How Mark Carney could fix Canada, in two sentences… “Give up the net-zero scams. Give up the ESG and DEI programs — they’re luxury beliefs that don’t mix with manufacturing.”Thus Andrew Hale, tonight’s guest on The Hannaford Show. Hale is a senior trade-policy analyst at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation. And while he speaks for a conservatively inclined organization, plenty of Canadian Liberals would tell Carney the same thing..Carney knows, of course. How could he not, after running two central banks? But apparently Central Canadians like woke ideas and Carney wanted to be PM, so he went woke — and that’s how we got here..However, make no mistake, says Hale. Carney’s obsession with net-zero targets is counterproductive, creating unnecessary friction with Alberta and Saskatchewan, and straining all-important ties with a US guided by the revanchist priorities of the Trump administration.And forget net-zero. “Your windmills and solar panels are being made in China,” says Hale. “They’re building two new coal-fired power plants a week — with the dirtiest coal in the world. That is not helping the environment.”Instead, Hale champions a return to resource development.“I agree with President Trump — drill, baby, drill. We have vast natural resources here in North America. The US should be purchasing Canadian energy, and we should be building pipelines to export that energy to both the US and international markets.” He praised Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe for their outreach efforts to strengthen energy trade..He also recalls the years when former prime minister Stephen Harper led Canada — and recommended that Carney do what Harper did.“Canada needs to diversify its trade export markets and not be dependent on a single market like the United States. And remember, Canada has free-trade agreements all around the world. Indeed, I worked on the CETA agreement between Canada and the European Union so that Canada can take advantage of trade with Europe, Asia, and all around the world. The Harper government was very activist in promoting free trade and getting comprehensive free-trade agreements.”He also warned that ESG requirements can be culturally unworkable in developing countries and can make trade preference programs prohibitively expensive, driving those nations to trade with China instead.And Canadian auto workers? They’ll still have a job.Hannaford streams at seven o’clock tonight.
