Global affairs expert Elliot Tepper says he expects a different Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step off a plane in Turkey than the one who boarded Friday night.
“This is going to have a sobering effect on our new Prime Minister,” Tepper told CTV News Channel, referring to the deadly terror attacks on Paris.
“Sunny ways is a good way to inaugurate an administration,” Tepper said.
“(Trudeau) is now is feeling the full weight of responsibility as prime minister for the safety and security of the country,” added the Carleton University Senior Fellow.
Trudeau, on his way to the G20 leaders’ meeting in Turkey, was asked at a press conference before his flight whether the Paris attacks had made him reconsider his promise to repeal and replace the anti-terrorism act known as C-51.
The law enacted by the Harper Conservatives in the wake of deadly attacks last year in Ottawa and Quebec was supported by the Liberals in the House of Commons vote, but Trudeau promised during the election campaign to repeal parts of the law that were widely criticized by civil liberties groups.
“Governments have a responsibility to keep their citizens safe, while defending our rights and freedoms,” Trudeau told reporters. “That balance is something that the Canadian government, and indeed all governments around the world, will be focusing on.”
Tepper also questioned whether Trudeau will go ahead with amendments to C-51, which increased the powers of CSIS and the RCMP to prevent terror attacks.
“What about foreign policy?” Tepper added.
“Is he really going to show up at the G20 and talk about peacekeeping, pulling fighter planes out of combat, being even handed in the Middle East?
“Can you imagine the opposition if he maintains that position?”
Earlier on Friday, Trudeau offered more details on his plans by publishing the “mandate letters” he had sent to his newly installed ministers.
Trudeau’s letter to Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Ralph Goodale ordered him to:
“Work to repeal, in collaboration with the Minister of Justice, the problematic elements of Bill C-51 and introduce new legislation that strengthens accountability with respect to national security and better balances collective security with rights and freedoms.”
The mandate letter to Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan did not specifically reference terrorism, but it did reiterate that Sajjan will be responsible for ending Canada’s combat mission in Iraq and Syria, and “refocusing Canada’s efforts in the region on the training of local forces and humanitarian support.”
