I was incredibly impressed by Michael Wernick when he appeared before the Justice Committee for three big reasons.
One, he blew the fake scandal right out of the water.
Two, he said the original Robert Fife story in the Globe, upon which the whole hollow scandal was constructed, "contains errors, unfounded speculation and, in some cases, is simply defamatory."
Which was music to my ears.
And three, he issued a grim warning.
A warning every Canadian should heed.
Canada's most senior federal public servant says he is worried about the nation and the state of its political discourse — fearing it has sunk to such lows that it could lead to an assassination attempt during the next federal election campaign.
"I'm deeply concerned about my country right now and its politics and where it's headed," Wernick told the Commons justice committee today.
For unlike that fake scandal it's a real story, the biggest story in this country.
And it's a special warning for people like Andrew Scheer who likes to play footsie with right-wing extremists, and never stops whipping up hatred against Justin Trudeau.
Or Cons like senator David Tkachuk who talks about running over Liberals all over the country.
Even though all this violent talk could have tragic consequences...
"I worry about the rising tides of incitements to violence when people use terms like 'treason' and 'traitor' in open discourse. Those are the words that lead to assassination. I'm worried that somebody is going to be shot in this country this year during the political campaign," Wernick said.
Which as you know is something I have been worrying about for a long long time...
Worrying about what those dirty toxic Trudeau haters might do if they got half a chance.
Worrying about the way they are poisoning my beautiful Canada.
And now I have to worry about what the creepy Scheer might do to this country if he becomes prime minister.
And Canada is plunged again into the darkness of a Con regime.
And all because our Con media is so hopelessly biased, it constantly attempts to demonize the decent Trudeau.
While the creepy Scheer gets away, or skates away with murder.
And his sleazy Cons get away with this:
Where they lie like thieves but are never called out for it by our grubby media.So this is where the CPC is with the truth, even when they get the hearing they want with the witness they want.... #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/icT8IiGanl— Stephen Lautens (@stephenlautens) February 21, 2019
And that can't continue, the stakes are just too high.
The Cons want to send women, gay people, and other minorities back to the 20th or 19th Century. They want to turn Canada into a prison state, slash pensions, and dismember our medicare system. And we're not going to let them.
We have been far too soft on those toxic Trudeau haters for far too long.
But now we are fighting for our country and its precious values.
And failure is not an option...
I'm disappointed with the liberals. Mostly because they continued Harper conservative policies like the navigational waters act. I didn't even vote because my riding is a forgone conclusion. liberal. The conservative were in charge when they bombed Libya and SNC's projects at the behest of Halliburton. Most of Europe and especially Italy's refugee problems are a direct result. While our opposition stood by. shame
ReplyDeleteI share your view. Canada's foreign policy seems to be run by Harper era and appointed (I hesitate to use the word) "diplomats"!
DeleteJust a Canadian corporate neocon operation.
As regards SNC Lavalin, Canadians should be proud of the Libyab projects that company was involved in. The Great Man Made River river pipeline, for instance, built when Gadafi was in our favour. Canadians should be ashamed that a Canadian general led the mission that destroyed part of that project and left Libya still in ruins.
Canada is involved with the US neocons to elicit regime change in Venezuela. Our foreign policy disgusts me.
Hi anon...No political party is perfect, they are after all only human. But the Liberals are better than the Harper Cons. And what could the Liberals have done to stop Harper from bombing Libya? There is a saying that perfection is sometimes the enemy of the good. So if you can't vote for the Liberals vote for the NDP or the Greens. And let the whole of Canada know that your riding votes for anyone but the Cons....
DeleteHi hinofan....Our foreign policy includes many initiatives to help poor people and improve the status of women in the developing world. We also stand up for the rights of oppressed gay people. So don't make it sound all bad. I know several Canadians who are working to help people in some of the most dangerous places on earth so it bothers me when I hear people sitting on their asses and criticizing them. Finally do you think things will be better with Scheer, for if it was up to him we'd be helping Trump invade Venezuela. So again, think before you speak...
DeleteSaw Warnick on the news as he was talking and it was very impressive. I think he was trying to send a message to some of the politicians and the protestors, etc. in the country. Times have changed and what may at one time have not been taken seriously might be taken seriously now and people might act on it. People like Scheer and others need to pull back from the shit they're spewing and act a little more professional.
ReplyDeletePeople like Scheer and Ford don't have much to offer the electorate beyond their hate, so they aren't capable of discussing issues, economics, international trade or politics, health care, racism, education, etc. They look at Trump and see what worked for him and viola, they have something to run with Its up to the adults in the country to ensure this doesn't go ahead and that we also don't participate with our version of it; CALM DOWN.
D'ohFo won't calm down, that's for sure. His idjit bruddah wanted to choke-slam Trudeau. Remember "gimme five minutes to know dat he's dead"? Right now Thug and his goons are distracted by shitting on autistic kids in Ontario (another page from the Trump playbook: pick on the disabled as "weak" and a "waste of taxpayer dollars"), so that leaves Aryan Andy and the incel from Oilberta to pick up the slack of Trudeau Derangement Syndrome at the Kenney Kudatah Konvoy.
DeleteCrack is wack. Hate is their substitute for it, and is just as addictive. One can only hope that the "pipe" they're inhaling it from (politically and metaphorically) blows up in all their faces.
Jackie Blue, don't know why your English has suddenly changed or what point you're attempting to make. In the first sentence you appear to be saying something about Ford. Are you suggesting Ford isn't calming down? If you are, in my opinion Ford has not been uncalm. He simply is doing what he campaigned on. He isn't calm or uncalm, he simply is the same as usual.
DeleteI am quite aware what Ford is doing and we living in B.C have already been through all of this. B.C. went through this for 16 years. As I have written on a number of blogs, all of this is old news and these are all things Gordon Campbell did in B.C. while he was premier. He is currently one of Ford's advisors.
My line has been the people voted for Ford and now they will have to live with it or die because of it. That is what my point was while the B.C. Lieberalcons were in office here for 16 years. the current assault on autistic children in Ontario is nothing new to those of us living in B.C. Over 16 years they almost decimated our health and education system. ranting is not going to help, you can be out raged but that won't help either because people like Ford and Trump just don't care. Its better to calm down and get on with the business to mitigate the damage they do and get out and work towards changing government in the next election.
What is going on in Ontario will only get worse. People who want to help or are unhappy with things, might want to get out and help those who are negatively impacted.
Hi e.a.f...If you received one tenth of the vile and violent comments Inreceive you might have a very different idea where this country is going. What's happening now can't be compared to anything that ever happened before. And the reason for that is that what is happening in Trump's America is leaking across the border. Jackie is very aware of what is happening in her country and often better informed than I am about what is happening in ours. So her perspective is different from yours, and sometimes mine, and that's fine with me...
DeleteSimon, I do know how vile people in Canada can be. I live in B.C. and grew up in Richmond. During WW II all people of Japanese descent were rounded up and put in internment camps. I know about race riots in China town in Vancouver. I know that people of colour could not live in certain areas in Greater Vancouver I know Jews couldn't join golf and country clubs. At some level none of this is new. Its just we haven't seen in it such a long time, its new to younger people.
DeleteWhat started to happen in the 1970s and on wards it was no longer socially acceptable to say certain things in public any more. With the advent of Trump that has gone. With new methods of communication, ie. twitter, emails, etc people feel more free to say because they think they are doing in anonymously. they engage their fingers before their brains If they had to actually say these things to people's faces, most wouldn't.
I am of the opinion what we are seeing now will ramp up as elections come closer A lot of it will also come from out of Canada influences who would like to see Trudeau and the left gone from this country. They don't even want to see rational Conservatives. Yes, there is such a thing. We used to call them Red Tories.
I can just imagine what you see on your incoming mail. We do see a lot of hate out here in b.C. also. However, I still believe the majority of our country are good and decent people not filled with hate.
Thank you for the work you do on this blog.
When I listened to Michael Wernick yesterday I seriously thought he was reading my mind! Wow! Furthermore, I'll predict that no matter what JWR has to say they will be all over her "like flies to shit"! Need I say more??????
ReplyDeleteHi Kathleen....I felt the same way. His warning about the atmosphere of violence made me feel vindicated, since as you know I have warned about that for a long time. As far as JWR is concerned, I will wait to see what she says, but after what I've read and heard I think she has a lot of explaining to do...
Delete“I worry about the trolling from the vomitorium of social media entering the open media arena.”
ReplyDeleteWhen I listen to Scheer’s mixed-up babbling and look at his audience it’s hard to tell which brains are tied up in the sloppiest knots. Does Andy know where pandering to this crowd will take him as the relationship devolves into codependency, or does he even care? In any case, he seems to have found his niche and to have acquired, or stumbled upon, the ability to herd imbeciles to the voting booth, a skill essential to the success of any CRAP Party endeavour.
What, me worry?
Pass the bowl around for another helping. And speaking of vomit, how can they think that it’s good idea to keep passing the mic to a guy with Tkachuk’s record of achievement?
Hi John...I think Scheer feels he has to reach out to the yellow bellied bigots because he has to keep his supporters from defecting to Maxime Bernier who was also at that truck rally on parliament hill. But of course if he wasn't the leader of a bigot party like the Cons he wouldn't have to do that. And as for Tkachuk he didn't even have the decency to apologize, so that's class or that's Con...
Delete"The Public Service Commission (PSC) is responsible for promoting and safeguarding a merit-based, representative and non-partisan public service that serves all Canadians, in collaboration with its stakeholders."
ReplyDeleteWernick is a public servant; why is he speaking on partisan matters? I really don't need some old Big Daddy lecturing me that the politicians he's dealt with, and indeed he himself whose opinion I give no credibility to whatsoever, are saintly people who never did nothing wrong, no how, no way. Why, they're just noble people.
I overheard his speech on the radio after it began but had no idea who it was at the time. What I heard was excuse after excuse, general lecturing, a superior tone and one very good new word - vomitorium. When I found out he was but a public servant, just the top one, I was floored. I always ask the people working at federal buildings their opinion on political matters - not. One public servant is like another surely? Their function is to do their job as mentioned in the PSC description I quote above. I have worked for the feds in the distant past and also remember my Civics lessons. It was impressed on me that one had no political opinion to offer to the public as a public servant.
Yet this Wernick fellow, gravely full of himself, broke those bounds and went beyond his remit. He also offered excuses and made judgements claiming no inappropriate intervention, and in effect in a roundabout way, criticized Raybould. Sorry guy, none of your business. Get lost.
So now the Liberals even co-opt the supposedly unco-optible in their service. Aren't they grand? No reason to vote for them. No reason to vote for Dumbo Scheer either, the man who cannot sift right from wrong, good or bad, is generally contemptible and cannot think on his feet. Nor any need to vote for the strange Sagmeet Singh who doesn't seem to know whether he's coming or going, and is incapable of reining in Notley who has turned into a petro-industry shill.
These politicians and their parties comprise the vomitorium for me. Raybould had better have a decent excuse for her behaviour as well. If she felt pressure last September when Trudeau spoke to her on SNC-Lavalin, or the follow-up communications in December from Butts and this twit Wernick, she should have resigned. She did not. Not until her demotion to VA and Fife's subsequent story in the Globe and Mail did she resign in an apparent snit. To a cynical observer, it might seem she was more put out by her loss of status than by any noble or honourable intentions.
In fact, neither of these retail pols have exactly covered themselves in glory from my perspective. Butts got out, effectively admitting guilt while protesting the contrary, and the contemptible Wernick needs to read his PSC mission statement and resign as well.
A pox on them all. And this blog author's continual praise of his matinee idol Trudeau against all odds is completely inexplicable.
He should read this article from right here on ProgBlog from two days ago and tell me Trudeau and Freeland aren't contemptible connivers.
https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/is-trudeaus-venezuela-policy-the-monroe-doctrine-reborn
This is apparently what our leaders get up to when nobody's looking. It isn't pretty - I feel ashamed for my country. It's gone to hell in a corporate handbasket of neoliberal nastiness. No justification for this stuff. It's racist and anti-sovereignist.
BM
Wernick is a public servant; why is he speaking on partisan matters?
DeleteIf you have to ask such a question, you clearly do not understand the issues, the role of the Canadian Civil Service nor the difference between government actions and partisan political moves.
The Clerk of the Privy Council was not touching on any partisan political matters.
Speaking out against politically inspired violence is not a partisan matter. It is fundamental to our democracy!
DeleteIf it were an ideal world all of the major powers would stay out of Venezuela and let the people freely decide their own fate in a non violent manner. That's not going to happen with the major powers vying to determine the outcome and willing to use force to achieve it. Promoting free elections and a willingness to help victims is one thing but Canadian involvement in choosing sides can easily slip from a proactive to an ideological based strategy. The very thing we accused the Harper and Bush administrations of doing. Unfortunately as long as we are in a deep quagmire of political propaganda at home the chances of developing sensible foreign policies are slim.
We really do need to get back to discussing issues and stop promoting lies that demonize individuals but after 3 plus years of a politically motivated Trudeau hate fest its going to be difficult. For example Trudeau is not erasing our borders or welcoming back ISIS fighters ... they are outright lies published on the official Con website. They are genuine issues bound by many constraints other than "change DA law" today and if it results in some unpleasant surprises we will "change da law" again tomorrow. In their universe, history and scientific findings mean nothing, its all about demonizing the opposition and gaining false power to change laws at will.
RT
people who work for the public service may speak out. It however not on to criticise your own department publicly. as to this man speaking, its part of his job description. I don't if you're aware but many people in the Public Service are required to speak in public on any number of issues and to defend the government's positions.
DeleteHi BM...Michael Wernick is an outstanding Canadian and an outstanding public servant. And nothing he said during his appearance was remotely partisan. And as I have told you before, Justin Trudeau is not my matinee idol. I support him like other Canadians do because he best represents my Canadian values, and because in a grubby world he is decent, which is more than I can say about you...
DeleteJohn B:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the wink that's as good as a nudge. Scheer nonsense does look a but Alfred Eish.
Canada now has its own version of "Waaaa! Robert Mueller is an Obama deep state shill!" All over social media the trolls were shitting on Wernick as a "partisan Trudeau puppet." When apparently he's served in some capacity under every PM since Mulroney (or maybe Clark). Mulroney was no saint either, but for the Cons to castigate this guy as some kind of Liberal Party pitchman acting as surrogate father figure to Justin and defending him at the principal's office really shows how far off the deep end they've gone.
ReplyDeleteAnd he's absolutely right that the rhetoric in Canada has gotten terrifying and is shamefully and disturbingly condoned and uttered by its own politicians. Scheer has said nothing about Tkachuk's violent utterances, and Tkachuk has only doubled down on his remarks. "It was only a joke, you Libs have no sense of humor," blah blah blah. If something happens to Justin Trudeau or anyone in his family, his cabinet, the Liberal Party, the blood is on Andrew Scheer's hands. And, for that matter, the complicit media stooges who puffed him up.
Hi Jackie....When I saw the Cons trying to smear an outstanding Canadian like Michael Wernick I was absolutely disgusted. But it only made what Wernick said even more pertinent. There is a sickness spreading across Canada, and if it's not contained it will kill this country...
DeleteColour me surprised, but for two columns in a row , John Iveson has stepped outside the small con tent and made sense.
ReplyDeleteHi rumleyfips...Yes, I noticed that too, as well as noticing that his usually very active and very Con Twitter feed has gone silent. I think he now realizes that he's been played by Fife and JWR, and I'm forced to give credit where credit is due. I don't know why he suddenly saw the light, but I like to think that it's because he's from Scotland....😉
DeleteThe narrative continues to unravel. Lavalin was a red herring. It's looking more and more like Jody threw a tantrum to get back at Justin and bring the whole government down.
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/ChantalHbert/status/1098989556429402117
Anus Reid out with a bullshit push poll saying "Canadians think" the country is doing worse under the Liberals. Unfortunately we live in a post-truth era where people are easily swayed. God, I hope this shit doesn't stick through to October.
Signed up with Anus Reid some time ago out of curiosity. They profile each participant so it is easy for them to produce any results they want ... not saying that they do but is a real possibility. They also seemed to be doing research on predicting how a certain profile would respond to survey questions depending on how they were framed. Messed with them for awhile but the reward - effort profile was not worth it. Cons seem to have a lot more tenacity.
DeleteRT
HI Jackie...Keep, calm and carry on, or carry a big stick. The Cons are on rampage right now, at the end of what turned into a nasty winter. But as soon as Spring arrives we will attack them like we never have before, and I have no doubt we will defeat them. The Wizard of Duffus castle just down the street from my Scottish home told me so, and he's never wrong....😈
DeleteNice to see someone in a position of power stating the obvious for a change. The sheer, utter failure of Andy and his Cons to condemn these death threats is contemptible and further proof of complicity in whipping up their deplorable supporters to post their garbage online or on their grade 1 English level posters.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Wernick again states the obvious on the merits of this Con-trived "scandal" that was born and bred in the Con war room and abetted by our useless Con media. A scandal is defined as "an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage". Hmmm.
The best the Cons can get out of this "scandal" is a headline reading, "TRUDEAU FOUND GUILTY OF SAVING 10,000 HIGH QUALITY CANADIAN JOBS". OMG! If the Cons want a lesson on what a scandal is then follow this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huWN0xrV0_I
And this was a mild one when one reflects on the 10 years of Harper's version of The Sopranos. However, I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed the Emmy worthy performance put in by Big Pussy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATCA1ITxhK8
JD
Even the National Compost is reporting the headline "Top civil servant: No pressure on AG". The Probe & Fail is just doubling down on Fife's BS. Hébert got shouted down on one of the panel sideshows for daring to try and inject reason into the hair-on-fire Schmear campaign against Wernick. Once again nobody wants to discuss the Republican elephant in the room, or the bed, or the truck bed: Scheer's cozying up to the Neon Nazis just the same as Trump did. Evidently Scheer himself could shoot Trudeau on the grounds of Parliament and the useless media would still defend his Nazi-adjacent ass. Just like Trump's "hypothetical" scenario of what he could do on Fifth Avenue and not lose any support.
DeleteSpeaking of "the family": Coyne is one of the worst offenders in terms of being an absolute agenda-driven hack. He was one of the ones barking over Hébert and apparently, he also has some "family issues" with the Trudeaus surrounding his cousin Deborah's relationship with Pierre that produced Justin's (estranged?) half-sister. If that's what's driving his hate-on and his willingness to sacrifice truth in favor of what amounts to a personal vendetta against 1) someone who had no say in the matter and 2) someone who has been dead for 20 years, then he needs to take a hiatus from "broadcasting" and go seek professional help.
DeleteHi JD....Exactly. The failure of Scheer and his Cons to condemn the wave of death threats they have triggered with their divisive and deranged rhetoric is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. And the way some of them are trying to smear Michael Wernick for the crime of telling the truth is simply obscene. My only consolation is that it's the last act for all those disgusting Trumplings, and it won't be long before a new and better day dawns.
Delete