Don Martin: I've never seen anything quite like the control-everything regime of Trudeau's government
On the bright side, there was no sign of Chinese interference.
Voters in four byelections delivered status quo results on Monday that show, if you squint hard enough, that the severely tainted Liberal brand has staying power while the Conservatives aren’t resurging enough to threaten as a majority-government-in-waiting.
So now, with the summer solstice dawning Wednesday, it is time for party leaders to adjourn into the real world to listen more and talk less, the better to figure out why voters may desire prime ministerial change but not enough to embrace the opposition alternative.
The polls suggest there’s more weariness than fury in the land at the frontrunning leadership choices as we reach the midterms of Justin Trudeau’s NDP-supported mandate.
Ask around. You’ll find voters severely fed up with a past-his-prime Trudeau, but wincing at the snark and snarl of a Pierre Poilievre they don’t yet trust with governing power. And they can’t even consider an NDP protest vote because they view leader Jagmeet Singh as the crutch for Liberals who don’t deserve an easy walk for the next two years.
With the Commons adjourning this week, there’s plenty of speculation about a reset for the governing Liberals in the form of a major cabinet shuffle, prorogation and a throne speech relaunch in October.
It is a government that needs all three.
'BIZARRE PRAISE' FROM BRIAN MULRONEY
While there’s some validity to this week’s bizarre praise of the government from former Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney, who hailed Trudeau as a leader delivering big-picture, massive-budget, nation-defining programs, it’s the government’s attitude, operations and ethics that rate concern.
Denialism reigns, finger-pointing is epidemic, consultation delays are chronic, public information is suppressed or scripted into meaninglessness, woke-overkill is rampant, ministerial accountability has all but disappeared and fiscal prudence vanquished.
Even the simple business of making decent appointments seems too much to ask. The government has botched anointing a governor general, RCMP commissioner, human rights advocate and one reputation-ruined special rapporteur.
And that assumes it’s capable of making appointments. As the Supreme Court chief justice noted last week, it won’t even fill much-sought-after federal judge jobs that allow bad guys to walk for want of a timely trial.
Meanwhile, this government can’t deploy a modestly equipped military for overseas exercises, blows $30 billion-plus to subsidize car battery plants that the parliamentary budget officer predicts will deliver little economic bang for jaw-dropping megabucks and remains addicted to overpriced consultants with friends in high places.
But most of all, it’s a government that casts suspicion on itself by appearing hesitant to aggressively expose Chinese interference in our elections lest it hurt the party’s political self-interests. With no next step in sight, it would seem the government wants to delay the inevitable public inquiry beyond the next foreign-influenced election.
This column was originally conceived as a cabinet report card on Trudeau’s ministers, but the list of the lousy performers became too long to bell curve into anything above a D-grade average.
CABINET HAS 'DEADWEIGHT IN NEED OF SHUFFLING'
The cabinet has entire drawers filled with deadweight in need of shuffling. Yes, that’s you Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair, International Development’s Harjit Sajjan, Housing’s Ahmed Hussen, Heritage’s Pablo Rodriguez, Justice’s David Lametti, Environment’s Steven Guilbeault and Transport’s Omar Alghabra.
And there’s not a person with a pulse in Ottawa who believes Marco Mendicino will survive his consistently awful performance in public safety. The only suspense is whether he’s even in cabinet when the shuffle dust settles. Bet against it.
Even the semi-bright lights, such as Immigration’s Sean Fraser and Families’ Karina Gould, have delivered head-shaking performances, to wit the simple release of an updated passport filled with a controversial colouring-book level of pictorial history.
But I digress.
There’s plenty to trash in Poilievre’s just-not-ready performance if space permitted equality of criticism.
But I’ve covered the cautious “friendly dictatorship” of Jean Chretien, the dithering of Paul Martin and the secretive control freak kingdom that was Stephen Harper’s PMO and never seen anything quite like the combined preachy rectitude, chronic dithering and control-everything regime of Trudeau’s government.
And yet, as the byelections suggest, even after regularly lighting itself on fire the Liberals inexplicably contend as the odds-on favourite for re-election.
Perhaps, as my summer shutdown begins, the most startling insight from the year thus far was the testimony by Trudeau chief of staff Katie Telford. As the personified epicentre of all government decision-making, she swears the prime minister is handed everything that crosses her busy desk – and reads it all.
Absorbing the information must be a different issue entirely, but that revelation means Trudeau was informed and responsible during his government’s SNAFU avalanche of missteps, mistakes, scandals and ethical lapses.
So launch that summer reset, prime minister. Whatever emerges in the fall can’t be any worse.
That’s the bottom line.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Debunking the 'anti-sunscreen' movement: Doctors say TikTok trend is dangerous
Dermatologists are sounding the alarm about misinformation from the anti-sunscreen movement, saying not wearing sunscreen can cause cancer and other problems.
Poilievre Conservatives offer to help Trudeau Liberals pass foreign interference bill
Pierre Poilievre's Conservative Party is offering to help Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government pass a piece of legislation aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada.
DEVELOPING Key witness lied on stand, Trump lawyer tells jurors during closing arguments in hush money trial
Donald Trump's landmark hush money trial turns on the testimony of a prosecution witness who told lies on the stand and cannot be trusted, a defence lawyer said Tuesday during closing arguments.
Ont. university says professor fired over 'unethical' sexual relationships with students
An associate professor at McMaster University has been fired after its board of governors found that he engaged in 'unethical, inappropriate and in some instances exploitative' sexual relationships with students.
Richard Dreyfuss' comments about women, LGBTQ2S+ people and diversity lead venue to apologize
The actor Richard Dreyfuss showed up in a dress at a 'Jaws'-themed event in Massachusetts, where the blockbuster 1975 movie he starred in was shot, and then proceeded to make demeaning remarks about women, LGBTQ2S+ people and diversity.
Quebec homeowner recalls moment tornado hit his farmhouse west of Montreal
A homeowner in western Quebec is recounting a narrow escape after his home was hit by a tornado Monday afternoon.
Canada's professional women’s soccer league name unveiled
Canada is set to embrace a new chapter in women’s soccer with the official unveiling of the new name of the professional league.
WATCH Airline pilot treated to stunning northern lights show during U.S.-Portugal flight
An airline pilot got quite a show on May 11 while flying from San Francisco to Lisbon when a solar storm caused stunning auroras.
Here's how new AI tech could change the iPhone
Generative AI, artificial intelligence that can provide thoughtful and thorough responses to questions and prompts, could potentially breathe new life into Apple’s iPhone lineup at a time when competitors are threatening to leave the company behind in the race to shape what could be a world-changing technology.
Local Spotlight
WATCH Alta. man rescues wild foal trapped on steep cliffside
A man's daring rescue of a newborn wild foal that was trapped after falling down a steep embankment was caught on video over the weekend.
'Forgot how fun this was': Winnipeg man competing in World Pinball Championship
A Winnipeg pinball wizard is heading to the granddaddy of them all – the IFPA World Pinball Championship.
Ottawa U20 ultimate Frisbee players to represent Canada at world championships this summer
It’s the chance of a lifetime for a group of Ottawa athletes who are getting ready to represent Team Canada at the World Junior Ultimate championships in the United Kingdom.
140-year-old downtown Winnipeg church on brink of collapse
Parishioners at Holy Trinity Anglican Church are praying for a monetary miracle, as their historic place of worship could collapse at any moment.
'Inspires a sense of adventure': Sask. man conquers Mount Everest
A Saskatchewan man made it to the summit of Mount Everest earlier this month.
New gold mine in northern Ontario could become biggest in Canada
IAMGOLD’s Cote Gold open pit mine, located off Highway 144 between Timmins and Sudbury, had its official ribbon-cutting ceremony this week as production ramps up.
Pomp, circumstance, and Crocs: Barrie, Ont. couple's unforgettable day at Buckingham Palace
When one is extended an invitation to the Royal Garden Party in London, England, there's undoubtedly no shortage of pomp and circumstance. Barrie, Ont. natives Megan Kirk Chang and her husband Brandon experienced just that as they entered the prestigious event hosted at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
Tim Meadows pledges not to shave until the Oilers win the cup, who are the team's other famous fans?
An unlikely celebrity emerged from social media to cheer on the Edmonton Oilers as they face the Dallas Stars tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
'Near and dear to all filmmakers': Return of Regina's discount theatre bodes well for fans, movie makers alike
The proprietors of Regina's sole discount theatre are aware they're carrying on a significant legacy.