Pierre Trudeau

Tuesday November 5, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 5, 2019

Wexit group applies to become federal political party

A separatist group calling for Alberta to leave Canada has begun the process to become a federal political party.

October 22, 2019

Wexit Alberta’s application arrived on Monday at Elections Canada, which has begun the verification process, according to a spokesperson for the federal agency.

The group, led by Albertan Peter Downing, aims to do “for Western Canada what the Bloc Québécois did for Quebec,” Downing said.

Downing ran federally with the Christian Heritage Party in 2015. He said he’s since been involved with federal Conservative Party boards, and as a campaign manager with the former provincial Wildrose Party.

Before that, he was an RCMP officer and during that time was suspended for uttering threats against his ex-wife — according to both National Post and a now-deleted article in the St. Albert Gazette. Downing has denied the allegations and says he left the force with a clean record.

Wexit Alberta has been accused of allowing conspiracy theories or other harmful rhetoric to circulate online.

Wexit (“Western exit”) supporters are scheduled to hold rallies across Alberta this month, and the sentiment has gained support in the wake of the federal election, which saw the governing Liberals shut out of Alberta and most of the west.

Western Alienation, by Arch Dale, 1915

Announcing the party’s application, Downing wrote on Facebook that Premier Jason Kenney “needs to become the VERY FIRST PRESIDENT OF ALBERTA.”

Kenney has called separation “irrational,” but is also planning a referendum on equalization and is appointing a panel to discuss the province’s place in the federation.

Many politicians are being careful to hedge their words on the topic, says political scientist Jared Wesley.

“This is a different kind of movement. We’ve seen it generate success south of the border and in Europe. I think political elites ignore it at their peril but they have to be very careful when they provide legitimacy to what, right now, is a pretty fringe movement,” he said.

Seceding could also be difficult, experts say. Any provinces looking to leave Confederation would have to address First Nations treaties and other complications like trade, national defence and amending the country’s constitution. (CBC) 

 

Friday June 14, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday June 14, 2019

Time for Moe, Kenney to cool their jets on national unity talk

Is this where politics is taking our nation?

This is not to suggest Bill C-49 and C-69 isn’t a problem for western oil.

December 7, 2018

Nor is it to suggest for a moment that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government haven’t been oblivious to western concerns or that there isn’t legitimate frustration over idiotic notions like Quebec Premier Francois Legault suggesting western oil is no longer socially acceptable. Why there would be different rules for oil tankers on the East Coast than on the West Coast needs to challenged.

And if Trudeau is condemned this October to the inglorious fate of a one-term prime minister, it will be difficult to argue it was undeserved. A government fuelled by the frivolous image politics of its leader is now running on fumes. Its engine is clogged with SNC-Lavalin debris.

But none of this justifies the bizarre and divisive hysteria we are now hearing. Premiers and others are inflating into a national unity crisis pieces of federal legislation addressing changes to the National Energy Board and Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and changes to how major infrastructure projects are reviewed and approved.

October 12, 2016

Remember when a national unity crisis was actually about a national unity crisis, like when a quarter of the country was voting to separate?

Let’s be clear: This not the 1980 or 1995 Quebec referendum. It’s not even the National Energy Program of the elder Trudeau of the late 1970s, although, for partisan political reasons, one suspects certain politicians would love to see Bill C-69 raised to that level.

This is 2019 and we’re still just talking about a bill affecting pipelines. How much effect it will have is a subject of legitimate debate, but consider two pertinent questions: What happens to the notion that Bill C-69 stops all pipeline development, if the Trudeau government goes ahead with approval of Trans-Mountain pipeline as early as next week? While we surely need and should have more pipelines, shouldn’t we do our utmost to ensure there aren’t future spills like the Husky spill of three years ago? (Leader-Post) 

 

Friday September 14, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday September 14, 2018

Why would Trudeau leave it to Mulroney to defend the Charter of Rights?

When one Canadian province decides to opt out of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, you expect prime ministers to speak out strongly.

February 3, 2018

But it probably tells us something that the most spirited words against the use of the “notwithstanding” clause this week have come from a former prime minister, not the current one.

It was Brian Mulroney who came out swinging on Tuesday against the idea of provinces sidestepping the Charter — “how the hell did this thing get in our Constitution?” — while the current prime minister seemed to be trying to say as little as possible.

While Justin Trudeau can be hard line about people adhering to the Charter of Rights when it comes to summer-job applications or candidacy for the Liberal party, it took the prime minister more than a day after Premier Doug Ford’s staggering announcement on Monday to say anything publicly. And when Trudeau did speak on Tuesday, he chose a relatively mild adjective: “disappointing.”

Mulroney, on the other hand, seems to feel fewer constraints, despite a potentially awkward family conflict.

September 7, 2009

In a free-wheeling conversation at the National Library and Archives on Tuesday, Mulroney made abundantly clear that he has never been a fan of this opt-out provision in the Charter — and he’s no more fond of it now that it’s being used in a province where his own daughter, Caroline Mulroney, is the attorney-general.

“Everybody knows I’m not a big fan of it and I never have been,” Mulroney said, while sidestepping any direct criticism of his daughter’s government. “Look, to me, the backbone and the enormous strength of Canada is the independence and the magnificence of our judiciary. … That is a major thrust of our citizenship.”
 
Mulroney said he hasn’t discussed this with his daughter, but she probably already knows how he feels, since it’s also in his memoirs, as “the most abject surrender of federal authority in our history.” 
 
That’s a shot at former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, who put the clause into the Charter to win a deal with the provinces nearly 40 years ago. He’s also the father of the current PM, of course — all this proving that constitutional dramas in Canada are also historical family sagas, minus the lush scenery or film deals. (Source: Toronto Star) 

Tuesday May 30, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 30, 2017

Andrew Scheer Elected Federal Conservative Leader

 

May 19, 2017

It’s hard to know who was more disappointed with the upset result in last weekend’s Conservative Party of Canada leadership vote: Maxime Bernier, the front-runner going into the weekend who stumbled at the finish line, or the Liberal government in Ottawa.

Bernier raised the most money of any candidate and seemed unstoppable going into the leadership convention last Saturday. He held the lead over the first 12 ballots.

However, once an overly complicated and elongated vote-counting process was completed, Saskatchewan MP Andrew Scheer triumphed on the baker’s dozen ballot. Bernier was gracious in defeat, but the crushing disappointment of the final result was plain to see.

That disappointment might have been matched by the mood in the Liberal party. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his team had to be crossing all their fingers and toes that Bernier would capture the Conservative helm.

October 28, 2016

Bernier’s Libertarian rhetoric, robustly embraced by some of the more absurd and dangerous elements on the far right of the political spectrum, made him the perfect foil for Trudeau and the Liberals.

Throughout the leadership campaign, Bernier offered Conservative party members an odd mix of free-market economics and awkward social and environmental policies. He was committed to slowing immigration and severely curtailing the flow of government-sponsored refugees. He also expressed alarming concerns about the accuracy of climate change science, urging scientists to stop “politicizing” environmental policy.

That is the kind of raw political material the Liberals could have exploited in the lead up to the 2019 federal election.

October 25, 2016

However, Bernier did not win. Instead, the Conservatives elected Scheer, a leader who will not be as easily assailed or typecast by the Grits.

Scheer is a modestly bilingual MP from Saskatchewan who is, remarkably, only 38 years old, seven years younger than Trudeau. After spending so much time in the 2015 election assailing Trudeau for being too young and “not ready” to govern, electing an even-younger leader must be some sort of political karma.

In terms of policy, Scheer is often referred to as Stephen Harper-lite — a fiscal conservative who would rather focus on balancing the budget, lowering taxes and reducing the overall footprint of government than on debating abortion or same-sex marriage. In fact, Scheer has said he will not revisit either of these, the two most compelling issues for social conservatives. (Source: Winnipeg Free Press)

 

 

Friday December 9, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Friday December 9, 2016 Dark skies dim TrudeauÕs sunny ways Whether they are miscues or gaffes, the past few weeks have seen the shine wear off the Liberal government, more than 13 months into its first mandate. Call them wobbles, or missteps, mistakes, or worse. Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef was forced last week to apologizeÊfor slagging opposition MPs as lazy after she tossed aside their electoral reform report. As she stood Monday, Conservative MPs heckled they smelled Òtoast,Ó a taunt that her career was on the line. Monsef appeared unconcerned. She had trailed into the Commons, late, sat down and asked aloud, ÒWhereÕs Jim?Ó ThatÕs her seatmate, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr. He capped last weekÕs approval of two new pipelinesÊby suggesting defence and police forces would deal with protesters. Carr, an otherwise strong performer on government bench to date, was absent for MondayÕs question period. So was the prime minister. Justin TrudeauÊwas elsewhere in downtown Ottawa at a coding workshop for high school students to launch computer science education week. Ottawa locations are often photo op venues for the prime minister. But Trudeau was nowhere to be seen Friday when his government hastily reversed a decision on the location of a new Ottawa hospital. It left egg on the face of another star Liberal cabinet minister, Catherine McKenna, whose campaign rhetoric had backed the wrong locale and forced a lengthy, pointless re-examination. (Continued: Toronto Star) https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/12/05/dark-skies-dim-trudeaus-sunny-ways-analysis.html Canada, Electoral reform, Justin Trudeau, Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister, ghost, dynasty, father, son

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday December 9, 2016

Dark skies dim Trudeau’s sunny ways

Whether they are miscues or gaffes, the past few weeks have seen the shine wear off the Liberal government, more than 13 months into its first mandate.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Friday May 20, 2016 Justin Trudeau apologizes for 'failing to live up to a higher standard' A repentant Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized Thursday morning for the third time in two days for a physical encounter with two opposition MPs that resulted in a melee on the floor of the House of Commons the day before. "I apologize to my colleagues, to the House as a whole and to you, Mr. Speaker, for failing to live up to a higher standard of behaviour. Members, rightfully, expect better behaviour from anyone in this House. I expect better behaviour of myself," the prime minister said in the Commons after he apologized directly to two opposition Mps. Trudeau's apology came as members of Parliament debated a privilege motion by Conservative MP Peter Van Loan on "the physical molestation" of a female MP in the House of Commons. MPs agreed as debate resumed after question period to send the matter to a committee Ñ a decision supported by Trudeau hours earlier. On Wednesday, Trudeau walked across the aisle and into a clutch of NDP MPs where he took Conservative Party whip Gord Brown by the arm, elbowingÊNDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the process. The prime minister "unreservedly" apologized for the physical contact which he said was "unacceptable.Ó The incident took place just as some MPs were trying to stall a contentious vote to limit debate on Bill C-14, the government's assistance in dying bill. "No amount of escalation or mood in this House justifies my behaviour last night. I made a mistake, I regret it. I am looking to make amends," Trudeau said on Thursday. "I fully hear the desire... of a number of members across the House including the leader of the Official Opposition that we take concrete measures to improve the way the tone functions in this House and the way this government engages with opposition parties as well.Ó "I am apologizing and asking members to understand how contrite and regre

May 20, 2016

Call them wobbles, or missteps, mistakes, or worse.

Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef was forced last week to apologize for slagging opposition MPs as lazy after she tossed aside their electoral reform report.

As she stood Monday, Conservative MPs heckled they smelled “toast,” a taunt that her career was on the line.

Monsef appeared unconcerned. She had trailed into the Commons, late, sat down and asked aloud, “Where’s Jim?”

Saturday August 29, 2015That’s her seatmate, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr. He capped last week’s approval of two new pipelines by suggesting defence and police forces would deal with protesters. Carr, an otherwise strong performer on government bench to date, was absent for Monday’s question period.

So was the prime minister.

Justin Trudeau was elsewhere in downtown Ottawa at a coding workshop for high school students to launch computer science education week. Ottawa locations are often photo op venues for the prime minister. But Trudeau was nowhere to be seen Friday when his government hastily reversed a decision on the location of a new Ottawa hospital. It left egg on the face of another star Liberal cabinet minister, Catherine McKenna, whose campaign rhetoric had backed the wrong locale and forced a lengthy, pointless re-examination. (Continued: Toronto Star)