Another two years of conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s poisonous attitude in the House of Commons and there could be a lynching rather than an election. The only thing we do not know is who would bear the brunt of all the vehemence and who would need to be ferried across the Styx. Canadians would be fooling themselves to consider any of the party leaders worthy of election as prime minister. But we are faced with stark decisions and we need to be sure just what we want.
A big part of the problem is prime minister Justin Trudeau. His weaknesses as a leader and failings in office are there for all to see. The one thing you can say for him is that his intentions are honourable. He has embarrassed us. He is only human. He tried hard at leading us through the pandemic and deserves a few ‘attaboys’ for his news conferences in front of Rideau Cottage. He lacked the maturity in international relations to do a very effective job in that area.
There are many differences with Trudeau’s main opponent, conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. This is an interesting trade-off. Pierre Poilievre came east from Calgary to find an electoral district where his French name was not a problem. He found it on the outskirts of Ottawa. The closest Poilievre has ever come in life to a real job is being a member of parliament.
But as an MP, Poilievre is bringing the House of Commons into disrepute. He encourages the hurling of insults and slurs across the Commons. He makes it difficult for the liberals and other parties to maintain a sense of decorum.
Instead of offering the House the responsible criticism of an opposition party, Poilievre’s people devote their time to insults and lies about government programs. While they might call for parliament to “axe the tax,” they have no alternative proposal for Canadians to slow global warming, by modifying Canada’s high level of greenhouse gas emissions.
The problem Canadians are facing is that within the next two years, we will have a federal election. None of the smaller parties in the House are offering any leadership possibilities either. It leaves us with the choice of the limited qualities of Justin Trudeau and the meanness of Pierre Poilievre.
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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry
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