Category: Federal Politics

The legacy of the least liberal.

by Peter Lowry

Never let it be said that Canadians do not need to see the last of Justin Trudeau. The only problem holding him in place is the lack of a potential candidate to replace him. You could see that in the staying in-place nature of the last election results. There was nobody standing ready for the job.

A leader is the person who can point into the future and say ‘follow me.’ In 2015, Trudeau forgot to point. He just said ‘follow me.’ Since he was not Stephen Harper, Canadians followed. In that election, he satisfied an unusual craving for selfies. He dumped the past of the liberal party who were in the senate. He cancelled memberships in the liberal party and inundated the party list with demands for money. He talked of reconciliation with Canada’s aboriginals. He talked of the needs of a vague middle class of Canadians.

But when some academics actually counted his promises and actions in his first four years, they found he kept about half of them. It was his failures that bothered many voters. There were also distractions. His family trip to India was an embarrassment for Canadians. Purchasing the Trans Mountain pipeline was puzzling. The Jody Wilson-Raybould matter punched a few holes in his claim to being a feminist.

Some of the failures in office were more noticeable than accomplishments. His medically supported death bill could not survive the smell test in the supreme court. As usual, Canada’s aboriginals were displeased with the progress at everything. And, to nobody’s surprise, Canada’s armed forces were accused of systemic misogyny at any and all ranks.

And to confuse things more, the American political experience was stood on its head by a gentleman named Donald Trump. American politics were far more interesting than the dull Canadian experience.

Canada is now into its second term of Justin Trudeau heading a minority government. We must admit that he has done a good job during the ongoing pandemic. We can only be glad that he, at least, understands the situation. He actually listens to good scientific advice.

But never forget how the Brits dumped their hero Churchill after the Second World War was over.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

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Did the PM Do Nothing?

by Peter Lowry

In the roll-out of Justin Trudeau’s recent interview with Susan Delacourt of the Toronto Star, he complains about what he calls ‘casual cynicism.’ He says it comes from the left wing of Canadian politics. He said, it bugged him during his first four years in office. Being a charter member of the progressive left in politics, that whine from Justin pisses me off. We are hardly the only cynics.

It is hard to imagine anything more cynical than promising Canadians that 2015 would be the last time they would use first-past-the-post voting. Justin gave the job of making that happen to one of the least competent and less experienced members of his cabinet. His party failed to open the examination and debate on voting systems to all Canadians. And the ‘do nothing’ conclusion was pre-ordained by the closed minds in the major parties.

And in 2016, where did our elitist prime minister and his family spend Christmas? When you take your family to spend Christmas with one of the richest men in the world on his private island in the Bahamas, it does raise a few eyebrows. And as Iman of the world’s Ismaili Muslims, the Aga Khan was unlikely to have had a Christmas tree for the kids.

You tell me what was going on in 2018 that detracted from Justin’s accomplishments? We were watching a self-identified feminist prove that he neither understood women nor left them to do their job. We all went through the Jody Wilson Raybould episode when she was justice minister. How was any accomplishment going to compete with that?

And for this progressive, the nadir of Justin’s first four years was his cynical purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Why he would waste billions of the taxpayers’ dollars on that one project is the extremis. That self-declared environmentalist has done nothing to help save this planet but make foolish promises of meeting some unlikely targets in the distant future.

Surprisingly, this cynical progressive was pleased with one aspect of the Trudeau government from 2015 to 2019. He was not Stephen Harper. In that we had something to appreciate.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

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The Flexible Erin O’Toole.

by Peter Lowry

Federal conservative leader Erin O’Toole always has his legal career as a fall-back position. The lawyer who can quickly adjust his standards to suit client needs seems to always be in demand. And Canadians can attest to O’Toole’s flexibility during the 2021 federal election.

But, surprise, surprise, flexibility does not always win elections. It was like in Quebec where premier Legault’s Bill 21 won O’Toole’s support because he told us that a conservative government respects provincial autonomy. It did not matter to O’Toole that even though Legault said he was just expressing Quebec values, he still had to use the constitution’s ‘Not Withstanding’ clause to cover off the bigotry involved.

All O’Toole proved was that he has no concept of Canadian values.

And, who would question Alberta premier Jason Kenney’s ringing endorsement of his friend Erin O’Toole? It certainly said a lot that Kenney was always there for O’Toole and not a word was said about what Alberta was doing to the environment.

Of course, it was very different in Ontario where premier Doug Ford could never be there when O’Toole was in his own province of residence. It seems that Ford was not high in the polls at the time, so O’Toole and he did not see each other often.

But the point is that throughout that 2021 election campaign, Canadians became more and more confused by O’Toole’s flexibility. If a program did not appear to be working for his party, he would change it. This guy could flip-flop better than a fish out of water.

And yet, in the Commons recently, he surprised everyone by agreeing to his party sponsoring a motion to fast-track the conversion therapy bill and send it to the senate. That would have been fine if the bill was in danger of missing any legislative deadlines but it says very little for O’Toole’s due diligence in his role as opposition leader. This liberal, for example would have liked a little more discussion of some of the human rights questions that law touches on.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

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The Long Walk.

by Peter Lowry

There is something cleansing about a walking interview with a good reporter. Susan Delacourt did a long interview with Justin Trudeau recently, while they were walking in the snow in Rideau Park in Ottawa. It seems to have given the Toronto Star reporter the leads for a number of stories. In this particular case, Justin Trudeau was complaining about the lack of recognition for the work his government had done when it had a majority after the 2015 election.

What Justin needs to realize is that missteps will hide any accomplishments, any day. And Trudeau the Younger had made more than a few missteps.

But the Delacourt opinion piece brought back memories for me. It was 55 years ago that I took a long walk around Peterborough, Ontario with a Globe and Mail reporter named John Dafoe. I don’t think I ever asked John about his grandfather. It was obvious that he would be the grandson of the famous Winnipeg Free Press editor, with the same name, who died in 1944. John had just met Pierre Trudeau, the new member of parliament for Mount Royal.

What Pierre and some other liberal MPs and party people were doing at that hotel in Peterborough on that fine fall weekend was only a by-the-way in the front-page story in the Globe and Mail the following Monday. That feature story, by John Dafoe, launched Pierre Trudeau on the road to becoming prime minister, replacing Lester B. Pearson.

The funny thing about that interview in Peterborough was that nothing of that sort had been planned. The liberal meeting was supposedly on the QT. And I was hardly the only person surprised by the local MP thinking that his invitation to the local CBC station would be kept within Peterborough.

When I asked Pierre Trudeau to talk to the TV people, he told me to ‘F-off’ in front of the entire group. And that led to a few vulgarities from me in response.

I will never know why Pierre suddenly relented and agreed to do the TV interview. The camera was set up in the hotel lobby. Everything was fine until the Globe and Mail, in the person of John Dafoe, wandered in. Pierre was eager to get back to the group and that was when John and I went for a walk

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

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Pierre Poilievre’s Priorities.

by Peter Lowry

The waspish MP from Carleton, in his best attack dog style, went after liberal finance minister Chrystia Freeland the other day. The deputy prime minister is scheduled to deliver a fiscal update to the House of Commons today. Mr. Poilievre did not politely ask for his opinions on the subject be recognized. He couched his opinions as demands.

And Mr. Poilievre went well beyond the opposition party’s responsibility to question and oppose the actions of the government. He based his entire argument on a lie. He blamed the liberal government for the current inflation.

When world-wide inflationary pressures are caused by the effects of a pandemic, it is hard to believe that the conservative finance critic would be so blatantly partisan.

He said it very plainly: “Our demands are very simple: less tax, less deficits, less inflation.”

At a time when gasoline prices are escalating, world-wide shipping and transportation services are tied in knots, and customer-facing services are failing because of the pandemic restrictions, this fool wants government spending to revert back to pre-pandemic levels.

He wants a freeze on government spending and taxation as our health care system staggers on the weary legs of worn out care-givers. He demands that the government bring spending back to pre-pandemic levels. He ignores the ravages of climate warming on our infrastructure and food supply and personal services. He wants a freeze on taxes at a time when extended services to people are in extremis.

Canadians are very lucky that Mr. Poilievre is not Canada’s finance minister at this time. His ignorant devotion to conservative philosophy is unworthy of even his political party in this time of troubles.

I have no idea just what Chrystia Freeland will say in her fiscal update this afternoon, but I certainly hope it meets none of the demands of the foolish finance critic for the conservatives.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

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Indicting Justin Trudeau.

by Peter Lowry

Let’s make it clear from the beginning, as a liberal, I feel betrayed by prime minister Justin Trudeau. From the first time I met the newly-minted member of parliament in 2010, there has been the nagging impression that he is but an actor. He is his mother’s son, not his father’s. He is glib with a practiced speech or a teleprompter. He likes to hide behind grease paint and costume.

But, in the beginning, I welcomed him as a liberal. With the problems Canada’s liberals had after the Chrétien years, the party needed stable leadership. With Justin, I was never sure if we were getting leadership or selfies but the party took the chance.

And I liked what he said about stronger riding associations and hands off on candidate selection. We were so trusting!

The 2015 election was a foregone conclusion. Harper had shown his true self during his one majority government. The liberals danced to Rideau Hall in the sun’s rays for the swearing in.

But all was not right. Trudeau the Younger did not want the grey beards of the senate in his caucus. Yet he welcomed all who wanted to be a liberal without making any commitment or charge. Until they found out there was no party left, just constant pleas for funding.

Trudeau is a traveler. He revels in the world spotlight. Yet the world has realized that he is a light-weight who makes hollow promises.

He tells us he is a feminist and yet fails to try to understand women.

He tells us he is concerned for the environment and yet wastes billions of taxpayers’ dollars on the Trans Mountain pipeline. He thinks he can ship the product of the tar sands exploiters to other countries and blame them for the destruction of our planet.

He might use his father’s name but he betrays him. He will not stand up to the politicians in Quebec who deny religious symbols. Pierre Trudeau was a real liberal. He would have labelled Quebec’s Law-21 as bigotry and fought it.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

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Climate of Promises.

by Peter Lowry

Did you know there is going to be an official plan on how Canada will achieve its climate target for 2030? We would probably feel more encouraged by this if the federal climate commissioner had not complained the other day that Canada has not achieved a single target, it set for itself, since 1992. And since 2030 is not far away, what are we going to promise now?

It seems our government doesn’t know. That’s right. Rather than cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions, they increased in Canada between 1990 and 2019 by 21 per cent. During the governments of the Chrétien liberals, the Harper conservatives and the Trudeau liberals, they have not only missed their targets, they increased the problem.

So, who is going to trust them to set a target for 2030?

They have a solution for that. It seems, we are going to tell them what that target should be. The Trudeau liberals are going delay their legal commitment to have a plan in place by the end of December 2021. They are delaying it by three months so that Canadians can tell them what to do with Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions between now and 2030.

No doubt, you share with me some skepticism about this solution. I am sure you also share some doubts about the appropriateness of some of the answers the government will get.

And I am not that impressed with the Alberta tar sands people who are planning to stuff all that bad stuff back down into the earth so we can stop worrying about them. And they are going to ship all that highly polluting tar sands stuff to other countries so that the other countries can get blamed for all that nasty climate warming. After all, the Trudeau government is twinning the Trans Mountain pipeline so that Canada can ship three times as much of that tar sands stuff to other countries.

A lot of my friends in British Columbia are going to lie down in front of the path of that new pipe being laid. They are saying: “Might as well kill us now, instead of killing our progeny slowly.” 

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

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Do Not Go Gentle.

by Peter Lowry

It would appear that conservative leader Erin O’Toole does not intend to “Go gentle into that good night.” He does not seem to be Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’ sort of guy. In O’Toole’s case, the death is to his dream of leading this country.

It is not as simple as O’Toole tried and failed and it is time to move on. The problem is that he tried everything and failed his party. He promised victory and glory and he delivered stagnation.

But it was how he did it that was the rub. The problem was that, from the beginning, he stood alone. In that cold and forbidding studio in downtown Ottawa, he transitioned from pamphleteer to panderer. If this promise does not work, let’s try another.

Nobody can label the O’Toole leadership of his party in opposition. In parliament last week, we wondered where the yelling went? From the vindictiveness and vitriol, parliament entered a time of cooperation and cohesion. It passed a conservative motion unanimously. It did. Really. It confused and bewildered but worked. The bill against conversion therapy promptly went on to the Senate for that body’s approval. For a bill that could still raise one or two human rights questions, it was given short shrift in the Commons.

It is that nobody is sure just what this new approach will cost O’Toole? It left many people wondering just how he is going to square this with the conservative right wing. He can hardly send them over to Maxime Bernier’s peoples’ party. He cannot afford to lose them.

He had succumbed to the pleas of the conservative party’s fiscal right when he gave Pierre Poilievre back his finance criticism platform. Nobody needs to tell O’Toole that Poilievre is a loose cannon with his own agenda. That “Justin-flation” that the Carleton MP coined is being picked up by other members of the caucus and the speaker is going to have to call it what it is: unparliamentary.

But it will be after the pandemic is over that economics will once again impact on Canadians’ concerns. Until then Poilievre’s plaints are just chatter.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

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PR for the Royals.

by Peter Lowry

Maybe I was in the public relations business at the wrong time. Retiring at the turn of the century, I missed out on the opportunities. There was no denying that the British royalty had to have a renaissance but it was too late for me to get a share of the lolly. There was money to be made by a smart PR person but Buckingham Palace is a tough house to crack.

A good PR program for the palace needed to be two pronged. The royals had to take part of their strategy from the Hollywood fan mill. It would have made good sense to send one of the junior royals to Tinsel-Town to learn how the movie fan-frenzy works. I guess young Harry would do.

You have to admit, the Hollywood fan mill is a grind but it works. Sure, some of the people being promoted might be embarrassed occasionally but Hollywood fans must be some of the most gullible people in the world. The key is that they are just like the people who think being a royal is something special.

And let’s give a thought to the awful experience of growing up in a drafty old palace with obsequious servants and cold toast for breakfast. And North Americans would be horrified at sending their children off to what the Brits call public schools. Eton might be hard by Windsor Castle but there is little sympathy from a Queen who had to handle her own hard knocks as a princess for sale to the highest bidder.

Let’s face it, the Brit royals have suffered some ups and downs over the years. Thank goodness the Queen is trying to set a record for longevity. Nobody seems to want Charlie on the throne. But the palace is putting it all on King Billy. They have not yet figured out a way to skip a generation.

But the 39-year-old prince is being carefully groomed, just in case. They’ve enshrined his late mother to more than she would ever have wanted. He is rugged and outdoorsy, the ideal husband and father. He uses the latest technologies as though born to high-tech. He has a beautiful wife and the right number of offspring. Maybe when he and Harry get together, they have a laugh at the whole thing.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

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The Fool is in the Fine Print.

by Peter Lowry

Now we know that the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is a waste of time. When I complained to the commission back at the time of the election, I found you had to be persistent. Their first reaction to complaints appeared to be a brush off. You had to let them know you are serious.

You are not supposed to be amused by all the provincial CRTC commissioners these days being female. I never said anything was wrong with that but the fact that the chair, a long-time bureaucrat, is male makes something of a point.

But my complaint had to do with the rank unfairness of the Global program West Block on the last two Sundays before election day on September 22, this year. I could not believe that three people who were voting conservative made for a balanced or even knowledgeable political panel. It was not only an insult to the viewers but, to me, it seemed to be highly partisan and biased.

Having been involved in the birth of the CRTC back in the late 1960s, I take a bit of a proprietary stance with the commission. I have appeared before it several times at hearings and have always paid attention to its rulings.

In this case, I was caught off guard. The commission responses all told me that I should make my complaint to the station involved. I once did that with a radio station that made a mistake and I was taken to a very nice lunch by the station manager, wrote an apology for the station and picked the announcer who would read it on air.

But Corus Entertainment that runs Global needs to understand that its bias does not wash in Ontario. They were overdoing their conservative prejudice.

The commission finally sent me an e-mail quoting Section 8 of Television Broadcasting Regulations of 1987 that requires broadcasting of programs of a partisan political character on an equitable basis. It then says that this is assessed on a basis of the entire election period. Which I guess leaves the question moot. There is no way a single citizen could assess the programs of a network over the entire election period.

CRTC: 1, Citizens: 0.

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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

[email protected]