MAKICHUK: Should we claw back, Guilbeault's 'Golden Parachute' pension?
No man contributed more to Justin Trudeau's 'lost decade' than Canada's minister of climate activism
My God.
It was almost too good, to believe.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, giving Alberta everything it wanted — in a memorandum — and the resignation of Justin Trudeau’s green attack dog, Steven Guilbeault.
And it all happened, in one, beautiful, glorious day!
But while we celebrate that, let’s pause for a moment.
Let us consider, that this was a man, who helped the PMO develop the most devastating anti-business legislation, that Canada would ever see.
Economists, who are all more educated me, are calling it the lost decade.
A decade of lost economic development, which has, quite literally, left us in the ditch.
Add a wacky president in the White House, and you basically have the cluster-fuck of all cluster-fucks.
We are in trouble. Big trouble.
And one doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out.
Thankfully, Carney hit the ground running. And while a few right-wing columnist types here in Alberta think he hasn’t done enough, it’s time to give their head a shake.
The only thing missing from Thursday’s announcement in Calgary, was free lollipops, for everyone in attendance.
It was also a totally redeeming moment, for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who played her cards well with the new powers in Ottawa.
It might also have been a bad day, for Alberta separatists, like myself.
Guilbeault, who came into politics after a decades-long career as an environmentalist and activist, was initially the Heritage Minister but was moved to the Environment file after the 2021 election.
Under his command, the feds moved on multiple regulations and climate policies.
Canadian companies that once had it relatively easy to get approvals, suddenly had to be the Nadia Comaneci of gymnasts, to jump through all the federal hoops.
Our economy was placed on the backburner — suddenly, emissions goals and regulations, including the O&G emissions camp, electric vehicle mandates, methane reductions from oil production and clean electricity regulations to achieve net-zero, became the top priority.
Not the deficit, not the economy, not jobs, not natural resources, not industry, not exports, not anything really.
Trudeau’s bizarre goal of making Canada into a Scandinavian dreamland, led us on a costly path that we are still trying to dig out of.
How bad was it?
According to the Fraser Institute, during “lost decade, the Canadian economy experienced slow growth, declining productivity, and stagnant incomes, which ended in late 2024.
Coupled with that, Mr. Funny Socks increased government spending while Canada experienced a soaring national debt, higher taxes and low business investment.
Instead of crying foul, voters in the East behaved like ostriches. Burying their heads in the sand, and turning a blind eye to the madness.
Voters in the West, were outraged. But nobody cared. The West never had a say in anything, so it was a fait accompli.
Financial Post columnist Diane Francis, perhaps nailed it best.
Compare that to our peers: the United States: saw 21 per cent real per capita GDP growth; Italy, 13 per cent.
Think about that for a moment.
Even Italy, an economy long considered a laggard in Western Europe, grew by 13.2 per cent in the same period Canada stagnated.
A decline in prosperity, we can never get back.
University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe, writing in The Hub, estimated that in 2024, the gap in real GDP per capita between Canada and the U.S. was about $22,000 — $66,300 in the U.S. compared to $44,400 in Canada, in 2015 dollars. In 2024 dollars the gap was even higher — roughly $28,000.
“Real GDP per capita in the U.S. was 43% higher than in Canada in 2023. And in 2024, I estimate this gap will widen to nearly 50%,” Tombe wrote. “This stunning divergence is unprecedented in modern history.”
Trudeau claimed that the economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024, higher than expected.
But that’s only because he recklessly boosted immigration, ignoring warnings from his own experts that it would increase the cost of living and strain beleaguered public services, which is exactly what happened.
Ask any real estate agent in Canada, what they think about that. I dare you.
Try not to get your hand bitten off.
One disaster, after another.
Which brings us back, to our pal, Steve Guilbeault.
A fellow, it appears, did not travel around the world on a bicycle, or other green methods.
According to a September 2023 report from Blacklock’s Reporter, Environment Minister Guilbeault, along with his staff and officials, accumulated over $700,000 in travel expenses in the previous year.
That’s one year, folks. And that includes transport and hotels.
I would think, five-star hotels, not the Holiday Inn.
The report also indicated that members of the House of Commons environment committee cited these high travel costs when stating they must economize on their own travel to reduce their carbon footprint! LOL!
To say this fellow was a hypocrite, would be an understatement of Canadian history.
Nothing like touting green destructive lunacy, while you fly on Air Canada in business class and spend the night in luxury.
And this is exactly why, the Canadian government should take this into consideration, and claw back his Golden Parachute pension (apparently, he got in his six years).
For the damage he did to the economy, for the harm he did to future generations, and for royally fucking us over.
Of course, I say so in jest. I couldn’t help one more jab at this clown.
And let this be a lesson. Never, ever put an extremist activist, in charge of anything.
To add insult to injury, our dear departed prime minister, has shown all Canadians, that he just doesn’t give a damn about the cost of these policies.
He’s more interested in dating a pop star in Paris, being chased by the papparazi, than about the milieu of Martha & Henry. That tells us all about his principles.
Let’s all hope Mr. Guilbeault finds a pop star that he too can date.
Far away from Canada.