John Chuckman

COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN CBC NEWS

 

“How Pierre Trudeau survived a minority government – and how Justin Trudeau can do the same”

 

I’m sorry but that is a superficial parallel that does not take account of major differences.

Pierre Trudeau was a highly intelligent, tough, and independent-minded leader with something real to offer Canada.

His final list of accomplishments is impressive and historic. One of our greatest, for sure.

Justin has, in my view, not only embarrassed us, both at home and abroad, but he has no real substantial accomplishments. None.

He has demonstrated no real force of mind or spirit. He not only broke important promises, the whole tone of his government resembled something from an insipid television sitcom. Millennialist mush with no solid thought or dedication.

His frequent appearance in rolled-up sleeves of an expensive, well-pressed dress shirt almost perfectly symbolize the emptiness of his government for me.

That is, when his government is not dealing with the really serious matter of American Neocon policies abroad, ugly stuff which he and his foreign minister have completely embraced.

Justin Trudeau was a truly failed prime minister who did not deserve to be re-elected.

But the other parties didn’t do their jobs and offered weak alternatives, and good old “first past the post” voting – something Trudeau had strongly promised to reform but failed to act on – gave him back a government even with fewer votes than his main opponent. Shabby.

John Chuckman

COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE BY AARON WHERRY IN CBC NEWS

 

“Andrew Scheer’s mid-campaign identity crisis

“From citizenship to same-sex marriage to pre-politics resumés, Scheer is struggling to define his own image”

 

Canada now has a genuine Monty Python skit instead of a national election.

For the two major parties, the only ones with a serious chance of doing anything, we have…

A man with a widely unacknowledged second citizenship and a man who is even susceptible to American conscription if Trump manages to ignite one of the wars he works so hard at [revelations that Conservative Party leader, Andrew Scheer, is a dual American-Canadian citizen by virtue of his father’s American citizenship, an artifact second citizenship common for thousands of Canadians, but also that Scheer has complied, as an adult, with American law to register for conscription].

Talk about embarrassing and demeaning.

And this man even harshly criticized the appointment of a dual citizen as Governor-General some years go, Michaëlle Jean [Ms. Jean later gave up her French citizenship]. So, add a huge, huge serving of hypocrisy to the mix.

Why the hell didn’t the Conservative Party get that all sorted a long time ago? Could it be incompetence?

Our other choice from a major party, Canada’s Liberals, is a man, Justin Trudeau, who has failed at almost every major task he has undertaken for four years – from election reform to relations with China. It’s almost insulting that he is asking to be returned to office.

A man who has embarrassed us with childish behavior abroad.

And now a man we know has had an irresistible compulsion to dress up in blackface for a major portion of his life. We have three occasions documented, and on the last one he was nearly thirty years old.

Oh, but he tells us that he knows in his own heart that he is not prejudiced, even though making fun of a group’s looks has been a significant theme in his life! Simply unbelievable.

Given the weakest NDP candidate in living memory, a decent man but ineffective, and good old Elizabeth May’s Green Party plans to turn Canada into a theme park dedicated to Greta Thunberg, I think I’ll sit this one out. My first time ever doing so.