Only On The Walters Post

A bit more on tariffs along with other things here in CANADA.

When it comes to trade wars, Canada is punching way above its weight—and not in a good way. Every time the U.S. slaps a tariff on something, we fire back with our own. Now, it might feel like standing up for ourselves, but in reality, we’re the ones taking most of the hits.

Let’s face it: the U.S. is an economic giant, and we’re the small guy in the fight. Oh sure, we might land a punch or two, but they can take it. We, on the other hand, feel every blow a lot harder. In my mind, instead of playing this tit-for-tat game, Canada needs to take a smarter approach, one that protects our businesses and workers without making things worse.

The Reality of Size and Strength

The U.S. economy is massive, over ten times bigger than ours, and when tariffs go up, American companies can often adjust. They have more suppliers, more buyers, and a bigger market to fall back on. We don’t have that luxury. When Trump hit our steel and aluminum industries with tariffs, we hit back with our own. But guess what? Our businesses and consumers will end up paying the price.

When we put tariffs on American goods, it doesn’t bring their economy to its knees… it barely makes a dent. But here at home, prices go up, jobs get put at risk, and businesses struggle to compete. So, who’s really winning that fight? Not us.

A Smarter Approach

Rather than going punch for punch, Canada should focus on building its own strength. That means doing more right here at home… bringing in new industries, supporting businesses, and making more of what we need ourselves. We can’t keep relying on other countries for everything. It’s time to stand on our own two feet.

Look at what the U.S. is doing. They aren’t waiting around for other countries to save them…they’re making things at home, investing in their own industries, and looking after their own people first. We should be doing the same. If we put half the energy we use on trade fights into making Canada more self-reliant, we’d be in a much better position.

Instead of always looking to sell elsewhere, we should be figuring out how to make our own products, process our own resources, and create jobs that keep money circulating in Canada. If all this trade trouble with the U.S. has taught us anything, it’s that we can’t afford to keep depending on others. It has to stop. We need to focus on making Canada stronger, not trying to fight battles we can’t win.

And you know what? If we do this right, prices on things like groceries and other essentials should come down. The more we make here, the less we have to import at high costs. It’s not just about industry… it’s about food, too. We need to stop covering up good farmland with concrete and start using it to feed ourselves. Maybe it’s time to bring back the old farmers, the ones who really knew how to work the land, and learn from them instead of relying on massive corporate farms that care more about profit than people. We have the land, the skills, and the resources—it’s just a matter of putting them to use for our own benefit instead of everyone else’s.

So to sum things up: Tit-for-tat might feel good in the moment, but Canada needs to be playing the long game. That’s how we stay strong… not by picking fights we can’t win, but by making sure we don’t have to fight in the first place.

Until the next time: Keep your minds open & Your Stories Alive! GW

Short Note: “Why Canada” Is Giving Mark Carney a Shot, in the news this morning.

Hmm, well Mark Carney might be stepping in as Canada’s temporary prime minister, but let’s be clear… he wasn’t put there by the votes of all Canadians. Leadership changes like this might follow the rules, but… they don’t always sit well with a lot of the people. With an election looming, it’s up to Canadians to decide if Carney should keep the job, or if someone else should take the reins. Now that’s the truth of the matter.

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 read an article the other day that got me thinking about X and its role in national unity. The idea that X is a threat just because of who owns it doesn’t sit right with me. The real problem isn’t the owner, it’s how we use these platforms.

Free speech is a key part of any democracy. Whether we agree with someone or not, we need to defend their right to speak. It’s easy to blame one person, like Elon Musk, for causing trouble, but the issue is bigger than that. If we start controlling platforms because we don’t like what someone says or does, we’re getting close to losing our own freedom to speak. And that’s something we should be careful about.

I get the point in the article about X showing more extreme views, but isn’t that just a sign of what’s happening in society as a whole? People have always had strong opinions, and now, with social media, we just see more of it. We can’t just blame the platform or its owner for the way people use it.

In my mind the real solution isn’t banning X or any platform. The solution is teaching/showing people how to think for themselves. We shouldn’t need to hide from tough ideas, we need to be able to argue against them. Banning X might seem like a quick fix, but it’s a bad idea. Taking away the platform could make things worse. It’s not about silencing the voices we don’t like, it’s about letting people hear different opinions and decide for themselves.

Until the next time, keep your minds open and 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.

It’s a strange world we live in when the folks who dare to say what’s on their mind become the villains, while those who tiptoe around the truth are treated like saints. Take Trump, Musk, and even Einstein, for example. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, these were (and are) men who stood for what they believed in. That alone is enough to make some people’s heads spin.

Now, I’m not saying they were perfect, as no one is, but here’s the thing: When was the last time you saw a politician, a business leader, or a scientist with that kind of backbone? These men spoke their minds, ruffled feathers, and, most importantly, made people think. And let’s be honest, thinking is not exactly encouraged these days.

Here in Canada and other parts of the world, a lot of folks are up in arms over these types of men. Not necessarily because of what they’ve done, but because they’ve forced people to confront realities they’d rather ignore. The truth is, we’ve been living in a bubble for so long, wrapped in a cozy blanket of controlled narratives, that when someone comes along and says, ‘”Hey, here’s what’s really going on!” it’s like tossing a rock through a barn window, it shatters everything you thought was solid.

The media, well they’ve been playing this game for years, twisting stories, pushing agendas, and making sure the ‘right’ people look good, while the ‘wrong’ ones get dragged through the mud. Trump and Musk, for all their faults, pulled back the curtain on that little magic trick. And what happened? The people who had been quietly suspecting something was off suddenly saw the whole picture. The media didn’t like that one bit.

Lets take Einstein, now there’s a different kind of troublemaker, not really. He didn’t deal with politics or business, but he still upset the apple cart in his own way. He took everything people thought they knew about the universe and said, “Actually, it’s not like that at all.” That’s the kind of boldness that changes the world, folks, and yet, like the others, he had his fair share of critics.

Sure, these men made mistakes. Big ones, even. But if we’re going to measure people by their flaws, then we’d better start tearing down statues of just about every historical figure out there. Actually they are now. Any way, the way I see it, their contributions outweigh their missteps, reason being they got people thinking, questioning, and, most importantly, waking up. And in a time when most folks are content to go along with whatever they’re told, that’s a rare and valuable thing.

So, let’s not pretend that all the fuss is really about their actions. It’s about the fact that they won’t sit down, shut up, and play nice. And that, my friends, is exactly why they matter.

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

Playing Politics with Tariffs: 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.

Took a break from the chores, grabbed my coffee, and checked my emails. As a few folks wanted to know my thoughts on what’s been happening lately, so here’s what’s on my mind.

Canada slapped tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. In return, China hit back with tariffs on our food and agricultural products. Classic trade war. But here’s the real kicker: not long ago, these same people who run things were blasting U.S. tariffs, calling them reckless, protectionist, and bad for the economy. And now? They’re doing the exact same thing.

So here’s the question: Will these folks criticize Canada the way they went after the U.S.? Will they call out China for their retaliation? I doubt it. The thing is, for a lot of these critics, it was never really about tariffs, it was about who was doing it. If Trump or any Republican put tariffs in place, it was a disaster. But now that Canada’s doing it, suddenly it’s all right?

And China? They hit back hard, but instead of taking the blame, watch how fast the story changes. They’ll either ignore it, or twist the blame back to the U.S. And if they can drag Musk or Trump into the mix, even better. That gives them another reason to rant about those guys instead of actually dealing with the problem.

Personally, I don’t think this is really about whether tariffs are good or bad. It’s about consistency, as if tariffs were wrong before, they’re wrong now. Otherwise, it’s just plain hypocrisy. The thing is, a lot of the people who complain the loudest don’t really care about the issue itself. They’re just mad because they don’t like Trump, Musk, or anyone who doesn’t fit into their view of the world. It’s like when my young ones would throw a fit because they couldn’t get their own way. Same thing, only this time, the tantrums are happening on a much bigger stage.

But that’s politics for you… principles only matter when it suits their needs. We’ll see how it all plays out, but from where I stand, it’s the same game.

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