Blayne Haggart
@bhaggart.bsky.social
1.4K followers 540 following 2.9K posts
Professor, Political Science, Brock University Knowledge governance, IPE, Sydney Swans tragic Co-author, with Natasha Tusikov, The New Knowledge: Information, Data and the Remaking of Global Power (Bloomsbury, 2023). Open Access.
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bhaggart.bsky.social
Your regular reminder that Australian Rules football commentary is the best commentary:
AFL Women Swans v Blues. Swan player Montana Ham, who's been an inaccurate shot all year, misses her second easy shot on goal in about two minutes:
"The little man's on her shoulder."
Reposted by Blayne Haggart
christyceeck.bsky.social
I have some questions after reading this story...

“Our pilots are off to the U.S. in the next few months to start training,” she added. “The infrastructure is going up. We have airfields being extended to get ready, so we are definitely not in a position where we are waiting.”
‘We are moving forward’: top soldier says F-35 preparations continue despite government review
Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan says the Canadian military is moving ahead with its preparations for F-35 fighter jets despite an ongoing government review of the purchase.
www.ctvnews.ca
Reposted by Blayne Haggart
jbroschek.bsky.social
... We would recognize the need for a countrywide dialogue about the generational challenges facing Canada. We would provide Canadians with the information they need to make thoughtful choices... And we would recognize that serious conversation takes time."

www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Opinion: We’re missing a vision for Canada
We are living in a different world, and we need to talk about what that means for all of us
www.theglobeandmail.com
Reposted by Blayne Haggart
jbroschek.bsky.social
"And even if the Carney government has a plan, when did the rest of us agree to it? If Canada is really at a crossroads, you would expect a serious national conversation about which road we should follow. (...)"

And:

"Here’s what a better response to a “hinge moment” would look like....
Reposted by Blayne Haggart
jbroschek.bsky.social
If there is really no alternative to closer defence integration - no capacity for choice, in other words - as all quoted experts seem to suggest, then this begs a more fundamental question that calls for an honest, broad public discourse:

To what extent is Canada still a "sovereign" state?
bhaggart.bsky.social
My naive wish is that even one Canadian journalist, one politician, one security analyst, would address the implications of Canada choosing military integration with an authoritarian power that no longer respects the rule of law or international law.
Looks like that’s not going to happen today.
Golden Dome signals change to Canada’s long-time opposition to joining U.S. missile defence
Canada opted to stay on the sidelines in 2005 as the U.S. developed defences against ballistic missiles
www.theglobeandmail.com
Reposted by Blayne Haggart
jeff.doctor
You want a nuanced analysis of "digital sovereignty?" Ask Indigenous people who have been thinking about this long before settlers have who take the notion of "sovereignty" for granted. That's why Canadians are flailing about panicking now. They didn't barely considered this a "thing" until Trump
Reposted by Blayne Haggart
bhaggart.bsky.social
I think I saw that, but I've yet to see it mentioned outside of social media, like in an oped or news article.
bhaggart.bsky.social
Carney’s strategy is the exact opposite of what Canadians voted for. It’s clear that he’s making many unacknowledged/unexplained assumptions, while ignoring many obvious risks.
Mark Carney is not the CEO of Canada. He’s an elected leader. He needs to explain himself to Canadians.
bhaggart.bsky.social
“Carney’s decision to work with Donald Trump on an advanced missile shield ... will set the stage for deepening military co-operation between the two countries.”

How much more directly can it be said? This is deeper integration. Where you buy your guns doesn’t matter if you’re still on Team USA.
bhaggart.bsky.social
Trump is not Bush. The US of 2025 is not the US of 2005. The problem posed by this plan is more complex now than it was. But if, like Mark Carney and the Canadian Forces, you see only an economic threat, you’re not going to take appropriate steps to limit our exposure to US authoritarianism.
bhaggart.bsky.social
My naive wish is that even one Canadian journalist, one politician, one security analyst, would address the implications of Canada choosing military integration with an authoritarian power that no longer respects the rule of law or international law.
Looks like that’s not going to happen today.
Golden Dome signals change to Canada’s long-time opposition to joining U.S. missile defence
Canada opted to stay on the sidelines in 2005 as the U.S. developed defences against ballistic missiles
www.theglobeandmail.com
Reposted by Blayne Haggart
sustainablesong.bsky.social
Harper made Canada the worst climate performer among industrial nations, ranked 58th best by the international Climate Change Performance Index.

Trudeau made Canada an even worse climate arsonist than under Harper, dropping us to an even more dismal 62nd place.

Carney: "Hold my beer."
Reposted by Blayne Haggart
emmettmacfarlane.com
I will forever find the idea that you can't find equally qualified (maybe even more qualified) people for half the price in pretty much any of these positions, such as CEOs for state agencies, university presidents, etc. etc. etc., to be total bullshit. Overpaid and unjustifiably so.
bhaggart.bsky.social
Mark Carney sold himself as a pro-sovereignty, transformational leader, but he has acted like a defender of a status quo based on confined dependence on a Trumpist United States.
In any case, that’s not what Canadians voted for. But I’m not sure that Carney cares about that small point.
bhaggart.bsky.social
The tell is that Carney has paid ZERO attention to the governance structures that underpin and reinforce US integration. These include military interoperability, regulatory dependence, and network and digital dependence, including US domination of digital comms, email and other digital services.
bhaggart.bsky.social
And before any Carney stans “well actually” me with his feints at trade diversification, Mitchell Sharp pointed out *IN 1972* that such actions can be fully consistent with an attempt to maintain the deeper, inertia-driven status quo. In any case, they’re not close to being up to the challenge.
bhaggart.bsky.social
If Canada wishes to remain a sovereign country, our leaders need to stop thinking that “North America” exists. Now, there is only the US, Canada, and Mexico. We need to reject Carney’s appeasement strategy — there’s no other word for it—and fully reckon with the cost of independence.
bhaggart.bsky.social
Any influence Canada has in this setup will be that of a vassal state, not even as a junior partner. And any attempt to deviate from US policy will be met with threats against Canada’s economy. Because those are the new rules of engagement.
bhaggart.bsky.social
Let’s also be clear: Joining the Golden Dome WILL NOT buy Canada any influence. That’s 2015 thinking. The North American governance rules have changed. The US of 2025 is interested not in cooperation, but subjugation.
bhaggart.bsky.social
It is literally impossible to reconcile the push for greater independence with deeper military integration, especially with a country that no longer respects the rule of law and is murdering innocent civilians on the high seas. Let alone kidnapping its own citizens.