No doubt all the Keynesian court economists will tell us that the solution to this problem would be to forgive the loans in their entirety.
Last month, small businesses faced a deadline to repay interest-free loans of C$60,000 ($44,676) made available to each of them during the pandemic. Of the 900,000 who had taken the government support, a fifth have not yet repaid their loans, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Monday.
Stellantis CEO Says Rush to Affordable EVs Will End in Disaster
Stellantis NV’s Carlos Tavares is gearing up for an era of auto-industry consolidation, predicting the rush to offer more affordable electric vehicles will end in a “bloodbath.” He’s paid particularly close attention to one company he perceives as vulnerable: Renault SA.
The 65-year-old chief executive isn’t taking formal steps to pursue Renault, which is virtually off-limits due to the French state’s ownership and influence over the two manufacturers. What he has done is upstage his archrival at every turn, and ready his company to capitalize on any setbacks.
Financial Times: Renault cancels planned IPO of EV unit Ampere
Renault has cancelled plans to list shares in its new electric vehicle and software business, a pivotal part of chief executive Luca de Meo’s turnaround plans for the French carmaker.
The company had planned to hold an initial public offering of its new Ampere business, which combines its EV skills and software into a new unit. The aborted flotation is the latest casualty of slowing growth in EV sales worldwide, as mainstream car buyers balk at higher prices of battery-powered cars.
De Meo had described the unit as a European rival to “Tesla and the Chinese”, and told the Financial Times last year it should be worth “up to €10bn”.
But on Monday, Renault said that “market conditions” and the rising profitability of the wider company meant it would cancel the plans to float shares.
De Meo added that the Europe-wide slowdown in EV growth was “one of the elements” behind the decision, but stressed that the electric market was still going to be “dominant” in Europe because of the region’s decarbonisation regulations.
“EV is a train that has already left the station. Ampere will be one of the drivers of Renault to be one of the champions of decarbonisation,” he said.
But the decision may mean that alliance partners Nissan and Mitsubishi may now not invest in the unit, finance chief Thierry Piéton said. Both Japanese carmakers still have the option to invest, but “whether they come in or not is something we need to discuss”, Piéton said on Monday evening.
Since the Freedom Convoy hit Ottawa two years ago, the identity of the man who became a celebrated local for his bitter, profanity-laced tirade against the protesters has remained a mystery. Until now.
The man is Matt MacDougall, now a senior policy adviser for parliamentary affairs in the office of Liberal Government House leader Steve MacKinnon.
At the time of the convoy, MacDougall worked for then House leader Mark Holland, who is now health minister.
OH! also had worked as an assistant for MP Han Dong (董晗鹏) and MP Mary Ng (伍凤仪).
Update (from the comments);
Unless you were at the Freedom Convoy protests, you can not conceive how completely unhinged “Balcony Guy” was. He shouted “F*ck You” tirelessly like a minute gun, for hour after hour until he was as hoarse as a crow. He was clearly obsessively hateful. The fact that this level of bias and hate – not to mention unhinged lunacy – was found acceptable in a senior staffer should show you just how thoroughly the government hated the protesters.
I’m sure his bosses knew what he was doing. He lived in one of the swankiest downtown buildings, and was doing his thing non-stop for days on end.
A Guide To Which Statues You Can And Can’t Tear Down
Depopulation Agenda: “Truckers need proven technology, because if technology fails, the entire supply chain will be dead in the water. Failure is not merely inconvenient, it’s catastrophic. And this is not an option, especially for the food supply chain of America.”
History agrees.
Dystopian Down Under- Landmark Covid vaccine injury win
The Department of Child Protection (DCP) must pay compensation and medical expenses to a youth worker who developed pericarditis after getting a Covid booster under a workplace vaccination directive, the South Australian Employment Tribunal has ruled.
In a decision handed down on 15 January 2024, the Tribunal determined that Daniel Shepherd’s employment was “a significant contributing cause” to his injury, which has since rendered him incapable of performing his role at work.
… about cannabis decriminalization is how it forced violent drug dealers out of business.
“The violence is getting worse. The stakes are getting higher,” said dispensary owner Jerred Kiloh, who also heads the United Cannabis Business Association, a Los Angeles-based trade group. He said many of the organization’s members have seen their dispensaries robbed one or more times, sometimes by the same thieves.
Up yours, America.
Sweaty and obese school guidance councillors hardest hit;
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a new pronoun disclosure policy for schools on Wednesday, in addition to other restrictions on transgender treatments and sports.
The pronoun policy announcement, which was hinted at in a radio broadcast last weekend, is likely to ignite debate in Alberta, as it did in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.
Alberta’s new policies go beyond recent moves in other provinces. In a seven-minute video posted to X on Wednesday afternoon, Smith said the province is banning medical treatments for some transgender minors, creating biological female-only sports leagues and will require parental consent to attend sexual education in schools.
Smith announced government policies after resolutions on gender and sexuality were brought forward by the United Conservative Party caucus at its annual general meeting last November.
My 17-year-old can’t get her ears pierced without me.
But you extremists think it’s completely appropriate to juice her up with cross-sex hormones, lop off her breasts, Mengele-up a neo-penis using her arm flesh, and change her name to Gary.
And do it all behind my back.
Related: To the GOP mega-donors, who sided with Disney on teaching kids about anal sex and transgenders…
When serially attacked, loudly responding that we will only proportionally strike back and wish no wider war will only ensure a big, ugly one. – Victor Davis Hanson
Gory aftermath of the Hamas terrorist attack. The innocent Gazans. A Hitler film in Egypt. Education in Gaza. Have you bought your wife a Hijab for World Hijab Day?
Dementia Joe’s America: Steyn vs Mann. Trump represents something revolutionary. The CIA Jihad against Trump.
Blackie’s Canada: University education in Ontario. Canada is disappearing. Today Dear Leader burns jet fuel to Toronto.
Your morning meme. A cartoon.
Here’s an interesting discussion about the revelation that there was no science behind most Covid Policy.
Welcome to the 2nd month of 2024! This evening we present an interesting film from 1936 called Things to Come, based on an H.G. Wells story.
As an added bonus, here’s a comedy skit entitled Woke Jordan Peterson therapy session.
Your best tips so far this month are appreciated!
One child is great, two is great, three is selfish? Apparently, those damn kids and everyone else has killed off a staggering seventy percent of nature. If you find that hard to believe, you only need to gaze at McCarthy’s squiggly pie chart for proof!
If I was debating this apocalyptic greenie for whom every societal issue boils down to a calculation of carbon dioxide output, the first question I would ask is if he ever heard of the famous bet between Paul Erlich and Julian Simon.
BREAKING VIDEO: Top White House Cyber Official tells O’Keefe in Disguise “they can’t say it publicly” the White House wants to replace Kamala Harris and Confirms President @JoeBiden mental decline: “Biden is definitely slowing down.”
“I’m just telling you what I’ve heard… they’re really concerned about it” …“I think they need to get rid of him or her.”
“But no one in modern history has ever said, like, ‘We’re not going to renominate the president for a second term.’”
Charlie Kraiger @CharlieKraiger, a Cybersecurity policy analyst and Foreign affairs Desk Officer in the Executive Office at the White House, tells O’Keefe “I had a meeting with Michelle Obama @michelleobama
…. Someone asked her, ‘Will you ever run for office?’ And she said, ‘No’ Empathically.” She was like, ‘I’ve seen all this shit my husband has had to go through and that does not interest me.’“@VP @KamalaHarris hemorrhages black staff. She can’t keep black staff. They quit on her en masse”
“She will be the vice president nominee. There was a debate about removing her from the ticket, but sadly they didn’t, she’s not popular, but you can’t remove the first black lady to be vice president from the Goddamn presidential ticket. Like what kind of message are you going to send to like African-American voters… People would be like, “What the fuck?” Like she’s a woman and she’s multiracial.”
