Wednesday Night #2248

It is with the most profound sorrow that I confirm the news that our beloved and irreplaceable friend Margaret Lefebvre died last Thursday. She rejoins her late husbands, her brother, and the ever-expanding circle of Wednesday Night in the Cloud.
While we have all known for years that Margaret suffered from multiple, severe health issues, she seemed indestructible.
Wednesday Night will not be the same without her. Nor will our lives.
She will be mourned and sorely missed by people of all ages and backgrounds; her vast circle of friends was a virtual DEI program. Her intellect, curiosity, wit, wisdom, empathy, loyalty to friends, the community and causes, good-humoured tolerance for almost all foibles, and amazing buoyancy carried her -and us with her- through the most difficult times.
When people speak of Margaret it is almost always in terms of her wisdom and sense of humour. We can think of no better way to be remembered.
The funeral service will be held at 11am on Friday, 25 April at the Church of the Ascension of Our Lord, Clarke Avenue & Sherbrooke West, Westmount, and will be followed by a reception-cum-Irish-wake, as ordained by Margaret.

April 28, 1967 Expo 67 opened to the public.
Fifty-eight years later, on April 13th, The 2025 Osaka World Exposition opened to the public. Featuring more than 150 pavilions from countries, regions, and groups around the world, the theme of Osaka Expo 2025 is “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”; exhibits and features focus on technological innovation, sustainable development, and the benefits of global cooperation.
Japan’s World Expo: a positive vision of the future for our divided world? Fifty-five years since Osaka last hosted, rocks from Mars, domestic androids and artificial hearts are part of showcase on ‘unloved’ island

In an odd coincidence Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien also died last Thursday. His legacy includes a brilliant career in business and philanthropy and a much admired nurturing of the family he adored. But for many of the older (!) generation he will always be the flamboyant, exuberant Expo 67’s “Mayor of the Fair”; he was my boss for the final two years (1966-68) I worked there. Philippe was the last surviving member of the senior management team celebrated in the highly praised Mission Impossible documentary.

Only in Canada is a major political debate rescheduled in order to accommodate a hockey game?
Habs take priority: Federal leaders’ debate moved up to accommodate hockey game
The French-language leaders’ debate scheduled for Wednesday to start two hours early so as not to conflict too much with the potentially decisive Montreal Canadiens game.

Don’t forget the English-language debate Thursday, 17 April!

Christopher Neal writes on LinkedIn: Just over five years ago…,  I wrote [about] Mark Carney’s challenges as UN special envoy on climate change. There are remarkable parallels to the present moment, with the same disrupter in the White House, and familiar divisions among Canada’s provincial governments.
The challenges facing former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney
Carney’s reported clever tactical sell move, with others, of U.S. treasuries in recent weeks was an example of how effective a smart, strategic leader can be when he has a strong international track record and earned credibility with key players.
NB stories of the Carney bond selling initiative have been debunked by Snopes (Unpacking claims that Canadian PM Mark Carney orchestrated a US Treasurys sell-off). Pity we thought it was a great move.

Brett House joined John Moore on iHeartRadio to talk about why Canada being left off President Trump’s April 3 tariff list isn’t a reprieve—it’s a delay. Canada isn’t out of the woods. We need to prepare for more shocks and respond with resilience and strategy.

McGraw: Without Villa Maria, I wouldn’t be the MNA for N.D.G.
By Désirée McGraw Special to the Montreal Gazette
… The congregation asserts that the solution is for Villa to move to a new location. But the high school is far more than just a collection of buildings: it is a cornerstone of N.D.G. attracting 1,950 students and 200 employees from across the Greater Montreal Area. Would we so easily accept the closure of a local business affecting more than 2,000 jobs and families? Mobilization is already underway: citizens, parents, teachers and former students have united to prevent the disappearance of Villa Maria.
As MNA, I am sponsoring a petition to the National Assembly calling on the Quebec government to convene all stakeholders so that the congregation can sell its estate while preserving Villa.
Petition:
Preservation and perpetuity of Villa Maria High School at Domaine Villa-Maria

Poilievre et Carney testés sur leurs connaissances du Québec
Lincoln: Notwithstanding clause makes a welcome entrance in federal campaign
In referring to Bill 96, Liberal Leader Mark Carney has committed to intervene at the Supreme Court level, stating that he disagrees with the use of the notwithstanding clause to shelter Quebec’s language law from the protections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Across the globe, news  is not good.
Russia continues air attacks on Ukraine, as the Great Peacemaker in the White House loses his grip -again!
Trump’s Ukraine ceasefire is slipping away – The American president increasingly looks like Russia’s willing dupe
Trump blames Zelensky for starting war after massive Russian attack

The aftermath of the earthquake in Myanmar is devastating Key infrastructure, including hospitals, roads and water systems, sustained significant damage, while ongoing telecommunications disruptions continue to hamper relief efforts. The earthquake struck a country already gripped by several health crisis and conflict, compounding the challenges faced by affected communities.
This is the first test of the world without USAID – there will be many more
Myanmar’s earthquake exposes void left by Trump administration’s USAID cuts
The United States is facing criticism that it has abandoned Myanmar as the civil war-torn country struggles to recover from a deadly 7.7-magnitude earthquake. CNN’s Will Ripley spoke with one former USAID official who said three staffers from the agency were laid off within days of arriving in the disaster zone.
The situation in Gaza is increasingly dire as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz becomes (if possible) ever more intransigent, while there is much conjecture over the outcomes of Netanyahu’s visit to Washington.
The situation in Sudan is heartbreaking
Death, displacement and devastation – two years of war in Sudan says it all and the recent UK conference on Sudan has failed to set up a contact group for ceasefire talks

Cleo discusses on LinkedIn a leaked negotiation document revealing that France is setting the stage to abandon New Caledonia …
“Other key things to note are: it seems France is focused on using its dwindling resources to try to meet its strategic concerns in Europe and is weakening (possibly even disappearing) as a serious Indo-Pacific power; some main independence leaders are Kanak supremacists and supported not just by China but by Azerbaijan; non-Kanak are generally multiethnic, including of Polynesian, Asian and European descent – all of whom the supremacists want gone from NC; if there is a quick French withdrawal – especially tied to a renewal of violence – it legitimizes violence as a tool of negotiations.”

The disgraceful antics of the Trump (aka the orange buffoon) regime are too numerous to review. So we limit ourselves to today’s news that
– DOGE Places Entire Staff of Federal Homelessness Agency on Leave
The US Interagency Council on Homelessness, which helps coordinate federal housing aid to cities, was targeted for elimination by a Trump executive order in March.
– the destructive attack on Education, notably some of the foremost universities in the U.S. and the welcome news that, thanks to its huge endowment, Harvard is able to defy the regime. But, just in IRS making plans to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status
It’s unclear whether the IRS is considering such a move for other universities. Typically, these audits are handled and approved by career IRS staff – BUT the Muskrats have wiped out hundreds of IRS positions – is there anyone left who knows how to rescind?
The Trump administration has threatened numerous colleges across the US with funding cuts if changes in school policy weren’t made, and Harvard’s resistance appears to mark the first time an elite university has rebuked the White House over those demands.
– and, the unavoidable headliner
Trump’s Tariffs
Bill Brownstein: Pets are making a stand against Trump’s tariffs, too — thanks to their owners
According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the 12.2 million of us who own dogs and/or cats spent $6.6 billion on their food in 2024.
The same study indicated that Canada is a major player on the pet food production scene, having exported throughout the world $963.3 million in dog and cat products put up for retail sale. … Chuck Altman, owner of Westmount’s Little Bear Animalerie, asserts that most pet food sold at his shop is Canadian, and not just for flag-waving reasons but also because it is competitively priced and is considered to be superior to much of that made elsewhere, including in the U.S. “But the lines are a little blurred here,” Altman says. “There are Canadian-made products from American companies, American-made products from Canadian companies, and we’ve got Canadian-made, Canadian-sourced and Canadian-owned products.” – sounds just like the automotive industry!

Speaking of which, while continuing his criticism of the effects of Trump’s tariffs on the automotive industry, Peter Frise directs our attention to the aircraft manufacturing industry, Tariffs are Hitting Aircraft makers particularly
“…Mentour Pilot on YouTube, run by Swedish pilot Petter Hornfeldt and a team of researchers whose comprehensive work is widely respected by experts around the world. In his latest video, Capt. Hornfeldt explores the complex global supply chains and the effects of the tariffs on how aircraft are designed, built, sold and supported in the market throughout their lives (which can be 30-50 years).
Richard Conrad speaks for many of us: “Whatever the merits (or not) of tariffs, the startling lack of knowledge about the global industries Mr. Trump cavalierly delights in wiping out with the stoke of his pen is truly [extraordinary].”

Varia
Apparently a project conceived and underwritten by Global Affairs Canada. Good on them!
Canada Drops the Gloves in Tariff Spat, Makes Its Case on U.S. Billboards
Are global financial leaders really this superficial, or is it the media that makes them sound inane?
Jamie Dimon is worried the U.S. and China aren’t actually talking
The JPMorgan Chase CEO said he’s also worried that the trade war is hurting America’s credibility
Record-tying number of candidates running in Ottawa riding of Carleton
Eighty-five of the candidates registered to run in Carleton are associated with the electoral reform group ‘The Longest Ballot Committee’. The Longest Ballot Committee protests Canada’s first-past-the-post system.
Pension Conference Relocates to Canada From US Amid Trade Spat
The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans moved the Canadian Employee Benefits Conference from California to a still-undetermined location in Canada, according to a statement.

Events/Coming attractions
6 May
Montreal Climate Summit
Grand Quay of the Port of Montreal

Long reads
China Pivots From US to Canada for More Oil as Trade War Worsens
Chinese refiners are importing record amounts of Canadian crude, while slashing purchases of US oil by roughly 90% amid escalating trade tensions.
A pipeline expansion in Western Canada has given China and other East Asian oil importers expanded access to Alberta’s oilsands region, with Chinese crude imports from the port near Vancouver soaring to an unprecedented 7.3 million barrels in March. …
Important read as applicable to Canada as well
Ezra Klein: Biden’s Team Wishes They’d Moved So Much Faster
“Whether it’s infrastructure or submarines or energy generation or transmission lines or chip fabs — it is crazy the extent to which we have clogged up our delivery,” [Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser] told me. “Part of it is laws and regulations. Part of it is the self-deterrence of caution. Part of it is litigation. Part of it is complacency. Part of it is bureaucracy. But what I encountered in my four years as national security adviser was a constant and growing set of obstacles to getting anything done fast.”
Rahm Emanuel – “Absolute Failure” of Trump’s Tariffs & Path Forward for Dems
(The Daily Show) “Nobody will ever trust us. In eight weeks, he’s destroyed 80 years of reputation that America built.” Rahm Emanuel, former ambassador to Japan under Biden and a current advisor at investment-banking firm Centerview Partners, joins Jon Stewart to talk about the United States’ international trade predicament in the wake of Trump’s tariffs. They discuss why it’s one of the most “reckless” things done by a president, why he thinks these policies gave China a “get-out-of-jail-free” card, his experience under the Obama administration, and why he believes a Democratic governor could be the one to turn the party around. Or might he be a potential candidate?
Carney’s Surge in Quebec Could Wipe the Sovereigntist Party Off the Map
A Liberal comeback is rewriting the province’s political future, polls suggest
The Bloc finds itself in an increasingly difficult position as voters appear to prioritize federal leadership on issues like US relations over Quebec-focused messaging. While the Angus Reid Institute gives the Liberals a seven-point lead in the province, all other pollsters give them a lead of eleven points or more.
Below the radar: Is the Trump-Netanyahu ‘unthinkable’ about to happen?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest trip to Washington was no ordinary visit. The consensus among Israeli analysts, barring a few remaining loyalists, is that Netanyahu was not invited; he was summoned by US President Donald Trump …