General Canadian Politics eh.

Opposition Leader Juan Guaido took an oath swearing himself in as Venezuela's interim president on Wednesday, as hundreds of thousands marched to demand the end of socialist leader Nicolas Maduro's government.

Guaido, head of the Opposition-run Congress, had said he would be willing to assume the presidency on an interim basis with the support of the armed forces to call elections.

Within minutes, Global Affairs confirmed Canada will recognize Guaido in the role. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland later issued a statement saying Canada supports Guaido's "commitment to lead Venezuela to free and fair presidential elections" and called on Maduro to cede power.

She added, "Canadians stand with the people of Venezuela and their desire to restore constitutional democracy and human rights in Venezuela."

U.S. President Donald Trump also issued a statement supporting Guaido, and encouraged other Western governments to recognize Guaido as interim president.

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Peru indicated they too will recognize Guaido. Ecuador joined that list a few hours later.

A spokesman for Mexico's foreign ministry said Mexico does not plan to change its policy on Venezuela "for the time being."

Bolivia's president also affirmed his solidarity with Maduro in a tweet. Cuba, El Salvador and Nicaragua appeared to be standing with Maduro, at least for now.

Opposition supporters take part in a rally Wednesday against Maduro's government and to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the end of the dictatorship of Marcos Perez Jimenez in Caracas. (Adriana Loureiro/Reuters)
Demonstrators clogged avenues in eastern Caracas, chanting "Get out, Maduro" and "Guaido, Presidente" while waving national flags. Police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in several areas.

An Opposition spokesman said seven people had been killed during the day of demonstrations, including four killed by gunfire in the southwestern city of Barinas.

Freddy Superlano said members of the National Guard and police were dispersing protesters at the end of a march when the gunfire erupted. He said another three people were injured.

A spokesperson for the Civil Protection office in the state of Tachira said the number of deaths in unrest in the city of San Cristobal had risen to three.

The Opposition has been energized by young congress chief Guaido, who has led a campaign to declare Maduro a usurper and has promised a transition to a new government in a nation suffering a hyperinflationary economic collapse.

Guaido, in a speech before a cheering crowd, took an oath swearing himself in as interim president.

Guaido greets supporters after taking an oath to be Venezuela's interim president. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)
"I swear to assume all the powers of the presidency to secure an end of the usurpation," he said.

He has said he would be willing to replace Maduro with the support of the military and to call free elections.

"We know that this will have consequences," he shouted, moments before quickly slipping away to an unknown location amid speculation he would soon be arrested.

In response, Maduro announced Venezuela is cutting ties with the United States. He has given U.S. diplomatic personnel 72 hours to leave the country.

"Before the people and nations of the world, and as constitutional president … I've decided to break diplomatic and political relations with the imperialist U.S. government," Maduro told a crowd of red-shirted supporters gathered at the presidential palace.

While both countries operate embassies in each other's capitals, neither has had an ambassador since 2010.

In a statement, Guaido urged all foreign embassies in the country to disobey Maduro's orders and not remove their diplomats.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo followed by saying Washington won't pull its diplomats out of Venezuela, and will instead abide by Guaido's directive.

Maduro, standing on a balcony, attends a rally in support of his government. (Miraflores Palace/Handout/Reuters)
Maduro also called on the country's military to maintain unity and discipline, after the leader of the opposition-controlled congress declared himself interim president and asked for the armed forces' support.

"We will triumph over this as well, we will come out victorious," Maduro told supporters outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas.

Asked if he would send the U.S. military into Venezuela, Trump said on Wednesday that all options are on the table.

"We're not considering anything, but all options are on the table," he told reporters at the White House.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Roosevelt Room of the White House Wednesday. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello is calling on government supporters to mobilize in front of Venezuela's presidential palace to protect Maduro from what he is calling a U.S.-led conspiracy to remove him from power.

"The Bolivarian revolution doesn't have an expiration date," he told a crowd of red-shirted supporters at a rally in downtown Caracas.

National Constituent Assembly (ANC) President Diosdado Cabello gives his speech as he participates in a rally in support of Maduro's government Wednesday. (Fausto Torrealba/Reuters)
"We are going to stay in the streets, and stay in battle, for now and forever," Cabello said, marking the government's first reaction to opposition leader Juan Guaido's decision to declare himself interim president.

Pompeo earlier called on Maduro to step aside and urged the country's military to support efforts to restore democracy.

In a statement, he said Washington would support opposition leader Juan Guaido as he establishes a transitional government and prepares the country for elections.

"The Venezuelan people have suffered long enough under Nicolas Maduro's disastrous dictatorship," Pompeo said. "We call on Maduro to step aside in favor of a legitimate leader reflecting the will of the Venezuelan people."

The Trump administration told U.S. energy companies it could impose sanctions on Venezuelan oil as soon as this week if the political situation worsens, according to sources.

A National Police officer fires rubber bullets during the protest against Maduro in Caracas. (Manaure Quintero/Reuters)
Maduro was inaugurated on Jan. 10 to another term in office following a widely boycotted election last year that many foreign governments described as a fraudulent. His government accuses Guaido of staging a coup and has threatened him with jail.

Any change in government in Venezuela will rest on a shift in allegiance within the armed forces, which has stood by Maduro through two waves of street protests and a steady dismantling of democratic institutions.

Chavez statue toppled
"We need freedom, we need this corrupt government to get out, we need to all unite, so that there is peace in Venezuela," said Claudia Olaizola, a 54-year-old salesperson near the march's centre in the eastern Chacao district, a traditional opposition bastion.

In a potent symbol of anger, demonstrators in the southern city of Puerto Ordaz on Tuesday toppled a statue of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, broke it in half and dangled part of it from a bridge.

A 16-year-old was shot to death at a protest on Tuesday in western Caracas, according to a rights group, Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict. Three people were shot dead on Tuesday night in southern Bolivar City during a looting of a grocery store that followed a nearby protest, Bolivar state Gov. Justo Noguera said in a telephone interview.

Maduro has presided over Venezuela's spiral into its worst-ever economic crisis. His re-election in 2018 was widely viewed as a sham due to widespread election irregularities.

"We've come out to support the Opposition and preserve the future of my son and my family, because we're going hungry," said Jose Barrientos, 31, an auto-parts salesperson in the poor west end of Caracas.

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Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says if he was prime minister he would fire Canada's Ambassador to China John McCallum over his most recent comments on Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

"I would fire him," Scheer told Don Martin in an interview for CTV Power Play, airing Wednesday evening

"The situation with China right now is at a very strained point. That goes without saying. We have to be very, very careful as a country and our government needs to be taking this very, very seriously."

McCallum has been criticized for telling Chinese language media in Markham, Ont. Tuesday that Meng has "good arguments" to avoid extradition to the United States. As evidence of this, McCallum pointed specifically to U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial suggestion that he might intervene in the extradition case as leverage for trade negotiations with China.

Trump came under fire for the comments, which prompted Canadian officials to stress that politics had nothing to do with Wanzhou's arrest.

Scheer said that McCallum's latest comments were "unacceptable" and may also contribute to concerns about the politicization of this case.

"Here we have the spokesperson of the Government of Canada weighing in on an independent judicial case. Our judicial systems, our proceedings, need to have integrity around it," Scheer said.

"To have this type of comment is completely unacceptable and he needs to be held responsible for his actions."

A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland assured that Canada is maintaining the integrity of the extradition process.

"Canada is conducting a fair, unbiased and transparent legal proceeding," Freeland's spokesperson, Adam Austen, said in a statement provided to CTV News.

"There has been no political involvement in this process. Canada respects its international legal commitments, including by honouring its extradition treaty with the United States."

Trudeau echoed the assurance when he spoke to reporters in Saskatchewan on Wednesday.

"We have always highlighted that Canada is a country of the rule of law, and we will make sure that the rule of law is properly and fully followed. That of course includes the opportunity for her to mount a strong defence," Trudeau said.

"The strength of our justice system is people get to mount their own defence. I know she will do that."

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“Last night one of the key whistleblowers referenced in speaker Darryl Plecas’ report about fiscal wrongdoing in the B.C. legislature came forward publicly to shed light on the culture of entitlement that he allegedly witnessed,” Weaver said. “Our focus at this time must be on restoring public trust in our democratic institutions. I cannot see how that is possible when one of the individuals named by this whistleblower is still holding a position of power and oversight in the legislature.”


That whistleblower, Connor Gibson, says he was was asked by Reid to file both taxi receipts and vehicle mileage for the same trip.

On Wednesday Reid responded to the allegations. She says Gibson never came to her with concerns and that during her time as speaker she was the most transparent speaker in the province’s history. Reid served in the role from 2013 to 2017.

“My track record has been clean through out the process,” Reid said. “I would never knowingly claim for anything I am not entitled to.”


Gibson said the reason he is speaking out is because he thinks Reid should resign, not just as deputy speaker, but as an MLA.

“I think that for many years there have been issues raised about her expenses. Knowing what I know about her expenses I think she should resign,” Gibson said.

Gibson added he met Plecas’ special adviser Alan Mullen and raised his concerns with him about the expenses.


The whistleblower worked for various MLAs starting in February, 2018, and was not kept on when the legislative session ended in May 2018.

Lenz and now-acting sergeant-at-arms Randy Ennis met with Gibson. As the report details “Mr. Lenz remarked that he thought a forensic audit was needed as there was ‘RPG’ [which is police jargon for ‘reasonable and probable grounds’].”

In the end, Lenz and Ennis concluded there were “one or two” claims of taxis and mileage at the same time “but the rest were explainable.”
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Legislature clerk Craig James and sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz are being accused of lacking oversight for millions of dollars and being in charge of “unjustified terminations.”

Speaker Darryl Plecas released his report Monday alleging that Lenz and James participated in “flagrant overspending on luxurious trips overseas with questionable business rationales” and “expensing of all manner of personal purchases to the legislative assembly totaling tens of thousands of dollars over a period of less than two years.”

Weaver says restoring public trust must be every MLA’s priority at this moment in time. Reid is the longest serving member of the legislature and served as speaker in the B.C. legislature from 2013 to 2017.

“Positions such as assistant deputy speaker have an even higher threshold for trust given the responsibility they hold in serving the entire legislature,” Weaver said. “I do not ask for this lightly. MLA Reid is the longest serving member of the legislature. However, in light of the numerous and serious allegations of the speaker’s report, as well as the candor of this key whistleblower, I feel strongly that it is inappropriate for MLA Reid to continue to serve as assistant deputy speaker until such a time that these allegations can be fully addressed.”

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An explosive report by Speaker Daryll Plecas on overspending and questionable financial transactions by senior officials in the B.C. Legislature has left many in Victoria on unsteady ground as MLA's debate how best to move forward.

B.C. Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson spoke with On the Coast's Gloria Macarenko about how his party hopes to work with the NDP to "clean house" in order for the legislature to regain the public's trust.

That's an offer Horgan quickly rejected.


You told reporters it was time for the government to completely clean house. What did you mean?

It's time for all of us to pull together in this legislature and clear the reputation of this place. The people of B.C. expect their provincial government and the legislative assembly to be run with integrity. That's been called into question. It's time for us to all pull together and stop the partisan sniping of who's at fault and fix this.

But doesn't your party have a lot of questions to answer?

I think all parties have a question to answer here.

We [the B.C. Liberals] worked very hard to get disclosure of MLA expenses back in 2014 and we made significant progress. But now we have these allegations from the Speaker that need to be clarified. In my estimation, the public is fed up with this kind of thing and it's time for us to all pull together and clear the air.


What do you make of Premier Horgan's response to working together?

It's unfortunate and I'm not going to use this opportunity to lay blame on John Horgan. My suggestion is it's time for all of us to put down the swords and start talking about a better way of doing things.

I've suggested that the auditor general of B.C. be asked to produce a fairly prompt accounting process which will clear the air on these things going forward.

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Canada is currently embroiled in its worst-ever spat with the People’s Republic of China. On Dec. 1, authorities in Vancouver arrested Chinese Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who faces charges in the U.S. of violating American sanctions against Iran.

In response, Chinese authorities quickly two jailed two Canadians, slated another previously jailed Canadian for execution and warned Canada that “there would be consequences” if it didn’t free Meng.

This fight has not escaped the notice of Chinese media. Canada, a country known largely for Norman Bethune and Dashan, is suddenly finding itself portrayed as a major antagonist to Chinese national pride.

Canada has been bashed by a lot of authoritarian regimes of late, most notably Saudi Arabia and Iran. Below, a quick sampling of how the Great White North is lately being bashed in the blogs and news sites of the People’s Republic of China.

Special thanks to Sheng Xue, Vice President of Federation for a Democratic China, for translation help.

The people of Canada are in revolt at their “stupid” government

A Christmas Eve editorial described Canada by using a traditional Chinese expression that roughly translates to “the pig looks into the mirror, but both the reflection and the pig do not look human.” Posted in the curated news section of the Chinese instant messaging giant QQ, the editorial implies that the Canadian government is facing dissent both from abroad and from its own citizens, who oppose the “stupid” actions of Ottawa. Western media will often portray the citizens of China and other authoritarian countries as being victims of a government that does not represent them. Chinese media and the Chinese government have taken this same tack, playing up any opposition as evidence that Canadians are in the thrall of a rogue regime. Global Times, a particularly nationalistic Chinese newspaper, said the Chinese embassy in Ottawa is being barraged with gifts, condolences and regretful phone calls. “We are gratified to see that many Canadian people were imbued with a sense of justice, criticizing the Canadian government for its unreasonable behaviour,” Lu Shaye, the Chinese ambassador to Canada, wrote in a December op-ed for the Globe and Mail. Naturally, this argument was helped enormously when Canadian ambassador to China John McCallum expressed support for Meng at an event where English-language media were not invited. In a Thursday tweet, former Canadian ambassador to China David Mulroney said McCallum’s comments were already being “spun” by China. Sure enough, the comments quickly featured in a China Daily article arguing that “Chinese Canadians” were hopeful Meng would be released.

Canada’s ambassador to China, John McCallum, arrives to brief members of the Foreign Affairs committee in Ottawa on Jan. 18, 2019. Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press
The West is only trying to destroy Huawei because it’s jealous

In the years before the First World War, the German Empire often complained of “encirclement.” No matter their achievements or national ambitions, it was said, some hostile alliance was always there to keep it contained. The word has emerged once again. In a tech story published on one of China’s largest online news sites, the fight between Huawei and China was characterized as a battle between “encirclement and anti-encirclement.” “This is not a peaceful world. Fortunately we were born in a peaceful and powerful country,” it reads. The gist, repeated often in Chinese media, is that the United States is trying to maliciously stifle Huawei purely due to jealousy at China’s rapid economic success. The U.S. has indeed been taking a hard line on Huawei for years, but it’s due to concerns, backed by third party studies and intelligence agencies, that the products of Huawei and other major Chinese companies are ripe for Chinese government espionage. Notably, the United States has had no problem with their smartphone market being increasingly dominated by another Asian company, Samsung. Regardless, Global Times wrote soon after Meng’s arrest that the whole thing was an American “plot to throw the company off track.” The editorial added “the Chinese government should seriously mull over the US tendency to abuse legal procedures to suppress China’s high-tech enterprises.”

An image of Meng Wanzhou on a Huawei laptop. Associated Press
If Canada continues to “confront China,” it will pay dearly

Plenty of editorials are warning that Canada will pay the consequences for opposing China, but none of them are threatening violence. Rather, the “price” is implied to be economic ruination. Husky Energy, which has Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing as its majority investor, recently abandoned its hostile takeover of MEG Energy. In an editorial circulated by the Chinese equivalent of Yahoo News, Li was identified as “richer than the richest man in Canada” and was said to have abandoned the acquisition as “punishment” for Canada (note: Husky Energy has since contacted the National Post to say that this is wildly incorrect). Another Chinese editorial this week noted the persistently low world price for Canadian oil and wrote that “if Canada continues to confront China” the oil sector will suffer even further. This is a bit of an empty threat, considering that Chinese imports of Canadian oil are limited to about two or three tankers a year. However, an editorial in Sina Online pointed to Canada’s agricultural exports to China (valued at $8 billion in 2017), and warned that Canada does not have the “bargaining chip” in negotiations with Beijing.

Li Ka-shing pictured in 2017. Kin Cheung/AP
Canada is a naïve American lapdog abandoned by its allies

A lot of Chinese editorials take a paternal line on Canada, alleging that Ottawa simply didn’t know what it was getting into, and everything will be fine if they simply back away slowly. “Canada sometimes acts more like America’s ‘51st state’ than a sovereign country with a will of its own,” wrote People’s Daily Online in an early December editorial urging Ottawa to reject the U.S. “plan to crush Huawei.” A Chinese tech blogger wrote this week that Canada’s arrest of Meng was merely an exercise in showing loyalty to the United States, a country that “has always ignored them.” A post on QQ referenced earlier wrote that while countries such as Japan and the U.K. may be supporting Canada in principle, their simultaneous embrace of Huawei products shows that China will win in the end and that Canada must “sincerely apologize.” At press briefings, meanwhile, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying has said that Canadian foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland “can’t help speaking without thinking” and urged her to quiet down before more damage is done to Canada’s “reputation and image.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying in September, 2017. The Canadian Press/THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mark Schiefelbein
Chinese citizens are no longer safe in Canada

There is a general consensus among democratic nations that the Chinese arrests of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were made for purely political purposes. As the European Union wrote in a December statement, the arrest of the two Canadians endangers “legitimate research and business practices in China.” In response, the Chinese government has asserted that, actually, Canada is the one arbitrarily locking people up. “It is Canada, instead of China, that has arbitrarily detained foreign citizens under the pretext of law,” Hua Chunying said at a press conference earlier this month. Meng’s arrest is routinely described as “illegal” in the Chinese press and questions are raised about whether more Chinese will soon fall prey to her fate. “Is Canada still safe?” reads a mid-December post on China.com. The Chinese government, in fact, has issued official travel warnings for Chinese citizens going to Canada, urging them to exercise caution because of Canada’s “arbitrary detention” of Meng. In an editorial for the Hill Times, Lu Shaye accused Canadians of being fuelled by “Western egotism and white supremacy” and holding Chinese citizens to a double standard.

China’s Ambassador to Canada Lu Shaye pictured at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Canada, in Ottawa on Thursday, June 29, 2017. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang
“China is not afraid of trouble”

As a country that hasn’t won its own Stanley Cup in 25 years, Canadians would be familiar with the idea of a national inferiority complex. China has this problem on steroids. Colonial domination, the loss of several opium wars, brutal occupation by Japan before and during the Second World War; Communist China often refers to the 100 years preceding their 1949 revolution as the “Century of Humiliation.” Thus, a consistent theme of many Chinese accounts of the Meng arrest is that while Canada and other Western powers may have once been able to get away with this, times have changed. A Dec. 25 post in the news section of Chinese search giant Baidu cheered that China speaks with strength and that Huawei will only become more powerful as a result of Canada’s actions. It also called on all Chinese to fight against “foreign enemies” by supporting Huawei. “China is not afraid of trouble,” wrote the People’s Daily, adding that it would be a “mistake to underestimate the confidence, will, and strength of the country.” Hua Chunying even cited the 1840 Opium War with Great Britain in order to justify the planned execution of Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian who was originally serving a 15-year prison term for drug smuggling until a Chinese court suddenly upped his punishment to death. “The severe harm of drugs following the Opium War in 1840 is still very much alive in Chinese people’s memory and we will never allow drug traffickers of other countries to put the lives of Chinese people in jeopardy,” she said.

In an image taken from video footage by China’s CCTV, Canadian Robert Schellenberg attends his retrial in Dalian, China, where he was sentenced to death on Jan. 14, 2019. Submitted
Despite everything, Canada Goose jackets are flying off the shelves in Beijing

When the China-Canada spat began, pundits in both countries said it boded particularly poorly for Canada Goose, which was just about to expand its retail operations into China. Plenty of Canadian companies operate in China, but as a maker of giant winter jackets with maple leaves on the logo, Canada Goose would be among the most conspicuous targets for a patriotic boycott. And indeed, a campaign on the Chinese social media platform Weibo tried for just such a boycott. The company’s stock fell by double digits as the dispute escalated and Canada Goose even delayed the opening of its flagship China store in Beijing. When the store finally opened on Dec. 29, however, it was met by lineups of enthusiastic Chinese style mavens standing for up to 30 minutes in -10 degree weather. This disheartened several bloggers, who chastised their fellow Chinese for buying Canadian when they should have been standing in solidarity with Huawei. A post on Sina Online clucked its tongue at Chinese “netizens” who may support Canadian boycotts on social media, but throw their principles out the window when it comes to trendy $1,500 coats.

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SoupCan said:

@MC Gusto what the hell is going on in Nanaimo, Libs win there we fucked

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DiSmAnTLeR said:

a fairly accurate representative sample of typical voter demographics.

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