As per usual, I agree with your overall argument, especially the tickle trunk of opportunity that competition policy provides an election or government seeking to inspire. However I would also add that Shopify deserves greater scrutiny. As per your nudge earlier in the season, I set up a shopify account. Their use of "dark patterns" was alarming and insidious. I get that they're successful because they help small businesses make money on the internet, but perhaps that's not the only reason? Perhaps there's an exploitative and anti-competitive element to their business as well, just not as bad as the other guys. This strikes me as the ultimate value of regulation. Helping a company like Shopify do better and be less manipulative.
The Hamilton Spectator had a small article last week on inflation running 3.7%, "....largely because....gas is 30% more expensive than a year ago....." as this notoriously left-wing rag bemoaned the cost of living on the impoverished. They dodged the important question of why, answer being Justin's silly carbon tax that will do nothing to impact climate change as we might nudge ourselves down from currently producing 1.6% of world emissions to 1.5% or so, yahoo! Why not preferentially drive innovation and Can tech with tax subsidy (tax holiday even better, imagine we say you work to develop this important tech and you don't have to pay taxes for, say, the first three years, with a graduated phase-in after that if successful)? Focus on bringing the micro-nuclear reactors to market (that helps our remote regions and Indigenous populations too), maybe we could sell a few to China and shut down some of their coal-fired power plants (40% world emissions anyone?). More focus on our cleanest-in-the-world pipelines technology, we will need 'em for at least a while and we could sell or license that to the world too - Imagine Canada behaving like we can do more than hew wood, grow wheat and draw water? Online articles last week again described early-generation EV's a decade old reaching a point where the batteries are dying and they cost a fortune to replace - and then what do you do with all that toxic lithium in the old ones, I can't put my exhausted AA battery in the garbage going to the dump for fear of toxicity where does my friend ditch the dead battery from his Leaf! Heeeyyyy now there's another can tech idea, lithum batteries recyclying business anyone? OK I'll stop now.
As per usual, I agree with your overall argument, especially the tickle trunk of opportunity that competition policy provides an election or government seeking to inspire. However I would also add that Shopify deserves greater scrutiny. As per your nudge earlier in the season, I set up a shopify account. Their use of "dark patterns" was alarming and insidious. I get that they're successful because they help small businesses make money on the internet, but perhaps that's not the only reason? Perhaps there's an exploitative and anti-competitive element to their business as well, just not as bad as the other guys. This strikes me as the ultimate value of regulation. Helping a company like Shopify do better and be less manipulative.
The Hamilton Spectator had a small article last week on inflation running 3.7%, "....largely because....gas is 30% more expensive than a year ago....." as this notoriously left-wing rag bemoaned the cost of living on the impoverished. They dodged the important question of why, answer being Justin's silly carbon tax that will do nothing to impact climate change as we might nudge ourselves down from currently producing 1.6% of world emissions to 1.5% or so, yahoo! Why not preferentially drive innovation and Can tech with tax subsidy (tax holiday even better, imagine we say you work to develop this important tech and you don't have to pay taxes for, say, the first three years, with a graduated phase-in after that if successful)? Focus on bringing the micro-nuclear reactors to market (that helps our remote regions and Indigenous populations too), maybe we could sell a few to China and shut down some of their coal-fired power plants (40% world emissions anyone?). More focus on our cleanest-in-the-world pipelines technology, we will need 'em for at least a while and we could sell or license that to the world too - Imagine Canada behaving like we can do more than hew wood, grow wheat and draw water? Online articles last week again described early-generation EV's a decade old reaching a point where the batteries are dying and they cost a fortune to replace - and then what do you do with all that toxic lithium in the old ones, I can't put my exhausted AA battery in the garbage going to the dump for fear of toxicity where does my friend ditch the dead battery from his Leaf! Heeeyyyy now there's another can tech idea, lithum batteries recyclying business anyone? OK I'll stop now.