Alex McColl

A thread on how Canada can respond to tariffs by cutting the F35A order in half and buying the runner-up F39E to serve as the bulk of Canada's air power over the next 40 years. Using my slides from a previous RCAF Association debate & research from my @policy_school thesis.

@3lfares 많은 사람들이 이민자 부모나 조부모의 모국어를 보존하기를 원합니다. 프랑스어는 제3언어로서 중요성이 상대적으로 떨어집니다.

Why do English-speaking Canadians refuse to learn French? Genuinely weird

@WilliamLaceyYYC @JeromyYYC A combination of land value tax reform & infrastructure spending being paid for with fees instead of general tax revenue solves many of these issues (fees would include congestion charges and on-street parking permits). A tragedy of the commons is solved by rationing or prices.

The whole property tax model needs a rethink @JeromyYYC. Despite having lived in the same house for over 20 years, my taxes have probably gone up over 3x yet the services I get from the city have likely remained the same or may actually have declined. The whole idea of pegging taxes solely to a houses value is antiquated. Houses that are further out and cost less can create greater strain on existing resources and benefit from new infrastructure. My guess is you need a combination of things. Perhaps part of the tax needs to be a flat fee, regardless of where you live. Moreover, if want to incentivize densification, you increase taxes further out and reduce taxes closer in. It's likely a difficult conversation, but the system that we have now just seems problematic.

@davidpugliese @OttawaCitizen Why not just build mid-rise apartment style housing with a bar and restaurant on the ground floor. You could call it, oh I don’t know; An Officers’ Mess.

The Defence department will examine temporarily turning sports fields into parking lots as well as building a new parkade as it scrambles to deal with major parking problems at its Carling Campus headquarters. ottawacitizen.com/public-service… via @ottawacitizen

@GK_Fellows It still bothers me how the Trudeau gov effectively banned original Ethanol-Free V-Power 91. Now we have to settle for V-Power 93 with Ethanol.

@AlexRMcColl Yeah, that's the "pretty much the same" line. Editor cut out a too lengthy description in my original (way too long) draft. I think higher than 91 octane is generally more specialist to a specific refinery. (Mid-grade is just mixed from Regular/Premium at the pump.)

My recent op-ed in the Financial Post.

@GK_Fellows Great column, one question: It makes sense to me that individual stations can get regular from anyone, but wouldn’t a Shell station have to buy V-Power from a Shell wholesaler or do other wholesalers make Premiums of varying standards depending on end retailer?

Unpaywalled version here: finance.yahoo.com/news/opinion-o…

@GK_Fellows A few of the honest separatists will tell you the end goal is independence from Canada in the same way that Texas Republicans wanted independence from Mexico: independence, for only as long as it takes to negotiate Statehood with the US Government.

But, you might argue, what a proposal for an AB pipe straight to the US? Well, KXL was cancelled by the Biden Administration on Climate Grounds. Separation doesn't fix that. And, while Trump is supportive of the line this week, who knows what the future will bring. 6/9

A few random AB separatism thoughts: Northern Gateway was cancelled due to inadequate crown-indigenous consultation. TMX stalled and had to be bought by the feds due to inadequate crown-indigenous consultation. Alberta separating makes these issues worse, not better. 1/9

@Njopling1 Quebec is one of the few that seem to take the responsibility seriously. Most provinces embrace the moral hazard of under-funding their capabilities knowing they can “call in the CAF” when things get bad. I’m not sure how to fix that without just having the Feds do it first.

@AlexRMcColl Firefighting is a provincial responsibility. If the GoC provides some of the capability the provinces will reduce what they do and then blame the feds. PQ will say more resources should be allocated to them than AB and visa versa.

I have long said we should emulate some of our European NATO allies and make water bombing an RCAF mission. This would count towards NATO spending, take a financial burden off the Provinces, and provide the new Calgary DHC-515 production line with a major order.

@bouchecl @ean_erickson Quebec is one of the few that seem to take the responsibility seriously. Most provinces embrace the moral hazard of under-funding their capabilities knowing they can “call in the CAF” when things get bad. I’m not sure how to fix that without just having the Feds do it themselves.

@AlexRMcColl @ean_erickson I'd be surprised if the Quebec government forfeits its fleet of 14 CL-215/415 to give them to Ottawa. youtube.com/watch?v=N_aC0u…

@pbontoast1 @NavyStrang Fold it under DND like the Coast Guard? This is how some of our European allies do it. Others just make them uniformed Air Force officers.

@NavyStrang @AlexRMcColl Exactly what we are saying

@pbontoast1 @ircoutts I’d like this to be a Reg Force roll, but I also would base them at a major city like Edmonton. It was a mistake to put so many of our bases in the middle of nowhere. Spousal un/under-employment should be a consideration.

@ircoutts @AlexRMcColl I get it. But I believe there are quite a number of folks that love where they live and will not serve in the RegF for that reason. Transform the RCAF Air Reserve to a meaningful local org, hire local public servants RegF recruiting and ResF/Public Servants wont compete

@NavyStrang @pbontoast1 I’d prefer this to be a full time reg force mission. One where they spend the winters deployed overseas to assist allies and build soft power relationships. But I’d certainly settle for this being a reserve led mission.

@pbontoast1 @AlexRMcColl Having the Air National Guard be able to conduct aerial fire fighting is a huge benefit in the U.S. It adds so much ready capacity.

@ean_erickson This is incredibly tone deaf to the bravery and commitment of military aviators who fight fires. Water bomber pilots risk their lives. It’s entirely reasonable to have them in uniform with proper benefits and support.

@AlexRMcColl The real military is better. You get to sit on ass all day and get paid to do nothing.

@pbontoast1 Agreed. Plus it would be a great soft-power tool. When it’s winter in Canada, we can deploy them to help our allies.

@AlexRMcColl Corollary: Fire is a weapon of war. The military airborne fire fighting component must have military skills as well to deploy to conflict zones

@MikeTheNavyGuy1 I remember being shocked at how zero CAF recruiting is directed towards the Cadet system. Going from nothing to a half-assed effort would get lots of cadets to sign up. That said, on-boarding bottlenecks; not a lack of recruits, is the current limiting factor.

This is a terrible read and ignores a shit tonne of outreach outside the Snowbirds. Defense at the dock, open base days. Freedom of the city parades. And so much more. This article might have been accurate in the late 90s. Not so much now.

@jengerson I wish more journalists thought critically about if both-sides really are equally valid, and made decisions not to platform unreasonable and bad faith arguments. This is fine.

Absurdly bad faith argument. The Line isn't calling for censorship or deplatforming. Separatists have plenty of outlets they can and do use to make their case. They're entitled to this! OUR outlet is simply choosing not to platform these arguments.

Both-Sides are not always equal; ex BC Code Reform: Engineers, with graduate degrees in fire safety engineering: the data is abundant and clear, EU-spec single-egress apartments are safer than what we build. Fire Unions: They just hate single family homes and want people to die!

@ronmortgageguy We never should have banned livable European single-egress courtyard apartments and their affordable small elevators. The cheapest alternatives suck because Provincial Building Codes & Municipal Zoning banned the missing middle. We can fix this, if we want to.

When The Company That's Buying Half A BILLION Worth Of Unsold Condos Says Some Dog Crate Are Awful: Pay Attention Jesta Group's Boss says some Dog Crate Condos are Unliveable Yeah, that bad Hey City of Toronto Planning Department WTF were you thinking when you approved them?

@CharlesShort The paper Boeing that’s currently plagued with delays and cost overruns, even though it’s based on the old and outdated 737-NG platform, that even the Pentagon wanted to abandon?

@AlexRMcColl Globaleye is awacs on food stamps. Pull your head out of your butt-hurt ass and buy the best system on the planet. I hate how DJT has screwed up the US/Canada relationship, just to watch people get upset with his provocations.

USA: You need to buy tankers! CAN: Yes, look at our new Airbus A330s! USA: Not like that, we wanted you to buy Boeing KC46s... okay, let's try again: you need to buy AEW aircraft! CAN: Yup, the Saab/Bombardier Globaleye... USA: FFS, wake up, this is about giving money to Boeing.

@Ecliptic_09 As an Albertan Federalist, who’s been told by some separatists that my family would be deported from an independent Alberta…