Canadian Politics

[tacklewasher]

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

Yeah, so all of that is from a couple weeks ago, actually. Our Health Minister, Tyler Shandro, is an absolute mess. He and Jason Kenney decided -- IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC -- that they wanted to rip up the "master agreement" between the province and health practitioners, which essentially dictates how much they're allowed to charge for their services. An agreement that hasn't been touched in a very long time, because nobody wants to tell doctors they aren't worth what they're charging. Well, apparently in the middle of a pandemic is a good time to do it. When doctors started getting angry about it (something like 80% said they've lost faith in the Health Minister, and around 50% said they've considered closing up shop and moving to another province because of it) Shandro started firing back. He actually went to one doctor's house and got into it with him in his driveway...yelling and screaming and what not. It was really something. So now, in the last couple weeks, they've decided they want to lay off 11,000 front line workers...essentially janitors, laundry workers....things like that. All to save money. Money which, by the way, is being spent in the neighbourhood of 30-million per year on a "War Room", which exists to fight for the good name of oil and gas industry and hand out 4-billion in corporate welfare to oil and gas companies who took the money, laid off their Canadian employees and moved operations to Texas. 

 

Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack this province for electing the absolute worst provincial government in Canada......

I, for one, would welcome the doctors to BC.

[17to85]

16 hours ago, tacklewasher said:

I, for one, would welcome the doctors to BC.

Yeah it's stupid. They spent years and years and tons of money getting doctors here, now they're driving them away. 

**** every single person who voted for these assholes.

[JCon]

17 hours ago, Noeller said:

Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack this province for electing the absolute worst provincial government in Canada......

It's bad for the rest of the country too because right wing gov'ts in other provinces are modeling what they do. We're doomed to stupid alt-right politics to own libs and to slash social services. 

[blue_gold_84]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/yasmin-ratansi-liberal-mp-quits-hired-sister-1.5795407

Quote

A Toronto MP is leaving the Liberal caucus after CBC News found she had employed her sister in her constituency office for years using public funds— a violation of parliamentary rules. 

Yasmin Ratansi announced her departure late Monday on Facebook. 

"I made an error in judgment by employing my sister in my constituency office, and I have remedied the situation, but this does not excuse the error I made," she wrote. 

Ratansi said she will continue sitting as an Independent, representing her constituents in Don Valley East, and will "await guidance" from the ethics commissioner.

The statement comes more than 30 hours after CBC News asked her office for comment on the issue.

Several former staffers told CBC News Ratansi tried to cover up the relationship by having her sister use a fake first name and telling some staff to keep their family connection quiet.

The situation should be remedied by having this slimebucket pay back the public funds she used to pay a sibling for years. **** these greasy politicians.

[JCon]

9 minutes ago, blue_gold_84 said:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/yasmin-ratansi-liberal-mp-quits-hired-sister-1.5795407

The situation should be remedied by having this slimebucket pay back the public funds she used to pay a sibling for years. **** these greasy politicians.

Exactly. It wasn't a "mistake" if they were obviously trying to cover it up. That's fraud. 

 

[Mr Dee]

[Tracker]

45 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

"All gave some. Some gave all"

[Mark F]

attention: Jason Kenney and friends

Britain to ban new petrol cars by 2030 on road to net zero emissions.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-britain/britain-to-ban-new-petrol-cars-by-2030-on-road-to-net-zero-emissions-idUSKBN27X2Z0

 

[17to85]

1 hour ago, Mark F said:

attention: Jason Kenney and friends

Britain to ban new petrol cars by 2030 on road to net zero emissions.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-britain/britain-to-ban-new-petrol-cars-by-2030-on-road-to-net-zero-emissions-idUSKBN27X2Z0

 

I am sure the war room will get right on that.

[GCJenks]

4 hours ago, Mark F said:

attention: Jason Kenney and friends

Britain to ban new petrol cars by 2030 on road to net zero emissions.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-britain/britain-to-ban-new-petrol-cars-by-2030-on-road-to-net-zero-emissions-idUSKBN27X2Z0

 

I'm pretty sure I heard Quebec had done the same thing, possibly 2035.

[blue_gold_84]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/boeing-max-grounded-canada-1.5806797

Quote

The Boeing 737 Max aircraft will not be returning to Canadian skies just yet, despite being cleared for takeoff by U.S. regulators.

Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau said Wednesday that Canada will impose its own requirements — different from those approved in the U.S. — before it lifts the grounding orders for the plane, including additional procedures on the flight deck and during pre-flight and changes in training for flight operators.

 

"Our government remains committed to keeping Canadians, the travelling public and the transportation system safe and secure," Garneau said, adding that he expects the validation process to conclude "very soon."

Garneau's remarks followed a U.S. announcement that the Boeing 737 Max, which was involved in two mass casualty crashes in recent years, will be permitted to fly again once Boeing makes changes to the software and computer systems on each plane and provides training to pilots in flight simulators.

The planes have been grounded since March 2019 following the crashes of a Lion Air flight near Jakarta on Oct. 29, 2018, and an Ethiopian Airlines flight on March 10, 2019, which killed a total of 346 people.

 

[Brandon]

So that would force everyone to buy a hybrid or electric? I'm not sure how that would work up North where people need big gas guzzling trucks?

[tacklewasher]

16 minutes ago, Brandon said:

So that would force everyone to buy a hybrid or electric? I'm not sure how that would work up North where people need big gas guzzling trucks?

Better batteries. Faster charging and longer range.

If I'm going to tow my 8,000 lb trailer, I still need to be able to do 300 kms before re-charging (and that taking 5-10 mins).

[Brandon]

On 2020-11-18 at 3:11 PM, tacklewasher said:

Better batteries. Faster charging and longer range.

If I'm going to tow my 8,000 lb trailer, I still need to be able to do 300 kms before re-charging (and that taking 5-10 mins).

In some places where I've been they run their Diesel trucks 24/7 in winter and have extremely spotty electricity.  I know it's a micro fraction of the general population,  but some folks it just won't work for them. 

[Tracker]

4 minutes ago, Brandon said:

In some places where I've been they run their Diesel trucks 24/7 in winter and have extremely spotty electricity.  I know it's a micro fraction of the general population,  but some folks it just won't work for them. 

I do not know how a pure-electric vehicle will cope when driven on the highway at -30 degrees with a heater and defroster going. I suspect the vehicle would go about 15 kilometers.

[Jpan85]

We are also taking 15 years from now. I am sure they will continue to make upgrades and the technology wont remain static.

[Tracker]

3 hours ago, Jpan85 said:

We are also taking 15 years from now. I am sure they will continue to make upgrades and the technology wont remain static.

The technology has stalled at energy storage, and there does not seem to be anything new and revolutionary on the horizon. 

[Wideleft]

1 hour ago, Tracker said:

The technology has stalled at energy storage, and there does not seem to be anything new and revolutionary on the horizon. 

From today's Free Press:

GM: New batteries cut electric car costs, increase range

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors says a pending breakthrough in battery chemistry will cut the price of its electric vehicles so they equal those powered by gasoline within five years. The technology also will increase the range per charge to as high as 450 miles. The company’s product development chief promised a small electric SUV that will cost under $30,000 and pledged to roll out 30 battery-powered models worldwide by 2025. Nearly all current electric vehicles cost more than $30,000. The announcement illustrates how fast electric vehicle technology is moving and shows that it may become the primary fuel for transportation faster than expected.

 

More:

https://apnews.com/article/business-chemistry-detroit-electric-vehicles-0928d1d1eda8fd9c6bdccb60dc6d348b

 

Also posted an article in the "Climate" discussion about Nano-Diamond Battery technology which may blow your mind.

Edited November 20, 2020 by Wideleft

[17to85]

 

[Brandon]

1 hour ago, Tracker said:

The technology has stalled at energy storage, and there does not seem to be anything new and revolutionary on the horizon. 

It's not so much about the storage ,  it's more so about dealing with the weather conditions and being able to super charge the batteries at a decent rate with clean power. 

As I said before in remote communities many times they leave the trucks to idle otherwise they won't start back up from the freeze.  I can't imagine batteries being able to run at it's optimal specs in weather conditions like that.   Some of these remote areas also require you to drive 300 kms of pure wilderness and zero human contact. I know even in summer I get a bit anxious doing those drives even with a satellite phone and a full tank of gas.

I know it's the minority of the overall population, but I can't imagine people in those areas being forced to buy electric. 

[FrostyWinnipeg]

4 hours ago, Brandon said:

It's not so much about the storage ,  it's more so about dealing with the weather conditions and being able to super charge the batteries at a decent rate with clean power. 

As I said before in remote communities many times they leave the trucks to idle otherwise they won't start back up from the freeze.  I can't imagine batteries being able to run at it's optimal specs in weather conditions like that.   Some of these remote areas also require you to drive 300 kms of pure wilderness and zero human contact. I know even in summer I get a bit anxious doing those drives even with a satellite phone and a full tank of gas.

I know it's the minority of the overall population, but I can't imagine people in those areas being forced to buy electric. 

The biggest problem with remote communities is that people choose to live there

 

[Tracker]

2 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

The biggest problem with remote communities is that people choose to live there

 

Why can't we build cities in the country?

[blue_gold_84]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/great-reset-trudeau-poilievre-otoole-pandemic-covid-1.5817973

Didn't know Poilievre had gone off the deep end... Yikes. What a dummy.

O'Toole, while seemingly more level-headed, just continues to tow the same tired "Liberals bad" line while accepting the status quo as being okay. How unimaginative.

 

Edited November 27, 2020 by blue_gold_84

[Tracker]

25 minutes ago, blue_gold_84 said:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/great-reset-trudeau-poilievre-otoole-pandemic-covid-1.5817973

Didn't know Poilievre had gone off the deep end... Yikes. What a dummy.

O'Toole, while seemingly more level-headed, just continues to tow the same tired "Liberals bad" line while accepting the status quo as being okay. How unimaginative.

 

When O'Toole did not censure or even contradict his MPs who retweeted Qanon crap. that ought to have given you an idea what kind of "leader" he is and how he sees where the support for his party is coming from.

[Bigblue204]

On 2020-11-20 at 2:09 PM, Wideleft said:

From today's Free Press:

GM: New batteries cut electric car costs, increase range

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors says a pending breakthrough in battery chemistry will cut the price of its electric vehicles so they equal those powered by gasoline within five years. The technology also will increase the range per charge to as high as 450 miles. The company’s product development chief promised a small electric SUV that will cost under $30,000 and pledged to roll out 30 battery-powered models worldwide by 2025. Nearly all current electric vehicles cost more than $30,000. The announcement illustrates how fast electric vehicle technology is moving and shows that it may become the primary fuel for transportation faster than expected.

 

More:

https://apnews.com/article/business-chemistry-detroit-electric-vehicles-0928d1d1eda8fd9c6bdccb60dc6d348b

 

Also posted an article in the "Climate" discussion about Nano-Diamond Battery technology which may blow your mind.

Not just our personal transportation, but primary fuel in the transportation industry. Having worked in it, I can tell you major companies can not wait for a viable electric tractor/trailer. They've been getting gouged by the diesel market for years and will happily leave that relationship.