{"id":31284,"date":"2025-10-27T00:30:04","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T00:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/?p=31284"},"modified":"2025-10-27T00:41:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T00:41:32","slug":"a-mad-hat-rack-tale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/?p=31284","title":{"rendered":"A mad Hat Rack Tale&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-rounded\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"749\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Court-Painter-jays-hat.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Court-Painter-jays-hat.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Court-Painter-jays-hat-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Court-Painter-jays-hat-768x575.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-rounded\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"678\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/oilskin-hat-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31307\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/oilskin-hat-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/oilskin-hat-1-300x254.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/oilskin-hat-1-768x651.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">What Court Painter and his trusty Press Attache, A Hardon MacKay, decide upon as a subject for their pictorial and verbal analysis remains a closely guarded studio secret(keep it under their hat). However, it can be said that the following post was <strong>sparked by a journalist\u2019s remark that Canadians are looking for something from the Carney government \u201cto hang their hat on.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">As keen observers of the Court Painter postings will know, the resident studio scribe, Chatterley Grandiose Preposterous Thunderstruck (ChatGPT), is sometimes called upon to compose a narrative that illuminates a chosen subject\u2014and at the drop of a hat took on the task of commenting on Canadians\u2019 wish to find something from Carney \u201cto hang their hat on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f89dcf30cb64ed77230a2d9012737109\" style=\"color:#b70f06\">Editor&#8217;s Note : AHM was forced to edit heavily upon receiving the initial draft and apologizes in advance to all subscribers for taking up so much of their valuable time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-dark-red-color has-text-color has-link-color has-large-font-size wp-elements-a357d85782af87836c5b80b5b52fda49\"><strong>\u201cThe Great Canadian Hat Rack Accord\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"578\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PM-hats-with-racks.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PM-hats-with-racks.jpg 578w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PM-hats-with-racks-231x300.jpg 231w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 578px) 85vw, 578px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-dark-red-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-55f9620a95e282f3b0c65d10947229dc\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">It began, as all great Canadian political crises do, with a polite but insistent demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Canadians, from coast to coast to coast, were telling Prime Minister Carney  they wanted something from government they could&nbsp;<em>hang their hat on.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">At first, Prime Minister Carney\u2019s aides assumed it was a metaphor\u2014one of those reassuring idioms people toss around when they crave stability. But soon the letters and memes began arriving by the thousands : handwritten, digitally rendered ,carefully worded, and almost all containing the same refrain\u2014<em>\u201cWe need hat racks.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The message was clear. Canadians were tired of having no place to hang their hats\u2014whether they be trucker hats, toques, hijabs, bowlers,beach,hockey,ball &amp; hard hats, or ceremonial head toppers. \u201cWe are a nation of many hats,\u201d one op-ed in the&nbsp;<em>Globe and  Mail<\/em>&nbsp;declared, \u201cand it\u2019s high time Ottawa recognized our collective cranial fashion diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"674\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/types-of-hats.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/types-of-hats.png 674w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/types-of-hats-270x300.png 270w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">To assure Canadians he wasn&#8217;t &#8216;<em>talking through his hat<\/em>&#8216;, Carney established the&nbsp;<strong>National Hat Rack Initiative<\/strong>\u2014the crown of Carney\u2019s newly hatched Industrial Strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"753\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WayneShustecarney.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31322\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WayneShustecarney.jpg 753w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WayneShustecarney-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WayneShustecarney-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-dark-red-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-17c357814a18c040199f86f6f2248a32\">A Nation Debates Hat Rack Industrial Capacity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The question of&nbsp;<em>where<\/em>&nbsp;to build the hat rack manufacturing plants quickly became the most divisive issue since pipeline politics. Each of the ten provinces and three territories demanded a fair share of the new \u201chat rack manufacturing and innovation clusters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Alberta wanted \u201ctraditional, rugged, western-style racks woven from sustainable tumble weeds.\u201d Quebec insisted on \u201cartisanal racks with cultural flair and optional fleur-de-lis finials.\u201d Newfoundland demanded \u201cweatherproof wall hooks\u201d for sou\u2019wester hats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Prince Edward Island, with its limited landmass, offered to host \u201cboutique, small-batch racks.\u201d The Yukon lobbied for \u201csmart racks\u201d embedded with AI sensors to detect headwear type and offer temperature-adjusted hooks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The negotiations were so delicate that Carney established a new ministry\u2014the&nbsp;<strong>Department of Equitable Hat Rack Distribution and Allocation (DEHRDA)<\/strong>\u2014to mediate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"574\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Court-Painter-hat-rack.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Court-Painter-hat-rack.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Court-Painter-hat-rack-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Court-Painter-hat-rack-768x441.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"657\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Sou-Wester-model.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Sou-Wester-model.jpg 657w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Sou-Wester-model-282x300.jpg 282w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-dark-red-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-186c2b4c7508012036f16d3762db6de7\">Energy Quotas and the Hat Rack -Power Debate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">But trouble loomed on the energy front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Hat rack factories, it turned out, were surprisingly power-hungry\u2014especially the ones designed to integrate with Canada\u2019s growing network of AI data centres. The so-called \u201csmart racks\u201d could suggest hat care routines, forecast expansion rates for narcissists ,recommend rackish angles and issue polite reminders to place hat back on rack with care.They also would come equipped with fun house mirrors ,adjustable backstage make up lights and a device charger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">This put them in direct competition with tech giants for scarce energy resources. Provinces with abundant hydro or wind power were reluctant to share. British Columbia&#8217;s premier was quoted as saying, \u201cIf Alberta wants smart hat racks, they can plug them into their yet to be approved wind turbines!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The federal-provincial talks stretched for weeks. Acronyms multiplied faster than hats at a Stampede parade. The \u201cNational Energy for Hat Rack Allocation Plan\u201d (NEHRAP) was announced, delayed, scrapped, and re-announced under a new name: the&nbsp;<strong>Great Dominion Hat Rack Energy Accord.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"657\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Carney-Sou-Wester-model.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31306\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Carney-Sou-Wester-model.jpg 657w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Carney-Sou-Wester-model-282x300.jpg 282w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-dark-red-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a540592793eae07b8623ccc279c0723d\">A Great Dominion Compromise Takes Shape<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">In the end, compromise prevailed, as it sometimes does in the Great Dominion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Each province and territory would receive one flagship hat rack plant, (with Alberta and Quebec receiving two because they are such incessant whiners,) otherwise proportional to population and adjusted for private profit with tax dollar backing. The factories would be powered by a shared energy pool, managed by a central foreign owned AI known simply as&nbsp;<strong>The RACK (Resource Allocation Computational Kernel).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">When Carney stood before Parliament to announce the deal, he called it \u201ca model for cooperative federalism and a compromise all Canadians could &#8216;hang their hats on!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">And so, the Carney government gave Canadians something they could truly hang their hat on&#8230;rack it up to public pressure and clever diversionary tactics demanded of the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The National Hat Rack Initiative became an industrial policy and a metaphor for the Great Dominion itself which eludes all thoughtful folks to this day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-rounded\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CP-PressAttache.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CP-PressAttache.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CP-PressAttache-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CP-PressAttache-768x511.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Court Painter and his trusty Press Attache, A Hardon MacKay, decide upon as a subject for their pictorial and verbal analysis remains a closely guarded studio secret(keep it under their hat). However, it can be said that the following post was sparked by a journalist\u2019s remark that Canadians are looking for something from the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/?p=31284\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;A mad Hat Rack Tale&#8230;&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-images","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31284"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31325,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31284\/revisions\/31325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}