this post was submitted on 06 Mar 2025
925 points (99.6% liked)

World News

44308 readers
4199 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News [email protected]

Politics [email protected]

World Politics [email protected]


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Summary

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province will permanently cancel its $100 million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink, even if U.S. tariffs are lifted.

The decision follows Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, which prompted Ontario to ban U.S. firms from contracts.

Ford cited Musk’s ties to Trump as a factor and said he is willing to fight potential legal fallout.

Musk previously responded to cancellation threats with a dismissive “Oh well.”

(page 2) 36 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 63 points 2 weeks ago (8 children)

Oooh Trump’s gonna get in a fight with Canadian Trump! Get some popcorn y’all!

load more comments (8 replies)
[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Yeah “Oh well.” But then he cries like a baby who didn’t get a piggy back ride, and starts to sue people who won’t do business with his companies.

Just like all these people he’s paying off and then two days later realizes he made a mistake and wants to hire them back. Just like all these tariffs they are so fast to impose and then AFTER THINKING ABOUT SHIT want to start rolling it all back. These people are legit dumb as fuck.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

It's frustrating that $100 million is only about 0.028760% of Elon Musk's total wealth ($347.7 billion). Let's hope more people abandon his failing companies and that other governments and big clients follow Fords lead.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 weeks ago

The name Ford making Elon cry again

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago

Good. Should cut ties with that asshole. He is constantly pitching ideas that are not that great on their own and can only be accomplished with subsidies.

And all this tariff threat should have repercussions. Can't keep going back and forth, back and forth without saying enough.

I say this as an American who is disgusted with how this administration is treating our closest friends and allies.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Why tf we doing starlink deals with that fucking idiot in the first place?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Ontario is a massive province and rural internet outside of a handful of areas is terrible. Satellite, esp. good, consistent satellite, is a godsend for those areas -- no one is running fiber out to a town of only 2000 bodies that's highly isolated.

It was a reasonable choice, assuming Musk was mostly sane and not onboard with MAGA.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

From a consumer perspective it's a good solution for internet in remote areas and Ontario has a lot of remote areas. I used it for a couple of years when my only other option was a local wireless provider with an expensive high speed plan with advertised downloads up to 10Mbps, but actually never got anywhere near that. I'm lucky that I now have fibre and my starlink hardware is collecting dust in the shed.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 169 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Fords an absolute asshole, and this is a stopped clock situation. But let’s take the win. This is a policy change in the right direction.

From a southern neighbor: sorry about the smell and the noise. We are busy shitting the bed, and we’re just getting started.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 2 weeks ago

Thanks bud. it's not our first rodeo, we're used to the smell of bullshit.
Still, you know, when it actually gets on you it stains things.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

EU citizen here, I see that Premier Doug Ford is doing good stuff, it is a good political figure in general?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Hahahahaha no, this is one of the very few odd times that I agree with him.

That being said, I come from one of the orangest (NDP), most union-ey provinces, Manitoba, so I'm a bit biased.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

I'll try to stay up to date with what this guy says, he seems interesting.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

That’s one way to put it.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago

His brother was addicted to crack when he was the mayor of Toronto and then died from cancer, so that's pretty interesting.

What's also kind of interesting is that the current mayor of Toronto is Olivia Chow, whose husband also died of cancer and was the late, great Jack Layton, who is very worth reading about.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

From what I've understood he's a conservative populist. So interpret that however you want.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Well, somehow he is doing his part about being "conservative".

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Arguably not, since his platform before the tariff threat was basically to privatize the shit out of everything and screw the average Ontario taxpayer out of healthcare.

He was all about the oligarchy until they burned him. Nothing conservative about being spurned and pushing back.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

He’s a Conservative douchebag in general.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Oh. Then it looks like he is trying to clean his image or something.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

Not really, he was already insanely popular before this. Just won a third majority a week ago, which is unheard of in Ontario politics. It's more that he knows how to connect with people and the electorate is very gullible / willing to turn a blind eye.

With all this recent goodwill he'll probably end up being our prime minister at some point shudder

[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

He could actually be patriotic for all I know but he has tried to enrich himself and his buddies at the expense of the public before so I trust him about as far as I could throw him.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] -4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Even conservatives have principles, at least they used to, getting less and less popular with that crowd though. Centrist liberals however refuse to have principles because "that's taking sides."

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Doug Ford does not have principles. He's in the right on this one, this time, but was actively trying to convince his base he was a Canadian Trump until the tariffs looked to annihilate his province financially.

As someone else said, "broken clock moment"

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

He also looks like a cop and I don't trust like that.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

Funny, because him and his brother were in the illegal drug business.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 weeks ago

This is absolutely the right decision.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Hope Ford has some good lawyers on retainer... this is probably gonna get ugly, lol

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Might not. I assume there's some sort of penalty clause built into the contract, so there shouldn't be much to sue about unless Ford tries to find a way to not pay that penalty.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments
view more: ‹ prev next ›