Wednesday Night #2281

On Tuesday, we learned that our much- loved and Diana’s go-to economist for many years Tony (Antal) Deutsch has died.
His daughter, Julia, wrote: ” We write to you with sad news. On November 28, 2025, Tony passed away peacefully at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
He enjoyed relatively good health until his last months and kept up with the affairs of the world until the very end. We will miss him dearly.”
The messages from those who knew him have been beyond touching . We will all greatly miss his extensive command of historical events and fascinating trivia, along with the wit and wisdom delivered in such gentle tones that we sometimes missed the underlying humour -or cynicism.
We can only imagine how delighted Margaret, David, Herb, Harry Meyerovitch and a number of others are to welcome Tony to Wednesday Night in The Clouds
We send our deepest condolences to Hanna and Julia as we await details of the Memorial to be held at the McGill Faculty Club in January.

So pleased that not only has Marc Miller been brought back into Cabinet, but with the most appropriate portfolios – minister for Official Languages and Canadian Identity and Culture.
Marc Miller, Joël Lightbound named to cabinet posts left by Steven Guilbeault
Miller becomes minister for Official Languages and Canadian Identity and Culture, and Lightbound becomes Quebec Lieutenant.

Opinion: Who’s a ‘disgrace to all Quebecers’?
Many in the province are tired of language issues being politicized. Are we all a disgrace in the eyes of Premier François Legault?
By Doug Sweet
In response to the kerfuffle initiated by the Premier
Marc Miller ‘fed up’ with politicizing language debate; François Legault calls him a ‘disgrace’
In Question Period Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Mark Carney backed Miller.

Andrew Caddell: Quebec nationalists are still fighting the 1995 referendum
At the moment, the Quebec Liberal Party is in disarray due to corruption accusations and internal squabbles involving new leader Pablo Rodriguez. The PQ under St-Pierre Plamondon is expected to win next year, and there is no federal leadership for the “Non” forces prior to a possible 2028 referendum.
Despite polls showing Quebecers’ attachment to Canada, a “Non” will be anything but a “slam dunk.”
… To ensure the next referendum will be fair, in 2000 the Chrétien government passed the Clarity Act based on a Supreme Court judgment in 1998. It called for a “clear question and a clear majority” before negotiations on separation took place.
However, St-Pierre Plamondon intends to ignore the Clarity Act, brandishing Quebec’s Bill 99. A 2021 court judgment on Bill 99 says Quebec is sovereign within its own jurisdiction, but the law does not apply to ramifications for Canada as a whole if Quebec separates. This leads to a scenario where St-Pierre Plamondon undertakes a unilateral declaration of independence in blatant contravention of international law, following a referendum victory for the “Oui.”

We look forward to comments from George
Carney’s Pipeline Deal Lifts Up Alberta and Demotes BC to Second-Class Status
This is not how a federation is supposed to work
Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government and Alberta premier Danielle Smith did something many thought politically impossible: they agreed to a new oil pipeline cutting to the British Columbia coast, designed to move bitumen to foreign markets

Chris Neal invites Wednesday Nighters to a discussion Wednesday, December 10, organized by the Montreal chapter of the Canadian International Council, at which journalist Madelaine Drohan will present her book, He Did Not Conquer – Benjamin Franklin’s Failure to Annex Canada. Before Donald Trump in 2025, before James Madison in 1812, Benjamin Franklin had designs on Canada. He travelled to Montreal in 1776 to persuade the Canadians to join the American Revolution. It was only one of his many attempts to make Canada American. Register here for this free event 5-7 pm, Wed., Dec. 10, in Room 1041, 680 Sherbrooke Street West: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/he-did-not-conquer-benjamin-franklins-failure-to-annex-canada-tickets-1976517111888

Russia Ukraine Peace Plan continues to go nowhere.
Europeans accuse Putin of feigning interest in peace after talks with US envoys
The remarks reflected the high tensions and gaping gulf between Russia on one side and Ukraine and its European allies on the other over how to end a war that Moscow started when it invaded its neighbor nearly four years ago.

Ditto Israel Hamas West Bank as the killings continue.
More than 200 leading cultural figures call for release of jailed Palestinian leader
Group including Margaret Atwood, Ian McKellen and Richard Branson sign open letter to free Marwan Barghouti
More than 200 leading cultural figures have come together to call for the release of Marwan Barghouti, the jailed Palestinian leader seen as capable of uniting factions and bringing the best hope to the stalled mission of creating a Palestinian state.
Barghouti, 66, has spent 23 years in prison after what legal experts described as a flawed trial. An elected parliamentarian at the time of his arrest, he remains the most popular Palestinian leader, consistently topping polls as the people’s choice to lead.

It’s not just Gaza. From the West Bank to Syria and Lebanon, Israel’s onslaught continues (See Long reads)
Broken ceasefires, bombing, ground incursions and mounting deaths: Israeli imperialism is now expanding across the region
It is clear now that the ceasefire in Gaza is only a “reducefire”. The onslaught continues. Meanwhile, Israel’s emerging blueprint becomes clearer: bloody domination not only in Gaza, but across Palestine and the wider region.
It will not have escaped your notice that Benjamin Netanyahu asked Israel’s president for pardon in corruption case
The request was submitted weeks after Donald Trump called on Isaac Herzog to pardon the Israeli prime minister
Note: Presidential pardons in Israel have almost never been granted before conviction, with the one notable exception of a 1986 case involving the Shin Bet security service. A pre-emptive pardon of a politician in a corruption case without an admission of guilt would be precedent-setting and highly controversial.

Trump calls Somali immigrants ‘garbage’ as US reportedly targets Minnesota community (UPDATE)
US president’s xenophobic rant comes amid reports of ramped-up deportation efforts in Ilhan Omar’s district
Ilhan Omar: Trump Knows He’s Failing. Cue the Bigotry.
Scorned by the president, Somalis in Minnesota are embraced by the state that took them in
… the wave of vitriol during the Trump administration’s continued nationwide immigration crackdown has been met with an opposing wave of solidarity in Minnesota. State leaders have been quick to publicly embrace the community. And some of those emails flooding the inboxes of organizers were expressions of kindness.
Ilhan Omar says Trump’s anti-Somali tirade ‘completely disgusting’
“These are Americans that he is calling ‘garbage,’” Omar, a Somalia-born Democrat, said while responding to the president’s remarks on CBS’s Face the Nation.

Long reads/videos
Peter Frise sends this with the comment “Now THIS is interesting, the “feet on the ground frankness” of Prof. Scott Galloway interviews the “slightly over-wrought” Peter Ziehan on China and the future. Keep in mind that this interview occurred some months back in about May-June, but it is still interesting.”
China’s Collapse, America’s Rise, and What Comes Next — with Peter Zeihan | Prof G Conversations
Some of the comments are pretty devastating, i.e. I was skeptical of AI before but now that I know Peter Zeihan is also skeptical of it I’m re-evaluating my position

Carney’s Pipeline Deal Lifts Up Alberta and Demotes BC to Second-Class Status
This is not how a federation is supposed to work
by Carmine Starnino, Stewart Prest
Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government and Alberta premier Danielle Smith did something many thought politically impossible: they agreed to a new oil pipeline cutting to the British Columbia coast, designed to move bitumen to foreign markets
Their memorandum of understanding (or MOU, a non-binding blueprint for where both governments want to go) lays out the high-stakes deal: Ottawa signals a willingness to ease up on key climate rules and even revisit the BC tanker moratorium. In return, Alberta promises tougher carbon pricing for heavy industry and a major expansion in carbon capture projects—emerging technology meant to trap emissions from oil sands operations and bury them underground—alongside a privately financed pipeline with Indigenous co-ownership.
BC wasn’t brought into the room, and it shows.

It’s not just Gaza. From the West Bank to Syria and Lebanon, Israel’s onslaught continues
Broken ceasefires, bombing, ground incursions and mounting deaths: Israeli imperialism is now expanding across the region
It is clear now that the ceasefire in Gaza is only a “reducefire”. The onslaught continues. There are near-daily attacks on the territory. …