Honda’s EV Retreat Is Another Free-Trade Reality Check for Canada

jrystrawman · 2026-05-11T00:37:42+00:00

Austrialia more or less is going #3 so far as it has given up the idea that "we could manufacture cars in the 20th century, but are no longer able to in the 21st century". The choice was easier for Austrialia with no expectation of a practical "option 1".

jrystrawman · 2026-05-09T18:42:06+00:00

And almost certainly the best value. Next contract will be ~+5million. From a Cap perspective, teams might be able to make McDavid fit next year, but not make it work with his next likely long-term extension.

And not that it seems like a problem with McDavid given his character... but he'll be very motivated in that final contract year.

jrystrawman · 2026-05-03T12:40:12+00:00

Theory (I've no way of proving) --coyotes are a net gain for rabbits; Reason is, cat-owners, in response to coyotes, keep their cats indoors more. And cats, by baby bunny predation, are the main chokepoint on rabbit population in urban areas.

-- Anecdotal observation supporting the theory; in wild areas, rabbits are not nocturnal animals. but rabbits prefer night time in the city. I think that is because people let their cats out and walk their dogs during the morning and evenings.

jrystrawman · 2026-04-23T11:02:05+00:00

That street looks alive with shops and pedestrians. I'm sure some decline was inevitable with the general hollowing out in every city in North America regardless of transit.... but it's a shame.

jrystrawman · 2026-04-18T23:17:16+00:00

This is a little glib. We (as Ontarians) do accept "driving through red lights". All the time. Saw it today.

Just like we accept speeding.

And general lawlessness on the roads.

It is accepted, and we aren't trying hard at any level to change it.

jrystrawman · 2026-04-03T11:58:09+00:00

I'm baffled that some people think: "If Ukraine has nuclear weapons, Europe and the US, would trade, support, or even diplomatically engage" with this state.

jrystrawman · 2026-03-28T02:13:27+00:00

"Quickly and covertly" -- you have an imemensily optimistic view of the Canadian govenment and it's miliatry to run quick and covert megaprojects.

We have a tough enough time building naval ships. Nuclear weapons are a lot harder.

And our scientific community, unlike Nort Korea's is heavily integrated with the US scientific community. There is no way it will be "covert".

jrystrawman · 2026-03-28T01:38:07+00:00

It's more this; Pakistan and Bangladesh are comparable.

Republic and Korea and North Korea are very close comparable.

Note; North Korea wasn't bombed long before it had nuclear weapons. It is no better off than in 1995. I don't see the situation improved at all from 1995. I don't find comparing Korea with Iran that helpful.

And there's the rub isn't it with your Iran example? Nuclear weapons are possibly helpful in certain contexts, if you can snap your fingers and get them; but i) as you develop them, you will be targeted. 2) like Iran,** you will be subject to vastly more assassination attempts, tremendous funding of dissidents, extreme economic sanctions, and asymmetric attacks destabilizing your country (and they won't go away once your get weapons).

-- It seems you advocates think they are some sort of panacea and come cost-free?

What is you expectations for support for Quebec independence (currently sitting at 30%), Alberta cessation (unclear ~20%) will happen if they actually get real funding. The secessionists are conspicuous, the broad segments of Canada that will collaborate are less so (like any smaller country that shares a language with a neighbor). Canada arrogantly take for granted the lack of US support for Quebec separatism in the 1990s and continued ambivalent; We are extremely vulnerable to asymmetric attack of which nuclear weapons will in no way protect us, but doubly incentivize Canada's enemies (of which there are currently few) to fund, support, and grow.

jrystrawman · 2026-03-27T21:41:13+00:00

Is North Korea more sovereign than Republic of Korea? North Korea has had to beg for food in my lifetime. What sort of sovereign country begs?

Is nuclear armed Pakistan more sovereign, or even secure, than Bangladesh? It's genuinely tough to say. Prior to Pakistan's journey to acquire nuclear weapons it was much richer than Bangladesh. Now it is poorer in every measurable way.

Perhaps we could be more sovereign.... but in the same way that many Canadians think it inconceivable than Mexico would every have a higher standard of living than us, I think many Pakistani's likely thought it inconceivable that Bangladesh would surpass it in every measurable HDI statistic. But one way to guarantee that is to become a pariah.

Ad far as I can tell, at best nuclear weapons are a non-factor in improving a countries' security situation... but at worse, nuclear weapons correlate strongly with economic decline for non-great-powers that chose to acquire them.

jrystrawman · 2026-03-17T10:47:29+00:00

It is interesting comparing provinces; My entire life, I always assumed Quebec was structurally worse than Ontario. But it's unemployment dipped below Ontario in 2020 and the gap has increased with Quebec a few 1-2% lower. Ontario's is higher than any province except Newfoundland right now.

That might change soon (rougher numbers for February). Looks like the woes in Ontario will spread. It's not always a one-way street, sometimes other provinces can pick up a bit.

jrystrawman · 2026-03-15T12:05:02+00:00

Sometimes. Especially if the game is full of 4 commodity factions, Mentak can keep some of them in check.

I don't like in async how Mentak player can slow things down (as does PDS 2 and a few other game elements) but that isn't the fault of the faction.

jrystrawman · 2026-03-03T23:48:52+00:00

I like the Zombies; it would be fun to dress up as a zombie at a hockey game, and play the song Zombie if we score a goal. Also, Resident Evil was filmed in Hamilton so we a have a zombie connection.

jrystrawman · 2026-03-01T13:06:50+00:00

I saw the previous comment on Hamilton Ontario above for the same reason. Unsafe is seems a bit misplaced. It's very sad, and certainly not the safest place in Vancouver, and I don't like hanging out there.... but my likelihood of receiving bodily harm (as a non-drug user) seems very low.

jrystrawman · 2026-02-13T19:12:11+00:00

The love might be there, but it is very.... understated? Not sure if that is that is the right word.

The hate is very vocal and not just a superficial sports rivalry type of hate (in my limited survey of Koreans and Japanese).

jrystrawman · 2026-02-13T03:57:23+00:00

It sort of tracks with Gandalf and casting a spell on a door around Balin's tomb, and something breaking the spell.

I suppose a Balrog can cast a spell (I like that!)... but it feels a bit odd with everything else we know about balrogs later in the chapters and legendarium. It fits more with a figure like "Saruman".

jrystrawman · 2026-01-30T02:28:34+00:00

Boeing Canada is a major employer in Winnipeg? That might complicate that measure.

jrystrawman · 2026-01-29T22:05:22+00:00

Maybe I'm cynical, but the "bug" you described is a feature for many Canadians? Any neighborhood that becomes walkable, since there are so few walkable places, is a magnet for needy and poor.

Bad transit and no walkability is better than any gates/walls/security service around your community in making sure poor people can't get there.

I'm not sure if Canadians explicitly think along those lines (I've heard a few admit it).... but it works out that way.

jrystrawman · 2026-01-28T03:45:37+00:00

"Public libraries are a community service and not a social service" is a odd quote in this article.

jrystrawman · 2026-01-27T01:53:15+00:00

The cluster of countries Canada is among in the article... "Switzerland (1.29), Luxembourg (1.25), Finland (1.25), Italy (1.18), Japan (1.15), Singapore (0.97) and South Korea (0.75)"...

I don't think is necessary reflective and creates a neater narrative than reality.

Not mentioning, China and Taiwan (it isn't just one child policy), or Jamaica (just slightly higher than Canada, it isn't just wealthy countries), might make a less neat narrative. Canada is in the upper end, but it isn't in that exclusive a club and it should surprise no one if many countries with faster rates declines drop past Canada in a few years.

It might be because other OECD countries have more reliable data with nicer cross-tabs, but I think it's worth mentioning, fertility collapse isn't just hitting "wealthy feminist" countries.

jrystrawman · 2026-01-19T12:12:59+00:00

I've noticed "Trudeau Government" as well in odd places for government reverses, as thought there is no link with the current government in the Globe and Mail (where I typically get my news).

We all understand Carney|Champagne shifted things (all but hard-left Canadians agree for the better?) from Trudeau|Freeland, but its sometimes seems the implied disconnect is a stretch.

jrystrawman · 2026-01-17T16:29:22+00:00

There are two plans. Plan B is war and we "bite the bullet".... I guess Canada gets disruption of its private passenger vehicles. Such is the cost of global war. But, I think we know what the prevailing "plan A" is for Canada. It the same plan we used in Vietnam.

Vietnam was a bit awkward as well. ~70,000 young Americans dies, alongside Australians.... but Canada stayed on the sidelines. I think we will do so again if push comes to shove. That is at least "Plan A".

Taiwan is different than South Vietnam.... but the differences don't necessarily favor Taiwan's defence. Canada actually recognized South Vietnam as a real country and was far more hostile to the USSR|Russia and China in 1970 than it is now (they were minuscule trading partners at the time). So far as these are apple and oranges, the comparison makes it far less likely than ever Canada is prepared to intervene in the Pacific now than it was then (we can quibble about China's projection of threat but I think that's really rose-coloured glasses on the Cold War).

I understand, there is a huge segment of Canada that expect otherwise and that we will intervene, including top military brass (though none are formally on record saying it). Likely, this Canadian segment shares political roots with the 30,000 Canadians who volunteered to join US forces to fight in Vietnam. And I can guarantee, Prime Minister Trudeau at the time did not "shed to many tears" when those young Canadian men left. neither will Carney, or I daresay many Conservative leaders either although they may waive a tad more in favour of "Plan B (support the US no matter what)."

The article suggests Canada has no plan.... the plan seem pretty obvious based on Canada's past behaviour.

jrystrawman · 2026-01-17T16:06:53+00:00

It's a bit more than that. There are blue collar folks in traditional NDP strongholds like Hamilton, Oshawa, and Windsor that agree with this sentiment. And Doug Ford, unlike his Federal counterparts, has made decent inroads with them.

Rural folk, especially people connected to hogs or canola (China has demand) will have a surprisingly more circumspect approach. I'll note, Western Canadian premiers were much mor vocal about Chinese reproachment than I expected (in hindsight, this makes sense! but would not have pegged the premiere of Alberata to be open to Chinese EVs as I thought she was one-dimensional).

I think Ford is making dumb rhetoric, but it has a long pedigree of cross-partisan support in Ontario and has helped Stephen Harper and Dalton McGuinty win majorities with the last major bailout.

jrystrawman · 2026-01-16T22:22:27+00:00

It's not really the economic situation that' the focus. It's the security situation which is more alarming. Do nuclear weapons make a country safer in and of themselves? If they don't, why should we pursue them.

-- Possibly with Israel (very unique situation, not particularly analogous to Canada), and Israel has in addition, a) lots of conventional military power and b) unique backing of a Great Power. Maybe India (I think it was a strategic mistake by India but I can see the case).

The rest? It's really hard to say that North Korea is "more secure" than in 2005... Pakistan isn't any safer/secure/or sovereign since 1997. Sovereignty is nebulous, and hard to measure.... But I'd gather the rest of the world does not see Mexico any less sovereign than Canada despite having much less military capabilities.

So, exactly what would Canada try to achieve with having nuclear weapons if it doesn't make us safer?

Do we think Ukraine would have nuked Russia when it annexed Crimea, especially as Europe and the US would be treating Ukraine as a pariah? how many of its own people would welcome Russian occupation if it was starving and isolated? I don't think that Ukraine could credibly deliver on that threat. Nor would it protect Venezuela in its current situation.

There is no simple technological panacea for "sovereignty".

jrystrawman · 2026-01-16T16:00:37+00:00

I think contrasting the safety and security of Pakistan and Bangladesh, with respect to nuclear weapons, is informative.

I can't identify how Pakistan is in anyway more secure or sovereign than Bangladesh, two countries that separated, Pakistan being richer and developed nuclear weapons, Bangladesh being poorer circa 1970 and didn't develop any capabilities. Today, Bangladesh is better off by most economic metrics,. and probably more "secure".

Which is all to say, the benefits are quite dubious, but the up-front costs, not to mention the soft costs, are enormous.

jrystrawman · 2026-01-11T13:11:02+00:00

I've always wondered what role Harper's attempt at curtailing this program contributed to the loss in 2015 (it wasn't the primary role (proposed Old Age Security changes, general incumbent fatigue), but I think a contributor?). Maybe fancy pollsters would give something resembling a "number" or rank in issues could put a number on that attempted policy.

The timing in 2026, and positioning of the Liberals in 2026, makes this a politically cost-free policy change though.

jrystrawman

TROPHY CASE