I have never had much respect for Scott Moe, the brutish slack jawed Premier of Saskatchewan.
I have always considered him more of an American politician than a Canadian one, and way too Con and too dumb to govern.
I have been horrified by the way he almost destroyed his province's health system by putting his foul ideology before the needs of the people of his province.
And now I have even less respect for him, if that's possible.
For now he wants to become the Banana Republic leader of a nation within a nation.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says he wants the province to be a "nation within a nation" by increasing its autonomy in several areas, including policing, taxation and immigration.
"Saskatchewan needs to be a nation within a nation," he tweeted. "When the federal government implements policies that are detrimental to our province, our government will continue to stand up for Saskatchewan people."
And yes, as Gary Mason writes, it's as bizarre as it sounds.
That rumbling sound you heard this week was the very foundation of the country being shaken by calls from Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe for nationhood status within Confederation.
And the populace responded with a collective: say what?
Well, slough off this threat at your peril my friends. Saskatchewan may not have been one of the three founding nations of Canada. And it doesn’t have a language separate from the rest of the country. But people were surely curling there long before it became fashionable in the rest of the country.
Or just a bad joke...
One could take this statement seriously or recognize it for what it is: preposterous pandering to a party base that hasn’t exactly been thrilled with the Premier’s performance of late.
It’s a means for Mr. Moe to take a few cheap whacks at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which is always good politics in a part of the Prairies where that last name can still incite red faces and strong language.
Except that it's not that funny because it could stir up violent right wing separatists out west, and is the same kind of divisive nonsense that Jason Kenney has been peddling for years...
The fact is, what Mr. Moe, and his BFF next door, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, specialize in these days is corrosive and divisive grievance politics. Everything is the fault of the big, bad Liberal government in Ottawa that is allegedly singling out the two provinces through its energy plan and other policies.
To make matters worse, the sorry loser Erin O'Toole is also peddling the same nonsense.
And now so is the Con's spiritual leader Stephen Harper.
Stephen Harper is criticizing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s climate-change policy for unfairly singling out “certain parts of the country,” as the Liberal government proceeds with a hard cap on oil-and-gas emissions that are expected to particularly affect provinces such as Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Mr. Harper said if he were in charge of mitigating climate change in Canada in 2021, he would not be taking measures to “shut down” an industry in a region that didn’t generate political returns for him.
Who would have us believe that he would have found a better way to fight climate change, when that grubby oil pimp spent his years in power trying to dismantle every environmental regulation he could.
After working tirelessly to turn us into a shabby petrostate...
Which can only lead to some obvious questions:
Are the Cons really prepared to put the interests of Alberta and Saskatchewan before the future of the planet?
Are they prepared to break up this country if they don't get their way?
And the most important question that needs an urgent answer: Are they still a Canadian party?
For as far as I'm concerned they are not. They are the Big Oil Party and should be denounced by every decent Canadian.
And the good news?
We shall use that against them in the next election.
And Justin Trudeau will not only be able to campaign as Canada's climate change champion.
He will also be able to campaign as Canada's champion, fighting those who would destroy it.
And if the treasonous Cons are able to survive that double offensive, I would be very surprised...
That picture is hilarious Simon, and a perfect pun on the DUI premier's apt surname. Moe, Kenney and Curly Tool are nothing but stooges for Emperor Steev Harpertine and the dark-money billionaire oil pimps. The sludge pipeline of bad ideas that is the corrupt Canadian propaganda media has never done a deep dive on the petrofascism of the conservative movement at all levels, and I doubt they ever will. They know damn well that their gravy train is riding on the destruction of the planet, and they'll be damned if they let Trudeau get away with that. They go ahead and uncritically platform Harper, and then condemn Trudeau for saying it's "Harper's party," as though he's entirely irrelevant. Wonder if the Postmedia/Globe gift shops sell T-shirts that read "I Heart Oil & Gaslighting"?
ReplyDeleteExpect more distractions and phony scandals out of desperation to thwart Trudeau's agenda, innumerable op-eds ginning up nostalgic outrage around the NEP, and hit jobs on "radical" Guilbeault with an extra helping of Quebec-bashing for good measure. Not that they care if any of their activities results with another drillbilly sausage maker from Saskbertoba taking matters into his own hands. Remember the attacks on Obama for being "divisive"? Rinse, repeat, Republicans North. "Western alienation" is stochastic terrorism, in the same universe as Southern Confederate neo-separatism and "Texit". The media is committing malpractice by not calling it out or condemning the cons as an American copycat party wholly unfit to govern.
One hopes that even over just six years in time, Trudeau has become more battle-hardened and wary of their tactics, and has a ready defense. Ivison seemed nervous in his latest missive that Trudeau could reach Harper's length of tenure. I'd love to see him accomplish that and kill the tar sands once and for all, if only because it would cause the IDU Bond villain to cough up a hairball and pass out.
Yup and kill thousands of jobs with it and never be able to travel west of Ontario again.
DeleteThe compartmentalization of Canada has been the Con strategy since Harper was defeated. Moe just got tired of waiting for their one shot at power to start downloading certain aspects of Federal control to the provinces so he is trying to help it along in the hopes most provinces will clamor for more control. The Cons realise that the majority of Canadians will never support their oily authoritarian agenda so the plan is to download the social stuff such as human rights as well as control over resources, immigration/migration and strengthen the authoritarian stuff such as federal law and the military. Facilitate a few interprovincial scraps along the way and presto the Cons become the go to arbitrators and enforcers. Real Canadians Eh.
ReplyDeleteRT
Eanie meanies next press conference : My performance during the pandemic has been - look a squirrel.
ReplyDeleteThe grand dream of "separating" Alberta and Saskatchewan to be milked into oblivion by corporations, aided and abetted by elected acolytes, is in danger of slipping through the oily, greasy fingers of these madmen...one hears desperation. Saskatchewan, with its population of one million...needs Canada. Period.
ReplyDeleteThe western drama queens are pathetically attempting to distract from their own failures because, well, they're massive failures. The Covididiot Cowboys biggest export these days are ICU patients and worst of all, many people have died because of their utter incompetence. So yeah, I guess I'd want to change the subject as well. The facts are that they can squawk all they want to rile up the drillbillies but it wont change anything. The majority recognizes climate change and will support the Libs and their future plans to eventually turn off the tarry bubbly taps once and for all. The longer the Covidiot Cowboys ignore the writing on the wall, the further behind their provinces will be in diversifying to a green future and all the jobs that go with it. Educate your drillbillies you idiots or the only oil they'll be working with will be in a deep fryer.
ReplyDeleteJD
Is Justin going to save the right of people of faith I. Quebec too?
ReplyDeleteOr is Quebec racism a horse of a different colour?
Hi Jackie….Thanks, I hope the spirit of the great Moe Howard will forgive me. But whenever I hear Scott Moe and his oil pimps say anything I can’t help but be reminded of the Three Stooges. They just don’t get it, and at this rate they never will, until their golden fields turn to desert dust. And as you point out all that wailing over the inevitable can only stir up more hate against Justin Trudeau in a country that needs more hate like we need a hole in the head. But as I pointed out in my post, it won’t help the Cons win elections, not when climate change is becoming a bigger and bigger issue. Moe and his stooges can carry on all they like, but we’ll have the last laugh….
ReplyDeleteHi RT….one of the things that infuriates me the most is Scott Moe trying to compare Saskatchewan’s situation to the province of Quebec. Even though Quebec with its distinct language and culture has the right to call itself a nation within Canada. It’s so crass and I am only glad that most Quebecers won’t notice or care about what Moe is saying. Although some hard core separatists will try to claim that it’s another reason to separate. But luckily won’t get anywhere, because the last thing we need is another constitutional squabble. The oil pimps better get used to it, the Tar Sands as they exist now, are on their way out and nothing will save them. Saskatchewan has better energy choices and it should start developing them now….
ReplyDeleteHi Rumleyfips….Yes, all the Con premiers are trying to distract us from their criminally incompetent management of the pandemic. It’s so blatant but with our Con media only interested in going after Trudeau you might never know it was happening. It’s absolutely pathetic…
ReplyDeleteHi anon@9:56 AM….Well said. These threats to break up the country are the last thing we need. They can only benefit big foreign corporations abs their made in Canada stooges. It might have worked ten years ago, but with the state of the burning planet, it won’t work today…
ReplyDeleteHi JD….I had hoped that after the Trudeau Liberals defeated O’Toole and his scurvy gang that we might have a little peace in this country, free from the Cons and their dirty games. I have a big project on the go, and I need some time to complete it. And at this rate I never will. I have even thought of closing down this blog, at least for a while, but as long as the Cons and their media stooges keep trying to wreck this country, I just can’t. We are are truly in a decisive moment in world history and we all have to do our part…
ReplyDelete> with our Con media only interested in going after Trudeau you might never know it was happening. It’s absolutely pathetic
ReplyDeleteNew report says Corus lost even more market share in Q4. Hopefully Ted Rogers can get his shit in order soon enough to kill Global once and for all, although what Shrogers is offering as a replacement isn't much better. In any regard, this is an excellent must-read from an independent source to know exactly what we're dealing with here.
https://www.readthemaple.com/a-guide-to-the-ruling-class-domination-and-destruction-of-canadian-media/
Also, Amnesia Raj is a complete dope if she sincerely believes (as she said on At Issue) that Tool's cabinet has completely exiled the so-cons in favour of 100% Red Tories. Do some goddamn research and cross-reference them with the 62. Scheer is on the list FFS. Findlay, Lloyd, do these look like "principled" cons in the spirit of Dief the Chief? Pull a string and she spits out "I agree with pretty much everything Andrew is saying" as her tagline. Then why the hell is she even there week after week if she's just parroting Coyne?
These fucking hacks get really testy when pushed back on with facts. Akin today went after Ishat Reza, a lawyer who called out him and McGregor (who is hiding behind a block wall, crying crocodile tears about being "cyberbullied") on their bullshit with a level of respect they don't deserve. Two mediocre white guys barrelling an intelligent brown woman and calling her names. But hit precious Althia with receipts, and you're automatically a TruAnon and a racist. Then they block people and wonder why those people are so angry at them. Hint: Blocking people for no good reason because you're too thin-skinned to admit you were wrong, is just part of it. Who watches the watchmen?
I hate these people. They tell a story just as much from what they're not talking about as what they are talking about. There are serious issues to be dug into that pose a real threat to national unity, but they're more focused on Twitter feuds, Trudeau nontroversies, and looking "cute". I never thought I'd agree with Trump on anything, but there are only two things he ever got right: One, that Trudeau is a "young, good looking guy" and two, that the lying press, fake news media is truly the enemy of the people.
The MSM say Moe is a freedom fighter for freedom
ReplyDeleteMoe, a true blue freedom fighter. Cant wait for the day when I am free to spray DDT and Roundup in my back yard and be able to tell all the greenie neighbors to go to hell. Yeah freedom!
ReplyDeleteRT
No, they are just doing what all Premiers do when they shit the bed, deflect on the Federal government and if the Federal government is being lead by the Liberals all the better.
ReplyDeleteConservatives in Alberta and Saskatchewan both squandered the last oil boom and for the Alberta Conservatives that was the second time they did so. Then both governments decided to not follow the best scientific advice for handling COVID leading to large spikes in the number of cases and deaths in their provinces.
In short, they have been mismanaging their provinces affairs for quite some time, the pandemic has brought that into sharp focus and people are noticing. The commitments at the climate talks are just a very convenient issue for them to use to deflect but if it did not exist they would have found something else.
There has always been a small but vocal minority of people in those two provinces who seem to believe that they would be better off as independent countries or as part of the US. Their arguments are laughable on so many levels but they have been faithful supporters of Conservative governments in the two provinces for decades. Now separatist political parties have popped up both provincially and federally and the Conservative Parties in the two provinces are rightfully worried that those faithful separatists may desert them leading to big problems being re-elected. Hence the rhetoric we have been hearing from them.
In the end they will do nothing but talk.
The Venn diagram where Con oil pimps and Jesus grifters overlap is a perfect circle. So how come the deluded religionists aren't calling for the petro-pimps to REPENT OF THEIR SINS!!!! now that climate change is literally causing a plague of scorpions to rain upon Egypt? Seems kind of, I dunno, apocalyptic, don't you think?
ReplyDeletehttps://inews.co.uk/news/swarms-of-scorpions-swept-into-city-kill-three-and-injure-hundreds-1299971
Oh wait, that's right, because they worship Mammon and they want the "end times" to come about and kill us all. The oily bible humpers and QMorons over here can just deflect anyway to blaming Islam or gays or the great satanic antichrist Hillary/Obama/Trudeau.
Last comment from Jackie is correct.
ReplyDeleteThey want to accelerate the end times because they believe their god will zap them into space because they used the planet until it was empty.
This is why (one of the many, many reasons...) we can never let CPC have majority power ever again.
And yes, we in QC just looked at Moe as we looked at Kenney, with a chuckle and a shrug. Considering we have 2.5 parties (Parti Q, CAQ, QS is the .5) dedicated to QC independence, I don't take the West's posturing very seriously. They talk big but they don't elect Maverick MPs and they never, ever do a referendum to secede. (Not that I'd vote in favour of that, it's pure foolishness for any province to separate.)
All in all though we are in a state of sorta-kinda-Cold War bliss. With the LPC at 35% in polling, we can expect another LPC win in the future.
That will finally (lol!) force CPC to do something it finds anathema, and change. If they're smart they'll go outside the party for a new leader...because the Harper-era retreats they are fielding now are failures.
Hi Steve…..The MSM has always given Moe a free ride ever since the days he was a notorious drunk drive, and even after he killed a woman , but this latest move is so absurd I doubt he’ll end up looking like anything but a clown. finally…
ReplyDeleteHi RT….It’s tragic that a province like Saskatchewan that has been helped by the rest of Canada during the hard times is now acting like that. The province of Tommy Douglas and Medicare now in the hands of a man like Moe. Pathetic…
ReplyDeleteHi Ottlib…..Yes, I’m sure you’re right. It’s just Moe playing the old deflection game, and it will go nowhere. But what worries me is that some of the would be separatists out west are deranged and potentially violent people. The U.S. is full of those crazies and Alberta and Saskatchewan are prime breeding grounds for the same kind of crazies. Moe never bothered to apologize to the family of the woman he killed, so I doubt he has even considered what kind of shit his separatist game could stir up. What a loser…
ReplyDeleteHi Jackie….When Seb and I took a trip down the Nile we both agreed that Aswan was the nicest city we visited. It has a lovely market and the Aga Khan’s tomb on the other side of the Nile. Later on we found out that it was teeming with members of a violent sect known to kidnap tourists, and now scorpions? I won’t be going back there, that’s for sure….
ReplyDelete