I shouldn't really be blogging. My right hand is in a cast, I can't write properly with my other hand, and the pain killers are making me woozy.
But I would be in even more pain if I didn't write something about the latest chapter in the fake scandal.
Because it must surely horrify every decent Canadian.
For not only is it now crystal clear that Jody Wilson-Raybould and her accomplice Jane Philpott are trying to destroy Justin Trudeau, by posing as the defenders of democracy.
When as Neil Macdonald writes they are just two politicians playing a dirty game.
Perhaps Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott are acting entirely on principle, laying their bodies across the tracks to protect our democracy and rule of law. Perhaps.
In any case, Philpott and Wilson-Raybould are politicians who are being treated as though they aren't politicians, which is every politician's lustiest dream.
Certainly, the two of them have co-ordinated a most politician-like attack on their party leader. I've been in this dodge 43 years now, and I have never seen such exquisite destruction and perfectly timed execution.
And while that is outrageous, this is absolutely unforgivable.
Relations between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and then-Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould first began to fray in 2017 over concerns about her choice to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Canada.
A year before cabinet discussions about a plea deal for Quebec engineering company SNC-Lavalin, Trudeau and Wilson-Raybould disagreed about her recommendation of Manitoba Justice Glenn D. Joyal, sources familiar with the matter tell CTV News.
Trudeau was concerned that Joyal wasn’t committed to protecting rights that have flown out of interpretation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, particularly LGBTQ2 rights and even abortion access, neither of which are specifically enshrined in the Charter.
And the day Wilson-Raybould's mask finally fell off.
For while writing a 60-page memo to Trudeau recommending that Joyal be made Chief Justice, even though he wasn't a member of the Supreme Court was bizarre enough.
Recommending him despite his views on the Charter is simply beyond the pale.
The Prime Minister’s Office was concerned about views Joyal expressed in a speech to the Canadian Constitution Foundation’s Law and Freedom Conference in the January 2017, in which he discussed about the way courts were interpreting the Charter, ushered in by Trudeau’s father.
“It may be one of the bitter ironies of Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s Nation Building strategy of the 1980s, that despite the celebration and promotion of the Charter, it has led to an institutional imbalance that dilutes a source of Canadian distinctiveness,” he said in the speech.
His speech raised concerns that Joyal, if appointed, would be less willing to protect rights that are based on a broader interpretation of the Charter.
The good old boys in the Con media, and other toxic Trudeau haters, are of course outraged by all of this, denouncing the anonymous leak that led to those revelations, after having said nothing about the one that started the fake scandal.
With the Con fluffer Paul Wells even going so far as to declare that Stephen Harper had more class than Justin Trudeau, as only he could.
But as Neil Macdonald points out, it's the parliamentary press gallery that should be asking itself some hard questions after treating the two women as if they were saints rather than conniving politicians.
Instead of treating the Philpott/Wilson-Raybould moves as a power play, which is pretty clearly what they are, reporters have been swept along in the blast waves the duo created with their resignations and declarations. And please, let's stipulate that they are indeed a duo, not two ingenues who never imagined their principled actions would cause this sort of uproar.
And he sums up the situation like this:
I found Sheila Copps's old-school advice to Trudeau more realistic: They're dangerous. Get rid of them.
At the very least, Wilson-Raybould and Philpott are now objective allies of the Opposition, and any sensible leader would treat them as such. Jean Chrétien absolutely would. Andrew Scheer too, I'd bet.
While I summed up the situation like this:
If Jody Wilson-Raybould went to extraordinary lengths to try to appoint a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who hated the way the Charter had protected the rights of women and LGBT Canadians, she should resign tomorrow. Period. https://t.co/XTqSxliD3N— 🇨🇦 Simon 🏴🍀 (@montrealsimon) March 26, 2019
At the end of the day I must admit, I still have no idea what those two scummy plotters are up to, and who the hell they think they are.
But what I do know is that we've heard more than enough from them.
And that the tumour must be removed before it helps kill this country...
This has already blown up in Trudeau's face. It turns out that Joyal had already withdrawn his application to the Supreme Court because wife had gotten really bad cancer. So this now looks dishonest and even cruel.
ReplyDeleteNot that it matters in a sense, as long as Trudeau keeps them in cacus they are still linked to the Liberal brand, so any shots at them burns the brand whether or not it lands.
And Trudeau is refusing to boot them, which leaves him looking weak, he not the master of his own house, he's starting to look as weak as Prime Minister Theresa May. Voters don't forgive this kind of weakness.
And he is quickly running out of time to turn this around.
The truth is the Liberals are eating themselves from within and their rebuilt brand is in tatters again.
This means only Jagmeet Singh is proressives only hope to stop Scheer, because Jagmeet is clean as a whistle, so if a big NDP-Liberal swing voters switch happens he has a shot of winning.
Keep choking that "Prime Minister Singh" chicken. The NDP is flat broke and has already lost untold numbers of incumbents to retirement. Québec won't vote for a guy in a turban and the only thing they'll do otherwise is split the vote. You sound like a Bernie Bro. I just find it sad that Trudeau ends up knifed front and back for being the only one with actual integrity. Even sadder that the media hacks hate him so irrationally and have such a pathological case of Clinton -- er, Trudeau Derangement Syndrome that they gleefully lapped up Brutus and Cassius' bullshit. Caesar himself said, "people willingly believe what they wish to be true." Well, Brutus and Cassius would take care to note that Chrétien ended up facing the same fate at the hands of Martin. Karma is a bitch and so are they.
DeleteHi Gyor.. sorry wrong on all counts. The question of whether Joyal’s wife had cancer is tragic but irrelevant. What counts is that JWR wrote a SIXTY page memo recommending Joyal be made Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Secondly, although Trudeau has so far refused to boot the two connivers, I think it’s just a question of giving them enough rope to hang themselves. And thirdly, according to the latest Nanos poll the Liberals are only two points behind the Cons, Trudeau is still the preferred Prime Minister, and Jagmeet and the NDP are so low in the polls you would need a microscope to find them. Jagmeet is only preferred as PM by EIGHT percent of those surveyed which means that even many NDP members don’t want him. Now which party is unravelling?
DeleteHi Simon, great reply. I don't know what Gyor's issue is, other than he really, REALLY is caught up in his own fantasy of the bankrupt and now complicit NDP forming government. And he sounds like one of the "toxic Trudeau haters" posing as progressives you often mention here.
DeleteI forgot to mention I saw this recently from Chantal about the Liberals' tenacious campaign to make inroads into places where the NDP is vulnerable. The Doug Ford factor in Ontario comes up as an issue in her analysis as well. If there's one thing to be said of Trudeau, it's that he really is a fighter. He's not giving up so easily. He's working overtime, tooth-and-nail for every seat. I don't know how that could ever be interpreted as weak. Tru Grit.
https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/2019/03/25/liberal-path-to-re-election-runs-through-ndp-territory.html
Yes on that one, Simon. I'll say on your comment on the NDP, that the lefties yanked on that string in the midst of their intolerable differences with Angry Tom. They were so intent on yanking it that they forgot what was holding up their pants.
DeleteHi Jackie....Thank you. I have made it one of my missions in life to try to rescue Gyor from Fantasy Island, As a former NDP supporter I still have a lot of friends like him. But like Gyor some of them now spend more time hoping something bad happens to Trudeau, instead of trying to attract voters with a new and improved progressive vision. And that's where we part company...
DeleteHi John...yes, I've been saddened by the present state of the NDP. I have always dreamed of uniting the left, which would finish off the Cons once and for all. But the NDP has become so bitter since the last election I sometimes have trouble telling them apart from the Cons. And Worse I sometimes get the impression that many of them would rather see the Cons win rather than the Liberals.Which is very depressing...
DeleteJackie Blue, 3:00 p.m. the comments regarding Singh are, in my opinion, a tad over the top. what keeps Canada's political system sane, is there are alternatives if you don't want to vote Liberal. We have 5 federal parties and then another in Quebec. it makes for a more progressive political scene. Your dislike for Singh, is just a tad over top, for some one proporting to be a progressive. In Canada, as I've written before, many switch between the federal Liberals and the NDP. Slagging the current leader of the NDP is something I see coming from a Conservative supporter, not some one who is a progressive. I may not be a federal Liberal or Green, but both parties have my support, if not vote. If Trudeau comes into office again in a minority government he is going to need the support of the Greens, NDP, and perhaps the Bloc. Its always good to continue to be "nice".
DeleteWriting Quebec won't vote for a guy in a turban, is really a tad over the top. it leaves me with the impression a turban isn't a good thing. Now its true, there are many who won't vote for a practising Sikh in Quebec, just as in other provinces. However, if you have a look at our demographics out here in B.C., no problem in a lot of ridings. You have seen our Minister of Defense haven't you. I would not be surprised if this time the Greens picked up votes in Quebec.
Simon and Jackie Blue, Gyor does not live in Fantasy Land. this is still a democracy and he has a different vision of this country, as do any number of others. Its why its a democracy. Trudeau has been doing a decent job of things. That doesn't make him Jesus, even if he was born on Christmas Day. it is never good to have one party have a massive advantage over another party. it isn't good for democracy and makes good parties lazy. it makes some corrupt. we do remember the sponsorship scandal do we not and no one can forget all the fun and games which went on during Brian Mulroney's reign. Governments are at their best if they are kept on their toes and that is what the NDP historically did. It wasn't until Jack Layton that the party gained official opposition status. If you look at the history of the NDP you will see that they have kept the federal Liberals in office and it benefitted Canadians. With out that situation, who knows when we would have obtained a national health care system. It wasn't as if the federal Liberals were going to do it willingly.
DeleteIn your attempt to vilify the NDP and Singh, you forget, if Trudeau suddenly disappear from the Liberal party, what would it be like, who would take over, would it be like another Paul Martin government. without parties like the Bloc, Greens and NDP, we'd simply have a version of corporate and corporate light. Do remember who the supporters are of the federal Liberals.
People seem to forget it is the job of other political parties to act as opposition. they aren't there as cheer leaders for the ruling party.
what you sound like is the "cult of Trudeau". that is not good for democracy.
They are quite the bunch...I can not believe even Lisa Raitt was at the infamous luncheon .. What were they thinking
DeleteWhile they still have a way to go, both Jackie and Simon have obviously failed to notice is it's the NDP making up ground at the expense of the Liberals. Matter of fact I could help the Liberal supporters across social media have gone from hoping for vote splitting between the CPC and PPC to breaking out the time honored Liberal tactic of telling NDP and Green supporters their vote is a wasted vote and will only serve to split the vote and the Cons will win.
DeleteAs for angry, a hater posing as a progressive, Jackie need look no further than in her mirror.
Wishes for a full and speedy recovery for Simon.
Great article from Neil, and good to see he did slam the hack journos this time around. Geez, between this crank judge and Jody's daddy, do these Cons and their mouthpieces ever stop railing against Pierre? This has reached Trump vs. McCain levels of fighting against a ghost. Now it's even more of a Caesar story! His son gets backstabbed (albeit during the Ides of February) and he haunts the chamber in an election year that would have brought about the old man's centennial!
ReplyDeleteBrutus and Cassius need to be kicked out, and their aiders and abetters -- especially those in the "fake news, failing loser, lying press" publicly shamed. Start exposing Kinsella's role in all this. Enough is enough. Hopefully something will force the young Caesar's hand. These two are traitors. They need to go. They're worse than Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.
Thanks for stopping in Simon, despite your injury. You're a fighter, that's for sure. Rest up and take care of yourself as much as you need. We're going to need all the support we can get.
What's up with Lisa Kinsella and the affidavit signed by Warren? Weird. It's amusing to see Wells, Coyne, Urback, Wente, and Fife whining about the JWR leak while they applauded the anonymous leak against Trudeau. Fife and the G&M need to be publicly shamed, humiliated, and excoriated for running a story based on a single anonymous source. As MS stated Libs starting to recover in the polls. It's 35-33. This tells me that even after nearly two months of near wall to wall SNC coverage and the demeaning of Trudeau Canadians aren't flocking to the Cons.
Deleteshaming and humiliating people is never a good thing to do. It doesn't make a better society, simply a more vengeful one. Those types of tactics may play well in other countries, such as the USA, but its very un Canadian.
DeleteLisa and Warren Kinsella are unhappy, I suspect because they aren't on the S.S. Trudeau. They'll get over it.
The American tribalism has not taken over in Canada to the extent it has in the U.S.A. and part of the reason, is that we don't always attack each other in the manner Americans do. That extends to politicians also. The ability to continue to see people in other political parties as friends is essential to continuing to be a "civilized' country.
Hi Jackie...thanks, I'm actually doing much better than I thought I would be. I can already move my fingers, and in a week I should be as good as new. In the meantime I may spend more time on Twitter than I do on blogger, since It's so much easier. But I will keep blogging, even if I have to get Seb to take dictation...😉
DeleteHi anon@5:40 PM...I believe that some people have accused the Kinsellas of running the two conniver's campaign. I don't believe that myself, I think the two women are making it up as they go along. But Warren is obsessed with bringing down Trudeau so he's providing a streaky stream of free Twitter propaganda. And you're right, the fact that Trudeau and the Liberals are still holding their own after all that negative Con media coverage, is a very good sign. Canadians are not that easily fooled, and the Con media is not as influential as it thinks it is,,l
DeleteDear Simon, what on earth happened? Wishing you well.
DeleteAs for Jackieblue, kindly fuck off with your hatred of the left and your deep misunderstanding of political and historical differences between the Canadian state and the US.
Hi lagatta...I was painting the keel of a friend's sailing boat when instead of moving the ladder I stretched out to paint something, and the ladder tipped sending me flying to the ground. I sprained my right wrist and now must wear a brace for weeks, it's really annoying since It is quite painful and I'm not very good with my left hand. But what can you do? Now on the other matter, please don't start cussing Jackie in such a manner. Like you she is a strong passionate progressive, and I love you both. So please feel feel free to debate each other, but keep the rude words out of it. I'm in enough pain already...
DeleteHi Simon,
DeleteI did the same this in a cycling crash but luckily to my left hand. I was going to suggest a secretary or dictation. I am sure seb would be delighted.
More serious dictation software but the hand might be okay before you mastered the software. Anyway Voice to Text.
Keep up the good work, Simon! I hope you're better soon.
ReplyDeleteUU
Hi UU....thank you for your good wishes, and don't worry I don't just have a hard head, the rest of me is pretty tough too....🤕
DeleteYou're a trooper Simon and thanks for the update. The witches of centre block are getting painted into a corner of their own making and it's just a matter of time before their scheming ways come full circle. When all's said and done they'll be lucky to ever get another high paying job, ever. Jody at a law firm, "Jody! Where's my coffee and reports!? Jane in long term care,"Orderly! Diaper change in room 7!"
ReplyDeleteNow what was that you had to say, J&J?
JD
Hi JD...Thank you, as soon as I saw the latest chapter of the fake scandal I just had to write something. As you know I have always believed that it was a fake scandal, and by the time it's over the two conniver's or the two Connies are going to regret turning this country upside down for two months. That would be bad enough at anytime, but when we're only seven months away from a critical election it's practically criminal...
DeleteSimon, thank you for the post. However, do not over do the typing. Rest. Find some one else to do the typing while you dictate. Its much easier. Oh, you maybe too young to remember when there were people who took dictation. Oh, well there were, so take care of the body. Its the only one you get.
ReplyDeleteHI e.a.f...thank you and don't worry, I'm always looking for an excuse to be lazy. As I told Jackie I could get Sebastien to take dictation. But since he's a francophone, and not familiar with much of the stuff I write about, the result could disastrous and worse than auto correct...😳
DeleteI remember the Joyal speech. It might as well have been written by Tubby Black and Faith Goldy. What a good thing for Canada that his ass was kicked. The fact that he is an anti Canadian dorkface and that his wife is sick are not at all related.
ReplyDeleteOn another topic, thanks Simon ; with only one hand you outthink most of the chattering class.
I recall when the other CPC - the Communist Party of Canada - endorsed the NDP during an ancient election. . The kiss of death then.
ReplyDeleteAR
HI rumleyfips...You got to hear the speech? That's amazing and good to hear since the poobahs in the Con media are trying to make Joyal sound like a martyr. And I agree we need a judge like him like we need a hole in the head. And thank you for that kind comment, You are too generous, but after twelve years of blogging nobody can accuse me of not trying to do my best to rid us of the Con menace...
ReplyDeleteWell past the best before date and emitting a vaguely familiar rancid smell, time for the compost bin!
ReplyDeleteRt
HI RT...One can only hope, but late last night I saw a press release from JWR announcing that her e-mails, texts, etc will be released today so the farce continues...
DeleteSo nice to read your post Simon and thank you so much for writing with your injury!!! I and so many others look to your blog first thing every morning! You’ve a large fan club! All united to try and save this country from Con ruin. I forward your blog to others and hope it gets sent on in an attempt to wake people up to the dangerous ideology of the insurance salesman and his fellow morons in the con tribe. Canada will take a long time to recover should they find power thanks to the 2 traitor mean girls. What the h. Is their ‘end game’?? It’s painful watching this and I wonder WHY Trudeau sticks by them? All the best Simon for a speedy recovery! Love your work. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi anon...Thank you for your kind words. I had no ideas I had a fan club, let alone a large one. But I have been moved by all the get well messages I have received,, and I very much like the idea of us all working together to keep our country out of the hands of the grubby Scheer gang. As for the two connivers or the two Connies as I have started calling them, I still don't know what their end game is, apart from trying to bring Justin Trudeau down. It's insane since he is the only one who can defeat the Cons, but an eight-week fake scandal is insane too, and like many Canadians I am totally sick of this ridiculous situation. We have so many other things we should be talking about, but everything is consumed by somerhing that should never have been a scandal in the first place. Thanks again for your good wishes, and all the best....
DeleteThe panel on this morning's Current lad featured interesting sub texts.
ReplyDeleteThere was no faux outrage about the Ethics Committee meeting. The pundits must be getting shy about being sucked in by JWR/JP. Marty admitted that SNC L did in fact bring the spectre of 9000 lost jobs to the cabinet table. He didn't admit that both Trudeau and Butts were telling the truth but he carefully avoided any further discussion. Kady told a sad story about how angry the whole caucus was at the two connies. She implied that the whole thing is uniting the party behind Trudeau. Either Kady or Katie thought that JWR has little left to say and the time has come to end it.
watched Pam Palmater on CBC discussing the ongoing saga. She was surprised regarding the allegations of JWR wanting to appoint Joyal to the Supreme Court of Canada, let alone the Chief Justice position. Palmater's comment included Joyal being they most disliked Judge by the Indigenous community because he was considered the most anti Indigenous Judge in Manitoba. Palmater was shocked regarding the allegation. My concern would be, given Palmater's comments, did JWR really want Joyal on the Supreme Court or is that something some one is tossing out there. Palmater ran as a Liberal candidate (unsuccessful) in the last federal election.
ReplyDeleteI'm still of the opinion, lets move it along here folks. there are more pressing issues in the country.
There's no shortage of minority-identified individuals with an "I got mine, screw you" mentality stabbing their own communities or teams in the back several times over. Clarence Thomas comes to mind. Or Susan Collins voting to confirm Kavanaugh. I don't see why it's unfathomable that JWR would write a glowing recommendation for a bigot like Joyal. Another "my way or the highway" authoritarian dickbag who wants to rip up and shit all over everything Canada stands for and who evidently has a grudge against Pierre just like Jody's daddy. 60 pages isn't exactly a lukewarm endorsement, a drive-by Amazon review. She's as toxic as he is, a snake in the grass. Get her out.
Deletecomparing JWR to Susan Collins is a bit too much. Calling JWR names isn't on. Its rude and divisive. One has to wonder why you are writing in such a divisive manner. Just because some one disagrees with Trudeau, does not make them a bad Canadian, a bad person, a bad Liberal. The comments you use to refer to JWR are vitriolic and unnecessary. You have no way of knowing whether JWR does or does not have a "grudge" against Trudeau. to suggest she does is irresponsible and something I'd expect from a Russian troll, not an alleged progressive.
DeleteWhen referring to "Jody's daddy", perhaps you could give him the dignity of using his name. perhaps you don't want to extend him that dignity because he is Indigenous. I just don't know. People, when they are angry with Indigenous people tend to objectify them, such as using terms instead of their names.
I know who Bill Wilson is, not personally, but I've seen his work going back decades. I do know people who did work with him and had the utmost respect for him. He disagreed with Trudeau Sr. because he had another vision for the Indigenous people of this country. That vision still has not been accomplished, fulfilled. Unless you have lived as an Indigenous person in this country, you really don't know what it is like.
JWR and Bill Wilson are not toxic nor are they snakes in the grass. What you are writing in regards to them, is the way trolls start to knock off one or two people at a time to destroy a party. In the last federal election the Indigenous community, especially young people worked hard to register members of their community, got out the vote. Comments like yours will only turn them off. So I really don't know what or who you are, an over zealous progressive or a troll attempting to sow dissent amongst the progressives while attacking Indigenous people.
"JWR and Bill Wilson are not toxic nor are they snakes in the grass."
DeleteWrong. Given her audacity to remain seated as a Liberal MP while simultaneously slithering around trying to destroy JT and the Liberals is not only toxic, it's destroyed her own credibility while she attempts to destroy JT's. Her disturbing attempt to avenge losing her coveted job at Justice suggests she has serious mental issues that need to be dealt with. I suggest she leave the caucus and seek help for her disgruntled employee syndrome because everyday another embarrassing leak emerges that point to an incompetent justice minister who clearly wasn't ready for such a task. If you doubt this then ask the guy who spent an extra year and a half in jail for a crime he did not commit because Jody was just too busy to deal with his file.
JWR can clearly do no wrong in your universe and it's your right to defend her but it's also our right to attack someone who's doing her damndest to help elect the worst possible choice, Scheer as PM.
JD
There still is no evidence JWR leaked the information to the press. In the latest "leak" concerning Joyal, both JWR and the P.M.'s office have said they didn't leak it. why would you wish to think JWR did it?
DeleteJWR was elected as a Liberal and she is to be commended for continuing to sit as a Liberal. Many walk away from their party during disagreements and sit with another party, which upsets the people who voted for the politician.
Suggesting JWR has serious mental issues, is a bit over the top. More like some one in attack mode who is out to destroy a good and decent Liberal M.P.
Ah, you are making decisions regarding me, without evidence or facts. I am simply presenting another point of view, shared by many here in B.C. who know a great deal more about JWR and Bill Wilson than people in other parts of Canada. Have a very good look at the Indigenous vote in the last election, you know the one which made Trudeau P.M. Attacks on JWR may cause Indigenous people to sit the next one out. JWR is giving her side of the story. Its what we do in democracies and that is how country remain democracies. there are many out here in B. C. who think SNC is a corrupt corporation and ought to be out of business when it comes to any form of government contract here in Canada.
So would some of you please stop acting like Russian trolls. I haven't attacked Trudeau or the Liberals. it is these types of disagreements which eventually cause people to walk away and vote for another party and in this case it may be either the Greens or NDP and in Quebec you can add the Bloc. people who did not vote Conservative previously will not now desert the federal Liberals and vote Conservative. You may find people who once voted Conservative and then voted for Trudeau last time go back to the Conservatives. Not because of any "scandal" but the in fighting, such as yours.
as I've written previously, we have other things to deal with in this country besides a disagreement between JWR and Trudeau. It is doubtful Trudeau has done anything wrong, but at the rate people are going, I'm sure several other countries, think this is all swell, the progressives "fighting" amongst themselves. those who really would like to see Scheer as P.M. are people like Trump, Putin, Xi, Crown Prince of S.A..
I probably am a bit too suspicious but was it not JWR who signed off on Meng Wanzhou's detention or at least did not cancel it?
ReplyDeleteI believe that Trudeau knew about it but would he have been adequately briefed on its possible consequences? CEOs, PMs and Presidents are not usually stupid[1] but they suffer constant information overload.
He may well have been ambushed, not understanding just who Meng is.
I must stop this or I'll soon sound like an MSNBC commentator.
1. Donald Trump and Theresa May being apparent exceptions
Under the Treaty Canada has with the U.S.A. we had no alternative but to proceed as Canada did. Trudeau is not stupid and he would have known about Meng, who she is, and what and who she represents. Meng is one of the most famous in China and if you live in Vancouver, you know who the famous people in China are. Just about every one who is in government and/or business in the country and elsewhere knows who Ms. Meng is. She in fact lived in Vancouver for a number of years.
DeleteTrudeau isn't that stupid he'd be ambushed in with a trick like that. He knows the law. He understands Treaties. Canada did the right thing. It will be up to a judge. the fact the U.S.A. may be doing this for political leverage with China is a whole other matter.
Trudeau understands he did the right thing and in some places in the world, it will be noticed. perhaps not in China, Russian, U.S.A., Saudi Arabia, etc. We ought to remember the U.S.A. is the one who decided to break a treaty the west signed with Iran, without proof. Not a good way to go. Canada can be relied upon to uphold its international treaties.
@ e.a.f
DeleteOnce Meng was in the country, I agree totally. I just wondered if somehow a diplomatic word might have been dropped in Beijing before she arrived.
It is doubtful. Canada's links with China aren't that close and if the Chinese had known Meng was going to be arrested by anyone, anywhere she would never have gotten on that jet. If they thought she was going to be arrested, she would have used a private jet straight to Mexico and no one would have been the wiser. Private jets move all over the world all the time, with many none the wiser as to who is on them.
DeleteArresting Ms. Meng is akin to arresting Melissa Gates, Bill Gates' wife. Don't know how it was portrayed in other parts of Canada, but in B.C. it was huge news. There were people of Chinese descent, or recent arrivals from China outside the court house protesting. When Ms. Meng was finally released, the Consular officials were at her home, in Dunbar, with huge gift baskets.
Wasn't keen on how Ms. Meng was treated. Keeping her in jail over that last weekend, wasn't necessary. In my opinion the whole affair was a set up by the americans. My concern is that China hasn't aimed their anger at the Americans, but rather Canada. Its why I truly wonder what is up. In between it would not be surprising if a few over enthusiastic immigration officials thought this might be fun or demonstrate their expertise in hopes of gaining a promotion on the next competition board. They had Ms. Meng in for questioning for 3 hours and she turned over all her computers, phones, etc. She might have viewed it simply as one of those situations where the 100th person through get the "treatment". Then they arrested her. Not appropriate. they knew she was going to be arrested when they took her out of line for questioning.
it has crossed my mind this maybe a way for the U.S.A. to signal to others in the world, this is what will happen to your corporate people if you don't stop doing business with Iran. Remember a number of the European countries do not want to stop doing business with Iran. its no worse than Saudi Arabia, as a matter of fact its more liberal than S. A. some other countries.
At one point I suspected it might have been a squeeze play by China and the U.S.A. but then came back from their idea because there is no way China would have put Ms. Meng in this position unless perhaps they wanted to put the squeeze on her Father and his company. Xi is more of a Maoist than a Dengist, when it comes to ruling the country. Xi will try to bring some of the huge private corporations under more government control and expect to see huge government corporations being given more advantages than private ones. Given all the games which may or not being played Canada has played the only hand they could have.
It was big here in Ontario but not huge. I had not realized the explosive effect in BC.
DeleteI may be cynicial but it seems a straight-foreword stupid idea by the Americans to put pressure on China either in the general trade-war or the more concentrated 5G networks fight at the moment.
You may not have seen anything about this https://indianpunchline.com/us-lacerates-chinas-uighur-wound/ but it seems much of the same. I guess no one has told the US regime that fighting a two-front war is not a good idea and a 3-D war is even worse.
a 60 page memo, seriously. Thats two terms for Trump or weak andy to read it.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking I had seen master's theses that long. As I noted earlier, CEOs, PMs and Presidents are not usually stupid[1] but they suffer constant information overload.
DeleteA sixty page memeo for the PM sounds mad. I am not sure but it sounds like it should have been something like a cab doc.
jrkrideau you most likely have never worked for the government or an organization affiliated with the government.
DeleteSimon - read this: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1106335674066558976.html?fbclid=IwAR1nnCI0n7wRlbIE2Ipty0cfYws37I4CwVhtpmxtepdYo6lvk6A_63tV2tc
ReplyDeleteGiven this evening's news here in B.C., I'd suggest JWR's mask hasn't fallen off but the Clerk of the Privy Council's has. The tape is clear.
ReplyDeleteMany may not be happy with JWR taping the conversation, but she was alone on the phone with the Clerk of the Privy Council. She was legally permitted to do so. Now we all know what went on. It is clear there was pressure on her. Even when she gave her advise, its clear, the Clerk of the Privy council wasn't interested in hearing it because its not what his boss wanted.
We also now have heard SNC was threatening to pull parts of their corporation out of Canada if they didn't get their DAP. Well let me help them pack their suitcases. there are other engineering firms who can pick up the slack when they leave.
Given all of this we now need to get ready for the election without attacking members of the Liberal party or those who voice their democratically provided for opinions, i.e. Greens, NDP, Bloc. They along with the Conservatives are the opposition and opposition party's are supposed to oppose. Now many of us are of the opinion the Conservative Party of Canada, doesn't have the interests of the 99%ers at heart, but still it is the right of people to vote for them. Its still a democracy.
So.... Reading about the sponsorship scandal and all the cast of characters. I maintain that Trudeau himself, like Jean Chrétien before him, is not guilty of anything. If anything there is an erosion of trust and communications all over the place, as apparently Wernick didn't even bring up this conversation with Trudeau. No, what Trudeau is, is caught up in a rat's nest of dirty politics and personality clashes, which seems to be a feature, rather than a bug in Canada. Chicago as a country. For whatever reason, the Liberals seem predisposed to self-cannibalism. Chrétien knifed Turner, Martin knifed Chrétien and now Trudeau gets knifed -- again, like Caesar -- by not one but two, JWR and Philpott (with Kinsella's help). If the party doesn't end up dissolved as a result of this mess, they really need to get into some group therapy to stop eating their own.
ReplyDeleteJustin didn't ask for this "Dems in disarray" crap. He is surrounded by bad advice, self-interested opportunists, bad-faith actors, a sea of sharks, and a media apparatus acting as the official propaganda arm of the Conservatives and engaging in the kind of character assassination more befitting of the British tabloids. He, personally, is a victim here of manifold factors including an apparently chaotic PMO, and the only reason people refuse to see that is because of Trudeau Derangement Syndrome. He is not the cartoon villain his detractors make him out to be. Perhaps politics just wasn't for him after all, and he should have stuck to his gut instinct to stay a schoolteacher and avoid the family business, as Chelsea Clinton has. Or maybe he'll reflect on this as a crash course in the bloodthirsty nature of political animals eating themselves and each other, and be happy to be out of the zoo. He got reluctantly drafted and now he goes down on the battlefield, a casualty of friendly fire which turned out not to be so friendly. The captain always goes down with the ship, but unfortunately it seems Trudeau hit an iceberg in the midst of a mutiny.
The October election is a wash and Canadians are going to have to shit their Trump out of the bowels like we are. But literally all I care about here is that he clears his own name and that his legacy is not one of "Crooked Hillary," Nixon of the North (JWR's preposterous and hyperbolic characterization of him), a political failure, and a pariah in his own country. My deeper concern is Scheer weaponizing the RCMP and the refugee-friendly Trudeau having to flee Canada and become a refugee himself. The one silver lining is the passage of time. Chrétien rebounded his public image. Adolf Harper never will, except in the demented minds of Con partisan hacks. Hopefully time and political amnesia heals all wounds and that Trudeau, who is only in his late forties and has his whole life ahead of him yet, will too.
I can't wait to read his book that will inevitably come of all this. Maybe he'll take the time off to clear his head and study Chrétien's -- or Hillary Clinton's. Godspeed, Justin, and may the Force always be with him. Every so often the Empire strikes back but eventually, given enough rope and fumes to run out of, it strikes out.