, 10.05.2021 07:42 AM

My latest: I think Trudeau is going to leave

Always look for the silver lining, our moms told us. It’s there.

In the case of the Justin Trudeau surf vacation, it’s hard to spot the silver lining. Because the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation wasn’t a good one. At all.

To recap:

  • Justin Trudeau and his office bald-faced lied about where he was on Sept. 30. He wasn’t in Ottawa for “meetings,” as they claimed.
  • He was on a Challenger jet with his entourage, heading to British Columbia, spewing greenhouse gases that were the equivalent to what an average Canadian family generates in an entire year.
  • He and his office said he would be meeting with “residential school survivors.” That was a lie, too. He allegedly made a phone call or two to some Indigenous people. We don’t know who or how many, exactly.
  • Trudeau and co. headed to Tofino, which is at the heart of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, a sacred place of profound significance to Indigenous people. Trudeau wasn’t there for any of that, or even to meet briefly with the First Nation. He was there for the surfer’s beach, which he’d been to many times before.
  • Oh, and the mansion. Trudeau and his entourage were staying at an $18-million oceanfront estate.

All this, on a day that Trudeau himself created to remember thousands of Indigenous children who had lost their lives at so-called residential schools and then were dropped into unmarked graves.

When the truth emerged — thanks to some outstanding media sleuthing by the Toronto Sun’s Bryan Passifiume, Global News and others — Trudeau’s office disappeared the false statement about his whereabouts.

They also belatedly claimed Trudeau apologized to Tk’emlA0ps Nation Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir. Casimir had previously twice invited Trudeau to spend the first Truth and Reconciliation Day with her people, where the bodies of Indigenous children were discovered, months ago.

Trudeau went to a mansion on a surfing beach instead.

Indigenous leaders reacted as you would expect they would — with shock, with dismay, with outrage. Speaking for many, Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald said Trudeau’s after-the-fact apology wasn’t good enough.

Said Archibald: “Hollow apologies will no longer be accepted. As national chief, on behalf of all First Nations, I expect concrete action and changed behaviour.”

But will the behaviour change?

With Trudeau’s cult-like followers, that is unlikely. Initially, they said the scandal wasn’t one. After Trudeau apologized, they did a volte-face and said his apology put an end to the scandal.

What else would one expect from such a cult, which one CNN broadcaster once called “TruAnon?” If they could rationalize racist blackface, allegations about groping a woman, and obstruction of justice, the Tofino scandal would be barely an afterthought.

But what about Trudeau? Did he notice the outrage? Did he — does he — care?

Trudeau famously pays little to no attention to the mainstream news media, so his surfing holiday was likely undisturbed by any of that — save and except a brave Global News crew who tried to question Trudeau on a Tofino beach, and were chased away by taxpayer-funded security goons.

What about the avalanche of anger on social media? There, too, Trudeau doesn’t spend much time. Apart from approving the photos his official photographer uploads to Instagram, Trudeau doesn’t run his own Twitter and Facebook accounts.

So, maybe he doesn’t truly know how angry people are. Perhaps he doesn’t know, either, the damage he did to Canada-Indigenous relations. Those are all dark, dark clouds, as our moms would say.

But here is the silver lining: I don’t think Justin Trudeau wants to do the job anymore. I think he wanted a majority government, didn’t get one, and now he wants out.

I now think, more than ever before, he wants to leave.

And that, my friends, is a real silver lining.

— Warren Kinsella was Jean Chretien’s Special Assistant

31 Comments

  1. Douglas W says:

    He’s going to leave because … the Liberal establishment wants somebody else.

    Mark Carney.

  2. Leasa Janssen says:

    Let’s hope so. As you know, I’m not a liberal, but anyone would be better than Trudeau, except for toe-jam-pickin’-in-the-HoC Freeland. More of the same…

  3. We can only hope this is true. He has done nothing of value in this country except create division and scandal. He has lied, cheated and bullied his way in Parliament for the last 6 years. He has inflated the debt to a level never seen before, inflation is at an all time high. I hope and pray that he does leave and the Liberals can get someone who actually cares about Canadians and the issues. God help us all.

  4. Rob Porter says:

    Warren never ceases to amaze me – pleasantly. Never in Canada’s gutless media did I expect to see such candour actually reach print. In respect of smashing up on the shallow, lying, never grew up, Justin Trudeau, this column is a gem. What a fraud he is! And this column highlights just how big a fraud. As to his cult-like followers, they’re as shallow and morals-destitute as he is. Together they make the country appear a kindergarten play-acting national leadership.

  5. JH says:

    He may just be the most hated man in Canada these days. All that is needed is for the O’Toole to prove he can be a viable alternative.
    Trudeau and his coterie’s use of wedge politics had divided this country like never before.
    His only real support comes from his cult like Himbos and Bimbos who worship at the altar of shallowness.

    • JH says:

      CBC once again in its slavish worship of the Trudashian myth also managed to embarrass itself once again as well.
      From NP, “As news of Trudeau’s clandestine Tofino trip blew up, the CBC initially tweeted a headline reading, “On the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau travelled to B.C. speaking with residential school survivors from across the country.” When it emerged that the “speaking” was actually just a
      series of in-flight phone calls, the network quietly deleted the initial tweet.”
      How typical is that of the CEEB’s Trudeau cultists?
      No wonder Peter Mansbridge is telling anyone who asks about his book, ‘The country needs CBC to be better.’
      Actually the country needs CBC Toronto to be gone and the rest reduced to reporting facts.

  6. Calvin Harasemchuk says:

    It’s not winter yet, no walk in the snow…. We can only hope

  7. I hope he doesn’t let the door hit him in the ass as he leaves Ottawa behind for Montreal. (Lucky them.) This country can barely take any more of this person.

  8. Robert White says:

    My King James bible exhorts ‘shaking the dust off of one’s feet’ where one is not wanted, Prime Minister Trudeau.

    If the author of the article is wholly correct in the sumary conclusion that you are indeed not wanted as leadership in this country it would be advisiable to do as the KJ Bible exhorts.

    Obviously, our PM is going to melt down via his lack of character and hollow persona sometime over the next year to be sure.

    I don’t relish lambasting our prime ministers. I lament the prospect, and long for the days in Canada where we actually had competent leadership as was the case with Prime Minister Chretien only, as I can recollect.

    Trudeau the elder was suspect in terms of his grandious vision for Canada, and his offspring is not setting any marked improvement that I can evidence aside from making marijuana legal.

    Thank you for the free legal buds, Prime Minister Trudeau.

    I leave the rest unsaid.

    RW

    • Bob C says:

      ummm…. Chrétien was no dam prize. it was him and Trudumb senior who tried to finish the job with first nations. perhaps you should reread the white paper. my ancestors would appreciate it

      • Robert White says:

        Thank you for the reply, Bob C. I am busy reading that paper now, and reflecting on what you said.

        I started looking at federal level Canadian politics rather late in life, and that’s why I follow Warren as he has half a century on me vis-a-vis politics.

        I knew I would stick my foot in my mouth eventually. Please consider me a student of Canadian politics, and First Nations historiography. In terms of Canadian history I’m not very cultured, but First Nations is a kindred spirt to me, and always has been too.

        I was born in Toronto. Toronto was First Nations land long before I was born there.

        I appreciate your reply very much.

        Robert

  9. PJH says:

    One can only hope and pray….but I suspect his ego wont let him…..Jr. wants to out-do the old man in years served as PM….He may leave, but he will do it kicking and screaming, as soon as the Liberal Braintrust sees him as a liability to the brand and decides to give him “the heave”……they arent there yet….and his cult o’ personality sycophants will never be….

    • PJH,

      On their best day, they are gutless cowards. He has no worries unless his egotism and narcissism prompts HIM to leave — HE wanted that majority and convinced himself that HE would get it — that it was a natural and then HE BLEW IT. Hope he hits the road, and tomorrow is too late for me.

      • Meanwhile, over on our side, I seriously doubt that 20% of caucus have got the guts to challenge Erin. If they pull that one off, I’ll be so surprised, I’ll probably drop dead.

        In this life, you have to concentrate the mind on your true political enemies and in 2021, thy name is Justin Trudeau. Hope caucus remembers that.

        • From CityNews:

          “For a leadership review to happen, an MP must submit a written notice to the national caucus chair, which has to be signed by at least 20 per cent of elected members and then a vote would be held by secret ballot.”

          • Ronald O'Dowd says:

            So…if I was an enthusiastic leadership troublemaker and shit disturber (like in 2005) I would have walked into caucus today with my 20% of signatures already in my front pocket. No one apparently did. Rather telling. It suggests, at the very best, a wet firecracker.

            BUT keep caucus onside and allow them meaningful input on everything going forward. Otherwise, expect trouble down the road.

  10. Joe Brehm says:

    I say that Trudeau wants out is giving him too much credit.

  11. I hope you are right Warren….I’m not sure though myself. I think he will want to engage in at least one grandiose gesture (of what I’m not sure) in order to establish some sort of legacy. That he has already done so (establishing a legacy that is, although it is not the one he would like to have) is certainly a testament to his time as PM and head of the LPC.
    In other news, it looks like “Errin'” O’Toole may have dodged the first Night Of The Long Knives (although he doesn’t seem as optimistic as he might). I guess time will tell. Could be a coin flip to see if he makes it to the next election as leader of the CPC.

  12. Gilbert says:

    I’m not sure if Justin Trudeau wants to leave, but it’s clear that he doesn’t care about reconciliation. He’s an artificial person who lost the popular vote twice in a row. He hasn’t done well on the international stage, he has few accomplishments and he’s not serious. He can no longer blame everything on Stephen Harper. This might have been his last election.

  13. Robert Bracken says:

    The problem is, it isn’t just Trudeau who needs to go: this entire, incompetent federal government must go.

  14. Campbell says:

    I quite honestly find the attribute of seeing nothing but malice, stupidity, and/or other negative characteristics in Trudeau irrespective of the actions he takes to be far more similar to “cult-like devotion” to an idea, than I do LPC supporters rationalizing those same actions. Now, I’m one of those rationalizers, it is true, but it is a very similar (if not identical) mindset that causes one to uniquely praise or criticize an individual for literally everything they do, or don’t do (for that matter). And I find the level of commitment the TruHaterAnon (or whatever, it’s clear what I’m getting at) to he considerably more devoted than any so-called TruAnon type of person to be.

    So, I guess what I’m saying is, I think there value in keeping some perspective with regard to how your criticisms are perceived, while you’re simultaneously calling Trudeau’s supporters cultish.

    • Campbell,

      True enough, however in my case, my first criticisms started with India and my break with the Liberals took place at SNC. From that moment on, this Prime Minister was public enemy Number 1 and IMHO, in great need of political defeat. And I’ve applied myself thusly ever since with admittedly mixed results SO FAR. But I’ll keep giving it the good old college try until he’s back in Montreal for good.

  15. Innocent III says:

    Let’s try this from a different angle, shall we? Perhaps it is we, the electorate, who are undeserving of Trudeau the Lesser. Substituting ‘Sept 20’ for ‘June 17’, Brecht’s poem is bang-on:

    “After the uprising of the 17th June
    The Secretary of the Writers Union
    Had leaflets distributed in the Stalinallee
    Stating that the people
    Had forfeited the confidence of the government
    And could win it back only
    By redoubled efforts. Would it not be easier
    In that case for the government
    To dissolve the people
    And elect another?”

  16. Lael says:

    He’s bored. It’s been fun, but now it’s hard. Cue the “family.”

  17. Remember how Pablo tells any and everyone who happens to have a pulse how he sits right next to the Prime Minister? (Lucky him…)

    Well, here’s the obvious solution: Himself takes a walk sooner rather than later, and Rodriguez becomes PM until the new leader is chosen. Bet Pablo would have absolutely no problem with that, since he won’t be running in the leadership race.

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