Poilievre blasts carbon tax, boosts Higgs during N.B. swing

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre stormed into New Brunswick Friday, building more momentum for his campaign to cancel the carbon tax, while also lending a much-needed hand to Premier Blaine Higgs.

Appearing at a Saint John gas station, Poilievre called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “cancel this heartless and cruel April 1st tax hike,” when the federal charge will increase from 14 to 17 cents per litre of gas.

But his main event was as the headliner at a $600-a-ticket fundraiser for the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party, which is facing a tough re-election fight later this year.

“Premier Higgs has joined with common sense conservatives across the country to axe the tax and tonight I will thank him and all New Brunswick Conservatives for locking arms with us on that,” Poilievre told reporters at the gas station on Bayside Drive.

The federal Conservative leader has opened a wide polling lead against the governing Trudeau Liberals nationally.

But provincially, Higgs has lagged behind the New Brunswick Liberals. The last Narrative Research poll showed 66 per cent of respondents were dissatisfied with his government’s performance. |Read more https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/polievre-carbon-tax-saint-john-new-brunswick-1.7145549| cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswi…

#cdnpoli #nbpoli #Higgs #Poilievre #dinner #support

Are religions simply cults that have gone mainstream?

The word “cult” often holds a negative connotation and is reserved for the unconventional religions we disapprove of. Cults are defined by charismatic leaders, traditions of secrecy or exclusivity, and toxic relationships or behaviors. Today’s religions maintain cult-like elements, but they are generally more open and try to minimize toxic behaviors.

How would you feel if your next-door neighbor was in a cult? What if your son or daughter came home to inform you they had joined a “community of like-minded people”?

In 2004, the theologian Paul Olson interviewed 2,400 randomly selected Nebraskans about how comfortable they would feel if their neighbor joined a cult or a new Christian church. More than 80% of respondents said they’d feel uncomfortable about living next door to a cultist, compared with only 6.1% disapproving of a new Christian church. It’s easy to imagine how they’d take the news coming from their child.

Olson’s aim was to show what sociologists have argued for some time: The word “cult” is laden with negative connotations. It’s used to denigrate and slander belief systems or wheeled out whenever some strange, secretive group is brought to light.

The historian J. Gordon Melton has even argued that cults are defined by illegitimacy; what we call a cult is a cult only if we disapprove of it and believe it to be beyond “proper” religion. And he has a point. At first blush, there is little separating a standard, organized religious group from a cult. Both demand metaphysical commitments, both involve some kind of leader or prophet, and both have followers of varying sizes. |Read more https://bigthink.com/thinking/are-religions-simply-cults-that-have-gone-mainstream/| bigthink.com/thinking/are-reli…

#cult #religion #abpoli #ucp #toxic #yeg

Fossil Fuel Advocates Spread Disinfo About Canada’s False Advertising Bill

Some First Nations and environmentalists are dismayed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s approval of a proposed storage facility for radioactive waste that will sit a stone’s throw from the Ottawa River.

The approval of the controversial project has left critics and some Algonquin First Nations reeling because their environmental concerns fell on deaf ears, while proponents of the project maintain the facility is needed to address decades of legacy waste.

Kebaowek First Nation and Kitigan Zibi Anishnabeg were quick to condemn the decision. Both said their legal teams and environmental experts are reviewing the 160-page decision to determine their legal course of action.

The “near-surface disposal facility,” referred to as the NSDF, will hold up to a million tonnes of radioactive and hazardous waste about one kilometre from the Ottawa River, where the land slopes away from the river. It will mainly store low-level legacy waste from Chalk River Lab’s 65 years of operations, including debris from decommissioned buildings, contaminated equipment such as protective shoe covers, clothing, rags and equipment, and more. The Ottawa River holds great cultural importance for Algonquins and supplies drinking water to over a million people downstream. |Read more https://www.desmog.com/2024/02/09/fossil-fuel-advocates-spread-disinformation-about-canadas-false-advertising-bill/| desmog.com/2024/02/09/fossil-f…

#cdnpoli #environment #falseAds #FossilFuels #BillC372

Radioactive waste site ‘shoved down our throats,’ critics say

Some First Nations and environmentalists are dismayed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s approval of a proposed storage facility for radioactive waste that will sit a stone’s throw from the Ottawa River.

The approval of the controversial project has left critics and some Algonquin First Nations reeling because their environmental concerns fell on deaf ears, while proponents of the project maintain the facility is needed to address decades of legacy waste.

Kebaowek First Nation and Kitigan Zibi Anishnabeg were quick to condemn the decision. Both said their legal teams and environmental experts are reviewing the 160-page decision to determine their legal course of action.

The “near-surface disposal facility,” referred to as the NSDF, will hold up to a million tonnes of radioactive and hazardous waste about one kilometre from the Ottawa River, where the land slopes away from the river. It will mainly store low-level legacy waste from Chalk River Lab’s 65 years of operations, including debris from decommissioned buildings, contaminated equipment such as protective shoe covers, clothing, rags and equipment, and more. The Ottawa River holds great cultural importance for Algonquins and supplies drinking water to over a million people downstream. |Read more https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/01/11/news/radioactive-waste-site-shoved-down-throats-critics-say| nationalobserver.com/2024/01/1…

#cdnpoli #ChalkRiver #nuclearWaste #radioactive #indigenous #environment

Canada’s productivity has been declining. Why that’s a problem for the economy

Canadians feeling like they weren’t as productive as they could’ve been in 2023 can take solace. Neither was Canada’s economy.

Labour productivity — a broad measure of real gross domestic product by hours worked across the economy — has declined nationally in six consecutive quarters, Statistics Canada said last month.

Economists who spoke with Global News say this metric is critical for improving Canadian quality of life, and recent declines will be particularly worrying to the Bank of Canada as it gauges where to set its benchmark interest rate next.

“What it really boils down to is a sense that if we are able to generate more income with each hour worked, then we’re better off for it,” says Pedro Antunes, chief economist at the Conference Board of Canada.

What’s dragging down Canada’s productivity?

Russia’s war in Ukraine is stymying supply chains and among the factors that have contributed to stalled global productivity. A boom in working from home post-pandemic hasn’t delivered the productivity gains that some economists predicted.

Why productivity is falling in Canada specifically, however, is not straightforward.

Steve’s note

Hard to feel productive when your wages aren’t keeping up to the cost of living. It’s demoralizing — nobody wants to spend money. So, less products and services are required.

|Read more https://globalnews.ca/news/10206774/wages-productivity-canada-economy/| globalnews.ca/news/10206774/wa…

#cdnpoli #productivity #politics #economy #wages #growth