, 11.27.2017 12:12 PM

An open letter to the worst minister in Canada

Dear Minister Joly:

May I call you Melanie?

You’ve blocked my access to your ministerial Twitter account, so please forgive the formality of an open letter. I sense that I’ve upset you, which concerns me deeply.

Let’s leave aside, for a moment, the propriety of a public servant (that’s you) blocking the access of one of your employers (that’s me) to one of the official platforms you (a public servant) use to communicate with the likes of me (one of your employers). Let’s leave all that aside for a moment.

Let’s get to the pith and substance of the matter, shall we?

Have I been critical of your performance as a cabinet minister? Well, yes, you could say that. Among other things, I think you are possibly the worst cabinet minister in the history of Confederation. You make Bev Oda look like Margaret Thatcher. You make Stockwell Day seem positively Churchillian. You stink at this politics stuff, you know?

The evidence before the court of public opinion is myriad and multiple.  It is overwhelming.

Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations, for example.  In my experience, countries only get one opportunity to celebrate their 150th birthday.  Governments, meanwhile, get plenty of notice that a 150th birthday celebration is coming.

You rendered our 150th in Ottawa a fiasco, however.  And don’t just take my word for it.  Here’s just a sampling of the bon mots sent to you by other citizens (who, again, are your employers):

• “Shame on you Ottawa. Shame on you Heritage Canada and the organizers. You failed us!”

• “I have never seen such a poor, chaotic display. Shame on you Ottawa.”

• “The organizers of Canada Day 2017 should be ashamed of themselves for the shoddy work that went into this year’s event.”

• “Please, [Minister Joly], I beg you to step out of your protective shell and acknowledge what a mess Canada Day was and take some responsibility for it.”

• “Time for you to resign!”

But you weren’t done.  Nope.  The Netflix announcement – which essentially saw the streaming behemoth being granted tax-free status for a piddling amount of investment in Canada’s cultural sector, and most particularly in the province you profess to represent – was also a debacle.

A sampling of commentary about the Netflix mess:

• Globe: “[Joly’s] fall from grace in her home province has been swift and merciless, sped by her maladroit attempts to sell a deal with Netflix…”

• National Post: “[Joly] she has been savaged in Quebec media, artistic and political circles.”

• Journal de Montreal: “[Joly sounds] like a living answering machine having a nervous breakdown.”

But there’s more!

As you will recall, there was the matter of the plaque affixed to the new Holocaust Monument in Ottawa.  It didn’t mention the six million.  Or the word “Jews.” Or “anti-Semitism.”  You hurriedly ordered the plaque replaced, but not before just about every Jew in Canada noticed.

The resulting headline in the Washington Post, then, actually made me wince: “Canada forgot to mention Jews on new Holocaust monument dedication plaque.”

Ouch.

Anyway.  Let’s forget about the Holocaust Monument, and the Netflix thing, and Canada 150.  Let’s forget about all that.  Let’s turn the page. Let’s focus, instead, on your latest decision, which I will render all-caps, because I think it merits it:

MELANIE JOLY HAS SPENT $5 MILLION TO BUILD A HOCKEY RINK ON PARLIAMENT HILL.

And it’s not just any $5 million hockey rink.  No, not in Joly World.  It is a $5 million hockey rink that:

• Prohibits the playing of hockey.

• Will be in existence for less than a month.

• Is a block from the biggest skating rink in the world, the Rideau Canal.

Oh, and the Toronto Star reported this: “The rink, which will be available for free public skating from Dec. 7 to Jan. 1, is budgeted to cost about $215,385 per day that it’s open.”

One of my readers informed me that works out to about $300 per skater, per leisurely skate.  I’m not sure Wayne Gretzky made that much in his prime with the Oilers, Melanie.

And here’s what you had to say about Skate-gate: “We believe that it is really good news because this will be here for a month, and this will support, of course, important programming.”

“Really good news.”

It isn’t, Melanie.  It isn’t.  It is a disgrace.  It is disgusting.  It is an actual scandal. It is.

Melanie, it is also time for you to go.  You aren’t helping your reputation – and you are regularly hurting the reputation of this government, which is a not-bad government, as governments go.  Resign, for the love God, resign.

Oh, and I’d tell you that on Twitter, too.  If you weren’t, you know, blocking me.

Your friend,

Etc.

63 Comments

  1. Pedant says:

    It’s not as if 99% of Canadians don’t know who the hell she is anyway. So what does it matter if she stays or goes? T2 made it crystal clear that merit is not the deciding factor in appointing ministers. The Ice Queen is a younger female from Quebec. She stays.

    • M Loeppky says:

      WK I agree with most of what you had to say except why would anyone say this government isn’t a bad government. I can’t think of anything they have done so far that could actually be considered good. We can’t get rid of them fast enough.

  2. BlueGritr says:

    You hit this one out of the park or, given the fact that you’re a Red Sox fan, over the Green Monster.

  3. Dennis Mills says:

    Lets organize a Canada 150 hockey tournament for 150 teams from across Canada. The teams will never forget the experience. That is National Unity. PS. Girls and boys…I will organize it for free…

  4. Matt says:

    The Liberals must not have liked that $215,385 per day visual in print.

    They have now decided to keep it open until the end of February.

    The question of course then becomes with an extra 2 months of operation, does that increase the $5 million price tag.

  5. Kim says:

    I am a Joly staffer and I am so angry at you!

    • Don says:

      Too bad the gene pool is so shallow on the Liberal side of the house this is the best they can find for a cabinet minister. It seems none of them can figure out math or control spending, it’s just not within their ability. Oh and Kim the staffer, please make sure your boss reads all of the comments from disappointed and upset tax payers.

    • Dave Prince says:

      Kim the Jolly staffer you need to give your head a shake.

    • Rhéal cyr says:

      Well boo hoo. Did he microaggress u. Poor thing. Get a puppy and take tomorrow off so u can hug it all day.
      That’s my tax dollars going into that ridiculous Liberal waste. You all answer to Canadians , you are suppose to act like adults not spoiled kids who can do what they please with Canadians taxes. This government is the worst bunch of bureaucratic unethical fools I have ever seen.

    • glenn dunn says:

      Kim….suck it up “Buttercup”. It’s amazing the “anger” that’s created when some are slapped in the face with the truth. Just wait till all the “truths” come out about your illustrious “leader”….I have no doubt your head will explode.

    • D P says:

      You are a Joly staffer and you’re angry at voters for observing gross incompetence?
      This must be a fake post.
      Please say you’re not actually a staffer at this or the Finance Ministry.

    • Susan says:

      @Kin the Joly Staffer: let her know she is the new Heritage Barbie, she displays the same dead air space between the ears as the climate one. No a sexist comment 1. because it refers to lack of intellect not gender & 2. I am a female & get to make these determinations.

    • Sane Canadian says:

      How sad for you, or more accurately how ashamed you must be.

    • Ken says:

      That’s an awesome rebuttal. Let your feelings rule over the truth. Justify your feelings Staffer. Where are your tax dollars are being wasted.

    • Kayton says:

      So you are part of this debacle? You to should be shit canned and on the unemployment line. If I did my job half as poorly as you people I would most definitely be on the end of the ei line!

    • Kat tait says:

      Did you stomp for feet and cry Kim?

  6. whyshouldIsellyourwheat says:

    So many blunders that you forgot aboutone… the conflicted Commissioner of Official Languages hiring.

  7. Mary says:

    “Of course.” We all use filler words, but her’s are especially stupid…

  8. Everett Clark says:

    Where do they find these imbeciles and more importantly why do give them cabinet posts ? As a Canadian citizen i am embarrassed. I can hear the guffaws from around the world.

  9. Brian says:

    Given the reckless abandon in which the minister has executed her tasks, and the inability of her (or her staffers) to explain these perceived shortcomings at any time despite her background in PR, can you explain your directed anger in a manner which wouldn’t summon antipathy from the taxpayers who live outside of the capitals of confederation?

  10. Someone Warren blocks says:

    Amazed you were able to narrow the field down from such rich pickings

  11. Someone Warren blocks says:

    Seems like Kim is posting on taxpayer time. Tsk Tsk.

  12. Jean says:

    I know that Minister Joly has good staff, and before I agree completely with your viewpoint I want to know whose idea it was originally to built that rink. It sounds to me like a Harper idea, because of his enjoyment of ice. Maybe like the badly named Phoenix Pay system, it was just another land mine left to explode in the next government’s
    collective face? A Lucy football moment? It is time for Charlie Brown to get wise.

    • Smitty says:

      You aren’t very smart eh Jean. The liberals were advised by their own people not to go ahead with the Phoenix system until it could be tested but no, the all knowing idiots that run our country went ahead with it anyway, and now we know the results.

    • Sara Burkhart says:

      listen to you a good liberal blaming a government out of power for 2 years. Liberals were warned the Phoenix System didn’t work yet the liberals made the decision to implement all by themselves. You took a page right out of sock puppets playbook. When sock puppet makes stupid decisions & displays utter incompetence Blame the previous government they made him do it. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

    • Sane Canadian says:

      Nope, this is all on PETs brat and his clique. As for Phoenix, yes the conservatives started the project, which was supposed to be in development for 2 more years and then run in parallel to the old system for at least 2 years to ensure all the bugs were out before taking over. The brat took power and it was full speed ahead and “who cares about the rocks ahead”!

    • John van Doodewaard says:

      Ofcourse, it must have been a Harper government idea right? How bright of an idea to cast the blame for idiotic decisions onto the former Conservative government!
      The Liberals must have studied Obama’s playbook, how to weasel out from being held responsible.
      Joy is totally incompetent and should be fired.

    • Pedant says:

      HDS apparently requires many many years of treatment.

      • The Doctor says:

        Kinda reminds me of the Obama/Hillary fixation that the Trumptards have. Standard Trumptard response to any criticism of Trump: Yeah, but Hillary . . .

  13. Wes G Ford says:

    Warren: “you are regularly hurting the reputation of this government, which is a not-bad government, as governments go”.
    No Warren, this is really bad government. From Omar Khadr to the billions squandered abroad to the repatriation of ISIS fighters at the expense of our returned veterans, and a hundred more, it is a very bad government.

  14. Ken baker says:

    Truth hurts eh Kim….relay this message to your boss..

  15. kelly sherrard says:

    If you piss off an MP or an MLA, your obviously doing something right! I had a NB MLA block me on twitter and do you see me crying??? We have the worst Liberal government in the history of the Province of New Brunswick in power now and am hoping they will be a one term government before they bankkupt the province!

  16. Ken T says:

    If you are an actual staffer I can just imagine the private largesse in the office because the public largesse is massive. But then, you work for a government that is going to rack up the largest deficits in Canadian history and destroy the credit rating of this country. That will be the curse of having a “trust baby” for a prime minister. His deficits would make daddy proud.

  17. Brenda says:

    Hysterical good old fashioned Canadian ribbing she deserves. No wonder she blocked you. Liberal ministers cry at contention.

  18. Vixen says:

    Don’t forget that bone-headed decision to locate new Ottawa civic campus at Dow’s Lake rather than across the road from current hospital. Ottawa will be worse served because of that politically charged stupidity. Major Lib fail!

  19. Gary Hayes says:

    For the cost of the rink, you could have produced around 250,000 commemorative 150th Medals. Awarding them to many community volunteers from coast to coast to coast who help to improve quality of life for the average citizen.

  20. Doug McLeod says:

    Given that the esteemed Mr. Kinsella worked hard to put these people in place (and Joly is not by a long shot the worst), its rather late to be crying about it now isn’t it? And during the next election, he will once more be attempting to bankrupt the country by plugging for them again. “Methink’s he dost protest too much”

  21. Kelly says:

    Merit had nothing to with the selection for Cabinet…gender did! That’s the unfortunate part of this Airhead PM. He’s blended his background with diversity and space cadets, somehow thinking this is a true representation of Canada.

  22. SHARON DAGUERRE says:

    I AM HERE TO SIGN MY NAME TO THIS LETTER OF CONCERN, AND TO SHOW MY SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE OF CANADA, WHOM YOU SEEM TO THINK ARE OF LITTLE IMPORTANCE TO YOU,
    THE PROBLEM IS, THE PEOPLE OF CANADA, ARE YOUR EMPLOYERS, AND AS SUCH WE GET TO TELL YOU WHEN YOUR ARE FINISHED, AND THAT TIME IS NOW,
    PLEASE DO NOT ASK FOR A LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION, AS WE MOST CERTAINLY WOULD NOT ALLOW SUCH LIES ON OUR BEHALF,
    YOU HAVE BEEN A TOTAL FAILURE; IN OUR EYES, AND AS SUCH WE SUGGEST THAT YOU NOT APPLY FOR ANY EMPLOYMENT IN CANADA, AS WE WOULD LIKE TO DEMAND THAT YOU LEAVE OUR BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY, AND DO NOT RETURN; FOR ANY REASON, YOU ARE NOT WELCOME.
    AS FOR THE REST OF THE LIBERALS, FOR THOSE WHO ARE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO STAY OUT OF PRISON, THEY WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE OUR COUNTRY AS WELL ; AND THERE WILL BE NO REQUESTS FOR ANY OF THEM TO RETURN.
    PLEASE DO ALL CANADIANS A FAVOR, AND GO AWAY, PERMANENTLY.

  23. Joy Cavanagh says:

    Me thinks that Doug McLeod is a Liberal insider and treason monger and me thinks he doth reveal too much of himself !

  24. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    Up until now it has been about the Minister. Going forward, it will quickly become all about the PMO’s judgment.

  25. Montréalaise says:

    As a Montrealer, I shudder to think of what Joly would have done to my city if she had won the 2013 municipal election.

  26. Sharon Stockbruegger says:

    To the liberals who are letting our PM ruin our country!!! Do you not have a resposibility to the people of Canada, who pay your wages to keep our country safe!!!! I for one am tired of watching you do nothing while Trudeau throws our hard earned tax dollars away on everything except Canadians!!!! I believe that you are only puppets who do not have a mind, but are told what to do by your puppetmaster!!!! DO THE JOB THAT YOU WERE ELECTED TO DO, YOU CAN AND WILL BE REPLACED!!!

  27. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    I see some HDS out here but it woefully pales in comparison to the level of TDS filling these pages. That doesn’t exactly make their arguments credible.

    However, other criticism hits the mark.

    • Nicole says:

      Some of the comments are deranged. The criticism of Joly is fully justified as she has made several screwups and doesn’t seem to get it. That said, her mistakes should not be considered the fault of all women and that gender parity equals candidates without any merit. When we had the all male or mostly male cabinet picks of the past there were plenty of duds on them and yet no one blamed all men for the mistakes of a Tony Clement (gazebo Tony) or other gems. Why aren’t all women getting credit for Jane Philpott?
      As for the Phoenix system, it was fully in place and making mistakes before the election. Talk to anyone who worked for the feds and they will tell you. When you reduce the amount of people working on payroll across the country and then move the remainder who are willing to relocate to a small town In New Brunswick, you end up with overwhelmed and incompetent people trying to figure out a buggy computer program. This was started by Harper. Now Trudeau is stuck with the mess.

  28. Dan Constable says:

    Sorry to say ,but it will be too late if he gets to serve full term .he is going to ruin this country and its values in a very short time .I believe in two years Trudeau will have destroyed Canada as we know it , and we will all be in a country that we have no say in it .He is already ,in a short time ruined our values ,our pride , our freedom ,our country’s debt and will have hundreds of terrorists living here to destroy us .Wake up liberals and put an end to your leader and stop following like wolves to the slaughter. You will all pay .Its called Karma. And it will be too late for what you have created. Lambs to the slaughter. Remember you read this and did nothing.

    • The Doctor says:

      I’d sure be interested to hear you explain how exactly even hundreds of terrorists could destroy the second-largest country on the planet by landmass, and all 35 million inhabitants of it.

  29. Maps Onburt says:

    It’s been a while since I’ve been here as I got turned off by the constant Trump/Hillary stuff post election but I saw it on a redirect. Another good column although I must admit that I thought you might also be talking about Moreau… or Singh… or McKenna… or Monsief… or perhaps even PM Junior Trudeau. The Conservatives had some duds but none approach the low standard set by these folks.

    I like the new look but it does need an index of your previous posts (wanted to preview what I’d missed).

  30. Alfred Kraft says:

    Joly is an idiot…with no concept of costs or basic economics. She was simply chosen by Moron Fancy Sox because she is female and from Quebec. She and Monsef (the liar) should be turfed out of the Cabinet but, unfortunately, that will never happen….

  31. Brian O'Hallarn says:

    Joly is just a small sampling of the incompetent Ministers our INCOMPETENT PRIME MINISTER appointed to balance the gender makeup of his cabinet. McKenna and Monsef are prime examples. Just what does Monsef do? Is she a Canadian?
    Great wrapup by Kinsella on this Minister, especially when he is a die hard Liberal.

  32. Cathy says:

    Please lets hear your take on the rest of his failed ministers as well.

  33. Bil Trainor says:

    This is the first time I have ever agreed with Kinsella on anything.

  34. André says:

    You should contact the local Bloc team in her riding and ask them what her and her team did, real princess who was freaking out. Would be nice to know how much she gave to the Armenian community to buy their vote and silence. Oh and 100 of signs added to a planned meeting, forces an intern to write hate speech on a sugn, nasty trolls attack all identified from whom and where.

    She is very nasty

Leave a Reply to Someone Warren blocks Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.