Say absolutely not! And walk away from the table.

Washington demanding 'entry fee' from Ottawa before trade talks: sources | CBC News The Trump administration is demanding what amounts to an "entry fee" from Canada to engage in trade talks toward a revised Canada-United States-Mexico Free Trade Agreement (CUSMA), four sources told R...

Tell them to go fuck themselves. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Tim Cook's legacy will be enshittifying Apple's software, abusing their market dominance, and then playing apologist to fascism.

Under his leadership they burned billions on a car that never drove, and the only major attempt at a new product during his tenure (the Apple Vision Pro) was a total dud.

True!

On the other hand, backing down in the face of broad negative reaction after getting caught trying to get away with something is another core principle of the Ford government.

So far this government has:

- removed EV mandates (and moreover paused rebates to stall the market)
- removed carbon tax
- removed low carbon electricity policy
- removed gasoline tax
- removed oil and gas cap

when does the Canadian Federal government do climate policy?

If you don't like the rules, just change them is one of the core principles of the Ford government since it was elected .

Why hasn't Regional Chair Karen Redman condemned Ford's move to appoint the next Chair?

Probably because she wants to be appointed.

She's already doing a good job of implementing the Ford government agenda instead of standing up for Waterloo Region.

It is absolutely insane that Ford could appoint a regional chair with overwhelming power over local government — even if they’re diametrically opposed to every single municipal and provincial politician elected in the region.

It’s anti-democratic, it’s dishonest, and it serves no public purpose.

Doug Ford is anti-democratic.

The people of Waterloo Region deserve to have a voice in local decision-making.

The Ford government is doing so much damage. Now its preventing municipalities from having green building standards or require EV chargers. So short sited! |

Could this be the end of green building standards in Ontario — again? - Victoria Times Colonist share.google/rWkQVu6gb2VH...

The only upside is that it's a vote of non-confidence in Polievre's ledership

No one thinks you're funny.

My guess is it gets removed for the winter to aid snow removal and hasn'tbeen put back yet

If people are focussed on lowering spending and taxes and reducing politicians, they're going to be disappointed.

I see an opportunity to do things differently for better results.

And a chance to fix proven problems of our current setup.

if i could guarantee those things, I would! It's definitely possible. And even if not fully achieved, can still be a noticeable improvement.

How we frame issues and approach solving them makes a huge difference. As proven by the Mayors of Montreal, Paris and now New York.

Optimism is a good start.

I prefer to believe we can learn from the mistakes of others and achieve a better outcome.

It'll take planning and hard work.

Amalgamation is not a panacea but it's a viable option to improve upon a flawed model.

You don't need to look any further than our water crisis to understand why our two tier system doesn't work.

A major disconnect between the cities and the Region contributed significantly to the problem.

And we just learned Wilmot didn't know so much of its water was going to Kitchener .

I don't think tinkering around the edges is enough if we want a Waterloo Region that makes life better for all.

Substantive change is a must!

If amalgamation means that everyone in the Region contributes to projects they benefit from such as a replacement for the Aud or proper track and field facilities, I'm happy.

If amalgamation means I can ask city staff a question and not be told they can't answer because the project crosses a busy road, I'm happy .

I'd be happy with the same level of spending and taxation but making better use of the available funds and hopefully be more efficient with greater impact. Maybe even be able to do more.

Similar to defunding the police to use that same money more effectively to help people & prevent crime.

I think we're smart enough and innovative enough that if given the chance we can learn from the mistakes of others and chart a better course.

I'll need to take a look.

I didn't mean to say you supported the status quo. Just that I haven't seen you propose improvements. Just argue why something isn't possible.

I prefer to determine what is better and figure out how to get there.

While there may still be some confusion, it'd be greatly reduced by removing the upper level which is mysterious to nearly everyone.

And you're assuming access would be reduced. Perhaps people could be better served sucy as making elected officials full time with more support staff.

Our local governance doesn't make sense especially to anyone who isn't a policy wonk. We must do better and the staus quo isn't sufficient.

Maybe you could provide solutions instead?

I get that was the context but it is an example of a problem of having a two tier municipality. The Centre in the Square is another similar example.

We'll need to agree to disagree.

Take care.

I'll take a look.

Placement of fire stations and equipment for the two departments is another example.