Trudeau Popularity - or not (various polling, etc.)

[Quirky]

PM Trudeau 'surprised' provinces unanimous on accelerated defence spending: Ford

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his fellow provincial leaders are united in pushing for Canada to meet its NATO defence spending targets ahead of schedule, and that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was "surprised" to hear it.

www.ctvnews.ca

Surprised not surprised?

Not surprised this comes as a surprise to him…

Time for a massive rebuild of our base infrastructure, including base housing. Without addressing this item first, you won't attract people. Unless you somehow introduce a living allowance off base that is realistic.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

PM Trudeau 'surprised' provinces unanimous on accelerated defence spending: Ford

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his fellow provincial leaders are united in pushing for Canada to meet its NATO defence spending targets ahead of schedule, and that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was "surprised" to hear it.

www.ctvnews.ca

Surprised not surprised?

Not surprised this comes as a surprise to him…

I think most of the Premiers just want the Feds to get the hell out of their Constitutional areas of responsibility and back into theirs…

 

[Rifleman62]

Todays 338.

 

[Remius]

I think most of the Premiers just want the Feds to get the hell out of their Constitutional areas of responsibility and back into theirs…

Yes but I think there is also a recognition that the right defence investments can help stimulate and improve provincial economies.

 

[Remius]

Time for a massive rebuild of our base infrastructure, including base housing. Without addressing this item first, you won't attract people. Unless you somehow introduce a living allowance off base that is realistic.

Infrastructure is such a no brainer. Housing, bases and armouries.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

Yes but I think there is also a recognition that the right defence investments can help stimulate and improve provincial economies.

Well, there is that, too…

 

[dapaterson]

I think most of the Premiers just want the Feds to get the hell out of their Constitutional areas of responsibility and back into theirs…

But still want federal money to pay for it...

 

[SeaKingTacco]

But still want federal money to pay for it...

Come on! Anything else would be…unCanadian!

 

[dapaterson]

Infrastructure is such a no brainer. Housing, bases and armouries.

Except many bases are in locations with limited local construction capacity. Infra requires a long term plan, otherwise you're bidding against yourself and driving up cost.

Not that it's a bad idea, it just needs to be properly planned out.

 

[Brad Sallows]

If high interest rates are a big source of limiting economic growth, what is the big concern about lowering those interest rates at this point in the game?

Could lowering those interest rates somehow crash our economy?

Lower interest rates tend to increase inflation - lower borrowing costs, aka "cheap money". Inflation is the reason interest rates are higher than they used to be, so what would be the point of lowering them again and whipsawing ourselves between periods of high inflation and high interest rates?

 

[Good2Golf]

But still want federal money to pay for it...

With, in many cases, their own money originally.

 

[Kirkhill]

Infrastructure is such a no brainer. Housing, bases and armouries.

Ports, wharves and airports.

I put communications before bases.

 

[YZT580]

Time for a massive rebuild of our base infrastructure, including base housing. Without addressing this item first, you won't attract people. Unless you somehow introduce a living allowance off base that is realistic.

and stop trying to match local prices with on-base housing facilities.

 

[dimsum]

and stop trying to match local prices with on-base housing facilities.

RHUs are not matching local prices - I have friends posted back to Esquimalt last APS and there was no way they’d afford to rent a detached house in the GVRD, but got a 3-bed RHU near Saxe Point.

 

[dapaterson]

A quarter century ago the complaints were that CAF members were living in RHUs all their career and never building up home equity.

The solution was to incentivize home ownership.

 

[Kirkhill]

Ports, wharves and airports.

I put communications before bases.

Forgot some stuff.

Ferries - RoRo ferries, ice strengthened. More than is necessary for immediate civil and military needs. Surplus capacity could be made available to NATO.

 

[brihard]

Time for a massive rebuild of our base infrastructure, including base housing. Without addressing this item first, you won't attract people. Unless you somehow introduce a living allowance off base that is realistic.

Agreed. If we want CAF to attract people, housing is a potent attractor, and frankly the ability to retain people by keeping a roof over theirs heads is a competitive advantage in the labour market.

Politically, base housing could be lumped in with defense spending while also contributing to overall housing goals. Spin it as “easing demand side pressure on housing near major military bases that are potent local economic drivers” or something like that.

Troops can still save to buy if they want; hell, subsidized RHU could leave more income free to invest in an FHSA.

CAF needs to worry about troops affording a place to live. CAF doesn’t, IMO, need to baby them in terms of trying to push them towards ownership over renting. Let the members choose that.

 

[ArmyRick]

Agreed. If we want CAF to attract people, housing is a potent attractor, and frankly the ability to retain people by keeping a roof over theirs heads is a competitive advantage in the labour market.

Politically, base housing could be lumped in with defense spending while also contributing to overall housing goals. Spin it as “easing demand side pressure on housing near major military bases that are potent local economic drivers” or something like that.

Troops can still save to buy if they want; hell, subsidized RHU could leave more income free to invest in an FHSA.

CAF needs to worry about troops affording a place to live. CAF doesn’t, IMO, need to baby them in terms of trying to push them towards ownership over renting. Let the members choose that.

Members have to choose wisely. Some occupations lean towards more frequent postings and others are a bit more predictable.

 

[Booter]

a long while ago I was in the reserves in the management team for an area. We were not able to spend the money we had on the things we needed and wound up asking for money with one hand while giving back money out of other area. The NATO 2% gdp doesn’t really have any meaning to us in the way our system works.

Unless we have a plan, and a new way to obtain things it won’t work. It’ll just be a rotation of getting money and handing it back while burning it on big contracts we don’t ever receive anything from

But maybe things are different now

 

[brihard]

Members have to choose wisely. Some occupations lean towards more frequent postings and others are a bit more predictable.

Mm hm. But that’s no different from how it is now.