Only On The Walters Post

These are my own thoughts from what I’ve seen and lived through. I’m sharing them to spark some thinking and honest conversation, not because I have all the answers.

Well, here we go again. President Trump’s back in the spotlight, and this time he’s doubling down on tariffs … 50% now on Canadian steel and aluminum. That’s a hard pill to swallow, especially for the folks in Ontario who rely on that work to keep food on the table.

At first glance, this looks like trouble. And truth is, in the short term, it is. Companies will hurt. Some jobs might be on the line. Things could get tight, no doubt about it.

But here’s the thing , I don’t think it’s all bad. In fact, if we’re smart about it, this might just be the nudge we needed.

Doug Ford says we’re going to onshore every widget we can. And you know what? I agree with him. We’ve been too reliant on the U.S. for too long. We’ve seen this movie before, remember when they cut us off from masks during the pandemic? That was a wake-up call. And now, here we are again, being reminded that we need to start looking after ourselves.

We’ve got the resources, we’ve got the workers, and we’ve got the know-how. Why are we shipping aluminum south, only to have it turned into cans, marked up, and sent right back? Makes no sense. Let’s build the can plant here. Let’s melt our own steel, make our own beams, and keep our people working.

This won’t be easy. But long term, it could make us stronger, more independent, and better prepared for whatever comes next.

Sometimes, it takes a good shove to get us moving in the right direction. This might be one of those times.

Until the next time:
Keep Your Minds Open & Your Stories Alive. GW

Only On The Walters Post

These are my own thoughts from what I’ve seen and lived through. I’m sharing them to spark some thinking and honest conversation, not because I have all the answers.

Tariffs, Excuses, and the Grocery Till

Lately, I’ve been paying attention to what’s happening with grocery prices here in Canada, and something’s not sitting right. Every time the bill goes up, there’s a new excuse. Now, they’re blaming tariffs, the new ones coming from across the border. And sure enough, some of the stuff we bring in from down there is getting hit with extra charges, which means higher costs by the time it lands on our shelves.

But here’s where I start raising my eyebrows.

They say it’s a 25 percent tariff on certain things we import, like food, grains, and even packaging supplies. And yes, that adds up, but when I look at the size of the price hikes, it feels like someone is adding a little extra on top. Maybe more than a little.

Over the years, I’ve lived through my share of economic ups and downs, and I know when something smells off. Tariffs might explain a piece of the puzzle, but they sure don’t explain why everything from apples to oatmeal has jumped in price. And it doesn’t explain why the folks in charge of setting those prices seem to be doing just fine, maybe even better than fine, while the rest of us are squinting at the checkout, wondering what we can put back.

Now, I’m not saying these trade decisions don’t affect things. They do. But I’m also not buying the idea that this is all out of their hands. It feels more like they found themselves a convenient excuse and decided to run with it.

Any way, at the end of the day, us regular Canadians are the ones footing the bill again. And all we get in return is another round of reasons why things “had to” go up.

Until the next time: Keep Your Minds Open & Your Stories Alive. GW

Only On The Walters Post

These are my own thoughts from what I’ve seen and lived through. I’m sharing them to spark some thinking and honest conversation, not because I have all the answers.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately, I do that occasionally, about our oil — the stuff under our feet that helped build this country, fuel our trucks, and keep the lights on. Truth is, I don’t think most folks realize just how backwards things have gotten.

Here’s the rundown: we drill it, we pump it, and we send nearly all of it straight to the States. They take that crude, refine it, turn it into gasoline and diesel, and then sell it right back to us — at a tidy profit, of course.

Now, yes, I know we do have some refineries here in Canada — fifteen of them across the country. Some are in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and a few in Quebec and New Brunswick. But even with those, we still send 95% of our crude south, and then turn around and buy it back — especially in the eastern provinces.

So we’re rich in oil, but still buying back the finished product. That’s like raising your own cattle and ordering your steak from down the street.

We’ve got the oil, the land, the workers, and the know-how; so if we started refining more of our oil right here at home, we’d be putting thousands of people to work — skilled trades, operators, truckers, and the whole works. And we’d stop giving away the value of our resources while paying more at the pump.

To me, that’s something worth fixing.

Until the next time: Keep Your Minds Open & Your Stories Alive. GW