brown face

Saturday October 5, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday October 5, 2019

Trudeau and Scheer demonstrate their hypocrisy

For those of you hoping to have a policy filled debate and deep examination of the issues, think again. So far any policy announcements, however many, have been drowned out by character flaws, amidst accusations of hypocrisy and being liars all around.

September 20, 2019

The most infamous case is that Justin Trudeau, as an adult man nearing his 30s, put on ‘brownface’ during a 2001 costume party in Vancouver; Trudeau came to the party dressed as Aladdin. The Liberal leader had to issue a clear and unequivocal apology and Liberal candidates were left scrambling to justify the previous behaviour of their ‘virtue signalling’ leader who for years criticised political opponents for catering to racists or even being racist themselves.

All this speaks to a level of hypocrisy that has been muted about Trudeau until now. He goes around preaching multiculturalism and understanding, yet demonstrated a complete lack of it with the brownface / blackface stunts. Trudeau also carries himself as a ‘champion of the environment’, yet it was revealed this week that he has been travelling for the campaign using two planes: one for him and media, and the other for equipment, signage and flags to various events.

May 2, 2019

“You’re the only leader using two planes on the campaign trail: one for you and the media, and the other for your costumes and your canoe,” Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer quipped at him.

But it’s not like Scheer himself has been immune to questions about his character, having billed himself as an insurance broker prior to entering politics. The Globe and Mail revealed that he was never licensed to sell insurance in his native Saskatchewan. Scheer was eventually forced to backtrack and explain that he was simply ‘on his way to getting accredited’ being a broker while working in a broker’s office, but left that job after a few months to embark on a political career.

March 19, 2016

Another issue that popped up for Scheer was that he had dual citizenship from his father, who was American. There’s actually nothing wrong with having dual citizenship; I wouldn’t be surprised if a future election featured all party leaders having dual citizenship of some kind since we’re a country of immigrants. What stands out here is the hypocrisy, as Conservatives previously criticized former Liberal leader Stephane Dion and NDP leader Tom Mulcair for also having dual citizenship.

Scheer himself even raised the issue on a blog post about former governor general Michaelle Jean, who held dual citizenship with Canada and France.

August 17, 2005

The irony of his second question about Jean is striking to say the least.

“Nobody asked,” was Scheer’s response when he was asked why he didn’t bring up his dual citizenship before, and now says he renounced it when he became Tory leader and that ‘paperwork is being processed’ before the election was called. But your political instincts must be lacking if you didn’t think that was a major issue that should have been addressed if you wanted to become prime minister.

October 2, 2019

Justin Trudeau and Andrew Scheer: the two men who are still the only viable choices to end up winning the election on October 21 and becoming the leader of this country. Unfortunately Jagmeet Singh, who has actually handled himself rather well during the campaign thus far, is still mired in third place and the best the NDP can hope for is influence in a minority government situation.

But at the end of the day, let’s accept the fact that both the two main party leaders are very flawed individuals with their own problems. They both applied different standards to themselves when it came to past behaviour. (insauga.com) 

 

Saturday September 28, 2019

September 28, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 28, 2019

Greta Thunberg meets Trudeau, tells him he’s not doing enough to fight climate change

September 24, 2019

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg told Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau today he’s not doing enough to protect the environment from the threat of runaway climate change.

Trudeau met the teenage activist ahead of Friday’s mass climate rally in Montreal in his capacity as prime minister. The pair spoke in private for about 15 minutes, shortly before Trudeau joined the rally marching through the city’s downtown.

After the meeting, Thunberg was asked if she had a message for Trudeau. She said that Trudeau is not doing enough — but added that she says the same thing to every political leader she meets.

“My message to all the politicians around the world is the same: just listen and act on the current, best available united science,” she said.

“I try not to focus on the individuals and rather focus on the whole picture because … of course it’s easier to just blame someone and of course he has a lot of responsibility … and he, of course, is not doing enough.

September 20, 2016

“But we need to, because this is such a huge problem. This is a system that is wrong. So my message to all the politicians is the same — to just listen to the science and act on the science.”

In a news conference announcing a proposal to plant trees to combat climate change, Trudeau called Thunberg a “remarkable” young person who is driving the conversation forward.

“She is the voice of a generation of young people who are calling on their leaders to do more and to do better, and I’m listening,” he said.

Trudeau was asked about a June 19 tweet from Thunberg in which she questioned Canada’s decision to declare a climate emergency one day and say yes to expanding the Trans Mountain pipeline the next.

April 11, 2018

“This is shameful. But of course this is not only in Canada, we can unfortunately see the same pattern everywhere,” she said.

Trudeau defended his government’s actions.

“We have a national climate plan that will reduce our emissions and hit our 2030 targets in a way that also includes getting a better price for our oil resources that allows us to put the profits directly into the fight against climate change,” he said.

Trudeau had a large security detail surrounding him and his family as they joined the crowds on the streets of Montreal for the climate rally. Some in the crowd chanted slogans attacking Trudeau’s embrace of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. (CBC)

 

Justin meets Greta from r/worldpoliticalhumour

 

Friday September 20, 2019

September 20, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday September 20, 2019

Justin Trudeau — a self-appointed moral steward in blackface

January 15, 2019

It is almost too obvious now to point out the rank hypocrisy of the Trudeau brand: one that has zero tolerance for inappropriate touching, except for his own; one that preaches respect for Indigenous Canadians, except when you can get a cheap laugh at a Liberal fundraiser.

One that claims to run government differently, but uses the same old tactics to get its way; one that lectures about standing up to oppression, except oppression in certain ridings.

One that insists it is working in the interests of the average Canadian, but tries to curry favour with the above-average Canadian in private. One that renounces the politics of fear and division, except when the politics of fear and division can be politically advantageous.  

And one that has spent its entire political existence proselytizing about tolerance, inclusivity, sensitivity and acceptance, all the while knowing — and hiding — a past that includes multiple instances of dressing up in blackface.

TIME magazine

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau made one good point while delivering his apology Wednesday, after Time magazine published a 2001 photo of him wearing brownface as a 29-year-old teacher at an Arabian Nights-themed school party.

“If everyone who is going to be standing for office needs to demonstrate they’ve been perfect every step of their lives,” Trudeau said, “there is going to be a shortage of people running for office.”

February 22, 2018

Putting aside the enormous chasm between being “perfect” and wearing blackface three times, Trudeau makes a valid point about the need for a political machine that makes allowances for human flaws. If we don’t allow people to grow and change, we end up with slates of sanitized candidates who planned their political careers from birth and wore suits to middle school, which is, without a doubt, a most hellish version of politics.

But Trudeau’s argument would carry more weight had his war room not spent the week prior furiously digging up reasons why his opponents should be disqualified — reasons that include what they once said, once advocated for, or with whom they previously associated.

None of those claims were close to as bad as a grown man wearing blackface on multiple occasions. Had Trudeau been a regular candidate of any party, including the Liberals, he would’ve been closing up his campaign office by now.

Earlier this year, the United States was grappling with a political blackface scandal of its own: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam was accused of wearing blackface in a 1984 yearbook photo.

May 7, 2019

That was the time, if ever, for Trudeau to own his actions, instead of being cornered into acknowledging them, as he has been now.

Instead, Trudeau carried on as if — to borrow his own words — he had been perfect every step of his life, with the Liberals then launching a co-ordinated attack on the Conservatives, accusing them of being soft on white supremacy.

Knowing what we know now, if you imagine Trudeau wearing black makeup and singing Day O while accusing Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer of refusing to take racism seriously, the attack loses its potency. (CBC)