allies seeking to reduce their reliance on Russian natural gas.

Canada could be the bridge between demand and security, but if we want to be the world’s go-to energy partner, we need to act like it. That means building faster, regulating smarter and treating trade infrastructure like the strategic asset it is.

The world is watching. The opportunity is now. Let’s not waste it.

Gary Mar is president and CEO of the Canada West Foundation