WHEN IS A SUBSIDY NOT A SUBSIDY? WHEN IT’S NOT ONE. ALSO, STUFF ABOUT WARS AND PROMISCUOUS ACTORS
Vol. 1, No. 41
In this edition, your discerning correspondent dissects President Trump’s plans for destroying the Canadian auto industry, bitches about what the Americans did to the legacy of John Graves Simcoe, and writes about what happens on the grand staircase of the RMS Olympic.
This week: A 7-minute read
WRONG-WAY TRUMP
The President of the United States keeps drilling down on the notion—which has proven to be not only inaccurate but is lacking in context and is also just plain wrong-headed—that somehow his country is subsidizing Canada to the tune of about $200 billion per year.
Please. Don't believe a word the man says. He lies the way most people breathe. There is no $200 billion subsidy. First of all, when is the trade in goods and services a subsidy? Is it a subsidy when you buy groceries at the supermarket? What he is complaining about is a trade deficit and it’s closer to $63 billion. Moreover, you take away the oil we sell to the U.S.—at a deep discount I might add—and the figure swings the other way: the U.S. has the surplus. Yet he sticks to that $200-billion figure like a dog on a bone.
Trump admits he wants to destroy the Canadian manufacture of cars, and have those cars built in the U.S. instead. It always bugs me when he asks why cars are built in Canada. They are built here because they are bought here and that’s been going on for 120 years. Last year, Canada built 1.5 million cars. Canadians bought 1.9 million cars, and more than 90% of those were imported from the U.S. When it comes to cars, the trade deficit Trump goes on about actually works in his favour. (I looked that up somewhere, but I admit I’ve forgotten where.)
Anyway, if Trump succeeds in shutting down the common market in automaking, it would only mean the Canadian plants would go back to manufacturing cars for the Canadian market. There are plenty of customers for that, though they would lose the efficiency that comes with greater numbers. So would the American plants. Cars would cost more, not just in Wetaskiwan but everywhere.
Also, there is this: the U.S. has nine times the population of Canada. In 2024, the States imported goods worth an estimated $412.7 billion from Canada. That’s roughly $1,250 per American. Canada imported goods worth an estimated $350 billion from the U.S. That’s roughly $8,750 per Canadian. Now who’s really jobbing who?
Just remember: This is Trump we’re talking about, the same guy who believes Alex Ovechkin is a Canadian hockey player.
_______________________
SIMCOE: OUR HERO, THEIR VILLAIN
Speaking of getting along with Americans, Vicki and I have been watching the TV series Turn: Washington’s Spies on one of the streaming services. I don’t remember which one.
Why do it? Aside from the fact it is mildly entertaining, this depiction of the American Revolutionary War is waged in the woods and fields and on the muddy roads of Long Island, New York. This matters to me because the McConnells first settled on Long Island after getting punted from Ireland and were ardent Loyalists. That means they were on the side of the Crown and against the dirty stinkin’ rebels, like Washington and his lot.
Since I’m attempting to write a book about that chapter in our family history, we thought it might make for some worthy research. Perhaps not. Take Major John Graves Simcoe. As commander of the Queen’s Rangers, he is portrayed as a psychopathic madman. He is, in fact, revered in Canada as the father of Simcoe Day (the August holiday Monday in Ontario), as the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada (now Ontario) and founder of its legislature, and whose name is associated with the town, lake and county of Simcoe, as well as numerous schools and streets, and Governors Road in Dundas, Ontario.
This would be like Canadians portraying Benjamin Franklin as a drunken womanizer. Oh wait, he was.
_______________________
BOB’S YOUR POPE
What follows is a conversation I had this past week with my wife.
Vicki: Did you hear? The new pope is an American.
Me: Really? I've always hoped if the church elected an American pope, his first name would be Lawrence or something like that. Then he could be "Pope Larry."
Vicki: You can't help yourself, can you?
Me: Hey, what sounds more American than that?
Vicki: He's calling himself Pope Leo, but his real name is Robert.
Me: Robert? Perfect. Then he can be "Pope Bob."
Vicki: Yeah, I don't think so.
_______________________
MANY ‘DEAR TERRY’ LETTERS
Re ‘Come Meet the Boss,’ May 4. Hey, Terry. Another interesting column from start to finish. We held back on watching Conclave, the movie. It was before the Pontiff’s death, but as a couples’ movie, Nancy prefers sports. (She dragged me into the last minutes of the Jets’ clinching game against St. Louis. It was a wowser.) Conclave is a really good movie but even better especially because given the current context. Lorne Eedy, St. Marys, Ontario
Terry, your take on Pope Francis chilling with recent dead popes in heaven had me praying that Donald Trump gets his day in the afterlife soon for, among many reasons, having posted an AI-generated image of himself as Pontiff. Instead of puffy white clouds, golden gates and angels, he would be surrounded by enough fire to singe the orange off his face. Please pontificate on this, sir. Claudio D’Andrea, Windsor, Ontario
Ed. Note: Pontificate? Sure. Ugh.
Hi Terry. The depiction of Pope Francis in the cloudy heavens was pure delight. Some of those popes certainly deserve a peaceful eternity while others, maybe not so much. I’m so happy to have fallen by the wayside and found my own way to a spiritual life. Adèle Fontaine, Edmonton, Alberta
Re ‘Howe. Orr. Lemieux. Not a Lot of Glory,’ May 4. Hi Terry. I thought you would have added this other tidbit. Mr. Hockey’s name is no longer on the Stanley Cup, even though the Red Wings won a few in the 1950s. It came off in 2018 when the band was removed to make way for another one to maintain the Cup’s size. It makes you wonder what year the Oilers' names will disappear? Scott Johnston, Edmonton, Alberta
Re ‘Our Own Breaking News,’ May 4. Great photo last week, Terry. Given the way the election turned out, I wonder how much arm-twisting it took to get Damien Kurek to give up his seat. As you wrote, you and I met dozens of federal politicians of all stripes while working together on the medical device licence. Another Conservative MP we met was the MP for Yellowhead, Gerald Soroka. He seemed like a really good guy, so when our formal meeting ended, I hung back and had a quiet conversation with him. It was a Thursday afternoon and he was getting ready to head back to his riding, roughly seven hours of travel time. It struck me that as a former mayor, he was not having a good time in Ottawa because he was a man accustomed to doing things and had discovered his role in opposition was powerless and probably a bit boring. You are living alone in Ottawa, 3,500 kilometres from home, friends and family, working 60 hours a week for extremely modest compensation to sit on a couple of committees. Maybe Damien realized he had better things to do with the next four years of his life. Walter O’Rourke, Fergus, Ontario
By the way, if you want to drop me a note (and risk me publishing it here), just reply to this email or, if you prefer send it to mysundayreader@gmail.com.
_______________________
THIS WEEK IN THE BOOK CLUB
In this week’s Episode 5, titled ‘I Know That Guy. He’s a Deserter,’ Stanley goes AWOL from the army when he learns Hettie might be pregnant. The trick then is to find his way back into the army, and Jimmy Drysdale has just the solution. Later, he and Harry both arrive in Halifax to sail to Europe aboard the RMS Olympic. Harry wants answers as to why Stanley deserted yet is still aboard ship, and so lies in wait until he spots Stanley at the grand staircase. They talk, commiserate, and become friends—friends headed for an uncertain future.
There is a backstory to much of what is written in Lethbridge, about the actual events that helped inspire the book’s narrative, about the characters, both the protagonists and the supporting characters, the important dates on which the story turns, bits of trivia about some of the developments that were inspired by events in my own life, that sort of thing. I will be filling in some of those blanks for all the episodes on the Patreon page where they are posted. The first such contribution went up this week at the bottom of Episode One. I’ll get caught up with the others as time allows. In the meantime, you should feel free to post your own comments, be they about the book, the episode you just read, personal anecdotes you feel relate to the story, or just about anything really.
If you want to get in on this, a subscription to our Book Club is just $5 a month and you can sign up anytime. Proceeds help finance future projects, such as audiobooks and extra press runs, as well as assist us in doing the hard research for new projects. Plus, you know, we have expenses.
Again, thanks for your consideration.
That’s it till next week. / T.
Please note: Artificial intelligence was not used in the preparation or writing of any part of this newsletter.