Canada again

Everyone is starting to get tired of my pro-Canada rants, but this graph, from an article in the latest Economist points out how Canada is better positioned from a debt standpoint than any other advanced economy. Not that much better than the U.S., mind you, but given how bad things in Canada used to be, a pleasant place to be in nevertheless.

Canada the Model

Goldman says Canada is right.

Iraqi Yellowcake to Canada

Given my previous post, I guess it's for the best that the remnants of Saddam's nuclear program - which the left assures us never existed ("move along, nothing to see here") - arrived in Canada today and will provide nuclear power to the good people of Ontario.

Go Canada

Returning to my Canada as model conservative country point:

The Telegraph today ran a story in which it argued that of all the world leaders meeting at the G8 Summit in Japan, only Canada's Stephen Harper really has a popular and successful record in office.

Let's look at Harper's accomplishments: he's cut
taxes, reduced the deficit, had Canada for first time in recent memory really step up to the plate on the world front (notably in Afghanistan), has resisted left-wing pressure on the Kyoto Treaty, and has generally been a competent manager following years of Liberal corruption.

Thus, with the US preparing to lurch to the left with the Obamessiah, this might finally be Canada's chance to finally become a proper, grown-up country, fully assuming its position on the world stage.

Canada Soon More Capitalist Than US

It appears that for the first time since the pre-Trudeau era, Canada is poised to be more capitalist than the US. Perhaps this might explain why the Canadian economy is doing "quite well", while the US economy is "stagnating".

I predict that, should Obama become president and raise taxes and increase government spending (as he wants so desperately to do), the result will be: 1) prolonged US recession; 2) Canada finally taking its place as the one true bastion of capitalism on the continent, thus reversing the bizarre trend of American liberals who wanted to move to Canada after Kerry's defeat in 2004. Yes, soon it will be the conservatives hankering to move to Canada after the US economy is decimated in the name of "fairness" and "social justice".

Star Chamber Redux

England's notorious Court of Star Chamber had two major features that render it particularly distasteful: (1) it was not limited to prosecuting common law crimes, but could also punish people for committing "equitable crimes", i.e. crimes that weren't actually on the books, but which the Crown felt should be; and (2) the accused in Star Chamber was accorded virtually no procedural safeguards (e.g. the right against self-incrimination). Now, it's true that there are some modern historians - i.e. Kevin Sharpe - who defend Star Chamber (Sharpe's argument is basically: "Hey, Star Chamber was really efficient.") Nevertheless, I, like most people am glad that Star Chamber got abolished way back in 1640.

Yet today in Canada, Mark Steyn can get called before the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal and face basically the same situation: (1) a prosecution for a totally-speculative, equitable crime (publishing materials which may expose some group to ridicule or hatred), and (2) without following any of the basic procedural safeguards afforded accused in Anglo-Canadian courts, i.e. the basic rules of evidence. What a disgrace.