05.03.2023 04:56 PM

My latest: the betrayal of the Chong family

 

It’s a bigger scandal.

The harm facing Michael Chong’s family, that is. And it’s arguably bigger than the Aga Khan, SNC-Lavalin and the WE “charity” scandals.

Each of those previous Trudeau government scandals was, ultimately, about money and graft. At the sordid, seamy centre of each of those was something that could be quantified with dollar signs.

Aga Khan was about a lobbyist supplying the Prime Minister of Canada with lavish gifts, contrary to every ethics rule extant. SNC-Lavalin was about Trudeau and his circle obstructing justice, and pressuring prosecutors to go easy on a Liberal Party donor facing corruption charges.

And the WE scandal, of course, was about money – hundreds of thousands of dollars – landing in the pockets of Trudeau family members, and a lucrative contract then going to WE.

So why is the Michael Chong story more of a scandal?

Forget, for a moment, that Chong is an MP, and an effective Opposition Member. At the end of the day, he is a Canadian citizen, one who – like all of us – deserves to be protected by his country’s government.

So, too, his family. It’s important to know that some of Chong’s family, on his father’s side, still live in Hong Kong. And, now, we know that the Chongs have been targeted for harassment, intimidation, and threats by the Chinese regime – which is corrupt, brutal, and regularly abuses human rights.

It is because they abuse human rights – Muslims, specifically – that Michael Chong condemned China in the House of Commons. China’s dictatorship thereafter barred the long-serving MP and former cabinet minister from travelling to China.

So what, one might say. Being reproached by China is truly a badge of honor, these days. But China went a step further, and put together a campaign of harassment, intimidation, and threats against the Chong family.

And here is where the real scandal is revealed. Justin Trudeau and some within his government knew all that. They were briefed about what China planned for the Chongs.

And Trudeau said, and did, nothing. He didn’t warn the Chongs, or try and get them out of Hong Kong.

Since the story broke in the pages of Globe and Mail, TruAnon winged monkeys have been swarming social media, actually claiming that Michael Chong wasn’t really, truly threatened because he didn’t know about the threats until he read them in a newspaper.

That is deeply dishonest, and it is idiotic. And it ignores the obvious and real scandal: that the Prime Minister of Canada knew what the Chongs were facing, and did nothing.

What if one of them had been beaten? What if one of them had been killed? What if something has, in fact, happened, and don’t even know about it yet? That is why it feels worse than any previous scandal.

Trudeau knows it is one, too. That is why he scrambled to meet with Chong on Tuesday, bringing along his ineffectual national security advisor and Canadian Security Intelligence Service director. But that meeting took place long, long after the fact. Too late.

So, we have to ask, why? Why would Trudeau not warn Michael Chong about what he knew? Was it because Chong is a Conservative who criticizes him? Perhaps.

More likely it is this: the Trudeau Foundation illicitly received thousands from a Chinese front company, to influence his decision-making. His brother, Sacha, was apparently personally involved in that “gift,” and is finally testifying on his role in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon.

So, at the end, this scandal – which is worse than all the others, because it is about human lives being placed at risk – also involves graft and money.

When investigating a scandal, follow the money, they always say.

And, every single time, it leads you back to the Trudeau family, doesn’t it?

44 Comments

  1. Martin Dixon says:

    I am going to repost what I posted on a thread below. Are the usual suspects going to weigh in? It is beyond disgusting what happened to Chong and his family. .

    Is there STILL anyone who is going to vote for this PM/cult after the latest Chong revelations? Pretend you are him and his family just for a second if you can manage to take your partisan blinders off. Find the clips of Chong in the House the other day. And don’t give me the usual bullshit about the alternative. First of all, unless you are a ridiculous groupie, the alternative is NOT worse but, secondly, there are lots of other options. Seriously, hands up. Is there ever a tipping point for you people?

  2. Peter Williams says:

    I find it disgusting that the NDP keep supporting the corrupt, lying Trudeau government.

    • Sean says:

      It makes no sense to me. What the hell could Singh be thinking continuing with this nonsense?! They got the dental bill – that is the most consequential thing they could possibly wrangle out of this Parliament. The NDP will never have a better knock and chat policy piece. He’s in a Jack Layton style bind – circa 2005… But wholly f#%k already, Martin never reached this level of extracurricular baloney and his poll #s were relatively stable. Justin’s poll #s are a disaster every week. Indeed I’m fairly certain that no Prime Minister has ever had poll number this bad for so long and casually been allowed to continue on… by a comatose cabinet and a sleeping caucus.

  3. Warren,

    Maybe so but this guy inevitably gets a pass on pretty much everything. He gets a pass. Prince William gets a pass…that’s just the way it is.

    • So it likely won’t move the needle that much…

      • Douglas W says:

        Ronald,

        Agreed + Agreed.

        He threw an elbow at Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the House in 2016; got away with that; and he’s been getting away with pretty much everything, since then.

        The swing voters will stick with him because their world is still manageable, and so why vote for change?

        And so he continues to disrespect and malign all, who pose a challenge or threat.

        Swell guy.

        • Pedant says:

          The Liberals are maintaining their core base of elderly upper-middle class and wealthy women who freshen their lipstick every time they hear Justin speak. But they are losing two younger generations financially ruined by the housing crisis. For them, the stench of this government, and this party, will last decades.

          • Pedant,

            From your keyboard to God’s ears and soul.

            A change in government is an absolute political necessity, period.

          • Martin Dixon says:

            May 5, 2023 at 4:03 am
            The Liberals are maintaining their core base of elderly upper-middle class and wealthy women who freshen their lipstick every time they hear Justin speak.

            I am stealing that. I was forced to apologize a year or so because I accused a Toronto professional woman of being a groupie. Would no longer apologize. I would now double down. That is the most charitable explanation. I accidentally saw some of Justin’s speech last night and it looked like a Jim Jones revival.

        • Douglas,

          I guess there’s just nothing quite like that all inclusive Ontario permission slip…

  4. western view says:

    Great article.

    This is one of those repugnant issues that hits the news where all Canadians, regardless of political inclinations need to express outrage at this Liberal Government.

    On the self preservation meter, shielding oneself from political harm and embarrassment by exposing a Canadian citizen and his family to personal harm is about the lowest form of gutter politics imaginable.

    Two incredible things happened in succession;
    Once outed, Trudeau attempted some feeble damage control by calling in the aggrieved party for a briefing. Wow! Such concern. And Trudeau skipped out of Question Period today, coincidentally the same day his brother was to testify at a Committee hearing.

    The moral compass of this Government is shameful, and while Jagmeet Singh talks a tough talk, he knows the course of action necessary.

    • Martin Dixon says:

      And remember that Wednesday was the day that Justin was supposed to deign to make himself available for the entire QP. There were self-congratulations all around when he made that change. But, like everything else, it was pointless symbolism. What exactly was he doing yesterday that was so important:

      https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/itineraries/2023/05/02/prime-ministers-itinerary-wednesday-may-3-2023

      Hopefully in Quebec.

      • Martin Dixon says:

        Things are a tad tense in the house today as they should be. No sign of Justin again:

        https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/itineraries/2023/05/03/prime-ministers-itinerary-thursday-may-4-2023

        I have to chuckle at Mendicino every time I see him. Laurier and the Y joined forces in Brantford to put up a 70 million dollar project downtown that was once on the front page of the National Post as the worst downtown in the country.

        https://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2013/06/24/fob-no-longer-the-worst-downtown-in-canada

        Liberal MPP Dave Levac and Conservative MP Phil McColeman were keys to getting the project done and worked in a very non partisan manner to bring the project to fruition. What we do in Brantford. They have an open house after the Liberals had been in power about 10 minutes and a federal MP was brought in from Hamilton to represent the feds and Phil was shunted aside. Everyone is going WTF is he doing here. I wrote a letter to the editor and referred to him as some random MP from Hamilton and he has done nothing to date to change that view.

        • Martin,

          This poor excuse for a Prime Minister has been in power since 2015 and he’s no better on his feet now than on Day One. This guy is totally hopeless without his cue cards and day-long briefings. Unlike Truman, he CAN’T take the heat in the kitchen so when the going gets rough in the Commons, this PM gets going anywhere else, as quickly as possible. Once again, the emperor has no clothes. No surprise there.

  5. western view says:

    I forgot to mention that this Chong incident is one CSIS leak that the Liberals haven’t stonewalled over. The strategy to date has been to imply that the leaks are inaccurate or being used out of context.
    In a generous moment, I will upgrade the Liberals honesty and integrity rating to a G-

  6. Sean says:

    Liberals thought Trudeau (any Trudeau I guess) would save their party…that misguided project is now ending with the slow, agonizing, inevitable destruction of the Trudeau family’s public reputation. Likely never to recover. It’s almost Shakespearian.

    Every scandal is like another pathetic stage in the Passion of the Justin. Except there won’t be a resurrection. Put a f$&king end to it already. Cabinet: Canada is waiting for all of you to exercise your responsibilities. Look the man in the eye and tell him it’s f$&king over or you are resigning en masse tomorrow afternoon. Anything short of that is a huge middle finger to the entire country.

  7. the salamander says:

    .. I’m curious & like many non partisan media observers.. I wonder what Bob Fife flavour Koolaid tastes like

    It’s my view that Mr Chong is a ‘willing dupe’ of Communist China.. and so is Robert ‘Bob’ Fife

    Salamanders are known to choose the lesser of two evils and so I’ll inquire of Mr Kinsella and his commenters if they actually would look forward to a Pierre Poilievre led Government.. ?

    Mr Chong was my farm neighbour of course.. in Wellington County. I hauled many many hay loads through the intersection both of his parents died at in completely different & separate accidents. I thought he was a man of principles.. but after being humiliated by the Harper CPC in two consecutive Leadership Musical Chair Jamborees.. he became sour, shrill..

    His father migrated to Canada I believe & its relatives in Hong Kong on his fathers side that he hasn’t spoken to in years. Michael was born here.. and thus runs the family farm.

    It’s my belief that Communist China is simply ‘stirring the political pot’ in Canada via a purported ‘leaker’ in the CSIS via Bob Fife & Michael Chong is simply ‘another weather balloon’. Why ? You ask ? Simply because ‘they can’ ! After all they turned the USA into complete idiots with ‘just an F’n weather balloon ! Why ? Because they can ! Good old Bob Fife & the Globe & Mail.. Koolaid ‍☠️

    • Pedant says:

      You have this weird, childlike, outdated impression of China that its leaders are a unique sort of sage, wise genius and Western governments – even security officials in the world’s only superpower – are a bunch of naive idiots who cannot assess risk and threats. “Weather balloon”…well that was China’s explanation, which you have swallowed wholeheartedly.

    • Andy Kaut says:

      Wait, what?

      8 years.

      8 years of ineffective, disengaged ‘governance’ by the trust fund baby, the Ejaculatory Laureate, and you’re still backing the handbag-clutching “Oh Gosh We Hate the Cons” camp?

      And the best you have is an ad hominem against the victim? Sounds like pot-stirring is taking place here, but not by the Globe. At least they broke a story critical of the Justin.

      All you’ve done is cast aspersions from the cheap seats, a farm that’s down the road from a farm.

  8. Gilbert says:

    The role of the prime minister is to protect all Canadians, regardless of the political party they belong to. By not informing Michael Chong of the dangers to his family, the prime minister did not give him the opportunity to take the necessary steps to keep his family safe. If something bad had happened to his family, it would have been truly tragic.

    How can Justin Trudeau look at himself in the mirror and think he’s a good prime minister? If he really does, he’s seriously delusional.

    As for Mr. Singh, he should be ashamed of himself for keeping the most incompetent prime minister in Canadian history in power. History will not be kind to him. It’s time to stop acting out of purely personal interest and work for all Canadians.

  9. Martin Dixon says:

    I wish we had late night comics here. Sacha trying to tell us that he believed the Chinese diplomats were there to provide translation services deserved to be mocked.

  10. Steve T says:

    Spot on, including the part about Trudeau’s winged monkeys flying into the media to make excuses and divert the conversation.

    Witness the current lead article on CBC regarding this topic, and the Trudeau foundation, written by Aaron Wherry. Also known as the guy who has been positioning himself for a plum appointment (Senate perhaps) for years under this government. Part of Wherry’s thesis seems to be that all governments have been complicit with China, so Trudeau isn’t really that bad. Wherry even made reference to the silly panda situation with Harper, where Bob Rae whined because Harper didn’t meet with him.

    When you’ve got an entire news network at CBC who essentially operates as an arm of the Liberal Party, why would Justin really worry about public perception of this situation?

    • The Doctor says:

      I see Wherry has another turd-polishing piece today, on Trudeau and the Liberals’ election messaging strategy.

  11. Warren,

    Justin Trudeau is to ethics and good government what your average American politician is to necessary and essential gun control. Both of them are entirely hopeless and pathetic. Resign asshole.

  12. Curious V says:

    Chong would have been a good alternative, but PP sure isn’t. Say what you will about Justin, and he sure isn’t perfect – he has blemishes, has made mistakes, but PP is not a reasonable alternative.

    • Curious V,

      This Prime Minister goes out of his way to laugh in our faces. He still thinks he’s Teflon Justin. Our job, in the alternative, is to teach him a political lesson he will never, ever, forget. It is so overdue and justly deserved.

      To go back to my quote: I’ll keep at it until I drop dead or he’s defeated, whichever comes first. That is an absolute guarantee of commitment on my part. And I always keep my promises.

      This guy is so pathetic as PM that I would enthusiastically vote for the CPC even if headed by the devil incarnate. You must be really scared of Pierre’s political capital. In truth, he will also deliver memories to all Trudeau Liberals on election night.

    • Martin Dixon says:

      And I finally have my answer that I have now asked on three threads. There is no tipping point for you people. No different than the Trump supporters.

    • Gilbert says:

      Justin isn’t perfect? Wow, that’s an incredible understatement. I understand that you don’t like people on the right, but at the very least, say that the Liberal Party needs a new leader.

      • Martin Dixon says:

        It is just like the Magaheads. No talking to them. Yes Trump has his flaws but he got our judges appointed. No difference. Never has been. I don’t think anyone on this thread has even brought up PP.

      • Curious V says:

        Are we to forgive and forget PP’s career of fringe right-wing conservatism. It’s too distasteful to forget – he’s a radical and I could never support a right-wing radical, not in this lifetime.

        • Martin Dixon says:

          Again, YOU are the only one bringing up PP on this thread with your ridiculous whataboutisms. We are not talking about PP. If we all can’t agree JT should be gone, we have no similar frame of reference. Where is your outrage at those racist drunk delegates at the convention? They are your peeps. They need to be named, shamed and condemned. I won’t hold my breath though.

          Apropos of nothing, but I saw a funny post today.

          “If there is an idiot in power, it is because those who elected him are well represented”

          Mahathma Gandhi

        • Curious V,

          Come on Curious, you’re in laughing-at territory now. Are you really THAT panicked that the CPC will likely win the next election? Most of the voters in the next election will be thankful for badly needed change. This isn’t even a nice try on your part. Boy, are you ever stretching.

    • Pedant says:

      Not reasonable for YOU. But you don’t get to decide reasonableness for other Canadians.

    • Martin Dixon says:

      These are the kind of delegates you have when your leader has worn blackface so many times that he can’t remember how many times he did it. A fish rots from the head down.

      https://twitter.com/andrewlawton/status/1654526815816302593?s=46&t=KlkCCWRkswT0oz2fKmVnRA

      Where is the outrage from the usual suspects like after that lunch with that person whose name I have already forgotten. They should get the names, publicize them and cancel them.

  13. Pedant says:

    Well, this story will subside. There is no smoking gun that Trudeau or Mendocino knew about these threats in 2021.

    NEXT!

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