this post was submitted on 19 Jan 2026
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[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 9 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (2 children)

Yes, this is incredibly non-controversial. Which cars do you replace them with? American ones?

[–] ZombieCyborgFromOuterSpace@piefed.ca 14 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Fuck man. This is such a shit situation.

We need new cars NOW. But what we ought to be doing is expanding rail infrastructure and public transit.

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 7 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (2 children)

K, but transit takes 4-10 years to build and will still never be able to cover cases like transporting the truly frail and sickly, large amounts of stuff, or going to remote and sparse places, because the last mile edge of the network is still a last mile at minimum, especially in inclement weather.

Cars are still going to exist for the long term forseeable future, we can try and minimize their use by providing better alternatives but we still need to plan for a future where they exist.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 0 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Lemmy seems to instinctively respond with "more transit" even when it doesn't make sense. It's hard to go too far with that one, but we've managed.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 2 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)
[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

Eventually yes, and we should. Does it have anything to do with trade policy with China in 2026? Not particularly; it's sort of interconnected the way everything is, but that's all. (Or was that the joke?)

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 3 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

Well you said Lemmy says more transit too much, so ... I had to oblige. πŸ˜„

[–] lobut@lemmy.ca 8 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

Yeah, I mean it's as Carney said in his speech:

We take the world as it is, not as we wish it to be

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 1 points 8 hours ago

Material conditions intensify

[–] ZombieCyborgFromOuterSpace@piefed.ca 0 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

The guy is in the big fucking chair. Right now he has the power to steer the future where we want it to be. But he ain't going to do it because he can't think outside the bank. We need someone with more vision and more guts.

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 1 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (1 children)

Lmao your take is that the Prime Ministership of Canada, the free leader of all of 0.049% of the global population (almost a full half of 0.1 percent!), is the "big fucking chair" that can single handily steer global events in any way he chooses?

You're also presuming that when he does steer them, that that steering will be out in the open and plainly obvious for everyone to see?

[–] ZombieCyborgFromOuterSpace@piefed.ca 2 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

You misinterpreted my comment.Β 

Of course he's limited to Canada. He can change policies, decide to invest in greener alternatives, etc. But instead all he thinks about is counting some beans. So he's investing in what brings profit at he detriment of everything else.Β 

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 0 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

Quite frankly, the beans matter a great deal and you will get absolutely nowhere if you ignore them.

I trust him to try and change things while counting beans over people claiming that you can ignore them because they find paying attention to them boring and slow.

[–] ZombieCyborgFromOuterSpace@piefed.ca 2 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Can we agree than there should be some kind of compromise? Maybe not prioritize counting beans over everything else?

We're seriously lagging behind as China is ahead of the curve with green technology, mass transit, reducing their carbon footprint by planting trees, etc.

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 2 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Can we agree than there should be some kind of compromise? Maybe not prioritize counting beans over everything else?

Sure.

We're seriously lagging behind as China is ahead of the curve with green technology, mass transit, reducing their carbon footprint by planting trees, etc.

Yes, and how did China power the rise of its manufacturing industry and consequent rise of its green technology manufacturing industry? By burning massive amounts of coal and oil and gas while focusing on economic growth. How did China build huge amounts of Mass Transit and infrastructure projects? By steamrolling over local resident and environmental concerns to build the projects in the name of the greater good of the country.

No one is perfect, but I do know that your characterizations of Carney are, at minimum, wildly over confident given the available information, if not also wildly inaccurate.

[–] nik282000@lemmy.ca 3 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Europe, Japan, Korea. They have their own problems too but it's the USA and China that are actively threatening Canada.

[–] Windex007@lemmy.world 4 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

It's bizarre because the scales have really tipped.

3 years ago, China wanted to directly interfere with Canada for the purpose of stacking the government to be more "Pro-China", and that's an active threat for sure. The USA just wanted favorable trade conditions and general support on the world stage.

Fast forward to now, the USA is actively trying to destabilize and divide Canada. They want a weaker nation. Seed dissert. Makes the country easier to push around. China... still obviously wants Canada to be more "Pro-China", but for Canada to be what they want... they still want a strong Canada. A strong Canada could be a vocal counterbalance. One in disarray can not.

So, while it's true that both countries are actively threatening Canada, their idealized vision for a Canada that can be exploited are basically polar opposites. A strong Canada willing to break ranks w/ the USA, vs a fractured weakened country thar can't afford to.

[–] nik282000@lemmy.ca 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

China does not want a strong Canada. A strong Canada might speak out about Taiwan and demand change before making trade deals. A strong Canada will look for more ethical but expensive trade partners in Europe.

The US wants Canada directly for resources, China wants a scared Canada who is willing to take any deal just to get some stability.

[–] Windex007@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

I agree with the ultimate goal (getting Canadian support, or at the very least Canadian silence).

I disagree about how it could possibly achieve those ends.

A weak Canada becomes little more than a US puppet. Full stop. Based on proximity, relative cultural similarities, and trade dependence, that's the inevitable result. Nothing China could ever do could alter that outcome. A weakened Canada folds into the US in global matters. If that happens, China has lost before the game even begins.

It's a strict prerequisite that Canada be able to absorb the reprocussions of breaking ranks with the USA if you want Canada to break ranks with the USA. A stable, economically diversified Canada CAN. Otherwise it CAN'T.

So "can they" is the first hurdle for China. The second is "will they". That's where this is all playing out. Over the last... I dunno, 4 years, they've been working on the "will they" by getting cozy with politicians.

Right now, they're at significant risk of backsliding from a "will they" situation back to a "can they" situation.

The USA has a much shorter path. They don't have to compete for "will they (side with USA)" if they can merely make it so that "can they (break ranks)" becomes unfeasible based on economic and political turmoil.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 1 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

Insightful.

I'd add that our opinions, like mine, have been heavily influenced by pro-US and anti-China propaganda by American and pro-American actors for a long time. I only started noticing it over the last couple of years. Now it's obvious as day. Not saying there's nothing to worry about. Just musing on our collective opinion towards China.