I worked side-by-side with Justin Trudeau. This is what I think of Mark Carney's first big mistake
Prime Minister Mark Carney's decision to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Canada for the G7 has generated a lot of chatter. Unfortunately, there's a lot that has been missing in the conversation.
For starters, the Indian government's belief that Canada is soft on extremists seeking to establish an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan isn't exactly new. In fact, despite the fact I have now entered middle age, it's about as old as I am. But as India-Canada relations appear to be entering a new phase under Prime Minister Carney, it's worth considering what we are giving up by welcoming the Modi government back into our good graces.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Sun
2 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
EDITORIAL: Whose rights prevail in ‘nation-building'?
Prime Minister Mark Carney is pictured during an Outreach Session at the Group of Seven (G7) Summit at the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge in Kananaskis, Alta., on June 17, 2025. Photo by TERESA SUAREZ / GETTY IMAGES The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Indigenous groups do not have veto power over projects such as pipelines that cross their territory, but the government must meaningfully consult them and accommodate their legitimate concerns. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account But, what happens when a group is so opposed to a project that nothing will satisfy them, no matter how many concessions are made? In that case, who has the ultimate power to decide on the merits of the project — the government or the protesters? Many environmental groups that have no intention of ever consenting to any fossil fuel energy project, no matter what concessions are made to address their concerns, routinely launch court challenges with the goal of slowing down the approval process to the point where the project becomes economically unviable. This seems inevitable given the passage of the Liberal government's One Canadian Economy Act on Friday, supported by the Conservatives, to green-light 'nation-building projects' such as pipelines, mines and energy infrastructure that cross Indigenous territory where treaty rights apply. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the government will not approve fast-tracking projects opposed by Indigenous groups — but what does that mean? Does it mean in a jurisdiction where consent is necessary from multiple Indigenous groups that every one of them must agree to the project, or only a majority and, if so, what kind of a majority? Does a majority mean 51% or 99% approval and what does a reasonable effort to accommodate concerns mean? These are relevant questions because Indigenous protests that blockade rail lines and highways to protest government decisions in this regard will be damaging to our economy at a time when it is already being weakened by the tariff and trade war launched against us by U.S. President Donald Trump. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Ideally, nation-building projects approved by the federal government will have substantial support from Indigenous communities under agreements which include significant economic benefits from projects crossing their territory. From existing court decisions, we already know that projects which run roughshod over Indigenous rights will not survive the judicial process. But, at some point, decisions will have to be made on who is the ultimate authority — the government or groups who will always oppose these projects no matter what accommodations are made? Read More Columnists Columnists Toronto & GTA Columnists Toronto & GTA
Canada News.Net
2 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
"PM Modi always likes to come to Odisha": CM Majhi on PM's declining invitation of Trump, citing prior commitment in Odisha
Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], June 21 (ANI): Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that he politely declined an invitation from US President Donald Trump, citing prior commitment in Odisha, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has said that the PM always likes to come to his state. 'He always likes to come to Odisha. He spoke to Donald Trump during the G7, and he invited the PM for a visit to America. PM Modi had already given us the program and told us he would come on June 20... He likes to come to Odisha, and he starts his programs with the chant of 'Jai Jagannath, '' Majhi told ANI. Speaking at an event in Bhubaneswar on Friday, PM Modi said that he had politely declined an invitation from US President Donald Trump to visit the United States on his way back from Canada after the G7 Summit, choosing instead to travel to Odisha -- the 'land of Lord Jagannath,' which he called more important. 'At a time when Odisha's BJP government is completing one year, the people of Odisha are preparing for the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra. He is our 'prerna' inspiration and 'aaradhya' worship,' PM Modi said. 'Just two days ago, I was in Canada for the G7 summit. During that time, US President Donald Trump called me and invited me with great insistence. I told the President of America, Thank you for the invitation, but I need to go to the land of the Lord. So I politely declined his invitation. Your love has drawn me to the land of the Lord,' he said. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has said that his government aims to make the State a USD 500 billion economy by 2036, adding that the government would cooperate with the Centre to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat. 'We will cooperate with the centre to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat... Our GDP is more than the national average... We have prepared a vision document for 2036... We aim to make Odisha a USD 500 billion economy by 2036. A double-digit growth rate is required for this,' Majhi told ANI. Majhi commended Prime Minister Modi's leadership and highlighted contributions to the state's development. 'In January, PM Modi urged the investors to participate in the Utkarsh Odisha 2025 conclave. We received proposals worth Rs 17 lakh crores in just two days, which is a record. This happened because the investors trusted you. We are working to make Odisha the industrial hub of eastern India...,' he said. On Operation Sindoor, Majhi lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, stating, 'Under your leadership, the terrorist has been eliminated. Operation Sindoor was not just an operation; it was a symbol of the trust of mothers and sisters. With Operation Sindoor, India rises to a new role, one that does not bow. Earlier, people said, 'Modi hai toh mumkin hai'; now they say, 'Modi hai toh desh surakshit hai.' Under your leadership, development is touching new heights. In 11 years, all sectors have made progress, and India has become the world's fourth-largest economy.' PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth over Rs 18,600 crore in Bhubaneswar. These projects will cover critical sectors, including drinking water, irrigation, agricultural infrastructure, health infrastructure, rural roads and bridges, sections of national highways, and a new railway line. (ANI)
Toronto Sun
3 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
GOLDSTEIN: Prepare for more billion-dollar boondoggles
Reports by financial watchdogs of government spending suggest there are major concerns about how public infrastructure projects will be approved Get the latest from Lorrie Goldstein straight to your inbox Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks as he attends a tour of the Fort York Armoury in Toronto on June 9, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. Photo by Cole Burston / Getty Images What happens when Prime Minister Mark Carney's promise of massive new federal spending on public infrastructure and speedy approval of 'nation building projects' runs into the fact the federal public service routinely ignores the rules for spending public money and approving such projects? This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The answer, potentially, is the waste of mega-billions of public dollars on projects that are so poorly administered, some may never be completed. The issue isn't the policies themselves. Carney's Liberals and the official opposition Conservatives agree with streamlining the process for green-lighting projects such as pipelines, mines and other forms of energy infrastructure, if they are endorsed by the province and Indigenous groups where they occur. That was evidenced by their rapid approval of Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act on Friday, before Parliament adjourned for the summer. Liberals and Conservatives passed the legislation intended to boost the Canadian economy given the damage caused by President Donald Trump's tariff war and the fact the U.S. is no longer a reliable trading partner or ally of Canada. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The legislation is now headed to the Senate, scheduled to sit until June 27, for final approval before Canada Day on July 1. Read More But recent reports by Parliament's two financial watchdogs of government spending – Auditor General Karen Hogan and Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux – suggest there are major concerns about how these projects will be approved. Hogan reviewed the Liberal government's approval of the notorious ArriveCan app that was supposed to cost $80,000 and ended up costing about $60 million, as well as 106 other professional services contracts awarded by 31 federal departments and agencies and one Crown corporation to IT staffing firm GCStrategies Inc. from 2015 to 2024. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. They totalled up to $92.7 million – of which, $64.5 million was paid out. Hogan found a widespread failure within the federal public service to follow the rules in awarding these contacts intended to ensure taxpayers get good value for money. She said the same thing happened when she examined 97 contracts awarded by 20 federal departments agencies and Crown corporations valued at $209 million, with $200 million paid out, to management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, from 2011 to 2023. 'I said it back then and I'll repeat it now – I have no reason to believe this is unique to two vendors and that's why I believe the government needs to take a step back and look at why this is happening,' Hogan warned. Hogan took the unusual step of not making any recommendations on her findings, saying the problem isn't a lack of rules but the federal bureaucracy ignoring them. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In a separate report, Hogan estimated the cost of replacing Canada's aging fleet of CF-18 fighter jets with 88 new F-35s, increased by almost 50% within two years – from $19 billion in 2022 to $27.7 billion in 2024. In addition, another $5.5 billion will be needed for infrastructure needed to make the new jet fighters fully operational, because the government relied on outdated data and failed to develop contingency plans for managing financial risks associated with the project. She also noted a long-standing shortage of trained fighter pilots. In a report released Thursday, parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux said because Carney has delayed the federal budget until fall, he can't determine whether his claim he will balance the federal operating budget by 2028-29 is credible. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Nor can he determine whether Carney will achieve his commitment to increase federal spending on defence to the NATO target of 2% of GDP this fiscal year, and whether the government's overall financial plan is fiscally sustainable. In his election platform Carney's outlined $130 billion in new spending over four years with total deficit spending of $224.8 billion. That's 71% higher than the $131.4 billion in deficit spending the Trudeau government predicted during the same period last December. The problem, Giroux said, is that Carney is claiming he can balance the operating budget, the cost of running the government, within three years, while financing new capital spending on infrastructure with more public debt. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'There is no commonly accepted definition of what is defined as 'operating' or 'non-operating capital' spending,' Giroux wrote, meaning he 'is unable to assess whether the government's recent policy initiatives presented in Parliament … are consistent with achieving its new fiscal objective … This means the government could achieve its fiscal objective and yet be fiscally unsustainable.' Unless the federal government addresses the concerns of the auditor general and parliamentary budget officer, expect for more billion-dollar boondoggles of the type we've seen so often in the past. lgoldstein@ Columnists Toronto & GTA Columnists Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls
