, 04.13.2023 05:22 PM

My latest: Telford, Butts and the truth

There’s a reason why Katie Telford is testifying before a Parliamentary committee on Friday, and why Gerald Butts is not.

Telford is smarter than Butts.

He, after all, had to resign in the midst of the SNC-Lavalin scandal. He said some things to Jody Wilson Raybould that he shouldn’t have said, and he had to resign in disgrace.

But here’s the interesting thing: Katie Telford also said some very unhelpful things during that scandal. She talked about engineering some fake news to protect her boss, Justin Trudeau.

But Telford didn’t have to resign. Butts did.

When you consider that Gerald Butts has been one of Justin Trudeau’s closest friends since they both attended McGill University, that is noteworthy. Telford only met Trudeau much later on, when she had abandoned the Ontario Liberal team in Toronto and moved up the 401 to Ottawa.

But she survived. And Justin Trudeau’s closest friend didn’t.

Why?

Three reasons, all of which need to be kept in mind when Telford sits down to testify about another Trudeau government scandal, the Chinese election interference one.

One, Katie Telford is not going to make a big mistake.  She has testified before Parliamentarians probing other scandals in the past. In every case, she did not lose her cool, she did not make a mistake, she did not even break into a sweat.

She knows that sounding as boring as possible is the best strategy in these situations. So count on her to be boring and avoid any pratfalls.

Two, she has more facts than the Parliamentarians. As the Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Canada, Telford would be the only political aide who has sat in on national security briefings with the Prime Minister. She is the only one who knows the full truth and nothing but the truth.

Based upon some fine reporting by Global News and The Globe and Mail and others, we know – or we strongly suspect – that Trudeau and Telford were told about Chinese election criminality in both 2019 and 2021. And we know – or we strongly suspect – that neither of them did anything about it.

So, yes, she knows more than your garden-variety Member of Parliment. But, in fairness to her, it is against the law for her to disclose national security matters in public.

She would go to jail if she did so. So she may know a lot – but she can’t say a lot when she appears to testify.

Three, she isn’t going anywhere. When the last helicopter lifts the last Trudeau government survivor from the roof of the Langevin Block, like in Saigon in 1975,  Telford almost certainly will be the one leaving last.

She has been discreet, she has been low profile, and she has been – more than anyone else – unwaveringly loyal to Justin Trudeau. If she wants five Senate appointments for herself, not just one, Justin Trudeau will give them to her.

She can ask for anything her heart desires, in fact, because she has been able to do what Gerald Butts could not.

Namely, stay out of trouble, stay quiet, and stay loyal.

Expecting fireworks when she testifies tomorrow?

You will be disappointed.

20 Comments

  1. Peter Williams says:

    Telford and Butts. Weren’t they the ones who had to return over $65,000 in “unreasonable” moving expenses?

    Amongst the $65,000, Telford and Butts each claimed over $20,000 in “personalized cash and incidentals”.

    Who approve their moving expenses? Justin?

    I wonder who tattled on them? Thank you to whomever it was.

    Do I trust Telford or Butts to tell the truth? Why would I?

  2. Warren,

    Before they lose, Katie will likely finally get what she didn’t get last time: Ambassador in DC. You can take this one to the bank. The odds are 99.99%.

  3. Sean says:

    Telford… Butts… Truth… Three words that should never appear in the same sentence.

  4. Douglas W says:

    Butts “resigned”. He’s still very much a key influencer.

    Telford: her smugness and obvious contempt for the truth will be remembered far more than words that she speaks.

  5. Curious V says:

    The conservatives have presented a narrative over the last couple months, and it doesn’t add up. They have a tendency to fill in the blanks, and rely on unsubstantiated allegations – all sizzle and no steak. It’s like they used to say when I worked in sales – smoke and mirrors, as usual, from the most partisan, frothing bunch I’ve ever witnessed.

  6. Gilbert says:

    There won’t be fireworks, but the Conservatives will remind Canadians something is rotten in the land of Canada.

    • Gilbert,

      Our vote will get out at least 98%. Theirs, not so much.

      • Douglas W says:

        Conservative support: solid.

        Liberal support: indifferent. Many will stay home.

        It’s only a hunch, but I suspect the Conservatives are tracking at around 37% with the Liberals at 10 points behind.

        There’s no way we’re looking at a federal vote before 2025.

  7. Peter Williams says:

    Seeing reports that charitable foundations in Canada are required to disburse 3.5% of their assets each year to qualify as a charity.

    Apparently the Trudeau Foundation has failed to meet this legal threshold in four of the last five years.

    Surprised?

    And remember the Trudeau government directed the CRA to stop auditing charities.

    Surprised?

    Has the tax delinquent Stephen Guilbeault repaid his five figure tax ‘arrears’?

    Telford and Butts got caught padding their expense accounts.

    Ethics violation too numerous to mention

    Pandemic contracts awarded to Government family members/relatives/friends.

    And Jagmeet Singh does nothing except chirp and tweet).
    Oh, the two Rolex, three piece suit ‘socialist’, got caught accepting a $2000 rocking chair. Looks like he fits right in to the Trudeau cabal .

    Laws and ethics are for the rest of us, but apparently not for the governing Liberal/NDP team.

  8. The Doctor says:

    Watching Telford in front of that Committee, I was reminded of that old nickname, I think they gave it to Erik Nielsen way back when: Velcro Lips.

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