I must admit, I didn't think that anything our shabby and terribly mediocre Con media said or did, could still shock me.
So I wasn't surprised to see the gassy Vassy Kapelos treating the vaccine delay as yet another fake scandal. And yet another chance to go after Justin Trudeau.In the middle of a deadly pandemic.
I was only mildly disgusted, for Cons will be Cons, and gassy is NOT another word for classy.
But this is absolutely outrageous.
Can you believe it?
The Globe plastering a quote from a deranged anti-Trudeau editorial all over its front page,
While a host of other members of the Con media hummed sympathetically, as if on cue.
And did their best to whip up hatred against the prime minister.
While their corporate bosses demanded that the government go after Facebook and Google or ELSE...
In what can only be described as an attempted coup.
Or a scene right out of a gangster/horror movie...
So it's not surprising that Trudeau has taken a small hit in the latest Abacus poll.
Which is depressing, considering how hard he has worked, managing the epidemic and helping Canadians through some really tough times.
But the good news is that considering the volume of hate directed at him, it could have been a lot worse.
“Delays in the delivery of vaccines appear to have hurt the Liberals. Government approval, the Prime Minister’s image, and vote share are all down over the past few weeks. Simultaneously, negative perceptions of the government’s handling of the vaccination file have risen sharply.
But at the same time, none of the opposition parties seemed to benefit from all of this. Mr. O’Toole’s negatives increased over the same period, and the Conservative vote share didn’t budge an inch. Mr. Singh and the NDP have seen a small uptick in support but nothing that fundamentally changes their position vis-à-vis the Liberals.
For despite all their efforts to smear the decent Trudeau, the Cons, the NDP, and the Bloc are still going NOWHERE.
Which makes the notorious Trudeau hater John Ivison's suggestion, that they should bring down the government, NOW, even more disturbing.
The political implications for the opposition parties are grim. The Liberals are likely to be much more popular in the summer and the fall than they are now.
One option would be to risk a vote of no-confidence at the end of this month, while the government’s winter of discontent is fresh in the public’s memory.
Jagmeet Singh is keen to rehabilitate his reputation, after being labelled Trudeau’s apple polisher when he supported the Liberals in key votes last year.
It is O’Toole who is in the trickiest spot. His Conservative party is becalmed in the polls, despite Trudeau’s problems, while his personal approval rating is at its lowest since becoming leader. It seems that the more people (particularly women) see of him, the less they warm to him.
That is not an ideal backdrop against which to launch an election campaign. Still, his party is in a statistical tie with a government that is bleeding support.
The chance to strike might not come round again.
Disturbing because an election campaign, in the middle of a pandemic, would be practically criminal.
And disturbing because when the National Post's Ottawa Bureau Chief acts like the Con's campaign manager, this whole country is heading for a very bad place.
But then that's what toxic Trudeau hate does to a lot of crazy old Cons...
It makes them even crazier.
You know, I have no idea how Justin Trudeau manages to keep working with so much murderous hatred directed at him and his family...
But I do know something.
I'm going to go after those toxic Trudeau haters harder than I ever have before.
And I'm sure glad a decent Canadian is our prime minister at a terrible time like this one...
Why does the UK (which has double our population) have over 14 percent of it's population vaccinated while we're sitting here at 2.5%?
ReplyDeleteHi anon@7:06 AM....That’s not hard to explain. The UK is a small island, it has an excellent centralized health system, and it obviously has more vaccines at this time than we do. I’m happy for them because my parents have already received their cards letting them know when and where they will be vaccinated. But I must also point out that the UK’s death toll is more than FIVE times our death toll. Our crappy media doesn’t mention that but to me that’s a more important number than the vaccination rollout so far...
ReplyDelete@ anon 7.06
ReplyDeleteThe UK has manufacturing capacity, Canada does not because Guess Who sold it off as non essential years ago. Try comparing Canada with countries that do not have modern nmra vaccine production technology such as Australia for a fair comparison. What else have Cons sold off under the guise of free enterprise that will come back to bite us in the ass? Nuclear technology including medical and environmental is one... sold to the honest SNC who are promoting the idea of burying nuclear waste along the shores of lake Huron. Not to worry investment in all that modern stuff such as guns, oil and monopoly news will save the day!
RT
Trudeau had almost a year to rebuilt enough of our biomanufacturing factories get a vaccine out or failing that to make deals with countries that had that capicity, like Russia. Sorry no excuses are acceptable, if Trudeau can't get the job done, he should resign instead of stealing vaccines from the global poor that Canada will never live down.
DeleteIf there is any silver lining it's exposed what an epic disaster Neo-Liberal economics has been for Canada.
How many countries have vaccine production? We dont have any spaceships, aircraft carriers or nuclear weapons either.
ReplyDeleteThis armchair quarterbacking without a armchair.
By late spring most of the country will be vaccinated and the cons will be left with saying Trudeau killed everyone who has died of corvid because he failed/
Anon 7:06, Simon and RT made great points and I'd like to add that it was Stephen Harper's war on science that saw Canada experience an exodus of top scientists in all science based fields. That's what happened under 10 years of Con autocracy. If you didn't give Harper the "science" that fit his agenda, you were either fired, vilified or had your career and reputation destroyed. That was just one of the many repugnant results of Harper's dictatorship.
ReplyDeleteJD
The media has unleashed an unprecedented attack on JT for something that is entirely beyond his control. Because of this, he's being framed as a failure, over and over again. No wonder his lead has taken a hit. The actual failure is our media lying that somehow manufacturing issues or European political meddling is JT's fault? It's sickening watching them salivate all over each other in trying to condemn him. The Con MSM is the complete utter failure here. They then have the audacity to ask for his help because Google and Facebook aren't paying for their content. My take is who would want to pay for their garbage anyways? I look at it as a plus for me when I cruise Google news because I get to see the "headline" before actually clicking on it and visiting their fake news sites. No clicks equals no money which equals the death of these Con mouthpieces. JT would be an absolute fool if he dares try to help them. Let them go under, it's long overdue. Let the independent journalists of integrity report our news without being told what to write by their Con friendly executives. I'd gladly pay for that. Until then I will do as JT so eloquently told us to do. Ignore the noise, we're on track.
ReplyDeleteJD
What is wrong with us. We are incredibly fortunate to have usable vaccines within a year . We are incredibly fortunate to have been able to buy vaccines in a hyper competitive market where profit and nationalism both work against smaller countries. We are fortunate that the committee struck ( by the gov't ) picked winners : Pfizer, Oxford, Moderna. We are fortunate that vaccines arrived in less than a year and Canadians are being vaccinated.
ReplyDeleteLets face it, even if it hurts: big Pharma ( who everybody hates ) has done an good job. Scientists ( hated by concervatives ) have done a good job. The feds ( hated by many ) have done a good job.
Great article Simon. Thank you!
ReplyDelete1. We need our own production capacity. Not just vaccines. Cars, food, cell phones, clothing, you name it.
2. The (ugly) Con media is jumping up and down and are doing a pretty good job convincing everyone that little 'ol Canada should be top of the list even though we're nobody in the eyes of about 8 billion other people AND that it's Trudeau's fault. It's neither.
3. Just a few months ago, there were LOTS of Cons ranting that the vaccines are poison and that we shouldn't trust them. Which is it?
4. Some areas of Canada have come through wiuth getting key people - elderly, essential workers - vaccinated. So the Con media needs to tell that story too or STFU.
Thanks again. Keep it up :)
One poll does not a trend make. Particularly an Abacus poll which I have always found suspect. Not because they are biased but because they often show these big shifts in their estimates over short time periods. That is wonky because public opinion does not work that way. Big shifts in public opinion happen at glacial speeds, not over days or even weeks. So if public opinion does not work that way but a poll still shows a big shift over a short period of time, is that shift the result of a big change in public opinion or something wonky in the polling methodology? I would put my bitcoin on the methodology.
ReplyDeleteI have always said to ignore the polls and see what the political parties are doing if you want to see how things are going politically. Doing so you are seeing that the Liberals are not trying to change the channel on vaccines. Contrary to what the Mop and Pail stated last week they are not trying to distract Canadians from the slow receipt of vaccines in Canada. They are just doing what needs to be done and they are doing a decent job of keeping us informed of what they are doing. Really, compared to say Doug Ford, can anybody say the Federal government has tried to hide the bad news regarding the slow receipt of vaccines in Canada? I would say it has been the opposite which is not the action of a government that believes it's in trouble.
As for the Opposition parties they have an issue where they can attempt to bring down the government. Is there any hint that they are poised to do so? Have they begun to lay the groundwork for a non-confidence motion? Nope. Indeed, with the exception of Mr. Ivison opining that there might be a very narrow window for the Opposition to bring down the government and replace the Liberals as the governing party, no one on the Opposition side is suggesting we need an election. Indeed, as I argued in a comment on Simon's previous post, I believe the goal of the Opposition parties is to discourage the Liberals from calling an election in the Spring because they believe the outcome would be a majority government for them. It is not lost on them that two minority provincial governments called elections earlier in the pandemic and won majority governments.
The Liberals have handled the pandemic well. They have earned a great deal of goodwill and they have earned the benefit of the doubt from Canadians. The news about the delays in receiving the vaccines will certainly increase the anxiety of Canadians but it will have to continue for some time before it really begins to erode the goodwill the Liberals have accumulated in the last year.
Hi Gyor
ReplyDeleteI am sure in hindsight some decisions could have been better but all things considered especially the fact that we were starting from a weak manufacturing and technology base suggests the government has done a good job. We have a multi channel supply base established and domestic manufacturing is scheduled for mid year.Seems the opposition put WEGhazi far above any supply concerns and now this is more of the same election propaganda at our expense. Comparison to European countries that have manufacturing capabilities and are legally bound together as one trading block is a non starter. A more accurate comparison is Australia where Con mentality rules. To see the future its worthwhile looking at the past and ask if we really want to go back there as the NDP is not a statistically valid option at this point in time> By riding the Con propaganda bandwagon all they can do is usher the Cons into power. Like a Trumpian vampire they might not be so easy to get rid of once they are invited in.
"The government says the problem dates back to a Progressive Conservative government’s decision in the 1980s to sell off the publicly owned Connaught Laboratories, once a player in some of the biggest medical breakthroughs of the 20th century, including the development of penicillin and polio vaccines.
“Within 10 years, Canada’s domestic biomanufacturing ecosystem had eroded,” Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne told MPs this week.
Other shoes began to drop after the Harper government changed how Ottawa funded research and development programs, replacing a program that included life sciences and advanced manufacturing with one that focused on aerospace and defence."
Yea lets hear it for guns and oil!
RT
Hi RT....Are we really selling nuclear technology to SNC? OK that’s it I’m moving !! 😉
ReplyDeleteOf course the media are trying to get an election going so they can get the polling regurgitation industrial complex (pric) going.
ReplyDeleteThe NDP will support the Liberals for a while still, on condition of more monetary help to the towns and individuals. This won't last forever, however, and I can see an election in summer time.
An election during the pandemic will not have us hit the polls, I imagine Elections Canada will send us a code to vote online, and that will be that.
We could still see debates though, but in an online platform at best.
As usual, the filthy cons must be laid low.
Hi Steve...Good question: How many countries have vaccine production? It’s a real horror show. We used to have one of the finest vaccine labs in the world, then the Cons sold it, and now they are attacking the Liberals for not being able to produce any. I can only hope that by late summer this nightmare will be over...
ReplyDeleteHi JD....I think the unfairness of it all is what bothers me the most. Justin Trudeau has done a magnificent job of managing the epidemic, but is being crucified for a temporary production delay for which he is not responsible. The Cons, the NDP, and our shabby media have acted like scummy enemies of Team Canada and their treachery will never be forgotten. Justin Trudeau and his government on the other hand will be remembered for trying to uphold our previous Canadian values, and for me that’s what matters. Your comment reflects how I feel, anger now, victory later...
ReplyDeleteHi Gyor...Sadly you personify what the NDP has become, a bitter party, with shrunken morals, that can only hope to become more popular by smearing others. Justin Trudeau has done nothing wrong, and those who try to bring him down over a short delay in vaccine production, over which he has no control, have shown who they are and it’s not a pretty picture. Vaccine production cannot simply be set up like a production line for any other product, and the Covax vaccines are not just for poor countries. Canada is the second largest contributor to the Covax program, it has the right to take some vaccines for itself like other countries like New Zealand plan on doing. And Trudeau has made it clear that any spare vaccines we buy will be shared with needy countries. So unlike the Cons and your ghastly leader Singh try to show some decency...
ReplyDeleteHi Rumleyfips..l ask myself the same question every day: what is wrong with us? I have never been more ashamed of being a Canadian. I can’t believe that greed has corrupted so many of us. As you say we are so fortunate to have been able to buy so many vaccines in a hyper competitive market, and the vaccines themselves are a scientific miracle for which we should be so grateful. Our government has done well, and is only being attacked by those who would play cheap politics in the midst of a pandemic, and shall for that reason live in infamy forever...
ReplyDeleteHi anon@1:05 PM....Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Like so many I have been battling exhaustion, so I’m glad you have listed some of the many things we should be grateful for. Starting with our heroic medical workers who have saved so many lives and kept our death toll lower than most developed countries like the U.S and the UK. That doesn’t mean that we should not criticize ourselves for any mistakes we may have made, because we can learn from them. But tearing ourselves down for crass political reasons is as low as we can go. And I reject that absolutely..l
ReplyDeleteHi Ottlib...I have more confidence that you have in Abacus, but maybe that’s because I like this latest one. For while it shows a small dent in the Liberal numbers, it shows that most Canadians still have a lot of confidence in the Trudeau government, and that despite all the mudslinging none of the opposition parties are gaining any ground. So as soon as more vaccines start arriving, The Liberals should rebound quickly. I have been following the situation in the UK closely because I am concerned about my parents in Scotland, and although the government there is getting a lot of credit for its vaccination program, the overall situation is much worse than it is here. So I don’t believe the Con media’s ugly campaign will go anywhere, except to discredit them ever further in the eyes of Canadians...
ReplyDelete@ Goyr
ReplyDeleteTrudeau had almost a year to rebuilt enough of our biomanufacturing factories
You may have missed the news but Canada is doing exactly that, using A National Reseach Council facility in Montreal plus something is Saskatcewan.
One does not build a vaccine-producing plant like one slaps together a 4 story apartment building. You need specialized knowledge[1] and access to very specialized equipment---not something one picks up at Costco or Walmart.
Just to complicate matters, mRNA vaccines and adenovirus based vaccines require completely different production methods, equipment, and skills. So the Gov't also has to either built to diametrically different manufacturing facilities or bet on one process that they think we have the best resources to construct and operate.
We can do it but it is not like buying an IKEA kit and a hex wrench.
1. Which we probably do not have since the Harper Gov't shut down sold Connaught Labs.