When comedian Stan Laurel used to comment on the mess they were in, to his partner Oliver Hardy, it would draw laughter from the audience. Now that it is used to complain about Mr. Trudeau’s election, nobody seems to be laughing. Is it possible the pandemic has left us without a sense of humour?
After all, who knew that Trudeau’s keeping the inexperienced and apolitical MP Maryam Monsef in the cabinet would get his campaign in trouble? When she referred to the Taliban as “brothers” the other day, it was obviously a cultural use of the word—but one that many Canadians would not understand. If she had said it in the Dari language, it would not have caused any waves.
But the real problem with Monsef was that her momentary notoriety reminded Canadians of Justin Trudeau’s broken promise that 2015 was the last time Canada would use first-past-the-post voting. When Trudeau chose her as minister of democratic reform back in 2015, he opened a can of worms that is still coming back to haunt him. Monsef’s lack of understanding of the political situation and her inept handling of the special committee, put together to handle the possible reform, led to an ongoing embarrassment for the Trudeau liberals. What started as an honest effort in reform of how Canadians’ vote has turned into an endless criticism of the prime minister.
It has been this writer’s opinion for some time that, as angry as we might be at Mr. Trudeau for his inadequacies, he does not suffer much when compared to his competitors. Trudeau is an imperfect solution in a bad situation.
After all, can you imagine Mr. O’Toole or Mr. Singh popping out of Rideau Cottage in the part year, giving us updates on the Covid-19 situation? You have to admit that Justin Trudeau did a good job in a disastrous situation.
And do you really think that the conservative party would have turned the economics of this country upside down to rescue millions of Canadians from literally starving during the pandemic? For all his faults, Trudeau did what had to be done. He deserves some thanks.
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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry
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