, 03.05.2019 10:51 AM

Your March 5 #LavScam roundup

Above: a Trudeau supporter physically attacks a protestor at Justin Trudeau’s rally in Toronto last night. Where – I’m not making this up! – they played Michael Jackson songs – on the same night ‘Leaving Neverland’ was airing.

And the great reviews keep rolling in!

  • Globe Ipsos poll: “Most Canadians side with Wilson-Raybould, believe Trudeau has lost moral authority to govern: Ipsos poll…A majority of Canadians are keeping tabs on the SNC-Lavalin affair and that doesn’t bode well for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News. If an election were held tomorrow, Trudeau would receive only 31 per cent of the decided popular vote — down three points from a couple of weeks ago — while Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer would receive 40 per cent, according to the poll of 1,000 Canadians carried out between March 1 and March 4….“This is the first time we’ve actually seen the Conservative Party resuscitated and looking like they could potentially form the government,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs. “The Liberals, on the other hand, have been dropping precipitously over the space of the last few weeks. The question is have they hit bottom yet?”
    • Susan Delacourt, Toronto Star: “Justin Trudeau has no political playbook to counter this rare implosion…Philpott has exited Trudeau’s cabinet in the same way that Jody Wilson-Raybould bolted: explosively, unexpectedly and clearly in full recognition of the massive damage it would cause to the boss, the government and the chances of the Liberals being re-elected this fall. Together, they are a double-barrelled shot to the heart of all that was supposed to be the shiny new brand of the Trudeau government: one far more friendly to women, Indigenous people and rookie politicians such as Philpott and Wilson-Raybould.”
  • Chantal Hebert, Star: “Justin Trudeau was damaged goods before Treasury Board President Jane Philpott followed her friend and former colleague Jody Wilson-Raybould out of his cabinet. It is far from certain that he can recover from this latest blow to his moral authority and repair his reputation as a competent prime minister in time for the election. [Losing Philpott may be] politically fatal. It certainly screams ineptitude at crisis management on the part of a prime minister. With Philpott’s resignation — offered in support of Wilson-Raybould — the SNC-Lavalin affair enters a new lethal phase for the prime minister. Until further notice, all bets are off as to its outcome.”
  • Star editorial board:  “So far the prime minister has failed to present a robust counter-narrative to the damning story about political interference in judicial matters told by his former attorney general, Jody Wilson-Raybould…It’s plain that Trudeau’s commitment to a gender-balanced cabinet and to making progress on Indigenous affairs had significance that eluded him at the time. He ended up with ministers at the cabinet table who took his rhetoric about change seriously and weren’t prepared to compromise their principles just to get along. There is abundant irony in how Trudeau’s professed principles have come back to bite him in unexpected ways.”
  • Campbell Clark, Globe and Mail:  “Losing one cabinet minister who resigns on principle can be considered a misfortune. Losing two smacks of crisis. If any other cabinet minister had quit Justin Trudeau’s cabinet after Jody Wilson-Raybould’s stand in the SNC-Lavalin affair, it would have been bad. When it is Jane Philpott, a paragon of principle who is no pie-eyed dreamer, it is Mr. Trudeau’s government falling apart from the inside.”
  • John Ibbitson, Globe:  “This is a civil war, one Mr. Trudeau may not survive. Just to start, what kind of government shuffles its cabinet three times in two months? There are those who say the SNC-Lavalin scandal is a tempest in a teacup – or a nothingburger, to update the cliché. No it’s not. Granted, most people don’t follow the day-to-day jousts of the blood sport known as politics. But this is a political crisis like no other, because of the characters involved…We are witnessing a personal vote of non-confidence in the Prime Minister by some of his most senior cabinet ministers, based on his handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair, but also over disillusion with Mr. Trudeau’s leadership.”
  • Lori Turnbull, Globe: “Ms. Philpott’s resignation from cabinet is nothing short of catastrophic for the government…One effect of Jody Wilson-Raybould’s testimony is that there’s now a clear line in the sand and the beginnings of a civil war in the Liberal fold. The grey area in which MPs could plead to be both loyal to the Prime Minister and sympathetic to Jody Wilson-Raybould is quickly disappearing. They have to choose a side. Ms. Philpott has made hers clear. If others follow her lead, the Prime Minister’s confidence problem worsens.”
  • Matt Gurney, National Post: “It’s not just the women quitting in disgust that’s going to cause Prime Minister Justin Trudeau so much trouble. That’s bad enough, to be sure. But it’s what they’re saying as they head out the door that’ll do the real damage…Philpott’s been watching and learning. She’s seen what happened to Wilson-Raybould. She did this anyway, and at a time and place of her choosing, even after the Liberals tried to hurt Wilson-Raybould’s reputation with whispers, whispers that got so bad Trudeau felt compelled to apologize for what his own colleagues were saying. Philpott knew that might be coming, so she made her case clear as day — and it’s devastating for Trudeau.  Like I said, Liberals — have fun spinning this one.”
  • Kelly McParland, Post: “Justin Trudeau wanted strong women. He sure got ’em.  That they’ve found him wanting and are willing to say so is proof of his success. It clearly never occurred to him they might take their job seriously enough to question his own performance…It turns out women really aren’t just like men, and aren’t necessarily afraid to stand by their beliefs. Philpott’s public declaration that she no longer has confidence in the prime minister — specifically his handling of the SNC-Lavalin controversy — is as damaging an assertion as can be made by a senior government minister against her leader. As she points out in her resignation letter, “the constitutional convention of Cabinet solidarity means, among other things, that ministers are expected to defend all Cabinet decisions. A minister must always be prepared to defend other ministers publicly, and must speak in support of the government and its policies.” Given the convention “and the current circumstances, “ she writes “it is untenable for me to continue to serve as a Cabinet minister.”
  • Brian Lilley, Toronto Sun:  “For a government that has branded itself as feminist, as gender balanced, as supportive of women, the loss of yet another powerful woman around the cabinet table is beyond bad news.  On the SNC-Lavalin file, the Trudeau Liberals have shown that they don’t know what “no” actually means and now the women in the party are fighting back.  Losing Philpott is no small matter for Justin Trudeau.”
  • Robyn Urback, CBC News:  “If Jane Philpott doesn’t have confidence in Justin Trudeau, why should anyone else?…A million more Freeland-type ovations can’t undo what Philpott did in a few hundred words: she told the doe-eyed #TeamTrudeau hangers-on that their faith in this government is misplaced. And she said she would not be able to fulfil her duties as a minister if it meant publicly defending the government. That’s a devastating message from her especially; Philpott is capable, venerable and widely respected both in and out of Liberal circles. She can’t be written off as a cabinet minister disgruntled about a demotion or an opposition leader out for blood. Philpott is a Liberal — a widely admired one — and she doesn’t have faith in the prime minister. And if she doesn’t, as someone privy to the conversations around the cabinet table about this whole affair, why should anyone else?”
  • Paul Wells, Maclean’s:  “With Jane Philpott’s resignation from the cabinet, Justin Trudeau’s government is now in a crisis that ranks with the coalition challenge to Stephen Harper in 2008 and Jean Chrétien’s dismissal of Paul Martin in 2002. That probably understates matters, actually: Those two previous shocks were about ambition; they engaged matters of principle almost by accident. This one is a direct challenge to a government by two (and counting?) ministers with no perceptible ambitions beyond their former posts—though buckle up, because they’ll both be accused of scheming—on the gravest grounds of ethics….Every cabinet minister, and every Liberal member of Parliament, has a decision to make right now. Today. We are about to find out who is serious, and who merely plays serious on Instagram…A country gets into trouble when it turns every question into an electoral question. The party stripe of the government is not the only interesting question. Here’s another: is the government we have, the Prime Minister we have, so deep in moral denial that they can never find their way back?”

18 Comments

  1. the real Sean says:

    the “Strong Plan” signs were a hilarious injection of humor at that event…

  2. Tim says:

    The real tragedy of all this are the alternatives we’re left with. Trudeau has clearly shown that he’s inept, but I’d rather have a Liberal government than the baby spawn of Stephen Harper.

    • Danny says:

      Andrew Scheer’s biggest fault could be his biggest strength as this turns. He is boring. Milquetoast. Middle of the road to a fault. A policy wonk. Ho hum.
      And as Canadians get sick and tired of the corrupt, fake feminist, costume playing dilettante with a famous Quebec name, the uptight boy scout starts to look good.

      • Doug Brown says:

        Boring could work, but Scheer is no policy wonk.

      • Ryan says:

        Scheer is plain vanilla, which is the Liberals’ worst nightmare. With nothing to attack, the spotlight is on them, and that isn’t exactly a good thing these days. Don’t forget, he’s a cagey one, too. Bernier had the nomination locked up but he recognized the rules of the game in the leadership race and took a pro-dairy stance (who cares) for the win. All he has to do is stay calm and keep saying “Hi, I’m not Justin Trudeau” and he’ll be the next Prime Minister of Canada.

      • Ryan says:

        Andrew Scheer is plain vanilla. This is the Liberals’ worst nightmare, as there’s nothing to attack him over, and this puts the spotlight on them, which isn’t exactly a good thing these days. Don’t forget, he’s a cagey one too. Bernier had the nomination locked up but Scheer recognized the rules of the game and took a pro-dairy stance (who cares) for the win. All he needs to do is stand up and say “Hi, I’m not Justin Trudeau” for the next 6 months and he’ll be the next Prime Minister of Canada.

  3. Don Johnson says:

    I found this article on the CBC site simply astonishing. According to them, the rest of the Cabinet stands with JT. Hard to imagine.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-cabinet-behind-trudeau-1.5042887

  4. Greyapple says:

    Yikes, I haven’t seen that crazy photo anywhere else. Strange it isn’t getting more exposure. An old white dude physically assaulting a young woman voicing political opinions he doesn’t like…seems tailor made for internet outrage in the age of Trump. I can’t imagine it flying under the radar if he were a Sheer supporter.

    • Housevader says:

      The person was interrupting a speech! Security ought to handle that person more quickly. Otherwise Wernick could be correct. Safety first.

  5. Miles Lunn says:

    The poll is definitely bad news for Trudeau, but just a snapshot not predictor, but I will say this, before Lavscam Trudeau still had a decent chance of winning a majority, now the odds are much lower and while still possible he is going to have to pivot and do so fast if he wants to keep his majority as the window to change the narrative is fast closing. In 2016, the best the Tories could hope for was to hold the 99 seats they won. In 2017 it was to gain seats and close the gap with the Liberals but beating them in seats seemed impossible. After India Trip debacle last year the idea of a Tory minority seemed plausible, but a majority was not. With this a Tory majority is now no longer a pie in the sky idea, it is actually possible. It is not the most likely outcome at the moment, but what was impossible a month ago is at least possible now and if Trudeau continues to double down, it just might become likely before e-day.

    Trudeau would be best to come out and take full ownership, apologize saying he didn’t fully understand the gravity of this, but has learned from his mistakes and in the future he will listen a bit more to his cabinet ministers and when he disagrees try to find some kind of compromise not push his way. Will he do this? I don’t know but he should, but somehow I am skeptical he will.

  6. Stephen Wood says:

    Ms. Wilson-Raybould said she didn’t think the people pressuring her broke the law…I know you have pointed out that an attempt to subvert justice is still a crime….perhaps at her next appearance someone should ask whether “If you had done what they wanted do you feel you would have been breaking the law?”….I think she would say yes and that this would eliminate this rather pathetic defense….thoughts?

  7. Housevader says:

    Here’s the real scandal:
    In the system we have, the PM must consolidate power and manage his or her trained seals (MPs and Cabinet Ministers). Trudeau has not kicked these two out of caucus: That is the scandal. Leaders make tough decisions but this one is easy:
    – Trudeau must enforce discipline Especially when actions are designed to actively undermine the government.
    – the gender of the cabinet ministers should not be made an issue here; if someone does something wrong we don’t make acceptions for gender otherwise we are engaging the bigotry of lowered expectations.
    – Philpott was fielding calls at JWRs House and that’s the factoid that caused this to hit the fan. Timing was off.
    – You cannot separate the leader from the party without a leadership challenge; if this is Gillard v Rudd Canada style then Trudeau really ought to trigger the challenge now;
    – You cannot get away with leaving the cabinet due to a lack of confidence in your leader and then stay in caucus;
    – if you cannot speak French you shouldn’t really be plotting a leadership challenge (fun fact)
    – if I was Warren Kinsella, whom was all admire, I’d place a call to Chrétien who knows caucus solidarity well and who should advise Trudeau, 1) to bring Warren on side into the PMO, 2) and withhold nominating papers for any cabinet minister that thinks abandoning their leader makes any sense without a leadership challenge.

    • billg says:

      The Chinese now have 3 Canadians in custody, 1 on Death row, the other 2 it’s only a matter of time. As well, as of today have cancelled Canadian Canola imports from Canada. The US has successfully killed Canadian Alum and Steel exports. India thinks we elected Benny Hill as our PM. Foreign Investment is at an all time low. Our Oil and Gas industry has bled 100,000 jobs and its estimated the Country loses 80 million dollars a day due to our discounted oil. Quebec would rather purchase it’s oil from Saudi Arabia then from Western Canada and our PM seems to agree. And, a Bloomberg report yesterday says our economy has ground to a halt. Shouldn’t the issue be for Liberals everywhere is , how to get rid of this empty headed walking Gucci suit instead of figuring out how to keep him around?

    • Ronald O'Dowd says:

      Housevader,

      The challenger never gets the prize. Think Heseltine, Gove, etc.

  8. billg says:

    The Chinese now have 3 Canadians in custody, 1 on Death row, the other 2 it’s only a matter of time. As well, as of today have cancelled Canadian Canola imports from Canada. The US has successfully killed Canadian Alum and Steel exports. India thinks we elected Benny Hill as our PM. Foreign Investment is at an all time low. Our Oil and Gas industry has bled 100,000 jobs and its estimated the Country loses 80 million dollars a day due to our discounted oil. Quebec would rather purchase it’s oil from Saudi Arabia then from Western Canada and our PM seems to agree. And, a Bloomberg report yesterday says our economy has ground to a halt. Shouldn’t the issue be for Liberals everywhere is , how to get rid of this empty headed walking Gucci suit instead of figuring out how to keep him around?

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