It was one of the most appalling spectacles I have ever witnessed, a deplorable assault on the very foundations of our democracy.
The sight of Andrew Scheer, the Leader of the Opposition, on Parliament Hill, addressing a rally riddled with racists and far right extremists.
Members of a grotesque yellow vested movement whose members frequently call for Justin Trudeau to be charged with treason, and executed.
And what makes it even more disgusting, is that Scheer is refusing to apologize.
Refusing to apologize for the monstrous nature of that hate mongering movement.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is defending his participation in a protest with ties to the so-called Canadian “yellow vest” movement that mixed pro-pipeline advocacy with anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Refusing to condemn the murderous words of the Con Senator David Tkachuk, who called on truck drivers to "roll over" Liberals all over the country.
Scheer said Tkachuk’s comments weren’t the “choice of words” he’d use, but called the Liberal criticism a distraction from the subject of the protest.
As if he could be so distracted he could miss the signs all around him...
Or miss the thousands of murderous threats from his supporters on Facebook...
Or fail to understand what kind of group he was addressing.
As several observers noted watching the convoy make its way to Ottawa from Alberta, United We Roll had also become a space for far-right groups to spew racism and xenophobia. Signs denouncing open borders, protesting Canada signing on to the global migration pact and accusing the prime minister of treason hung alongside signs supporting pipelines.
As if the presence of his old Rebel buddy Faith Goldy, didn't make that only too obvious.
One of the speakers at the rally was Faith Goldy, who was fired from Rebel Media after appearing on a neo-Nazi podcast, and who regularly bemoans the erosion of "white identity." Scheer spoke on the same platform that she did, ignoring what should be a toxic association.
It really is beyond belief, so this is the only question all decent Canadians must consider:
The question for Canadians now becomes, are the Conservatives out of touch, or willfully ignoring this rhetoric? And if elected prime minister, would Scheer remain silent if people continue to publicly spew this hate?
And you know what I think:
Andrew Scheer's failure to apologize for attending a rally riddled with far right extremists, or condemn the murderous words of a Con senator, is a real scandal, and makes him unfit to be the leader of any Canadian party.— Simon (@montrealsimon) February 27, 2019
https://t.co/wcdo3jqrwP via @torontostar
Andrew Scheer is too grubby and too bigoted to be the opposition leader in a Canadian parliament.
And too dangerous to ever be this country's prime minister...
Fight him, fight him, fight him.
For all those Canadians who died to save this country from the fascists.
Don't let him win....
Why isn't HE being investigated and demanded to resign???
ReplyDeleteWhere's the Justice Committee inquiry for Scheer and Hamish fucking Marshall???
Dear God, please don't let this fake-scandal shit stick until October! He belongs in some sewer position in Mississippi, Mar-a-Lago or Moscow, not Canada!!!
That may happen yet. In Canada we have a federal Human Rights Commission and one in each province. People who are really objecting to the rhetoric which the Cons and their allies are peddling could in fact file a complaint. It costs nothing and they work very well.
DeleteThe Justice Committee does not cover comments such as those made by Scheer or any one else at the "rally". As some one pointed out there were 200 of them. Not much. We had that many show up on Vancouver island where a man and woman were on trial for dog abuse. The 200 were there to support the dog. the town isn't big either where they held the trial.
There are some very nasty people as Simon has demonstrated, with their quotes. However, there are a lot of decent and kind people also. Following a fire in Halifax, which killed 7 children, who were Syrian refugees, a go fund me page raised over $500K almost immediately for their parents. The funeral, which was open to the public, was well attended by the community.
The most striking thing about the ' we roll over like an old dog ' convoy was how small it was. 200 slightly addled at the most. The counterprotesteters were more visible. After the debacle, the yellow vests faded quickly away like the errant farts from a beer swilling redneck out in the wind.
ReplyDeleteI like your tweet Simon. Scheer canoodling with neo-Nazis is a far bigger scandal than the fake scandal the media seems to be obsessed with. The danger of having this country fall into the hands of a right wing crazy is so great we need a public inquiry or an RCMP investigation to clear the air.
ReplyDeleteFor me, unfortunately, the JWR Lavlin scandal is no longer fake. I thought JWR was very credible today. I fear the PM has made a big mistake that could lead us to the horror of Nazi-lite governance. This isn't good.
ReplyDeleteI think the subtle point is that they put pressure on her to take outside legal advice, and she being a know it all refused.
DeleteThat grandstanding backstabber compared him to Richard Nixon. As Cohen testifies about the real crook south of the border.
DeleteNow the media is having their usual vulture-fest about the anniversary of Pierre's walk in the snow.
Jody can go to hell for what she's done. She destroyed a good man's career and burned down her whole party for 15 minutes of fame.
Jackie Blue - your remarks make as much sense as the right wing dunning "immigrants". They're just from the other direction. It's emotion-driven puss of the highest order.
DeleteApparently nothing shakes belief in this god-forsaken behind the scenes twinkletoe selfie-taker. Now we have progressive dog-barkers unable to see reality. Morneau is as bad as Trudeau on this file, and worse on others.
These people betrayed Canada for big business' sake. Broke the law. Were gong to get ghostwriters to pen utter nonsense to justify it. They have zero shame but love know-nothings defending them.
This country is broken. We have Liberals who lie repeatedly. If we get Andrew "What me worry?" Alfred E. Neumann Scheer as PM, he'll be even worse. Far worse. But that's no argument for voting in lesser crooks. A crook is a damn crook.
Not much hope for the country I love. And screaming nail-scratching BS does not help one bit. Get a grip. Simon needs to as well. Let reality envelope you so that some reasonable solution can be worked out instead of defending the indefensible.
BM
The whole affair reminds me of Romper Room but perhaps I just don't know enough details about the responsibilities of the politically appointed position. It would seem logical that JRW's role has two priorities. Role 1) is to ensure the PM is kept legal and doesn't inadvertently wander into potentially illegal waters otherwise he should be running everything through a personal lawyer. 2) second role is the administration of justice in criminal trials. Seems she sort of gets a passing grade on 2) but fails miserably on 1). Flimsy excuses that "I looked him in the eye and told him he was crossing a line" just doesn't cut it! If all else failed she should have sat them (PMO)down, reviewed what is legal and what is not and documented it, as his lawyer she owed him and the Canadian public that much. Without that client-lawyer legal guidance it quickly turned into amateur hour but still does not fully explain why she would accept the cabinet shuffle and not resign on the spot if not before. First she did not do her job in keeping her client legally safe and to add insult to injury is now sabotaging him which appears to be belated revenge. Something just does not add up.
DeleteRT
Watched JWR do a good job of testifying. She isn't a "grandstanding backstabber". It is clear to me, some brought undue pressure on her. She suggestion that we might look into separating the A.G. and the Justice Minister positions was a good idea. Her suggestion of using the British Parliamentary view of the A.G. job was good. One Liberal inquisitor was really boring with repeatedly asking the same question different ways. thought Elizabeth May was decent in her questions.
DeleteThe media following, was awful. they went into a feeding frienze which made them look more like Conservative operatives than the actual Conservative M.P.s.
Its rude to suggest JWR, go "to hell for what she has done". If you're Indigenous and live in B.C. you've already most likely been to hell. She didn't destroy Trudeau's career, she testified to what she believed happened. Given Canadian politics, this will be forgotten in a few months and they can get on with the election and most likely win. She didn't get or go for 15 minutes of fame. Most Canadians won't even ever watch this. The whole party wasn't burned to the ground or anything else. You'd be surprised how fast Canadians get over some things. We know the Conservative Party has anti choice types. That alone will cause most women to avoid voting for the Cons. Then there are still the no small matter of those cheques going out each month, which the Cons would convert to a tax credit only. The economy is doing fine. If the federal Liberals come out with something to sell to the voters, such as a national prescription plan, they'll be re elected. They will have forgotten all about the testimony today.
There is also the issue of Scheer's "creep" factor. One of the Conservative M.P.s at the hearings is another one with the "creep" factor. Many men don't get it, but women do. I've spoken to a number of women who really don't like Scheer, he looks creepy.
@BM -- Your homophobia is noted yet again. "Twinkletoes selfie-taker"? You're the guy with the "matinee idol" remarks as well, right? Why don't you throw in some insults about his hair and fashion choices for good measure?
DeleteRather an ALLEGED(!!!) crook (framed!) than a goddamn Nazi!
I stand by Trudeau. I will ALWAYS stand by Trudeau. Call me hysterical and a fangirl or whatever catty terms you want to, but I STAND WITH TRUDEAU. For the country's sake, I would like to see Magdalene Freeland take over the helm of the party to save it, and he walk away from this shitshow rather than go down in flames and be the most hated man in the country. But the rest of them can all fuck off. Puglass is Judas, Scheer is Barabbas, and the media is Pontius Pilate washing their hands of a good man who just got nailed to the cross by mob justice.
History will record this as the modern-day passion play it was. There isn't one thing you could throw at me to dissuade me of that.
JWR never had any issues until she was shuffled out of justice. She never voiced any of her concerns until months after the fact. She had difficulty getting along with her caucus colleagues and she messed up a number of files. This still remains her "perception" of events. Of course she would have been advised about the economic consequences of a prosecution and there was no illegality involved. If there was it was her duty to resign as justice minister. JWR is using SNC to strike back at the government because she is in a fit of pique. In all probability she is (allegedly) Fife's anonymous source. It is 2006 all over again when instead of the 2006 RCMP coup we have the Canadian media attempting a coup by trying to take down a legitimately elected government on a specious single anonymous source that Fife used to manufacture a "scandal"
DeleteScheer should be more than our PM, perhaps a theological dictatorship. 14 88 and you need a helicopter ride.
ReplyDeleteNot on your life, Nazi.
DeleteJustin will fall on his sword because he cares about his country and will do whatever it takes to keep that fascist bastard the hell away from the levers of power.
Why don't you go take a walk in the snow.
I'd like to amend my official statement above ( :) ). I thought JWR was credible. I thought she was passionate and entitled, as a first nations person to tie laudable ideals of the rule of law and judicial independence to all the wrongs done to native Canadians over the years. So, no, I don't believe she is grandstanding, or a backstabber. She comes at this question from a very different place than an old white dude like me. And that I applaud!
ReplyDeleteThat said, she admitted the no one "directed" her to make a certain decision. That, I think is key. She says she felt pressure, but this is the way of government as it has always been played, I suspect. We're into the weeds of the sausage making process of governance here, and, when it is illuminated, it is never pretty. And when it happens to a passionate, intelligent advocate for our first nations people, it is going to pique that person even more than it would most others - and understandably so!
So, I would conclude that it's ugly, but, because she was never told to "change your decision or else" it does not meet the bar.
Still, JT, Butts and the rest should have stuck to jobs and economic factors and not mentioned the political ramifications of the decision. But, I don't think that is enough to make this any more than it is.
I am so afraid that Scheer is going to ride this to victory and we will so join the plethora of western democracies succumbing to bigoted, hateful nationalism.
Damn, Liberals, you've got to be better than this!
JWR never had any issues until she was shuffled out of justice to VA. She voiced her concerns months after the fact and if she felt there were illegalities it was her duty to resign as justice minister. What we have are her "perception" of events. I don't give a damn about "her truth" I care about the truth and this is nothing more than JWR's temper tantrum over being shuffled out of justice. No government should be immune from criticism but the criticism should be rooted in facts and anchored to the truth. I don't want to see a government fall over a media manufactured scandal engineered to assist the CPC. Who is Fife's source? Ha has a single anonymous source and I think I know who his source is.
DeleteThe committee today demonstrates that democracy is alive and well in Canada. It demonstrates no one feels they are above the law and the former A.G. felt fine going to testify. The members of the committee were much better behaved than those at the American committee hearings and at the end, members of all parties applauded JWR and a number of them went up to shake her hand.
ReplyDeletewhat this all demonstrates to me, is we're a decent country. Trudeau and some others pushed JWR more on the topic than they ought to have. Its probably been done before in all sorts of legislatures and Parliament over time. Trudeau was free to remove JWR from her position and he did. She did not speak out until she had clearance and there were not leaks prior. It testifies to Canada's ability to deal with issues. if JWR. had wanted to destroy anyone or her party, she could have done so by a serious of leaks. She maintained her professionalism during questioning and the federal Liberals should win the next election, if they run a good campaign.
Scheer probably is having the time of his life. People are finally paying attention to him, but we still have the Stanley Cup to go through and by that time most Canadians will have put this all behind them.
Very well said! The differences between this committee proceeding and the ones that happen, including today, south of the border are startling. But, it could still happen here, if we cede ground to the extreme right, the Cons, and Andrew Scheer.
DeleteWhen JWR walks in and informs the committee we are convening on Algonquin land, she immediately assumes the mantle of moral superiority and demonstrates why she was so offended at repeated attempts to get her to change her mind. Her "are you still beating your wife" characterization of any contradiction of her opinion as "political interference" takes away from the neutrality she should have.
ReplyDeleteI actually find it refreshing to see this insight into how government actually works. Trudeau is trying to change the system from one of trained seals to independent thinkers, yet the system also requires that the PM should be where the buck stops. JWR, being so hyper Indigenous, should have recalled that the Indigenous way is of consultation and consensus, which I am sure involves repeated discussion and plenty of pressure, even when the elder has already "made the decision". In this case, the 11 people "interfering" in her words should have been seen by her as the consensus and I know I usually try to figure out why when the consensus is against me. I don't say "I decided already so be quiet", and instead I consider it is possible my decision was not the best one when others I consider peers disagree. But perhaps she does not see the others as peers, but instead as inferiors.
Just like we have learned about how targeted facebook messaging has been used to sway elections and we are gaining literacy in that area, this "scandal" will increase our literacy of how government works. Contrast that with how this would have played out under Harper or Scheer. The PM one man show would never have let what they would call "Injun Jody" off the back bench, and the attorney general/justice minister would do exactly what the PM personally said to do.
ANON 10:58, You make some very good points.
DeleteAs justice minister JRW had a legal responsibility to keep her government out of the weeds. Perhaps she felt that no legal lines had been crossed at the time but she also knew of perceived pressure on her staff which should have been immediately dealt with. Options should have included a documented one on one discussion with the PM about her concerns as well as proposed education of staff about the legal responsibilities of the justice minister and how interference could be perceived as criminal. She should have insisted on outside council if there was any push back. Failing to reach a solution should have been reported starting with the ethics commissioner. I am not surprised she stated no legal lines were crossed as failure to report it would have placed her in legal jeopardy. This is certainly not the mark of a professional but am surprised this mini soap opera unfolded without any professional legal advise. We were certainly quick to get some after the fact!
DeleteRT
"These people betrayed Canada for big business' sake. Broke the law."
ReplyDeleteJWR herself stated that no laws were broken, that the supposed pressure was at best, inappropriate. Once The Cons and their media are done wiping the froth from their chins, we will know who stands with JT and who stands with JWR. It's now a she said, he said, but we cant lose sight of the fact that there were legal alternatives available to deal with SNC without destroying the company along with 10,000 jobs.
A competent, balanced justice minister would have no need to be pressured had they been a team player and done the right thing as opposed to climbing the pedestal of moral authority to effectively and needlessly kill all those high paying jobs.
JD
Found a thread by a former colleague of Judas Wilson-Raybould who knows her character well. Lo and behold, she's an itch with a B and she's plotting her move to the CPC.
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/PaulDoroshenko/status/1099946835878146048
The only silver lining in Mr. Doroshenko's explanation is the oft-discussed (and, arguably, hoped-for) prospect of Freeland as last-minute quarterback change to rescue the Liberals, and maybe save a little face for private-citizen Trudeau.
And the possibility of Adolf Scheer getting kiboshed by his own party so the Cons can cynically play "identity politics" of their own and score some aboriginal votes with JWR at the helm.
Other than that, this fucking arsonist -- who was seen hugging none other than Lisa Kinsella after her marathon filibuster -- really seems to have taken delight in burning everything down.
If we strip out the political spin related to the SNC affair the inescapable conclusion is that it is exceeding easy to politicize the AG function if the designated person is willing. We have seen countless example of this in the past such as the Duffy scandal where the senator was charged with accepting a bribe but no one gave one. There have been countless others irrespective of political parties and innocent people have suffered, some hung as a result, because politics dictated action. So far this scandal has not crossed criminal boundaries, the government should seize the opportunity to make a commitment and launch an action plan to build a better firewall between political aspects of justice and the AG function. It could start with another apology for perceived inappropriate pressure and with JWR with a prominent role in developing a solution.
ReplyDeleteRT
Aaaaaaaaaand Dudley Do-Wrong Scheer just called the cops on Justin.
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/David_Moscrop/status/1101179155595620353
You can't play the "Don't you dare interfere with the rule of law" card and then turn around and pull a stunt like this. Pick a lane. Lord beer me strength.
What a goddamn hypocrite! He's literally pulling the Trump-style "Lock him up, lock him up" shit! Is Canada even a fucking country anymore, or just a Hollywood movie set for "Super Troopers 2"?