Show Notes
You may not have heard about it, but the Permanent Joint Board on Defense has been a part of Canada and America's shared strategy for decades. Evidently, however, it may not be as "permanent" as its name suggests.
Recently, the US announced it was pausing the board, citing Canada's need to contribute more to mutual defence in North America and a suggestion that we're talking the talk more than walking the walk when it comes to military spending.
It's easy to take offence to that, given recent defence spending announcements from the Canadian government. It's easy to assume this is yet another poke to the eye from a US administration that exists only to troll or threaten Canada.
But ... what if those claims aren't exactly wrong? What if we should perhaps, get off our high horse, this one time, when it comes to continental security?
This week, Joe Varner, Senior Fellow at the MacDonald-Laurier institute, joins us to make the case for focusing on what really matters, and not the rhetoric from the White House.
(We're welcoming our first sponsor to CanCon. Go RVing Canada wants to help you explore the country this summer, without leaving behind the comforts of home. If you've ever been curious about RVing, but have questions, they can help.)
More from CanCon
Unlike their Western brethren, Quebec separatists are good at this. They've been at it a long time. They are organized, patient and understand how to get elected. And they just did.
There's no way to sugartcoat the story of Ryan Wedding. Once an aspiring snowboarder from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Wedding qualified for the 2002 Olympics as a member of the Canadian team. He didn't medal. Two decades later, he was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, being compared to the likes of El Chapo and Pablo Escobar by American officials.
You've been warned about them, undoubtedly. You've probably passed on that warning to your elderly loved ones, or anyone you see as a little digitally naive. But how much do you really know about how so-called 'Grandparent Scams' operate in Canada—from the scale of them to their ever-increasing sophistication to the damage they leave behind in their wake?
Many of us have been lucky enough to experience the ongoing trade war with the United States as a small part of everyday life. We may pay slightly higher prices, or choose not to buy American products. We may read headlines about job losses or plant closures and feel sympathy, but we don't know what it's like to grapple with the ever-changing tariffs playing havoc with our bottom line.
Mark Carney's government will open up three major Canadian airports to private investment, raising billions of dollars and fundamentally changing how these facilities are run. It's a strategy used in many countries around the world, but it's a new one for Canadian travellers. So, what's about to happen?