The priorities of our political leaders can be very hard to understand. Western countries are suffering years of economic stagnation, deteriorating public services, and a host of other problems. Yet our governments have decided that what we need to do is spend more money on defence—and not just more money, but a lot more money than what we are spending at present.

Today, the vast majority of Iranians see their government as a corrupt, mafia-like regime that is the main cause of their daily misery. Through decades of uprisings, the Iranian people have sought to overthrow this enemy within. But overthrowing the regime is the exclusive right and prerogative of the Iranian people—not of foreign powers.

Keeping the digital services tax is a sorely needed step in the right direction, but it is just one step. As Canadians for Tax Fairness Executive Director Jared A. Walker writes, to build a more independent and resilient Canada, we need an equitable and just tax system that works for the vast majority of Canadians.

In an unprecedented move in the history of collective bargaining at the federal level in Canada, Minister of Jobs and Families, Patty Hajdu, agreed to a request from Canada Post that she use her power under the Canada Labour Code to order a vote on the final offers that Canada Post submitted to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers on May 28, 2025.

If it does not want to remain complicit in Israel’s crimes, Canada must immediately apply all means of political and economic pressure at its disposal. There are many things it could do, including recognizing the State of Palestine, joining in actions before the international courts, terminating economic and military agreements, and breaking off diplomatic relations.

The vast majority of Western politicians have boxed themselves into too much of a corner after having demonized Russia to such an extent to really raise serious questions about the need for increased defence expenditure and to question any benefits it might bring. At a certain point, politically, there isn’t any going back without a colossal loss of face.

While warmongers worldwide are jubilant at the thought of profiting from the geopolitical upheaval, a spiral of violence would be devastating for the Iranian people and the entire region, as were the US-led regime change wars in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan. A wider conflict would devour the Middle East and could spread beyond that region in terrifying ways.

Are we so morally bankrupt that we will allow Netanyahu’s cynical maneuver, an act of naked aggression in flagrant breach of international law, to divert us from our responsibilities to end Israel’s genocide in Gaza? From the first responses of Western political leaders, it would appear that the answer to this question is unfortunately an unhesitating and emphatic yes.

Carney is quite prepared to ensure that capitalism becomes considerably less “inclusive” in order to weather the storm. At this relatively early stage of the game, he is leaving no doubt as to the course his government will chart. A highly interventionist state power will be subordinated to the imperatives of capital regardless of the broader consequences.

To hear a Liberal prime minister speak so sceptically about free trade would have been unthinkable just months ago, but Donald Trump’s trade war is an occasion for assessing what kind of industrial policy Canada should pursue. Greater economic nationalism benefitted Canada in the past. Maybe it’s time to chart a new course.