Wednesday, December 04, 2024

Waving the flag and putting country before party


On Tuesday, Trudeau told the opposition leaders to man up and fly in formation. I think the message was received loud and clear: 
 ...Trudeau met with opposition leaders in his office on Parliament Hill on Tuesday to brief them on the situation as it stands now. 
An official in Trudeau’s office said during the meeting Trudeau stressed the importance of not negotiating against Canada in public, and asked party leaders to state repeatedly and publicly that tariffs will raise the cost of living on both sides of the border. 
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who attended the meeting, said at an afternoon news conference that unity is key among premiers and federal party leaders, because successfully beating back the tariffs is “not going to happen by accident.” 
 “All of us should be putting country before party,” she said. 
... “If that tone that was used in that type of meeting could show up in Parliament, people would have more confidence in us and take us more seriously,” Blanchet told reporters... 
 ...Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre emerged from the meeting appearing to heed Trudeau’s call to stress the impact the tariffs could have on the U.S. economy. 
 “It should be obvious and easy to make these arguments to the Americans, because they would be doing enormous damage to their own economy,” Poilievre told reporters. 
 But he was also highly critical of Trudeau for enacting policies that Poilievre said put Canada into the position it is in now. He said his demands are for Trudeau to fix the “disorder” at the border and the immigration system, as well as reverse economic damages he says were caused by the carbon price and an emissions cap on oil and gas production. 
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said Trudeau told the party leaders that it would be helpful if they “didn’t amplify the kind of messaging and language that the Trump administration is using to attack Canada.” 
 “When you sit around a table, there’s the sense that we’re all here with a shared view and goals that we share as Canadians,” May told reporters. “That said, there were differences in responses as we went around afterwards how much we were willing to say ‘yes, we will do whatever we can as opposition party leaders to avoid giving the Trump administration any sound bites that sound like Canadians agree with Trump.’” ... 
At least Poilievre tried to keep with the program, though he couldn't resist doing some sloganeering either: And regarding Trump's "51st state" comment:

Trump used this 51st State line all the time with Trudeau in his first term. He’s doing it to rattle Canadian cages. When someone wants to you to freak out, don’t. #protip www.foxnews.com/politics/tru...

[image or embed]

— Gerald Butts (@gmbutts.bsky.social) December 3, 2024 at 6:35 AM
Trump also tried to troll Canada on Tuesday.  But it didn't work out very well -- that mountain in his post isn't in BC, it's actually the Matterhorn, in Europe. 
Just another example of Trump's second-rate staff work: I don't think very many of us are going to "Sieg Heil" the Trump administration anytime soon.
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6 comments:

Lorne said...

I doubt very much whether PP will be able to control himself, Cathie. It is not in his nature to be anything other than negative for political gain, the country's best interests be damned.

8:21 am
Anonymous said...

I have a problem with the PM telling the opposition to fly in formation - that's not their job. As the name implies, their job is to oppose and hold the government to account. As much as I dislike PP and suspect he'll be a disastrous PM, his job does not entail holding JT's coat.

Trump's complaints about the border are a transparent attempt to shift blame. The US government is responsible for controlling the entry of people and goods into the US. In fact, Trump and his toadies have spent the last 4 years hammering Biden for failing to do so. But, in 6 weeks or so, border control will be Trump's job and he needs a scapegoat for when he inevitably screws up. Trudeau should have told Trump that it's not our job to control the US border instead of offering helicopters and drones and other resources better spent on serving Canadians.

8:49 am
Cap said...

^^^

8:50 am
Anonymous said...

I have ZERO problem with the PM telling the opposition to fly in formation. They're supposed to be the LOYAL opposition. They can oppose the government of the day all they want--they're not supposed to help foreigners sabotage CANADA. If Poilievre thinks he can make political gains by helping Trump fuck us up, it is nonetheless his duty to NOT do that. If he does do it (which is basically what he was starting to do, and seems to be what his instincts prompt him to do), that's treason.

I think it's perfectly reasonable for the prime minister to tell anyone, leader of an opposing political party or no, not to be a fucking traitor to the country he's leading and they're a citizen of.

12:01 pm
Purple library guy said...

Whoa, missed the "comment as"--that "anonymous" this replies to was me, Purple Library Guy.

12:02 pm
Cathie from Canada said...

Good points -- but I also believe that the border situation is going to get out of control very rapidly.
Its not only going to be tariffs and drugs. The Patel FBI and the Bondi Justice departments will be going after people helter-skelter and many of them will have no place to flee except to Canada. Also, the illegal immigrants in the US will be flooding over the border too, I expect.
This will be a challenge for Canada unlike any we have faced for 60 years, when some Vietnam war resistors were escaping the draft. In those days, the Liberal govts let them in. I don't know what will happen this time.

5:56 pm

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