Quiet Canines Podcast

This is a story about how one strong Indian woman helped force the Canadian government to eliminate a sexist law, and how I benefited as a result. I’m going to use the term Indian because that was the term historically used. But, I understand that First Nation is the term that we should be using today.Long before European contact, Indians used kinship and community ties to determine their own citizenship. However, these traditional systems of governance were undermined and displaced by colonialism. When the Indian Act was enacted in 1876, its primary purpose was to forcibly control, civilize, and assimilate Indians into Canadian society.The colonizers introduced legislation that determined who could reside on reserves. The legislation stripped Indian status from any Indian woman who married a man who was not Indian. And it prevented their children and future descendants from being recognized as Indian. The legal definition of “Indian” was no longer based on community ties. It tore families apart, forcing them to move away.My mother grew up on the Millbrook Reserve in Nova Scotia. Both her parents were members of the Mi’kmaw Nation. Sadly, she and her sister moved to Boston as teenagers because the racism against Mi’kmaw people was intolerable at that time. They each married Irish men from Boston. As a result, they were no longer considered Indian.My sister, my cousins, and I were not recognized as Indian when we were born. Mary Two Axe Earley faced this same injustice when she married an American engineer and lost her status. In 1967, she helped found Indian Rights for Indian Women and began fiercely testifying and protesting. In 1973 the Supreme Court upheld the discriminatory law, but she kept fighting for decades. Finally, in 1985, Bill C 31 was passed. She became the first person to regain her status, which paved the way for thousands of women and their children. Because of this strong Indian woman, my mother and her sister, along with my sister, my cousins, and me, were legally considered Indians.Imagine a government telling you that you are not really Irish, Italian, or French, even though you can trace your family tree back through generations. The Indian Act remains a federal law today. While it has been amended, traces of its colonial past continue to discriminate against First Nations people in Canada.If you want to learn more about indigenous Canadians, join our growing Substack community. We are currently welcoming new members to our tribe. The link is in my bio. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

They found a settlement in Saskatchewan that is eleven thousand years old and existed before contact with Europeans. It’s one of the oldest known Indigenous sites in North America. This is right up there with some of the world’s most well recognized ancient sites, such as the Great Pyramids of Egypt, Stonehenge in England, and Göbekli Tepe in Turkey. The settlement existed about six thousand years before the Great Pyramids of Egypt.Some believe that the first humans moved into the area after the glaciers melted about ten thousand years ago. It was assumed that indigenous peoples were made up of small nomadic tribes, but this site contradicts this claim. The site is near Prince Albert in Saskatchewan, and researchers believe it could prove Indigenous people lived in the region about one thousand years earlier than they thought.The site is called Âsowanânihk, which is a Cree word meaning a place to cross. And the site looks like a permanent settlement. There are huge and deep fire pits that suggest it was used for cooking for generations. There are wooden and earth structures that they believe were used to funnel an enormous extinct bison from the ice age weighing two thousand kilograms.Once the bison entered the enclosure, escape became difficult and hunters could kill them. They found a massive collection of these animal’s bones in one location. They found evidence of tool making. They found distinct alternating layers of charcoal in the soil suggesting that they were practicing intentional forest and fire management to manipulate vegetation and clear land.“This discovery challenges the outdated idea that early Indigenous peoples were solely nomadic.” The evidence of long term settlement and land stewardship suggests a deep rooted presence. Oral histories have long described the area as an important cultural and trade hub, and this discovery offers physical evidence supporting those accounts. This discovery is a powerful reminder that indigenous peoples were here, building, thriving, and shaping the land long before history books acknowledged them.Sadly, the site is threatened by logging and industrial activities, with Elder Willie Ermine and the Âsowanânihk Council expressing concerns about potential destruction and advocating for immediate protective measures. If you want to learn more about the indigenous way of life, join our free Substack community. The link is in the bio. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Does it make you angry when our leaders say that the wildfires devastating our province are just the new normal?Right now, we are told to move past politics. To rally around the flag and uncritically embrace bad policy choices. But how can we ask British Columbians to watch our province burn and look past the cause? How can we ignore that politics is the reason tens of thousands of our neighbours are huddled in shelters, unsure if they’ll ever see their communities whole again?Those in power act shocked every year at the incineration of our province. But they hold the power to change our future and they choose not to.I think of those on the front lines who see this firsthand. I think of the firefighter who said, “Climate change isn’t a prediction. It is the shift we are already working.”Handouts are offered to LNG corporations, billions are spent on pipelines, and AI data centres are celebrated. The status quo is a lit match.But we have the tools to stop this. We can fund FireSmart and implement the Abbott Chapman Report. We can ban glyphosate and manage forests without letting companies decimate the ecosystems that resist fire and help prevent wildfires.We can cut off the endless subsidies to foreign and fossil fuel corporations and build the renewable future we need.It’s mind numbing that decades of political choices have guaranteed the profits of the few and the suffering of the many at the cost of our future, our children, and all the creatures that are suffering because of these choices.The BC NDP must listen to firefighters, to Indigenous nations, and to their own members who tell them that fossil fuel expansion, the very thing causing these wildfires, must end.We have the chance to prevent these hellish summers from getting worse. But it comes down to a choice.The BC NDP must make the right one. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

At 10:40 on the night of June 4, 1971, police arrested Donald Marshall Junior in Whycocomagh. The case against him had been built by John MacIntyre, the Sergeant of Detectives with Sydney City Police.MacIntyre already regarded Donald as a troublemaker. By the morning after Sandy Seale was stabbed, MacIntyre had decided Donald was responsible. He told an RCMP sergeant that Donald and Sandy had been arguing, which was a lie. George and Alexander MacNeil had also seen two unfamiliar men in the park. Their descriptions matched Donald’s account. MacIntyre set their evidence aside, stopped looking for those men, and declined investigative help from the RCMP.The Royal Commission later found that Donald’s Mi’kmaw identity was one reason MacIntyre made him the prime suspect. The Commission said MacIntyre became “blindly determined to prove his theory.”MacIntyre then turned to two teenagers.John Pratico was sixteen. In his first statement, Pratico told police that he heard a scream and saw two men running away. On June 4, MacIntyre took him through the park and questioned him again.This time, Pratico’s story changed. He now said Donald and Sandy had been arguing. Then he claimed that he watched Donald stab Sandy.The Commission found that MacIntyre suggested the argument, Donald’s role, and even the place where Pratico supposedly stood.MacIntyre next travelled to Louisbourg to question Maynard Chant. Chant was fourteen and on probation. He had reached Donald only after the attack.MacIntyre falsely told Chant that another witness had seen him in the park. After an intimidating interview, Chant signed a statement that matched Pratico’s story. Chant now claimed that he had also seen Donald argue with Sandy and stab him.The Commission found that MacIntyre supplied those details. MacIntyre was the only connection between the two stories.Those statements led to Donald’s arrest.MacIntyre handed the entire file to the Crown prosecutor. That file contained the earlier statements that contradicted the new stories. The prosecutor carried the new stories forward while the contradictions remained unexamined and undisclosed to the defence.On July 5, Pratico and Chant repeated their false stories at Donald’s preliminary inquiry. Donald’s lawyers asked neither witness a single question.The judge ordered Donald to stand trial for murder.MacIntyre’s false theory had become the case against Donald.Join our Substack community so you don’t miss out on Part III. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

In 1971, Donald Marshall Jr. was wrongfully convicted of killing his friend in Nova Scotia. And even after the conviction was overturned, he was still blamed for the judicial error.In 1971 the Mi’kmaw community of Membertou sat on a hill roughly three kilometres above downtown Sydney, Nova Scotia. It had been placed there in 1926, after prominent Sydney residents spent years petitioning to have the King’s Road Reserve removed from the expanding city core. They argued that their Mi’kmaw neighbours drove down property values and endangered public health. The Exchequer Court of Canada ordered the move, the first time a Canadian court legally compelled an Indigenous community to relocate.Donald Marshall Junior grew up there, the son of the Grand Chief of the Mi’kmaq. He was seventeen and had a few minor brushes with the law.Shortly before midnight on 28 May 1971, Marshall left a dance and met Sandy Seale by chance. Seale was also seventeen, Black, from a strict family, expected home by curfew and carrying enough money for the bus. The two barely knew one another. They walked into Wentworth Park.There they met Roy Ebsary, 59, a former ship’s cook with a reputation for violence and a knife conviction, and James MacNeil, 25, an unemployed labourer. Ebsary and MacNeil began the conversation. After several minutes one of the younger men asked for money. Ebsary said, “This is for you, Black man,” and drove a knife into Seale’s stomach, then lunged at Marshall and cut his arm. Marshall’s wound was slight. Seale died within a day.Four constables answered the call: Leo Mroz, Howard Dean, Richard Walsh and Martin MacDonald. They left the scene unguarded, searched nothing and questioned nobody. No autopsy was ever performed on Seale.Marshall told the police what had happened. By the next morning Sergeant of Detectives John MacIntyre had settled on a different account: that Marshall had stabbed Seale during an argument. Two witnesses, George and Sandy MacNeil, described two men in the park matching Marshall’s description. MacIntyre set those statements aside and never went looking for Ebsary.He turned instead to teenagers. Maynard Chant was fourteen and on probation, frightened of jail. John Pratico was sixteen and unstable, known to invent stories. Both first gave accounts supporting Marshall. MacIntyre took Pratico to the scene, supplied him with a version of events, and obtained a second statement, then pressed Chant into corroborating it.Donald Marshall Junior was charged with murder on 4 June 1971. The Royal Commission later found that MacIntyre shared what it called “a general sense in Sydney’s White community” that Indians were worth less than whites.I plan to make this into a series that documents the police corruption, the systemic racism, and the wrongful conviction that robbed this young man of 11 years of his life.Join our community so you don’t miss out. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Imagine a society where you are considered wealthy not by how much money you keep, but by how much you give away.In 1623, French missionary Gabriel Sagard lived with the Huron Wendat, an Indigenous people in today’s southern Ontario.Sagard observed that the Wendat assisted one another so completely that their towns had no indigent beggars. When the Wendat learned that France had crowds of destitute people begging in the street, they condemned the French and said it was because they lacked charity. But the word charity was not an Iroquoian word, and it did not mean charity as defined by Christians.What he witnessed was a form of kinship that extended to whoever was present, including him. He wrote that his host shared the single bearskin that covered him when rain came at night, prepared his sleeping place, carried his pack over the portages and released him from the paddle. He said where two households shared a shelter, each cooked its own kettle, and everyone ate from both without dispute.Sagard’s host instructed him to call the household’s mother, my mother, and its men, my brother. Villagers called him son, nephew, uncle or cousin according to their age. The day after he arrived, a small household gave up its portion of the longhouse so he would have room.Another missionary, Jean de Brébeuf arrived in 1634. He lived with one of the richest men in his village. Wealth was determined by how much you gave away, not how much you accumulated.For example, a fire burned the village down, but the house where Brébeuf was staying survived. The owner of the house hung a great cauldron, feasted everyone and gave away one of his two bins of corn, which held over a hundred bushels. Brébeuf wrote that the Wendat believed in spreading wealth around.Raised Catholic, I was taught that love and charity are the highest virtues. This is how the Wendat lived, but nobody was performing a virtue. It was an obligation to help those in need. Whoever was providing this season might become a dependent next season.The difference is that French charity addressed what to do about the poor. But the Wendat practice meant that the condition of poverty just wasn’t a thing.Obviously before European contact, the Wendat were not Christians. What do you think. Is right action without faith sufficient for salvation? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

If you want to “Make America Great Again,” let’s actually look at when the continent was actually great.Trump and MAGA want to take you back to the 1950s, which was an era built on segregation, the destruction of the environment, and rampant consumerism. But if we go back further, before European contact, there was zero homelessness, zero medical debt, and zero starvation. Society was organized around the collective good, where hoarding wealth while your neighbour starved was unthinkable. That’s what early anthropologists called “primitive communism.”So yeah, let’s make America great again. Let’s bring back Indigenous collectivism.It’s fascinating when you look back on Indigenous populations around the world. How did they all adopt a similar philosophy around the same time if they had no contact with each other? It all boils down to cultural evolution and ecological necessity.Historically, all human societies faced the same fundamental challenge: how to survive in an ecosystem over thousands of years without destroying it. When human groups live in close, daily reliance on nature for food, shelter, and medicine, they naturally arrive at the same logical conclusions.An extractive mindset, which means taking until a resource is gone, leads to immediate starvation or societal collapse. Therefore, sustainability, deep observation of cycles, and communal sharing emerged independently worldwide as practical strategies for survival.This is how humans lived for 99% of our history. Before anyone says that capitalism lifted so many people out of poverty, how is that working out? Capitalism has only existed for a few hundred years, and it’s already pushed the planet to the brink of climate collapse, and there is extreme wealth inequality. Indigenous collectivism lasted for tens of thousands of years in perfect ecological balance.I can just hear what Jason Kenney would say if he saw my video. He would call this philosophy a mud hut philosophy, implying that I think we should go back to living in mud huts. But that’s not what I’m saying, and these Indigenous practices are being used today to help communities thrive.For example, the Membertou First Nation is very close to where my mother grew up. It is a Mi’kmaq First Nation. Membertou went from near bankruptcy to an economic powerhouse. But they didn’t do it with capitalism. They did not privatize reserve land. Instead, they created a centralized corporate entity owned by the band. The community collectively owns commercial real estate, data centres, and green energy projects.Every single dollar of profit is funnelled back into the community. They used the collective wealth to give every member a guaranteed income, free tuition for education after secondary school, and housing with the most advanced modern features.Wait a minute. Isn’t this evil socialism? Are the Mi’kmaq communists?The problem with throwing these terms around is that most people have no idea what they mean. There is no authoritarian dictator in Membertou. Chief and Council are democratically elected. The communal trust is not run by them. It’s run by a financial manager with a fiduciary responsibility to grow the value of the trust and reinvest in the community.This is true trickle down economics. The wealth isn’t concentrated in a few hands at the top. It is evenly distributed to every member of the community.So yeah, go ahead and call it socialism or communism. It worked for 99% of human history. We need to think of organizing our world in a way that is different from the way we are organized today. Otherwise, we will make this planet unlivable, and wealth inequality will continue to widen.I think we should be exploring how our Indigenous communities lived before European contact and how they are thriving today. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

I’m curious to know what your premier is saying about the ban on American booze and whether you agree with the Premier of Quebec. There are reports that the federal government is prepared to meet some demands from the United States, including ending provincial bans on American alcohol, in exchange for relief from tariffs from the United States. But Quebec’s premier, Christine Fréchette, said she will continue to defend Quebec’s economic interests.She said the ban on alcohol from the United States will remain in effect “until an agreement that we deem fair has been negotiated.” “The sale of alcohol falls exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Quebec government. Quebec, and Quebec alone, will make that decision,” she said.Let me know what your premier is saying. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

I recently heard a First Nation’s Chief in British Columbia say this about the pipeline that crosses his territory. “Whether I support it or not, we have to get on board and reap what benefits we can.” I totally disagree with this because it treats the pipeline as a foregone conclusion. Working within the system to gain from it just reinforces the system that colonized Indigenous people in the first place. The pipeline will accelerate climate change, and it represents a direct threat to the habitat it crosses. Why are you willing to accept this in exchange for a few dollars?I much prefer the philosophy of the Mapuche. The Mapuche are an Indigenous people of southern Chile and Argentina. Their name means land people. They repelled the Spanish by alternating between armed resistance and treaties and held independent territory for fifty years after Chile declared independence in 1810. They do not ask for a seat at the table. They block the machinery. In October 2025, Mapuche communities stopped fracking equipment from crossing their land. The Oil and Gas Industry’s plan was to drain a lake to supply 700 new fracking operations. The Mapuche have taken their case to international bodies, testifying about mining, oil, and gas projects. Women lead as spiritual authorities, teachers, and defenders of territory.Someone in my comments might say this is the problem with First Nations in Canada. They are just obstructionists. What about the people of Albania who have been protesting for months against Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s resort because they want to protect their ecosystem? Are they all just obstructionists that should either be bought off or swept aside? Instead of using the term obstructionists, I would prefer to use the term defenders.We should demand our leaders defend us against the harmful practices of the oil and gas industry. I reject the idea that a pipeline is a foregone conclusion. It reminds me of the Star Trek episode about the Borg who said “resistance is futile” as they tried to assimilate the human race. Just like Captain Picard, I will never accept that resistance is futile. In many cases, resistance is a moral duty. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

If we had just listened to Indigenous Peoples 500 years ago, we wouldn’t have a climate crisis today. I’m a member of the Mi’kmaq First Nation. I find it fascinating to study the Mi’kmaq concept of “taking only what you need.” It’s known as Netukulimk (pronounced neh doo goo limk).It is a cultural and spiritual philosophy that has guided resource management, environmental stewardship, and community sustenance for over 12,000 years. Netukulimk is the use of the natural bounty provided by the Creator so that the individual and the community can support themselves and be well. It is achieving adequate standards of community nutrition and economic wellbeing without jeopardizing the integrity, diversity, or productivity of the environment.Netukulimk teaches people to have enough, but not more than enough. Hoarding, overharvesting, or taking resources for pure profit violates this natural law. When an animal, fish, or plant is taken, every single part must be utilized or repurposed. Wasting nature’s bounty is seen as a profound disrespect to the Creator.Harvesters must always evaluate how their actions today will affect the resource in the future. For example, when gathering wild sweetgrass, traditional harvesters never pull the plant out by the root, and they switch picking locations frequently so the local population can regenerate next season. Leaders distributed and rotated hunting territories so that no area was exhausted, allowing resources to replenish. Animal bones were handled with care. Throwing them into a fire or feeding them to dogs was not allowed because it prevented the animal’s spirit from becoming another life form.Humans are recycled by the soil and nourish plants, plants nourish animals, animals nourish humans. Because ancestors are absorbed into land, water and air, consuming plants and animals is a celebration of ancestors. That’s where the term “all my relations” comes from. It’s a reminder that we are interconnected with all aspects of our natural world. To the Mi’kmaq, humans, rivers, plants, and animals are all equal parts of an interconnected family spirit.Today, DNA mapping proves that all living things on Earth share a single genetic origin. The Mi’kmaq people knew this was true 12,000 years ago. Netukulimk does not treat humans as rulers over nature. Nature has rights. Humans have responsibilities. How do you think this way of life compares to capitalism? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Canada tried to erase a spiritual, economic and political institution created centuries ago by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest. A potlatch is a ceremony practised by First Nations along the coast of British Columbia. The word comes through Chinook Jargon, and it means to give. A host gathers guests for a feast, speeches, songs and dances, and then gives them gifts.A potlatch can be held to commemorate a marriage, a death, the naming of a child or the succession of a chief. It can transfer names, titles, rights, privileges and responsibilities. It preserves oral history, regulates social standing and distributes wealth. Rather than hoarding resources, a host elevates their status by how much they give away. It is not simply a celebration. It is also a legal, political and economic institution. And the guests serve as witnesses to validate what took place.In 1884, the Canadian government amended the Indian Act to outlaw the potlatch. European authorities and missionaries saw the practice as an obstacle to assimilation, contrary to Christian values, and economically wasteful because of the mass giving away of property. If caught, participants faced two to six months in jail. Many communities continued holding potlatches as a form of underground resistance.In 1921, Chief Dan Cranmer hosted a secret potlatch on Village Island. Authorities charged 45 people and imprisoned 20. Officials pressured the community to surrender hundreds of masks, pieces of regalia and other cultural belongings. Many pieces were sent to museums or private collectors. It wasn’t until 1951 that this oppressive ban was removed from the Indian Act.Imagine that. In the late 1800s, the Canadian government tried to eliminate the potlatch because they determined that giving away property was seen as a threat to capitalism. Here we are in 2026, and what is the number one issue, besides climate change, that is causing so much suffering? We have the richest 1% of the population owning 37% of all the wealth, while the poorest 50% owns just 2% combined. If Donald Trump and the Republican Party were around in the 1800s, no doubt they’d be calling these Indigenous communities communists.It’s just one example of many where the Indigenous way of life, before European contact, made much more sense than the way we have organized our societies today. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Starting next Sunday, I’ll be posting a longer video for paid subscribers on Substack that examines one Indigenous concept, like the Potlatch or Netukulimk. I’ve just created short videos about these concepts for everyone. But I want to explore the Indigenous way of life in more depth.I’ll continue to post my short videos here for everyone. The longer educational content will be available to my paid subscribers once a week. If this is something you’re interested in, consider becoming a paid subscriber. You can always go back to being a free subscriber anytime.If paying a monthly subscription is too much, but you still want to support what I’m doing, you can also buy me a coffee. The link is in my bio. I appreciate you all very much.Thank you,Michael This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Whatever Trump says, I believe the opposite is true. So, when Trump says we don’t need anything that Canada has, that’s b******t. If Canada ever decided to close its doors, the whole world would feel it within weeks. Let’s start with food. Potash is one of the main ingredients in fertilizer. Without it, crop yields around the world would collapse. Canada holds the largest potash reserves in the world. It controls about one third of the world’s potash supply. If Canada stopped digging potash tomorrow, the price of food everywhere would go up within weeks.Then there’s uranium. The world is racing to expand nuclear energy to fight climate change, and nuclear plants run on uranium. Canada ranks second among uranium producers in the world and has some of the richest deposits ever discovered, with grades that are dozens of times higher than those found anywhere else. So, many of the reactors that are lighting up cities around the world are running on Canadian fuel.Then there’s water, the one resource no one can live without. As the planet heats up and rivers dry up, fresh water is becoming one of the most valuable substances. Canada holds around 20% of all the fresh water in the world. Canada is known as the land of lakes. While countries are heading toward a future of drought and water wars, Canada is sitting on an ocean of the one thing everyone will be desperate for in the future.Canada’s oil reserves are also the third largest in the world, at around 170 billion barrels, behind only Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. It is also one of the largest producers of gold, nickel, and the rare metals that go into your phone, your laptop and the batteries of electric cars. Then there’s timber. Nearly 40% of the planet’s forests that are certified as sustainable are Canadian. That means that when Canada cuts down trees for timber, paper, or fuel, it is ensuring that the forests will remain ecologically diverse for future generations. Canada also produces wheat and canola.And let’s talk about aluminum. The U.S. relies on Quebec for its aluminum. This means Quebec has an irreplaceable role in keeping U.S. manufacturing going. America relies on Quebec because aluminum production requires massive amounts of electricity. Quebec uses cheap hydroelectric power. Electricity in the U.S. is expensive, and it keeps going up. The U.S. simply lacks the infrastructure to fulfill its own demand, and it has learned that it cannot get it anywhere else. For example, a new project that would make 50,000 tonnes per year has been proposed in the U.S. Quebec produces that same 50,000 tonnes in just one week.Major automotive manufacturing relies on Quebec’s lightweight metal. Ford’s iconic pickup trucks depend on Quebec aluminum. U.S. aerospace and defense contractors rely on aluminum alloys of a high grade for commercial aircraft and military hardware. Consumer goods like beverage cans and structural beams used in American infrastructure are deeply tied to Canadian supply lines.Americans are telling Quebec they’ll give them tariff relief if they move operations to the U.S., but that’s not going to happen because the U.S. doesn’t have the energy. What Quebec produces and ships to the U.S. is 2.7 million tonnes of metal a year. It takes 40 million megawatt hours of energy to produce that amount. The U.S. doesn’t have the energy. It doesn’t have the hydropower. That energy is equivalent to the output of 5 Hoover Dams. Canada isn’t going to move assets that are competitive worldwide, and now Quebec can arbitrage between the European market and the U.S. market. When the return is better in Europe, Quebec producers ship to Europe. This is what has happened over the past 3 months, leading to the accelerated depletion of U.S. inventory.All Trump’s tariffs have done is make aluminum cost U.S. consumers $2,000 more per tonne than Europe is paying.So Canada has food, fuel, water, metals, timber, and power. Canada isn’t just rich in one thing. It’s rich in nearly everything the modern world can’t survive without. In terms of resources, Canada is one of the most powerful nations that has ever existed. So, when Trump says we don’t need anything Canada has, why does the idiot continue to wish we were the 51st state? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

When arguing with a climate skeptic who claims the climate has always changed, start by asking a simple question. Are you telling me that you know something that over 99% of climate scientists have missed?Then ask them about the last time they had a fever. We know our healthy body temperature is 98.6 degrees. An increase of just 1 or 2 degrees and we’re sick. Ask them how they felt when they had a temperature over 100 degrees.The earth is just like the human body. An increase of just 1.5 degrees means our earth is running a fever. We already know that a small temperature shift can completely upend human civilization.Between 1300 and 1850 the global temperature dropped by .5 to 1 degree which was caused by massive volcanic eruptions blocking sunlight and a dip in solar activity. This is the same amount of temperature changes we’re seeing today, but in the opposite direction. It resulted in massive food shortages and famine. Glaciers grew and swallowed up entire farms and villages. That cold triggered crop failures, mass starvation, the French Revolution, and a spike in European witch trials. So, a drop of just 1 degree was enough to freeze oceans, wipe out villages and trigger revolutions.If we turn the thermostat up 1-2 degrees, it would be just as catastrophic, only this time we’ll have rising seas, blistering heatwaves, catastrophic forest fires, and historic droughts.For the skeptics who say that the climate has always changed, remind them that the speed of change is like a moving glacier. Historically it took 1000 years for the temperature to rise just 1 degree. But in just the last 150 years, temperature rose 1.2 degrees. That’s 10 times faster than natural global warming.There’s absolutely no doubt that humans are causing this rapid warming by releasing so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gasses act like piling on a heavy winter coat. The room doesn’t have to be hotter, but your body heat can’t escape. The earth is trapping solar energy right at the surface. Our oceans act like a giant sponge, absorbing over ninety per cent of this trapped heat. This massive volume of stored energy is melting polar ice sheets at an accelerating rate.The melting ice causes global sea levels to rise every year, directly threatening coastal communities. Everywhere, mountain glaciers are shrinking, birds are nesting earlier, and marine life is migrating north looking for colder water.And we’re about to get hit with the strongest El Nino on record. This means heat from the Pacific Ocean is now going to be dumped into the atmosphere, making global temperatures even hotter. There’s a 90% chance that 2027 is going to be the warmest year on record around the world. The last super El Nino we saw was in 2015 and this meant 2016 was the warmest year on record that year. Scientists think that in 2027 we might see the first single month where global temperatures temporarily cross the terrifying 2 degree threshold. This is the warmest we’ve ever seen. That is some serious heat. And the countries most affected by this are going to be India, China and Canada.Next year’s weather is going to be even more unstable. The peak of this El Nino is going to be around January or February next year, right when winter happens and the biggest snowstorms happen. Even though Canada and the Arctic are going to be warmer than average in the winter, this means more snow possibly for places in the Northeast US. So, we might see huge Nor’easters this coming winter.And no, El Ninos are not caused by climate change. But climate change combined with El Ninos can cause devastating consequences. And yes, humans are currently the ones causing climate change right now. Yes, maybe in the past, millions of years ago, it was natural, but now it’s human made because of all the carbon dioxide and greenhouse gasses we’re dumping into the atmosphere.If none of this convinces your friend, you might need new friends.What are your favorite lines from climate skeptics? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Just in case you needed another reason not to trust the conservatives. BC Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay has directed MLAs to no longer use the term “First Nations” because it is a woke description and language from the left. She wants to return to using the term “Indian,” and she says the name of the Indian Act, which defines Indian status and reserve lands, justifies using the term again. Findlay has promised to take a harder line on Indigenous issues. She promises to be unapologetic about B.C.’s colonial history. She promises to repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, and she wants to work with Western provinces on constitutional reform to protect private property rights from Aboriginal title declarations.The BC NDP says that Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s extreme and divisive approach would set our province back to the 1800s. I previously made a video about how Findlay is in love with Trump. It won’t be long before we hear the slogan, “Make British Columbia Great Again.” She’s more interested in pitting neighbour against neighbour than in making life better for British Columbians. Christy Clark recently said that Findlay “cannot win an election” because “she is too kooky.”But why is reverting to the term “Indian” so offensive and harmful? First, it is a literal colonial mistake. Christopher Columbus used it because he was lost and mistakenly thought he had reached India. Forcing a centuries old geographical error onto the original inhabitants of this continent erases their true identities. Second, the term lumps hundreds of distinct nations, cultures, and languages into one inaccurate bucket. It completely ignores the rich diversity of unique communities like the Haida, Squamish, and Gitxsan, treating them as if they are all the same rather than sovereign groups.Third, the word carries deep historical trauma. In Canada, “Indian” is an institutional label imposed by the federal government through the Indian Act, which was a piece of legislation designed to assimilate Indigenous people, outlaw their culture, and force children into residential schools. Using it is a direct callback to state sponsored oppression.Using “First Nations” isn’t “woke” language; it is a matter of basic respect and self determination. Indigenous peoples chose this term to recognize their status as the original sovereign keepers of this land long before European contact. Forcing an outdated colonial label back onto people isn’t just “kooky,” it is a deliberate tool to strip away dignity and erase decades of hard fought reconciliation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Video recorded at Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation on July 27, 2026, shows an RCMP officer punching Rose Georgina Angus, an Indigenous woman, several times in the face while another officer uses a Taser against her. The RCMP says Angus punched two officers and resisted arrest. She faces six charges, including two counts each of assaulting and resisting police, plus obstruction and cocaine possession. After reviewing footage from cameras worn by the officers, the RCMP initially concluded that its officers used reasonable force. Saskatchewan’s Serious Incident Response Team is now investigating the officers’ actions under its mandate to act in the public interest.The North West Mounted Police, the RCMP’s predecessor, was created in 1873 as Canada extended federal control across the Prairies. Federal policies forced many First Nations on the Prairies onto reserves, while Mounties enforced restrictions that confined them there. Under the pass system, First Nations people needed written permission from an Indian agent to leave a reserve. Government lawyers recognized the system as illegal by 1892, yet Mounties continued applying it into the 1930s.The force also enforced attendance at residential schools. RCMP members served as truant officers under the Indian Act, searched for children who fled, forcibly removed some children from their homes and fined parents for their children’s absence. About 150,000 Indigenous children were separated from their families through the system, which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission described as cultural genocide. The RCMP’s own 2011 report concluded that its participation contributed to distrust among Indigenous people.My question for you is: Should an institution responsible for cultural genocide be policing First Nations communities in Canada?Let me know if you want me to make a separate video detailing the use of force training I received from the RCMP. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

When asked to discuss the migrant crisis where more than 50,000 people crossed from Morocco into Spain, it is important to look at the human cost. Many individuals swam around the breakwaters to reach the shore. At least 72 people drowned or were crushed during the crossing, and more than 1,000 required medical treatment. The response from populist politicians on the right was entirely predictable.Donald Trump called the situation an invasion and claimed that the same scenario will happen in America if the Democrats win. JD Vance stated that the event is a reminder of mass migration and radical globalist policies from the political left. Elon Musk asserted that the entire budget of Spain will be destroyed by illegal migrants. Giorgia Meloni called the crisis a threat to the borders of Europe, while Marine Le Pen claimed the influx was encouraged by the Spanish government itself. Nigel Farage warned that the migrants will be heading to his country too, calling the event a stunning warning about the consequences of lax border control. Right wing parties in Spain also used the word invasion, criticizing the government for failing to protect the borders, and some even organized a rally at the border while the crisis was unfolding. These politicians are all using this tragedy to push a political agenda that opposes immigration. They deliberately use the word invasion to make people afraid, and they position themselves as the only leaders who are strong enough to protect the nation. However, this conversation completely misses what caused the tragedy in the first place. It ignores the question of why so many people would risk their lives in this manner.The root causes are tied heavily to climate and economic survival. Morocco recently endured seven consecutive years of drought. These weak harvests cost 157,000 jobs. Unemployment among young people reached close to 40 percent in a country where agriculture supplies close to 30 percent of all employment. Looking ahead, the World Bank predicts that as many as 216 million people will be displaced inside their own countries by the year 2050, which includes 19 million people in North Africa alone. Africa accounts for less than 4 percent of global carbon emissions, yet its population faces the most severe droughts, floods, and food insecurity caused by the pollution of wealthier and more industrialized nations. This is a profound global injustice because the continent that did the least to cause the climate crisis is paying the highest price for it.Personally, I do not want a politician who wants to build a wall. I want a leader who admits and takes responsibility for causing the intolerable conditions that these migrants find themselves in. I do not see an invasion when I look at this crisis. Instead, I see a Moroccan waitress who saw a chance to support her parents and her daughter. I see a 24 year old person who cannot find a job anywhere in Morocco. I see a hungry 23 year old person who was prevented from buying food by Spanish authorities. Ultimately, we must remember that a child remains a child even after crossing a border. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

By now, we have all seen enough clips of Donald Trump spouting nonsense and racist rhetoric. Have you ever noticed that he behaves a lot like other politicians? What do all of these politicians have in common? They all seem to hate immigrants. They all love to talk about social cohesion and national pride. They also say the most outrageous, ridiculous, and unverified things.The most important similarity is that they are all just symptoms of a failing economic system. The fact that they all exist at this precise moment is not a coincidence. The current system is in a severe crisis. It is a global framework that requires constant extraction for profit, where a small minority owns everything we need to survive.In order for this minority to maximize profits, they need everyone to keep buying their products. If no one can afford them, a major crisis occurs. When the economy hits this point, the problems become too loud and inequality becomes too visible. When workers start to notice and complain, the system produces distractions.The system will focus on immigrants, refugees, transgender individuals, or student activists. They give us loud politicians to focus on instead. Every theatrical outburst and racist provocation performed by these politicians is designed to keep the public outraged at individuals. It stops people from examining the system that finances, platforms, and produces them.This makes people believe that if we just vote out one bad politician, the system might work. People think it can be reformed, which is exactly what the ruling class wants. This is why everyone dissects specific fumbled sentences while ignoring the biggest donors. The billionaires, banks, and corporations who fund these campaigns are responsible for the crises we face in the first place.Outrageous politicians serve one purpose. They distract the masses from an ongoing class struggle. Every time we name an individual as the problem without tying them to the system, we help that system for free. If the issue is not one specific leader, it will be another politician with the same recycled vitriol.If you want a society where people like this are not the focus of politics, you must look at the root cause. You need a system where the billionaires who finance them do not have complete control over the economy and our lives. To change things, you have to start learning about the structural systems that actually give us the tools to make a real difference. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Here’s the most important thing you need to know about October 19, which is referendum day in Alberta. It’s an election, which means your voice is only heard if you get out to vote.There are going to be 10 questions on the ballot. Not every Albertan even realizes that. Five of the questions are anti immigrant questions designed to blame people who have legally come to work or study in Alberta and who are paying taxes for the UCP government’s failure to plan for health care, education, and public services, which is their responsibility.Four questions are so called Constitutional questions which cannot be solved in a referendum by one province. The last question is, of course, the separatism question. The one about Alberta no longer being part of Canada.Now look, if you want a shorthand for how to vote, I would vote no to the 9 questions and option 1, Stay in Canada. But I live in BC, so I can’t vote.If you want to read the questions in detail because they are deliberately worded in a confusing fashion to get the outcome that the UCP government wants, Danielle Smith has openly said she wants everyone to vote yes on the 9 questions, and they are actively out trying to convince people to vote that way because this will give them a mandate they were not elected on.You should go to the Elections Alberta website and, while you’re there, register for a special ballot so you can vote in the referendum by mail. It is going to be a long election day on October 19, and we don’t want anyone turning away because they don’t want to wait in line. So sign up for a special ballot today. Remember, this is your chance to have your voice heard.If you have any questions or concerns, shoot me a message. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Kerri Lynn Findlay sells out British Columbians to the Trump administration.Just in case you needed another reason not to trust Conservatives. We have an NDP government in BC, but members of Kerri Lynn Findlay’s Conservative caucus quietly met with U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra and agreed to advocate for the removal of BC’s liquor ban.Conservative Forestry Critic Ward Stamer said that American liquor would “absolutely” go back on shelves under the BC Conservatives, revealing that he said the same thing to the Trump administration directly: “That would be a measure of good faith, and that’s what we suggested to the American counterparts a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, we aren’t the government right now.”When challenged on Trump’s history of arbitrarily hitting Canada with more tariffs despite Canadian concessions, Stamer defended Trump unequivocally: “No, he doesn’t. I disagree with that. I think that these are negotiating tactics.”Are you kidding me? Trump is an erratic buffoon, and the BC Conservatives are treating him like he’s a master negotiator.I just heard Scott Jennings, who goes on CNN and whose job is to defend Trump. He said, “The administration looks like a monkey having intimate relations with a football.”And this is the government that Kerri Lynn Findlay admires.Then the Conservatives issued a press release attempting to blame Trump’s tariffs solely on Premier David Eby while letting Trump completely off the hook. The statement read, “British Columbia cannot afford a trade war, but that’s exactly where the NDP’s reckless and reactive trade policies have led us.”This just confirms that the pro Trump faction is in control of the BC Conservatives. Kerri Lynn Findlay and her team are so loyal to Donald Trump that they’re justifying his attacks on our country and meeting directly with his administration to undermine BC’s negotiating position.Every elected official should be on Team Canada, but Kerri Lynn Findlay is on Team Trump. British Columbians can’t afford a Conservative government that would sell them out to Trump.We have been so focused on what’s happening in Alberta and the US interference in that province, but it appears that there’s just as much interference happening behind the scenes in BC.I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to the day when Trump is a distant memory. The last thing I want is a government in BC that looks anything like the Trump administration.Let me know what you think about this story. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

The Saskatchewan Party Government has a bad habit of using public funds as their own personal piggy bank. Most recently, Premier Scott Moe used public funds to attend the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, a person who has been supportive of Trump’s plans to annex Saskatchewan, calling them the 51st State and imposing job killing tariffs on its economy. Do you think we should call on Scott Moe to reimburse the Saskatchewan taxpayers for his personal trip to Lindsey Graham’s funeral? Do you think it’s appropriate for the Premier of Saskatchewan to be openly supporting somebody who was instrumental in creating such devastating impacts on the Saskatchewan economy and on the rest of Canada? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Portrait of the current president of the United States. The medium used is one I have concocted from water and horse manure, which seemed appropriate considering the subject. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury imagined book burning to keep knowledge from the public. In 1984, George Orwell imagined records disappearing into a memory hole so power could control the past. Anthropic had a different motive, but its method belongs in a dystopian novel: destroy physical books and lock their contents inside a corporate system the public cannot inspect.Anthropic called the operation Project Panama. An internal planning document called it an effort to “destructively scan all the books in the world” and told employees not to discuss it outside Anthropic. Within about a year, Anthropic spent tens of millions of dollars acquiring millions of books.Vendors removed the bindings, cut the pages, scanned them and sent the remains for recycling. The files entered Anthropic’s private library as material for its AI models. Each physical copy disappeared from circulation and could no longer be read, lent, donated, resold or preserved.In June 2025, a federal judge ruled that converting legally purchased books this way qualified as fair use. Anthropic had replaced each physical copy with one digital copy and had not shared or sold the file outside the company. A separate $1.5 billion settlement, approved in July 2026, covered digital books Anthropic downloaded from pirate libraries.ISBNdb now markets purchases of 1,000 to 1 million books to AI developers. It promotes books published before 2022 because their human writing is uncontaminated by AI generated text. It offers confidentiality and admits that book destruction creates a public relations problem.Some booksellers report sudden orders for hundreds of obscure and out of print titles. They suspect AI buyers, but anonymous purchases make those suspicions difficult to prove. Scarce copies could disappear into private databases without the public knowing who bought them or what was destroyed.Orwell’s Party destroyed records to control the past. Anthropic destroyed books to improve a product. The motives differ, but Anthropic’s process still shifts power from accessible physical evidence to an institution that controls the archive. The public cannot inspect Anthropic’s library or trace Claude’s answers back to the books that shaped them.AI developers value older human books because AI generated writing is polluting online training material. They are consuming human culture to escape the contamination their own products created. The memory hole has a scanner now, and it belongs to a private company. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Indigenous knowledge from 1,400 years ago is helping Peru confront drought. More than 1,400 years ago, Indigenous people in what is now Peru learned how to turn a mountain into a reservoir. High in the Andes, they built channels of stone and earth called amunas. The name comes from a Quechua word meaning to retain.During the rainy season, the channels divert water from streams and spread it across porous hillsides. The water sinks into the soil and travels through cracks in the rock. The mountain then releases that water weeks or months later through springs and streams. Water that arrived during the rainy season becomes available when communities need it during the dry season.Scientists tested one surviving system near the community of Huamantanga. They placed a tracer dye into an amuna and monitored springs farther down the mountain. Traces appeared between two weeks and eight months later. The average journey underground lasted 45 days. Researchers calculated that restoring similar systems across key areas supplying Lima could delay 99 million cubic metres of water each year. That could increase dry season river flows by an average of 7.5 percent.Lima is a desert city of more than 11 million people. It depends heavily on water from the Andes, where shrinking glaciers, changing rainfall, and rising demand are increasing pressure on limited supplies. Communities in the upper Rímac basin are now restoring the amunas with support from scientists, engineers, and conservation groups. Since 2016, five communities and Aquafondo have rehabilitated 86 kilometres of channels.Monitoring estimates that these restored amunas help move more than 15 million cubic metres of water underground each year. Local committees maintain the channels and preserve knowledge passed down across generations. Modern science is measuring a system Indigenous communities understood centuries ago. Climate adaptation is often presented as a race to invent new technology. In Peru, part of the future is being secured by restoring knowledge that has survived for 1,400 years.Let me know what you think of this story. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

I did not think there was a billionaire as unlikable as Elon Musk, but this guy just might be. Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, worth an estimated US$11.4 billion, recently said that people with guaranteed pensions should become dependents and lose their vote. He argued that people with a stake in the future should decide instead. Under his logic, anyone paying zero income tax would receive zero votes, while people paying between $1 and $100,000 would receive one vote. The number would rise to five votes for anyone paying at least $500,000. He also described Toronto town hall participants as retired, unemployed, unemployable, and useful idiots.Longtime residents of the tight knit, historically artistic community of Wychwood Park in Toronto have described Lutke and his billionaire tech bro friends as detached and slightly disturbed, comparing them to a nest of raccoons that had taken up residence in your yard. Populism frames politics as a struggle between ordinary people and a powerful elite. Right wing populism usually defines that struggle through culture and national identity. Left wing populism defines it through class, wealth, and corporate power.Billionaires become its clearest targets because extreme wealth creates extreme influence. Billionaires can finance political movements, employ lobbyists, own media outlets, and secure access to governments. Global billionaire wealth reached $18.3 trillion in 2025. Oxfam estimates billionaires are 4,000 times more likely than ordinary people to hold political office. Tobi Lütke just showed us why the left wing populists are correct. Many of the problems we are facing today are because of guys like this. It is really no different than an aristocrat with contempt for the commoners.Left wing populists argue that billionaires already possess excessive political power, but Lütke wants to give wealthy people even more. Someone should remind Tobi that historically, when the wealth gap became too extreme and the ruling class refused to compromise, the commoners resorted to violent revolution. I am thinking about the French Revolution in 1789 and the Russian Revolution in 1917. He should be reminded that there are way more of us than there are of him and his raccoon tech bro buddies. Let me know what you think in the comments. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

In current political debate, defenders of capitalism often attack social democrats, branding them as communists and warning that their ideas threaten freedom and prosperity. This raises a question worth sitting with. What would those same voices make of the philosophies held by Indigenous nations such as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Mi’kmaw Nation?It is vital to establish that these are living communities today. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy currently includes the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora Nations. Their foundational values run counter to the core tenets of capitalism.Capitalism is an economic system defined by private ownership and the pursuit of profit. It relies on a reality where individuals and corporations control resources rather than the public. Private property grants the legal right to own, control, and accumulate assets. The primary force of the system is the profit motive, and every decision about production, investment, and distribution is calculated to maximize financial gain for the owners. In the end, capitalism organizes society around the steady accumulation of wealth.These Indigenous nations practice a disciplined foresight. The Seventh Generation value is rooted in the oral constitution of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. This principle instructs leaders to weigh not only the present but the generations to come, including those whose faces are yet beneath the ground. Chiefs consider how present choices will affect descendants who have yet to be born. The world is treated as something borrowed from future generations.The principle of Netukulimk is a central Mi’kmaw value meaning to take only what you need. It means using the bounty of creation to support the individual and the community without jeopardizing the integrity, diversity, or productivity of the environment.These teachings connect present choices with obligations that extend beyond the people making them. They demand that we leave descendants clean water, stable ecosystems, living cultures, and meaningful choices. A system built on accumulation sits in direct tension with a philosophy that treats excess as a threat to communal survival. One system promises endless extraction. The other tries to ensure there is still a world left to inhabit. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

The founders of the US Constitution actually predicted this vulnerability. In Federalist No. 10, James Madison warned that the greatest threat to a republic was “faction,” meaning a group of citizens becomes so consumed by a common passion that they destroy the permanent interests of the community. The founders deeply feared direct democracy because they knew it allowed charismatic demagogues to bypass institutional guardrails by appealing directly to public emotion. They would view the election of Donald Trump twice as a total failure of the checks and balances they designed.The core problem America faces today is structural instability. When Joe Biden was elected, the world treated Trump’s first term as a temporary aberration. The fact that Trump won a second term proves that every four years, the world now expects a potential Trump 2.0, or someone worse. Even if a reasonable President wins in 2028 and begins to restore international agreements, world leaders know that four years later, Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens, Elon Musk, or Donald Trump Junior could take power and tear everything down again.In 2022, 83 percent of Canadians considered the United States a reliable partner. Today, only 35 percent do. Canadians now view China more favorably than the US.For those of you who did not vote for Donald Trump, you should put a Canadian flag on your luggage when you travel the world. If you did vote for Trump, was this what you expected?Let me know in the comments. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

In 1874, British Columbia made it illegal to light the fires that had protected the land for thousands of years.Long before Canada built a system for fighting wildfire, First Nations were lighting small ones on purpose. Knowledge holders chose the place, the season and the weather. The flames cleared dry vegetation, fed the soil, opened travel routes and improved berry patches and habitat for deer, elk and moose. They also broke the land into patches, so a later wildfire had nowhere easy to run.The Bush Fire Act ended that in British Columbia. It arrived a decade before the federal ban on the potlatch and served the same purpose. Both removed ceremony and pressed Indigenous people toward assimilation. When Banff was created in 1885, the federal government forcibly removed Indigenous peoples from the park and kept fire off the land for almost a century.The fuel stayed. It is still there, and the climate is getting hotter.Canada has started to reverse this. Parks Canada returned fire to Banff in 1983. Gitanyow and Xeni Gwet’in are burning again. But British Columbia burns about 10,000 hectares a year. New Jersey burns more.Sometimes the right fire has to come before the wrong one does. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

When governments know something causes harm, why does change take so long?The world is on fire. The climate is obviously warming. Yet governments keep investing in pipelines.Cigarettes are a useful case study.In 1950, major studies linked smoking to lung cancer. Britain’s Royal College of Physicians warned the public in 1962. The US Surgeon General concluded in 1964 that smoking caused lung cancer and chronic bronchitis. In 1981, studies linked secondhand smoke to lung cancer. In 1986, the Surgeon General concluded that involuntary smoking caused disease, including lung cancer, in healthy nonsmokers.Everyone knew by 1950. But Canada didn’t ban smoking on flights of two hours or less until 1987, and smoking wasn’t banned on international flights until 1994. Broad bans covering workplaces, restaurants and bars didn’t arrive until the 2000s. Ireland introduced the first comprehensive national workplace ban, including pubs, in 2004.It took five decades for governments to ban something they knew was killing people.Tobacco companies were the reason for the delay. One infamous industry memo said, “Doubt is our product.” They funded scientists and front groups, attacked credible studies, lobbied politicians, and recruited hospitality associations to warn of lost jobs and closed businesses. They promoted smoking sections and ventilation as reasonable compromises that left workers exposed. Their goal was to make delay look responsible. In 2006, a US federal court found that major cigarette companies had fraudulently denied dangers they understood.Momentum finally grew when secondhand smoke was reframed as a workers’ rights issue rather than a private choice. Health groups, unions and local governments built coalitions. Had that framing come sooner, the bans probably would have too.We’re watching the same playbook with climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change produced its first assessment in 1990, after Exxon’s own scientists had produced accurate warming projections. Fossil fuel interests have since financed misinformation and lobbied against climate policy, exactly as the tobacco industry did.And here we are, 36 years later, and the world is burning.Perhaps the answer is that climate activists need to treat this as a human rights issue. A warming planet isn’t an abstract environmental concern; it’s a threat to the right to life, to health, to food, water and shelter. Framed as private cost or consumer choice, action stalls. Framed as a violation of basic human rights, it becomes something governments can be held accountable for. The tobacco fight was won on those terms. The climate fight can be too. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Plans to build the world’s first commercial octopus farm in Gran Canaria, Spain, have been scrapped, in a major victory for octopuses and the global animal welfare movement.Plans by Spanish company Nueva Pescanova to farm one million octopuses per year were leaked in 2023, sparking widespread concern among scientists and animal welfare organisations.Octopuses are highly intelligent, curious and solitary animals, making them fundamentally unsuited to intensive farming. Confining them in crowded, barren tanks would inevitably compromise their welfare, while the proposed production system raised serious concerns about breeding, high mortality rates, the absence of humane slaughter methods and the environmental impacts of farming a carnivorous species that relies on wild-caught fish for feed.Eurogroup for Animals, Compassion in World Farming, AnimaNaturalis, INTERCIDS and Aquatic Life Institute continuously called for plans to be halted, highlighting its potential impacts through evidenced reports on the immense welfare and environmental risks of farming octopuses. Eurogroup for Animals coordinated its network on scientific advocacy, legal action and public mobilisation, engaging national and EU policymakers on the issue. Meanwhile, momentum grew internationally, with a number of US States introducing a ban on octopus farming.While this is a significant milestone, it does not mark the end. As other companies continue to explore octopus farming, there is an urgent need for the EU to introduce a ban that prevents similar projects from emerging in the future, ensuring that these sentient invertebrates remain protected. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Brazil is not allowing American officials into the country because it thinks Trump is trying to interfere in its presidential election.On July 24, Brazil denied visas to Assistant Secretary Riley Barnes and Deputy Assistant Secretary Samuel Samson. Brazil said that the delegation intended to cast doubt on Brazil’s electronic voting system before the October presidential election.Jair Bolsonaro was subsequently convicted of plotting to overturn his defeat and is serving a prison sentence of 27 years. Doesn’t that sound an awful lot like Donald Trump? Too bad he’s not in prison.Flávio Bolsonaro has revived doubts about the voting system. Trump’s playbook declares voting systems vulnerable, invokes foreign manipulation and portrays election officials as conspirators. Trump is hoping you’re stupid enough to believe that when he loses, the system is rigged. When he wins, the system is fair.Fascist leaders have historically attacked confidence in elections, portrayed democratic institutions as corrupt and treated only their own victories as legitimate.Should Canada follow Brazil’s lead and deny entry to officials from the Trump administration who might be here to influence what’s going on in Alberta This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Elon Musk has been taking too much ketamine. He’s spent months attacking Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey, and he says he’s making an AI version of the movie that’s historically accurate.We are talking about a god impregnating a queen in the form of a swan, a woman born from an egg, half divine children, prophetic omens, Aphrodite steering human desire and gods intervening in battle.These are religious and legendary materials, not history.Nolan gave the role of Helen of Troy to Lupita Nyong’o, who is Black, and another role to Elliot Page, a trans man. Musk branded Nolan a racist against white people, said he had lost his integrity and accused him of insulting the Greek people.He called the trans casting one of the most twisted things he had ever heard.In 2021, the United Nations World Food Programme handed Musk a plan showing how 6.6 billion dollars, a sliver of his fortune, would feed 42 million people on the edge of famine across 43 countries. Instead of carrying out the plan, he was the driving force behind the dismantling of USAID, which helped poor and unstable countries develop.Musk was raised in apartheid South Africa. With a father like that, it’s really no surprise he turned out to be a terrible human being.Nolan’s Odyssey opened to 124.5 million dollars in the US and 264.1 million dollars worldwide, which is the year’s biggest debut for a film.Do you think Musk’s AI version will be that popular?Colman Domingo said Musk’s accurate version would be whiter than Christmas at Cracker Barrel. The sad part is that Musk has 240 million followers who consume his b******t.What do you think of Elon Musk? Am I being too harsh? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Here’s how I would teach Donald Trump that climate change is not a hoax.What if we convinced our governments that climate change is a national security threat?That’s what MI5 and MI6 told the UK government in a report released in January.It tells us that “ecosystem degradation is occurring across all regions. Every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse.” This presents a threat to “UK national security and prosperity.” It says “the world is already experiencing impacts including crop failures, intensified natural disasters and infectious disease outbreaks. Threats will increase with degradation and intensify with collapse.” The results will include geopolitical and economic instability, increased conflict and competition for resources. “It is unlikely the UK would be able to maintain food security if ecosystem collapse drives geopolitical competition for food.” It also warns that “conflict and military escalation will become more likely, both within and between states, as groups compete for arable land and food and water resources.”We can see it happening right now. In the Greater Horn of Africa, humanitarian analysts warned this July that failed rains, a looming super El Niño, soaring food prices, and armed conflict are converging into a famine risk stretching into 2027. Livestock are dying, livelihoods are collapsing, and millions face displacement. This is exactly the cascade the UK report describes. Ecological stress is becoming a security crisis.We have also seen the devastating forest fires in Canada and around the world.This isn’t a report by some tree hugging environmentalist. It was written by the UK’s intelligence agencies, and they are warning the government that we are headed towards ecosystem collapse. They argue it is a more dangerous threat to the country and society than terrorism.So when Mark Carney says emissions will rise, I think that is an admission that he is not doing his job, which is to protect the country from national security threats.I’ll put a link to the report in my Substack bio so you can read it and send it to Mark Carney or whoever your president or prime minister is. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Remember the famous line from A Few Good Men? “You can’t handle the truth!”In Trump’s case, the line might be, “You can’t post the truth.”We all know Trump is a pathological liar, but he is getting more efficient. In a Truth Social post about the Gordie Howe Bridge, he squeezed three lies into one post. Here’s what he said about the bridge that just opened between Ontario and Detroit.Claim one: Canada disinvited the US to the opening ceremony. That’s actually true. After Trump said he would put 50 percent tariffs on Canada, we told him he was no longer invited to the party. I think the real reason is Canadians didn’t want Trump eating all the hotdogs.Claim two: Canada is paying substantial tariffs to the US. False. American businesses are paying those tariffs, which means higher prices for Americans. That’s why every premier in Canada says tariffs are stupid.Claim three: The original deal was terribly negotiated by a previous administration. It was reached in 2012 between the Stephen Harper government and Republican Michigan governor Rick Snyder, then given federal approval by the Obama administration, who had no role in negotiating it. In 2017, Trump and Trudeau backed the bridge’s completion. Has Trump forgotten 2017? Probably.Claim four: The original deal no longer stands. Absolutely false. The deal is unchanged. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Canada and the United States signed the Canada United States Mexico Agreement or CUSMA in 2020. Donald Trump praised it then but has repeatedly violated it since. He recently announced 50 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods. This action follows previous illegal tariffs targeting Canadian lumber and automobile industries, which undermines the trade agreement built to protect Canadian exports.Despite these provocations, Trump avoided imposing tariffs on Canadian oil and critical minerals. This provides Canada with significant leverage due to American reliance on these resources. Currently, data shows about 75 per cent of Canadians believe American negotiators are not operating in good faith. Many feel any agreement is futile while Trump remains in office.Nevertheless, political figures like Pierre Poilievre continue to demand that Mark Carney make a deal. This aligns with a small minority view and ignores the lack of trust. The situation highlights a pattern where agreements are ignored and economic pressure is applied selectively. This forces Canada to navigate negotiations with an unreliable partner. Canada must use its strengths in critical sectors, because direct negotiation with a party that breaks rules has proven ineffective for long term economic stability. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Albertans are being asked to vote in a referendum on October 19, but only after the government tells voters what the “right” answers are. I will create a series examining each question, one by one, without government spin, so you can make an informed decision. The only way to have your voice heard is to vote.Make sure you are registered at voterlink.ab.ca. Applications to vote by mail, also known as a special ballot, are open at specialballot.elections.ab.ca. Applications close October 9.Packages include a prepaid return envelope and will begin arriving after September 1, 2026. All completed Special Ballot packages must be returned by mail to Elections Alberta before 5:00pm on October 16.Advance voting runs from October 13 through October 17 at any advance voting location in your electoral division. On October 19, 2026, voting locations will be open from 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. You must vote at your assigned location on election day.For official referendum information, visit elections.ab.ca. You can also visit albertareferendumb2026.ca, a site created to encourage voters to vote no on every question. To apply for referendum work, visit recruitment.elections.ab.ca. Follow Elections Alberta on social media for referendum updates. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Trump is underestimating Canada, just like every heavyweight boxer underestimated Oleksandr Usyk.If you’re not a boxing fan, Usyk is a Ukrainian boxer who was a natural cruiserweight. At 6’3”, he weighed under 200 pounds before moving up to heavyweight.He put on 21 pounds and defeated Anthony Joshua, who stood 6’6” and weighed 240 pounds. Then he beat him again in their rematch.He knocked out Daniel Dubois, who stood 6’5” and weighed 233 pounds. Then he knocked him out in their rematch.He defeated Tyson Fury, who stood 6’9” and weighed 262 pounds. In the rematch, Fury came in at 281 pounds, and Usyk beat him again.Canada is a lot like Usyk. It punches above its weight. Trump is making the same mistake those heavyweights made. He thinks size is enough. It isn’t. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

We are focused on the people affected by the Ontario wildfires, and rightfully so, but we should not forget the wildlife.As flames spread across Ontario’s boreal forest, one of the largest intact forest ecosystems on earth, animals are fleeing in search of safer ground. These forests are home to moose, woodland caribou, black bears, wolves, migratory birds, and many other species, and they anchor Canada’s biodiversity.This next story comes from outside Ontario, but it shows how smoke harms animals the same way it harms us. After attending a vehicle fire, the crew of Oakland Firefighters noticed a pigeon in distress. The bird came up to them seeking help. It had taken in smoke during the fire, so the crew gave it oxygen. The pigeon cleared its lungs and flew away.Wildlife cannot do anything about climate change. They rely on us to protect their habitat, and so far we have failed them. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

On July 14, a barn near Simcoe, Ontario, burned to the ground and killed at least 20,000 pigs. The building covered 200,000 square feet and ranked among the largest hog operations in the province. Firefighters arrived before seven in the morning and found the structure already lost. No worker was hurt. Every pig inside died.Animal Justice responded by calling for stronger fire codes. The organization wants smoke detectors, sprinklers, and inspections in barns, the same protections we require in buildings where people gather. Ontario exempted farm buildings from these standards for decades and introduced rules for large barns only in 2024, and even those rules leave alarms and sprinklers optional. The reform would save animals, and a sprinkler might have given some of those pigs a chance. The code debate still accepts that we should keep 20,000 pigs in one building.A pig recognizes its name, solves problems, and forms bonds. Researchers rank pigs above dogs on many measures of intelligence. The animals who died in Simcoe felt the fire the way a trapped dog would feel it. They understood what was happening and could do nothing. We would prosecute anyone who left a dog to burn in a locked room.Twenty thousand pigs could not flee the fire because they could never move in the first place. They live packed into pens, standing on slatted floors above their own waste, unable to turn or root or walk. The barn holds as many bodies as the space allows. Escape was impossible on July 14 because escape is impossible every day. Fire safety turns this into an engineering problem and asks how to keep more animals alive inside the same system.A sprinkler protects the arrangement that produced the disaster. It makes the confinement survivable and therefore permanent. Better codes will pass, and fewer animals will burn. The pigs will still spend their lives unable to move, waiting for slaughter. Simcoe revealed the true cost of a building we designed to hold 20,000 animals who could never leave. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Plenty of British Columbians are tired of David Eby and the NDP government.The problem is, unless you love the way Donald Trump and the Republican Party governs in the US, you are not going to want to vote for Kerry Lynne Findlay and her Conservative Party.She just hired Apollo Chung, a member of the separatist Republican Party of Alberta, and Cosmin Dzsurdzsa, a former writer for Juno News.As editor of Juno News, Dzsurdzsa said conservatism is “stronger” for including white supremacist voices who call for the mass deportation of millions of legal residents and citizens based on their race.Dzsurdzsa is married to Lindsay Shepherd, who was fired for calling the Residential School Survivors’ flag “a disgrace.”Chung is the former Executive Director of the Alberta Republicans, a fringe party that shares Findlay’s slogan, “faith, family, freedom,” and he pushed a referendum on making Alberta the fifty first state of the US.So what are British Columbians supposed to do when both options are bad?Well, the UK has come up with a solution I think we should seriously consider.Nigel Farage is basically the UK’s version of Donald Trump.He was under an ethics investigation for not declaring a $5 million payment from a billionaire living in Thailand.Instead of letting the investigation play out, he resigned, which triggered a by election that he plans to run in.He only has one candidate running against him.Count Bin Face.I think British Columbia needs a Count Bin Face as a third option. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Tania Cameron of the Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation changed Canadian history in 2015 by launching the grassroots “First Nations Rock the Vote” movement. With zero budget, she alone catalyzed an unprecedented wave of Indigenous voter turnout. Her blueprint is now the exact model Alberta leaders are using to mobilize an estimated 100,000 eligible Status First Nations voters for the upcoming October provincial referendum.Tania’s strategy succeeded by directly dismantling the two biggest hurdles to Indigenous political participation: strict voter ID laws and deeply rooted apathy. First, she stripped away voting anxiety by creating plain language ID toolkits. When the Fair Elections Act tightened identification rules, Tania found a critical workaround. She educated band members on how to use a “Letter of Confirmation of Residence.” Signed by a Chief or Band Council, this letter, paired with basic mail, acted as a valid ticket to the ballot box for reserve residents lacking driver licences or formal street addresses.Second, Tania bypassed digital registries to launch registration drives in person. She inspired volunteers across Canada to set up physical tables at local band offices, grocery stores, and powwows, registering thousands of new voters face to face.Third, she turned voting into a cultural trend using social media. By popularizing hashtags like #RockTheVote, Tania fostered a ballot box selfie culture. On election day, thousands of Indigenous youth posted photos alongside elders who were casting ballots for the first time. This digital momentum transformed voting from a chore into a proud, visible act of community solidarity.Finally, Tania framed the ballot as a practical weapon. Instead of relying on abstract political promises, her messaging focused on tangible action. She presented the vote as a peaceful, direct tool to defend treaty rights, protect the environment, and force the government to address critical issues like clean drinking water.The results were historic. In 2015, reserve voter turnout skyrocketed by an average of 20 per cent nationwide, with some remote communities seeing increases of over 200 per cent.Now, Alberta faces a referendum involving ten ballot questions on immigration, health care, and provincial independence. As Treaty 8 leadership launches its own modern “Rock the Vote” mobilization drive, they are relying completely on Tania Cameron’s original community playbook. By securing valid identification and fostering a unified cultural movement, Alberta’s First Nations aim to recreate that historic turnout to protect their sovereignty at the ballot box. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Children across northern Ontario are indoors again today. Smoke from 191 wildfires blankets more than 30 communities. The smoke is also disrupting the lives of children across the northeastern United States. Pools, beaches, and splash pads are closed in the middle of July. Entire communities have been destroyed. Children are living in hockey arenas, and some families are living in their cars.I do not blame people on either side of the border for being angry. This is stealing a summer from our children. But we need to direct our anger at the right target. Doug Ford and Mark Carney did not heat the planet. The fossil fuel industry did. Exxon scientists warned their executives in 1977 that burning fossil fuels could overheat the planet. A study published in Science found the company accurately projected today’s warming while publicly saying the opposite. The industry knew this was coming but chose profit over our children’s lungs.Call your MP and tell them Canadians want polluters to pay the costs of fire and smoke. Tell them we do not want more pipelines.Click the link in my bio. I have created a Linktree with trusted resources where you can donate to the people most affected by the Ontario wildfires.https://linktr.ee/Quietcanine This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Prime Minister Carney, we do not want another pipeline.If you are new here, consider joining our free Substack community, where we work together to make our governments listen to us. The link is in my bio.It is July in northern Ontario, and children cannot play outside. Smoke from 191 wildfires blankets the region. Air quality alerts cover more than 30 communities, from Kenora to Sault Ste. Marie. Thunder Bay has closed its pools, beaches, and splash pads. Wildfire smoke carries particles small enough to enter the bloodstream. It triggers asthma attacks, strains the heart and lungs, and children breathe more of it than adults. Health officials are telling families to keep their windows closed and stay indoors.More than 600 people from Eabametoong First Nation are leaving their homes. Families from Armstrong, Cat Lake, Gull Bay First Nation, and many other communities have already evacuated. The Fort Frances 14 fire has grown to more than 55,000 hectares. Ontario has needed firefighters from Alberta and the Yukon, and Massachusetts has offered to help.We know that burning fossil fuels is warming the climate. A new pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia will increase fossil fuel production for decades. How much are these fires costing? Entire communities are gone, children are breathing toxic smoke, and families are paying the price.Click the link in my bio where you will find a Linktree with trusted organizations supporting people impacted by the Ontario wildfires. https://linktr.ee/Quietcanine This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

If you’re feeling helpless and want to help the communities impacted most by these wildfires in Ontario, I’ll pin this video to the top of my Substack page and create a Linktree in my Substack bio to make navigation easy.Unfortunately, there will be criminals looking to steal your money, so be careful to donate only to legitimate charities and organizations.The most direct option is to donate to the emergency appeal established by the Anishinabek Nation 7th Generation Charity. The charity is the official fundraising arm of the Anishinabek Nation and has launched a dedicated appeal for Namaygoosisagagun First Nation. According to the organization, donations will be used for emergency supplies, temporary shelter, and other essential resources for residents. Tax receipts are available.People who want to support all communities affected by the fires can also donate through the Canadian Red Cross Canadian Wildfires Appeal. The Red Cross is assisting with evacuations, registration, emergency lodging, food, and other immediate needs.If you live in or near Thunder Bay, local organizations, including the Nokiiwin Tribal Council and the Superior Inn, are accepting donations of clothing, hygiene products, diapers, and other necessities. Local animal rescue groups are also looking for temporary foster homes for evacuated pets.Click the link in my bio to find all these resources. https://linktr.ee/Quietcanine This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Republican politicians are threatening Canada with sanctions and even annexation because wildfire smoke crossed the border.Every elected politician making these threats is a Republican.Michigan Republicans sent Prime Minister Mark Carney what they called a final warning. Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno promised sanctions. Michigan Senator Aric Nesbitt revived the fifty first state rhetoric. Katie Miller, a leading MAGA voice, echoed the same message.This looks less like a series of independent reactions and more like a coordinated political campaign.The same politicians support Donald Trump while his administration expands fossil fuel production and weakens clean energy. They blame Canada for wildfire smoke while backing policies that climate scientists say increase the risk of severe fires.The United States is also fighting major wildfires.Canada has spent decades sending firefighters, aircraft, and crews to help the United States, including California. Days ago, a pilot from British Columbia died while fighting a wildfire in Colorado.This is how allies have always treated each other.The answer to wildfire smoke is cooperation, stronger climate policy, and better emergency preparedness. It is not threats against Canada’s sovereignty. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

What is happening in Northern Ontario right now is devastating.Nearly 200 wildfires are burning. Six communities have been ordered to evacuate. The community of Collins is gone. The Chief says her people ran from their houses with only the clothes on their backs. Families escaped by boat as the trees beside their homes caught fire. Tonight, some evacuees are sleeping in their cars in Thunder Bay because there is nowhere left to put them.For years, Ontario firefighters warned that our wildland fire program was understaffed and under resourced. Those warnings were ignored. Communities that should have been protected were left exposed. That is a failure of leadership.There’s a way of thinking taking hold in this country that building a stronger Canada means walking away from our climate commitments. But I don’t believe you can build a stronger country on the ashes of its communities. It’s one that prepares for it.The people suffering most from Canada’s wildfire crisis are not politicians. They are Indigenous communities.Indigenous people make up about five percent of Canada’s population, yet they account for a disproportionate share of wildfire evacuations. In 2025, more than 85,000 people were forced from their homes by wildfires. More than 45,000 were members of First Nations communities. These communities are becoming climate refugees in their own country. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

Why is it that only Republicans in the United States are complaining about Canadian wildfires?I haven’t heard a peep from a Democrat.About 99 percent of climate scientists agree that human activity is warming the planet. The connection between that warming and larger, more destructive wildfires is established science. It is not a theory or an opinion.Donald Trump has repeatedly called climate change a hoax while continuing to attack renewable energy.On July 16, 2026, four Republican members of Congress from Michigan sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney. John James, Jack Bergman, John Moolenaar, and Lisa McClain argued that “American lungs are paying the price for Canadian inaction.”They claimed Canada has the tools to prevent these fires but has chosen not to use them. They said American hospitals are treating children, older adults, and dialysis patients because of smoke crossing the border. They warned that if Canada failed to improve forest management, the United States would act on its own.At the time, Ontario had 136 active wildfires in the northwest, including 63 burning out of control.The letter was only the beginning.Lisa McClain later claimed Canada was doing very little and said she had spoken with the White House. John James posted, “Canada: No Excuses. Stop The Smoke.” Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno announced plans to introduce legislation to sanction Canada. Congressman Tom Barrett even questioned whether the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge should be delayed until Canada got the fires under control.But here’s the question.Why are these attacks coming almost entirely from Republicans? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

People in Toronto are waking up to the worst air quality on Earth. Collins First Nation is gone. People are being evacuated from their homes by boat. Workers are being trapped in rail cars, and mainly Indigenous Nations across Ontario are being evacuated and threatened by wildfire.Maybe you’re one of the people who hated it when Last Generation Canada was trying to raise the alarm on this by blocking bridges, blocking access to airports, or taking disruptive action at art galleries and museums. Maybe you didn’t see the point, or you thought that we were going about this the wrong way, or that our tactics were polarizing and ineffective.Doug Ford cut $42 million from firefighting this year, as well as $4 million from disaster preparedness. This follows a cut of 67% from 2019. The federal government spent more money on the FIFA World Cup this year than on actually improving wildfire fighting capacity for the provinces.The reason I’m bringing this up is that, clearly, the suffering of everyday people is not enough for a government to care enough to do something.Over 200,000 people were already evacuated across Canada in 2023. We’ve been seeing Indigenous communities burn for years with little press coverage. Even when the tourist hotspot, the national gem of Jasper, burned down, the most this galvanized from our leadership was crocodile tears from Danielle Smith and prayers for rain.They know what is coming, yet they refuse to prepare us.The demand that they had for the actions that they took was quite simple. Actual disaster protection funded by those who are most responsible, the billionaire class. Increased firefighting capacity. Disaster preparedness and prevention.It’s an absolute no-brainer, yet they still won’t do it.Instead, the Carney government has passed three new pipelines in the past two weeks and openly given up on our emissions targets.I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the exact same thing with a different town or community on fire as the reason to speak out.What’s happening today is absolutely devastating, but it’s going to continue to happen on a significantly larger scale until something drastic changes.Our government is being incredibly clear with us. They do not care about protecting us. They are openly throwing gasoline on this fire.We are blowing past points of no return. We need to figure out how to protect each other and how to protect ourselves because, at this point, our government has made it abundantly clear that they just won’t. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

The New Rhetoric of Civilizational CollapseHouse Speaker Mike Johnson recently warned the public about an ongoing battle for Western civilization. Speaking in Washington, Johnson declared that political adversaries represent an existential threat to American life. He specifically targeted the New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, characterizing him as a communist. Johnson claimed that political figures who share these perspectives are barbarians inside the gates of the nation. He asserted that the spread of local candidates inspired by Mamdani poses a direct danger to American freedom. The rhetoric uses fear to bypass logical analysis and provoke a survival response among voters. The strategy focuses the electorate on existential terror to eclipse the details of actual policy.The rhetoric of civilizational threat relies on funding from a small group of wealthy donors who support these political campaigns. These contributors prioritize tax cuts and deregulation that protect corporate assets from public scrutiny. By financing candidates who focus on cultural alarms, wealthy donors ensure that economic policies favouring the wealthy remain secure. The political strategy channels voter frustration away from financial inequality and toward manufactured ideological crises. The division secures the political influence of elite donors while leaving the economic concerns of working families ignored.The Antebellum Roots of Existential ThreatThe strategy of civilizational threat replicates a framework established during the nineteenth century. In the decades preceding the Civil War, defenders of slavery altered their public arguments to maintain control. Theorists in the American South shifted their arguments from describing slavery as a necessary evil to declaring the practice a positive good for society. To convince the public, defenders of slavery relied on dividing the population into a favoured group and a hostile group. They promoted the fear of an inevitable war, claiming that the liberation of enslaved people would lead to the extermination of white citizens. The propaganda replaced moral debates with an immediate panic over physical survival.During the 1850s, defenders of slavery incorporated the language of economics to broaden their appeal. George Fitzhugh, a theorist from the South, argued that the system of free labour in the Northern states fostered radical ideologies. He accused Northern abolitionists of promoting socialism and communism, which were emerging movements in Europe at the time. Fitzhugh claimed that the plantation system offered a stable social order that protected America from a communist revolution. Proponents of slavery used these labels to frame the abolitionist movement as an existential threat to private property. The intellectual manoeuvre successfully branded the demand for basic human rights as a subversive conspiracy.The Mid Century Merger of Race and IdeologyThe abolition of slavery prompted defenders of the existing hierarchy to update their vocabulary while maintaining the core strategy. During the civil rights movement of the twentieth century, segregationists merged racial panic with the anxieties of the Cold War. Public officials and police departments systematically framed the struggle for racial equality as a conspiracy directed by the Soviet Union. Segregationist politicians claimed that communist agitators from outside the region initiated the protests to destroy the American way of life. Opponents of integration bypassed the legal merits of segregation to brand prominent leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. as communist operatives.The propaganda from this era framed integration as the literal collapse of Western civilization. Segregationists claimed that joint education in schools would cause the destruction of white culture and the end of American freedom. Billboards across the Southern states displayed images of civil rights leaders attending what critics labelled schools for communist training. The strategy replaced constitutional rights with an imagined threat of ruin in the public mind. Opponents of social progress consistently portrayed attempts to expand civil liberties as efforts to subvert the nation. The framing allowed defenders of the status quo to maintain power by keeping the population in a state of perpetual alarm.The Economic Reality of the Distraction PlayThe historical record demonstrates that this alarmism served a distinct economic purpose for the ruling class. In the antebellum South, a tiny elite of planters held the vast majority of wealth and enslaved labourers. Most white Southerners worked as small farmers who faced economic suppression from a system that concentrated wealth and depressed the wages of free labour. By convincing poor white farmers that free Black citizens posed a threat to survival, the planter class prevented a political alliance based on shared economic interests. The fear of physical danger obscured the reality of economic exploitation, prompting voters to support the wealth of the planter class to protect their lives.The historical pattern reveals why contemporary politicians resume the use of these labels to protect corporate interests. When Speaker Johnson warns of a civilizational battle, he deflects attention from concrete debates about the economy. The accusation of communism serves to discredit local policies that support working families, such as affordable housing and fair taxation. Opponents of these local initiatives brand advocates as dangerous radicals to suppress discussions about the redistribution of resources. Redefining the debate as a struggle for survival allows political figures to shield corporate interests from popular scrutiny. The distraction ensures that artificial fears divide the electorate and prevent unity around shared material needs.How Voters Reclaim Their PowerVoters reclaim their power by steering political conversations back to the tangible concerns of daily life. Citizens focus on the cost of housing, the condition of local roads, and the accessibility of utilities. Placing political rhetoric into historical context exposes the absurdity of alarmist claims. Throughout the twentieth century, opponents of progress labelled the workweek of forty hours and public healthcare programs as communist plots. Pointing to these historical examples reveals current alarmism as a repetitive tactic.The individuals targeted by civilizational rhetoric are neighbours, local teachers, nurses, and parents advocating for equitable tax policies. Describing these citizens as an invading army represents a deliberate attempt to dehumanize political opponents. Voters who recognize this pattern shift their focus from existential anxiety to practical governance. True freedom is the practical ability to retire with dignity, access healthcare, and secure excellent education. Recognizing the historical lineage of fear mongering empowers communities to reject division and demand substantial policy solutions from their leaders. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe

US members of Congress are crying like babies because Canadians do not want to buy US liquor.California Senator Adam Schiff says Quebec’s restrictions on American wine are causing devastating harm to growers. He asked Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette to lift them because California opposed Trump’s trade war.Adam, do you know what this is? It’s the world’s smallest violin.Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney of New York has introduced the CANADA Act. It would order the United States Trade Representative to investigate provincial liquor boards for unfair trade practices. Tenney thought it was outrageous that only two countries responded negatively to Trump’s tariffs: China and Canada.So you’re upset because we stood up to Trump, the bully.These people are forgetting that Trump started this trade war. Now they’re upset because one of our strategies to defend ourselves is working well.Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods while repeatedly talking about making Canada the 51st state. He threatened our sovereignty.Canadian provinces responded to the tariffs and annexation threats by removing American liquor from public stores. Canadians support the move, and sales of Canadian wine and liquor have jumped by 75 per cent.In other words, we don’t want your liquor anymore.The United States Supreme Court has struck down Trump’s broad tariffs, including duties on Canadian goods. However, Canadian steel, aluminum, vehicles and lumber still face tariffs that are hurting Canadian businesses.Trump started this war. If you want US liquor back on the shelves, tell your boss to remove the tariffs.But I don’t think Canadians are going to start buying your liquor again anyway, so stop crying. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe