Juno News - March 08, 2020


A lack of leadership is costing us billions


Episode Stats

Length

4 minutes

Words per Minute

143.55556

Word Count

646

Sentence Count

42

Misogynist Sentences

1


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 We have a stunning lack of leadership in this country and it has cost the country a lot of money.
00:00:11.000 To be clear, this is the most indecisive and ineffectual government I have seen in my lifetime.
00:00:17.000 There's not even a close second.
00:00:20.000 And it's not just the rail blockades that spring up all over the country
00:00:24.000 and that the government seems powerless to deal with in any meaningful way, although that is significant.
00:00:33.000 There are dozens of freighters that can't load or unload in the Port of Vancouver because of the blockades.
00:00:40.000 That means we can't get things we produce to our customers
00:00:45.000 and we can't get goods that we are importing to the parts of the country that need them.
00:00:51.000 Some estimates have put the cost to Canada thus far at more than $63 billion since the protest began.
00:00:59.000 That's a lot of money.
00:01:01.000 And that would be bad enough if that's where it ended.
00:01:04.000 But it's not.
00:01:06.000 This week, we learned that the billionaire Warren Buffett is pulling out from a project to build a natural gas pipeline
00:01:14.000 from eastern Ontario to the Saguenay region of Quebec.
00:01:17.000 And with that, he takes with him the $4 billion investment he was going to put into the project and into Quebec.
00:01:25.000 Buffett cited, quote,
00:01:27.000 the recent challenge in the Canadian political context, unquote.
00:01:31.000 Translated, he means the political leadership has lost control of the country, if they ever had it to begin with.
00:01:39.000 But the bottom line is Buffett has lost the confidence to invest in Canada.
00:01:44.000 It was once one of the safest countries in the world in which to invest.
00:01:49.000 But then Justin Trudeau got elected and all that changed over the subsequent four years of his administration.
00:01:56.000 Canada has lost over $200 billion of investment into the energy sector, and many firms have simply decamped from the country.
00:02:06.000 Alberta has lost over 100,000 energy jobs, and thus far the government of Justin Trudeau has stymied other projects
00:02:15.000 which would have otherwise provided investment and jobs into that market.
00:02:21.000 It has also triggered a Western separation movement, which the Prime Minister seems to be pretending doesn't exist.
00:02:30.000 But it not only does exist, it is thriving and growing by the day.
00:02:36.000 And then there's the coronavirus outbreak.
00:02:39.000 The virus emanated from the People's Republic of China.
00:02:42.000 Is it natural or manufactured as some sort of bioweapon?
00:02:46.000 Well, we don't really know.
00:02:49.000 It was identified on January the 7th.
00:02:52.000 And by January the 31st, the President of the United States closed the border for travel to and from China.
00:02:59.000 When an outbreak occurred in South Korea, Italy, and Iran, the President did the same for those countries.
00:03:05.000 He understands his first and primary responsibility is to protect the citizens of his country.
00:03:13.000 Alone among the Western allies, Canada has decided not to close its borders to those countries with significant outbreaks of the virus.
00:03:23.000 Trudeau said he was following the advice of the WHO, which was set up in 1948 to be a specialized agency within the United Nations system.
00:03:33.000 Again, we see the Prime Minister of Canada deferring to the UN.
00:03:38.000 He could have showed leadership by speaking with the leaders of our allies.
00:03:42.000 Heck, maybe even placed a call to the CDC in Atlanta to get their advice.
00:03:47.000 But he didn't.
00:03:48.000 He deferred to the United Nations.
00:03:51.000 He said this week that, quote, knee-jerk reactions wouldn't help stop the virus.
00:03:57.000 It's already March, and he has yet to take the same actions the UK, Australia, and the USA have taken in January.
00:04:06.000 I say we are long past any sort of knee-jerk reaction.
00:04:12.000 Finally, the Prime Minister had no events on his itinerary yesterday.
00:04:17.000 Contrast this with the itinerary of President Trump.
00:04:21.000 One leader is seized with his responsibilities to his country, and the other is simply not engaged.
00:04:29.000 Enough said.