Carney's attack on cash, Gretzky is 100% Canadian and what should Poilievre do next...

Why is the government making it more difficult for businesses to use cash?

Cash is King!

That used to be the saying, then we started moving to digital payments with credit and debit cards, we do e-transfers and Venmo and suddenly there isn’t as much cash around. Maybe you remember early in the pandemic when some places didn’t want to handle cash because they were worried they could get infected.

Now, argues Peter Shawn Taylor in Juno News, the government is trying to get rid of cash.

That might be a bit of stretch, they have new legislation, Bill C-2 that will bring in new regulations about the handling of cash, but they aren’t banning it. When I saw Peter’s piece pop into my inbox the other day, I thought he was making too bold of a statement.

Then I read the piece and realized he makes some good arguments.

He spoke to Vince Morena, owner of St-Viateur Bagels in Montreal, a venerable institution in that city and one that is cash only. There are still places around that operate that way, The Patrician Grill on King East in Toronto that I frequent with Warren Kinsella and any politician that will let me take them there is still cash only.

It should be up to a business owner to decide what kind of payments they take, but C-2 may change that.

Earlier this year the Liberal government introduced Bill C-2, its controversial Strong Borders Bill. Among its many contentious provisions is one that would make it illegal for any person, business, bank or charity to accept a “cash payment, donation or deposit of $10,000 or more”. Night drops, where businesses deposit their daily cash haul in a secure mail slot after banking hours, would also be prohibited. By banning cash transactions of this sort, Ottawa seems intent on making life as difficult as possible for businesses that deal in old-fashioned paper money.

“If we do $20,000 of business in cash over a weekend, I don’t think we should be treated like criminals,” Morena snapped. Adding to the aggravation is the fact these changes are entirely redundant. All cash deposits of $10,000 or more in Canada already face strict reporting requirements specifically meant to stop money laundering.

Look, stopping money laundering is a valid concern for any government and despite the current regulations being in place for more than 20 years, it seems they are rarely enforced.

Give the full piece at Juno a read, it will make you think.

Gretzky is as Canadian as you can get…

I still don’t understand all the Canadians that turned their backs on Wayne Gretzky just because the went to Donald Trump’s election night victory party. Gretzky has known Trump for years, they’ve golfed together, Gretzky’s wife and mother-in-law have both been long-standing Republican supporters.

Wayne though remains a Canadian, that’s it. Well, a Canadian hockey player.

Appearing on the 100% Hockey podcast with Daren Millard and John Shannon, the Great One opened up about the abuse that he was taking after photos of him emerged on social media at Trump’s party.

“People are going to say and believe what they want,” Gretzky said. “The bottom line is, I know in my heart I’m Canadian, I’ve stayed Canadian and I’m a Canadian for life.”

Despite living in the United States for decades, Gretzky has never taken out American citizenship, something that he says many other Canadians who head south do rather quickly.

“I don’t know how many people move to the U.S., whether it’s business or entertainment, hockey, and I don’t know the exact number, but I would tell you that over 90% of them become American citizens. I never became an American citizen. I’m Canadian,” Gretzky said.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Gretzky and interacting with him a bit, he wears his Canadian pride on his sleeve. He’s even still proud of the fact that he once owned the Toronto Argonauts, something I may have teased him about as a Ti-Cats fan.

You can read more about this from Bruce Garrioch at the Ottawa Citizen and find out that even Justin Trudeau called him to express support when the criticism was at its height. Have to say, that was a class move by Trudeau and as you will read, Gretzky appreciated the call.

Speaking of Trudeau…

We’ve been treated to the breathless reporting that Justin Trudeau is dating Katy Perry. Next week, on the Can’t Be Censored Podcast from Travis Dhanraj and Karman Wong, Sophie Trudeau will appear and discuss all the news.

Not sure everything that will be in there, but was speaking with Travis yesterday and he said they do ask her about her ex-husband’s new dating life and her own…

What should Pierre do next…

Amanda Galbraith is a friend and a very smart woman. Her advice to the Conservative Party of Canada in her latest op-ed in the Toronto Sun is for everyone to take a Valium.

I was a staffer in Stephen Harper’s office when he faced the same test as Belinda Stronach crossed the floor. I remember watching Stronach smiling on TV as she swept out of her car into the arms of the Paul Martin Liberals from inside the soon-to-be-defunct 2005 Conservative campaign war room.

To say it felt seismic at the time is an understatement. But Harper recovered, steadied the ship and went on to win. Poilievre can do the same if the Conservatives resist the impulse to do what we do best: Eat ourselves alive.

Read her whole piece and take it to heart. Too many people are freaking out about Chris d’Entremont crossing the floor and thinking the sky is falling.

That’s not the case and everyone should relax and realize this.

On that note, I spoke with Galbraith’s old boss for the Full Comment Podcast.

Ian Brodie was Stephen Harper’s Chief of Staff from the opposition days until near the end of the first minority. We had a great chat about floor crossers - he was there for Belinda Stronach - and how you change and adjust to win, which is what Harper did in 2006.

That episode will drop on Monday morning.

Oh….and we talked about this on Batra’s Burning Questions this week.