Interesting read — and worth a skeptical eye. Yes, Canada needs investment and deeper trade ties beyond a volatile US relationship, but turning the country into a “safe harbour” for the ultra-wealthy shouldn’t mean racing to cut taxes, speed up approvals, or hand over public infrastructure on private terms. The headline projects on pipelines, ports and data centres read like a blueprint for locking in more fossil-fuel dependency, corporate control and potential privacy risks — all while sidelining climate commitments and Indigenous rights. A one-year approval promise and “mega deduction” tax breaks sound great to investors, but they risk short-changing environmental assessments, democratic oversight and the revenue we need for healthcare, housing and education. If government is going to court private capital, there must be hard conditions: binding labour protections, living wages, strong union access, Indigenous consent and benefit agreements, binding climate and emissions limits, data-sovereignty and privacy rules, and real transparency about deals. Public assets like airports shouldn’t be quietly privatized without guarantees passengers and workers won’t pay the price. Investment should be about building a fair, green economy for everyone — not just creating more profit opportunities for asset managers. We need a strategy that prioritizes public interest, climate justice and workers’ rights, not a fire sale to the highest bidder.
