Thursday, February 28, 2019

Why I Believe It's Still a Fake Scandal



I finally got to watch the whole tape of Jody Wilson-Raybould's appearance before the House of Commons Justice Committee. Or at least most of it, for it went on beyond the limits of human endurance.

And although I thought she put in an Oscar winning performance with this line being my favourite: 

“I come from a long line of matriarchs and I am a truth teller in accordance with the laws and traditions of our Big House — this is who I am and who I will always be.” 

I was not impressed with the content of her presentation.

And whatever the Con media says, I still think it's a ridiculously overblown fake scandal for the following reasons.



(1) The presentation of "her truth" may have had the Con media gasping like groupies, but it's still just her truth. And it doesn't stand up well to closer inspection.  

Why for example wasn't she asked why if SNC-Lavalin had cleaned up its act and was eminently qualified for a DPA, she was so quick to reject the very idea.

Why wasn't she asked if she was so close to her chiefs of staff, as she claimed she was, why did she go through FOUR of them in just THREE years?

Surely she wasn't THAT difficult to work with?

But then nothing Wilson-Raybould  said surprised me, since sadly she was always out of her depth, and was a remarkably bad justice minister  who did a really poor job.

And as more evidence of that, even after hours of complaining about how the meanies in the PMO treated her so badly, she was forced to admit that nobody directed her to do anything. 

And that nothing that happened was illegal.

Which takes the hot air out of that fake scandal quicker than a pin takes the air out of a party balloon.

(2) Wilson-Raybould's impression of what constitutes "undue pressure" is only her impression, and doesn't match the impression of others who quite frankly I would tend to trust more than I trust her.

And since those kind of debates can go on forever.

And since Wilson-Raybould never properly explained why if she was so concerned about that "undue pressure" she didn't resign on the spot. As she was required to do to preserve the integrity of the justice system she claims to be so concerned about.

We are left to wonder since she loved being Justice Minister so much, and was so shocked when she lost that job, whether this whole shabby exercise is just about getting back at those who removed her.

Which would be REALLY scandalous.



(3) Since absolutely nothing happened, nobody complained to anyone, and the criminal case against SNC-Lavalin continues, what exactly is the scandal?

A murder case without a body is problematic, but a fake scandal where nothing happened, and relies on what they allegedly said, and she allegedly felt, is an absolute farce.

And can only make Andrew Scheer look even more like an idiot...



If that's possible.

For Scheer is the last person in Canada to talk about moral authority when he has been hanging out with racists and far right extremists. 

And he should be the one to resign, or be investigated by the police. Instead of being the one threatening to call them.

For Justin Trudeau isn't going anywhere.



(6) Lastly but not leastly, the biggest reason this fake scandal isn't going anywhere is because most Canadians couldn't care less.

They are not interested in fake scandals but in real achievements.

Or in good news stories like this one.

Many of them understand that Jody Wilson-Raybould has been used by the Cons, the stooge media, and dirty old men all over the country.
Who hate what Justin Trudeau has done for the rights of women, refugees, and LGBT Canadians...



And fail to understand what he means to a new generation of Canadians.

Or sadly for those old Cons, fail to understand that the more Trudeau is bullied the stronger he becomes.
In fact I'm willing to predict that now that the Liberals have cemented their support in Quebec, where people actually care about the fate of the 9,000 SNC-Lavalin workers and their families.

Long after this fake scandal is forgotten, Justin Trudeau will probably win a majority as large, or possibly even bigger, than the one he won last time...



So decency will prevail.

And the universe will keep unfolding as I always thought it would...

44 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you Simon! I always look forward to your wise posts. Many many thanks!! I have thought from the beginning this was a manufactured scandal and JWR is likely the leaker or her dad who still is angry at Pierre Trudeau 20 years after his death. She had very little experience as a lawyer — just 3 years as a CP out of school and then ran a consulting firm with her husband advising indigenous people on self government. It is reported she fought with Carolyn Bennet on the aboriginal files also. Her ‘martyr’ gig is all nonsense. She is no team player and naive to politics. Trudeau’s fault was entrusting her with the position in cabinet which he did out of earnest interest in moving the aboriginal files forward. For this he gets knifed in the back. Who would ever trust her again in politics? Her righteousness is naive at best. Jody seems to be out for Jody and she feels untouchable and above reproach. She drinks her own koolaid as she can’t imagine it was incompetence that contributed to her cabinet move. It appears she thought she was the PM and accountable to no one — I hope she resigns and lets Canada get on with real issues. The drama queen has had her time in the limelight now please go away. Cheers!

hinofan said...

I agree with you that this is a fake scandal, Simon.
SNC Lavalin wanted to avoid being charged with bribing officials of a foreign regime before Canada, along with others, destroyed it, Libya, in 2011, committing war crimes and creating a monumental ongoing refugee crisis in the process.
A similar illegal intervention by Canada and others is underway presently in Venezuela, and what better way to divert domestic attention than to have a typically Canadian "storm in a teacup" fake scandal which apparently now includes a lurid sex component?
The real scandals are Canada's illegal intervention in a fellow UN member's internal affairs, and the recent "Ariel Sharon style invasion" of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and the UN report of war crimes committed by Israel at the Gaza border, largely unreported, which Canada will not censure.
From my perspective, Jody Wilson Raybold has her integrity intact.
As regards decency, decent countries don't meddle illegally in other countries' internal affairs.
Decent countries don't commit war crimes and don't unfailingly support "allies" who persistently commit war crimes.

rumleyfips said...

I don't think " she didn't resign " is too important but she didn't complain . In meeting after meeting ( her exaggeration ) she could have told Trudeau , Butts , Telford the clerk et al that she was uncomfortable. She didn't. Her complaints came some time afterwards and to the press not the people involved. Is this good faith ?

Anonymous said...

Well said Simon, we can always count on you to speak truth to power. I am surprised that so many were fooled by Jody Wilson-Raybould when it’s so obvious that she has a chip on her shoulder for being removed from the job she never should have had in the first place. As for Scheer calling the police on Justin Trudeau, he must be losing his mind. As you say he’s the one who should be jailed.

Anonymous said...

Jody Wilson-Roubald is trying to make us believe that she was bullied because she is a strong aboriginal women, when the truth is she would have been fired long ago if she wasn’t an aboriginal women. And that was the only reason she got the job in the first place, which was Trudeau’s biggest mistake.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your insightful post, Simon.

UU

Jackie Blue said...

I doubt Scheer reads French literature or can process anything much more complex than a shitposting meme from Rebel Media.

That said, he would do well to study the fate of Inspector Javert in Les Miserables after his obsessive pursuit of Jean Valjean ended up destroying himself.

Jackie Blue said...

The real crime is Judas Wilson-Raybould cozying up to the Kinsellas after her marathon filibuster -- and Warren threatening to doxx a Twitter activist who had previously faced a similar threat from Kinsella "friend" Lisa Raitt. Some "feminist ally" he is. What a creep.

CTV has zero credibility running with Fife's bullshit and now inviting Wormtongue on for "analysis." Fox News North. Personally I think they're jealous of all the attention Michael Cohen got and want to have their own Watergate or Trumpgate by framing Trudeau. Her comparison of Trudeau to Nixon is patently ludicrous, especially in light of the real crook south of the border. How can people take this attention-seeking fame whore seriously?

If this does end up having electoral consequences I look forward to Justin and Gerry's tell-all books.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Simon for once again disseminating the facts amidst the Con's and Con media's pitchfork and torches swarming of JT. I would hope that those who had JWR as their boss will step forward or are called to testify to their experiences working for her. We've heard from Mr. Wernick who's testimony is completely at odds with JWR yet he is dismissed by the Con-trarians as a partisan which is bullshit. He saw no wrongdoing and JT disputes her "truth" as well. Those who worked closely with her will be able to paint a much clearer picture of the real JWR.
As for Scheer threatening to call the police I say go ahead Andy. Maybe I'll call them too and have Scheer arrested for his continuous slandering, libel and defamation of JT and for fraudulently trying to portray himself as a decent Canadian.
This fake scandal will pass and in the meantime we can remind Canadians that thanks to Justin Trudeau, child poverty has been greatly reduced, unemployment is the lowest it's been since the seventies and what I thought would be impossible, he managed to legalize marijuana.
That's so much more than we would ever get from the empty suit called Andrew Scheer.
JD

Anonymous said...

Simon like so many others I love you, but could you please do something to get Warren Kinsella kicked off Progressive Bloggers ? He just tried to dox someone on Twitter, so just seeing his name makes me feel like throwing up. Some people are trying to get him thrown off Twitter so it would be nice to have him kicked off Progressive Bloggers as well.

Steve said...

The SNC Laval affair
is more a kiss
than a consummation
its a place where
roles are defined
in public as pure
but in reality
are far more
confused
as Bismarck
said good government
tastes like the perfect sausage
but you would not want to
witness the process that
brought the skin
to meat.

The facts are clear
SNC LAVAL is
our Bectehal
and if your
going to build
infrastructure
in the third world
full stop
you gotta
pay someone
off or
the bid
is going to flop

The world has
fought with this
since the beginning
of time
and tried to pass
laws to stop it
until the Americans
decided paying a
fine was fine
and started winning
all the contracts
soon the French joined
in and SNC laval
was looking for relief
so they played the game
understanding
the government of the day
would never leave them under
water being pure wool

So they got caught
and Harper tried to rub
it in until Justin
passed a law to make
the playing field equal and
fair

Then his Justice Minister
turned out to be a naive
boy scout
and he had to fire
here because
she is living
in a world
where Game of Thrones
does not speak
truth to power.



Jackie Blue said...

Harper's buddy Bibi is under indictment for fraud and Trump, who he paid a visit to last summer, is likely to face a similar fate. As we know, Andy wants to build a Jesus house in Jerusalem to appease his fellow god-botherers crying out for holy war. After a recap about Cohen's testimony against the actual crook, NBC News tonight with Lester Holt ran a story about how "the prime minister of an American ally is in trouble" and I thought they were going to do a segment about Trudeau. Nope, it was Bibi. No one cares about "Trughazi"/"But His Emails" outside of the preexisting Trudeau hate cult that wants to destroy him back home. (That, and Canada isn't considered an ally in Bizarro Trumpworld anyway. A national security threat that imports too many comedians to Saturday Night Live.)

Which shows how much of a "scandal" this really is -- a misunderstanding and an HR issue involving a difficult, narcissistic employee promoted to the level of her own incompetence, and who wanted revenge against her boss -- who happens to be the leader of the country. Nevertheless, one can't help but wonder if Trudeau's LOCK HIM UP LOCK HIM UP framing by the pathetic Canadian imitation of the Anglo-American tabloid media, Judas Wilson-Raybould, the Kinselli creature couple and the insatiable DipperCon alliance of Antipope Scheer and his oompa-loompa disciples from the crumbling house that Jack built, wasn't in fact concocted by that perpetually butthurt fat cat and his Talibangelical cohorts at the IDU.

Steve said...

he Steven Le Drew, and Bosco Bosco are the reason Harper was elected.

Steve said...

WK is bitter JT shut him out. So now he as joined the cons, and he says he if BMF with JWF husband. He is all over the airwaves after years in relative obsucrity. Tucker Carlson Kanuck.

Steve said...

You make the JWF argument. We are boyscouts in a world of psycopaths.

Jackie Blue said...

Ralph Goodale just announced a program for retroactive pot pardons... and Canada is apparently going to the moon? At least Trudeau's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Space Force is a legitimate costed platform that's going to create a galaxy's worth of jobs and be a source of national pride. 'Course, these are high-skilled jobs and not the unrealistic boom-and-bust addiction the yellow-jacket swarm is demanding a fix for, that pays $200,000 for a grade-8 education. Hey, maybe Trudeau can send the drillbillies to an asteroid like Bruce Willis and his crew. Meanwhile, one might say of Trump's fantasy endeavor of a fully-operational Death Star that's comparable to Reagan's Star Wars: "you pulled that out of Uranus."

What's Sith Lord or should I say Shit Lord Scheer's plan for space exploration besides building a wall to keep illegal aliens out? Does he even acknowledge the earth isn't flat, or is that more of a tinfoil Max thing along with disputing the fact that the moon landing actually happened? The fact that he isn't competing with Max for decimal numbers in the aggregate polling makes me shake my head about how many stupid people there really are. But then, no one ever accused Conservatives of harboring intelligent life.

John B. said...

Give us back the guys who do it right. Bob Paulson didn't have to quit and Mr. Here-for-Canada didn't have to fire him. They got it right.

Yeah, give us back those guys.

Anonymous said...

Simon why don’t you ask in a tweet why Gwyn Morgan has not been interviewed as he was Chair of the board of directors at SNC for several years. Or is it because he’s a hard core conservative that the media leaves him alone. As if the board doesn’t know what’s going on and if they don’t they should. Let’s get Gwyn Morgan to account and then the conservatives can get off their righteous high horse. We can be assured an indigenous woman would NEVER be AG if the cons were in power. Sadly Liberals seem to destroy their own while Conservatives always take one for the team — a party of YES people vs the independent thinkers in the Liberals — ironically their weakness in this situation. Trudeau had no idea JWR would toss knives at him after generously appointing her to the top powerful cabinet position. Likely loved the power and felt entitled to it. She does not look noble in this at all. Only the partisans would think so. How backstabbing your party is considered noble? Wait until Butts refutes her ‘version’ or ‘her truth’.

Anonymous said...

I agree! How do we complain and get him off this site? He’s one angry nasty man who seems like he’s lost his mind. He’s obsessed with Trudeau in a sick way. Hostile loser that he is.

Anonymous said...

@Steve, With a little help from Zacardelli and the RCMP.

the salamander said...

.. WoW ..
strident hostile polarizing partisan comments..
Kindly suggest you do some rethinking Simon
The polarizing perspectives seem truly untoward
your 'facts' more hyperbole than useful or factual

Sorry to say.. the entire enchilada of this post
and the comments are at the far edge of hysterical
What then.. ? When it all goes into sheer nonsense ?

Trudeau has blundered so badly
the disastrous spectre of a Scheer administration
looms in our potential future.. what a clusterfluck !

The ex commander Norman Criminal Trial ..
The very same players, from Trudeau on down
Butts, Telford, Wernick .. all headed for subpoenas
All their docs, emails.. & exchanges to obstruct or delay evidence

The cheap & insulting shots at Ms Wilson-Reybould ?
You're fine with that ? From your commentariat ?
I think your better than that .. man up dude

If you ever catch me slipping.. do so loud and clear
I make mistakes, we all do.. but we are adults..
n'est ce pas..? Learning is a lifetime endeavor ..

No need to add or publish this comment
with the previous ones to this post..
A-OK that it be private .. personal,
well meant of course..
that you can always count on ..

The salamanders have spoken .. Simon

Anonymous said...

No, leave him on the site. Obviously getting desperate, he really thought JT would fold and quit in disgrace before people spotting his colluding with JWR. Now people are taking a second look and his scheme is being exposed. Collusion with a turncoat who was not truly loyal. His actions will increasing show this was all a big setup.

We're remembering how under Harper she would have been fired the first time she talked back, and we all know that. While I was willing to cut Harper some slack for running things as a one man show, the main problem is it stifles ideas other than his. Now it is like those Russian efforts to show us how embarrassing, noisy and bad democracy is so we should embrace the strong man dictator. We're being told that not enforcing iron discipline is bad because it reveals the realities of how government works.

But I'd rather have the messiness and more people's ideas being heard. And I don't have a problem with it being out in the open. She was given plenty of chances to speak her mind but in our system the PM is the leader and she should follow the consensus of her party and colleagues. Kind of like we have a senate that can delay bills, but eventually the will of the party in power prevails, and the will of the leader prevails.

While the law requires she cannot be directed by the leader to select a particular remedy for a particular case, the way our system works she can be replaced with someone who will follow the leader's lead. The system is working, and it is now disgorging a prima donna who is disloyal to her colleagues.

John B. said...

I’m reminded of something about great minds.

“This country is absolutely crazy. They prosecute people for going over to China and Mexico and other countries and getting business and creating jobs in this country because we do make some product that goes out. I see them prosecuting all the time. … What are we prosecuting people to keep China honest? Now every other country goes into these places and they do what they have to do. It’s a horrible law and it should be changed. We’re like the policeman for the world. It’s ridiculous. It puts us at a huge disadvantage, and let them clean up their own act. We shouldn’t be cleaning up the act for them. … We’re not leading the world anymore. It’s things like this that cause us not to be able to lead the world. The world is laughing at us. … Well, there is one answer: go to your room; close the door; go to sleep; and don’t do any deals. Because the only way you’re going to do it is the other way.”

- Trump on the US FCPA (15 May 2012)

Anonymous said...

sal ... Sorry to disagree but it’s nice to have Simon’s thoughtful counter-perspective to the braying hyperbole that we are being subjected to by our MSM and, of course, WK.

UU

Anonymous said...

Simon has chosen to publish your comment even though, once again, you crap on this blog and its commenters. You're entitled to your opinions just as we are so here's some sage advice. If you are so offended by Simon's "facts" and our "hysterics", why bother with us at all when you could be commenting for The Sun or National Post? They would be very welcoming to your jaundiced view of JT along with your vision of Saint Jody and her version of the truth.
JD

Anonymous said...

Hi Salamander

It should not be surprising to see some partisan comments as it was the purpose of the very very long "hate Trudeau" propaganda campaign. Other comments are more insightful.
Con sponsored "choose sides" division provides energy, its then only a matter of harvesting it. That seems to be the only thing they are good at.
Simon is right this is a non scandal that would not happen in a Con world as they only appoint certified lieutenants. Agree that the whole affair looks like play time in a romper room but aside from her AG responsibilities JWR's other role was a lawyer-client relationship with the government/PMO/Trudeau. In this aspect she failed miserably. The "I tried but they just would not listen" does not cut it... she had stronger measures available but chose instead to prepare for the day of "truth"! Now its all just political spin, hopefully it will evolve as a learning experience and the Con poison will not claim more victims.
RT

Anonymous said...

Very interesting angle here...which I suspected almost from the beginning.
"So there it is: she’s simultaneously striking a blow on behalf of Indigenous peoples. Suddenly it’s no longer abstract, it’s very concrete. She’s had it with liberal/Liberal well-intentioned crap. SNC-Lavalin gets fast action from the law, we get delays. She found an infuriatingly calm, Canadian way of detonating a deeply laid bomb that’s been ticking since the arrival of European settlers."
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2019/02/28/is-raybould-wilsons-beef-really-about-rule-of-law.html

Brian Dundas said...

The first clue that this is a fake scandal is how wildly the Cons are overplaying their hand.

Simon said...

Hi anon@ 3:21 PM....Thank you and you're welcome. I just can't stay silent when the filthy Cons and their grubby media stooges are using Jody Wilson-Raybould to try to destroy the decent Justin Trudeau. Trying to portray her as some kind of martyr for judicial independence, when she is no martyr and is only in it for herself....

Simon said...

Hi Jackie...I try to ignore Warren Kinsella at the best of times, and his disgraceful behaviour during this fake scandal has given me even more reason to do so. But at least he has destroyed what little credibility he had left, and will have to live with that long after this fake scandal is over...

Anonymous said...

Simon and his band of devotees sway in whatever direction is reuired to defend the golden child.

Meanwhile those cheap and insulting shots you speak of only serve to display the true ugliness of those posters on this site.

Simon said...

Hi anon@3:36 PM...Thank you for your kind words, but Inam only trying to do what our shabby media should be doing. Taking a critical look at JWR's allegations, and at her appalling record in government. It's called balanced journalism, but it seems to have vanished in this country...

Simon said...

Hi UU...Thank you I'm glad you liked it. The Con media is behaving like the media in a totalitarian society speaking with one voice and competing to see who can do Trudeau more damage and glorify JWR beyond all measure. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so pathetic and so evil...

Simon said...

Hi JD....Thank you, I only wish I had more time to deal with this hideous fake scandal, and that I wasn't so busy on a really big project. But as I said above I just can't remain silent in the face of this grotesque travesty of justice. It's the most insane thing I have ever seen, and as far as I'm concerned the behaviour of the media is an assault on our democracy that can never be forgotten or forgiven. And as for Scheer he has never looked more out of control and never looked less like a Canadian politician. He knows this fake scandal is the last big chance he'll have to destroy Justin Trudeau before the election , he's flailing away in every direction. But if anybody should be charged by the police it's Scheer for whipping up hatred against Trudeau, at a time when the Prime Minister has been flooded with death threats. It's criminal behaviour and if he can call the police, so can we....

Simon said...

Hi anon@8:02 PM...I can't do anything about Kinsella. I have no influence with the administrators of Progressive Bloggers. They don't listen to me, and if I complained, they would probably expel me rather than Kinsella. So my advice is simply to pretend he isn't there....

Simon said...

Hi anon@1:14AM...As I mentioned above Kinsella isn't going anywhere, so you can either ignore him, or as you suggest watch him wither on the vine. But one thing is for sure, he has gone way out on a limb, and if or when that limb collapses, he's going to look awfully foolish and very much of a loser. As for JWR I have no time for her at all. When she was appointed Justice Minister I was delighted, but now I am totally disgusted...

Simon said...

Hi Steve....I was tempted to reply to your prose poem in an equally poetic manner, but I'm too beat to do that, so I'll just say that Inagree with you, at least up to a point. I still believe that bribery should be against the law. But we should also recognize that greasing palms is the price of doing business in some countries. But here's the thing, SNC-Lavalin has been punished and will probably be punished some more for what it's representatives did in Libya which as we all know was a nexus of corruption. And it will still be punished if it gets a DPA.. All they will get out of it is a chance to bid on new public contracts instead of being banned from bidding on them for ten years....

Simon said...

Hi John...Trump as befitting the big boss of a crime family takes it way too far. But some of what he says does make sense. If we try to behave like Boy Scouts in places where corruption is endemic we will end up feeling virtuous but also very poor. And should one of our companies get convicted of some crime, not having a DPA when other countries do, will make us uncompetitive and again make us a poorer country. I myself could never engage in bribery, but then that's why my family failed so miserably to get me to become a business person and I'm not complaining...😉

Simon said...

Hi anon....I have to admit that while I am angry I have also been saddened by the JWR saga. I had hoped that her term as justice minister would be a success and a great role model for young indigenous people. But as we all know it didn't work out that way. Trudeau clearly chose the wrong person, and I fear this is going to get worse before it gets better...

Simon said...

Hi salamander...I don't control the comments, but quite frankly I find them quite tame compared to the Con ugliness out there. And I don't have anything to apologize for in my post. How do you know that Trudeau has "blundered badly?" Do you believe JWR more than you believe him? Because I don't. As I've said many times I was very happy when an indigenous woman was appointed Justice Minister, but that does not mean that because she is an indigenous woman she should be held to a lower standard. I have come to believe that she was a lousy Justice Minister and has an axe to grind because she was rightfully replaced. And if Scheer is elected prime minister it will not be because of Trudeau or me, but because of people like you, who deep down inside could never accept the leader of a new and better generation...

e.a.f. said...

I support JWR. however, she did have the option of standing up in a Cabinet meeting and telling them all to STFU. Having worked in a political and staff environment, I know its difficult sometimes to stand up and say, I'm not doing it, etc. But you can and that is frequently the end of it. Some people I knew would tell those further up the food chain, if that is what you want me to do, put it in writing and sign it. That was usually the end of things.
Of course none of us are JWR and none of us can know her feelings. She did what she was right and I support her in this. Really would like to know where Fife got his story though.

e.a.f. said...

We may not like what he has to say, but we are a Freedom of Speech country, so leave him on. Insisting he be removed says more about us, than him.

Susan Easterbrook said...

When she said, “I come from a long line of matriarchs and I am a truth teller in accordance with the laws and traditions of our Big House — this is who I am and who I will always be.” my question is, who's laws was she referring to, Indigenous laws and traditions or the laws of Canada?

Indigenous laws and traditions are focused on nature and the Peoples responsibility to nature whereas, Canadian Laws are upheld by our Constitution.

Indigenous Peoples often refer to Canadian laws as Colonial Laws that have failed Indigenous Peoples.

Unknown said...

Regardless, in all this distraction, there is a move by the feds to fast track the framework on Indigenous People which is not going to work well.