Don Martin: Teflon Trudeau dodges trouble with a gift from the Greens
Faced with a scathing headline-grabbing committee report into Justin Trudeau’s biggest second-term scandal, a gift floated down from the political heavens where, as a wag noted long ago, God is clearly a Liberal.
An all-opposition savage but salient analysis of the WE controversy -- that the prime minister and his finance minister tried to give a half-billion-dollar government contract to friends of their families, some of them having been paid -- had been released just as news broke of a Green Party defection to the Liberal side.
Now, having Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin quit the Greens over Middle East political differences is weird, but it’s not going to change the dynamics in the House of Commons.
Still, it helped change the channel on a bad news day for the government and, in the longer-term, it delivers a demoralizing blow to a three-seat Green Party rival which grabbed 1.2 million votes which might’ve leaned Liberal in 2019.
So, on balance, it was a pretty good day for Trudeau as the prime minister jetted off to London for a G7 summit where he’s set to become the elder statesmen of the summit this fall when Germany’s Angela Merkel steps down as chancellor.
But I digress.
The point is that opposition MPs were entirely justified in blasting Trudeau’s office for delaying, denying, ignoring, obstructing and generally behaving very badly as the ethics committee probed his conflicted family affair with the Kielburger brothers.
But the Liberal lapdogs countered with a watery see-no-evil minority report to suggest some tightening up of ethics and lobbying rules. And that will be that. The public will yawn. Another scandal averted.
Having covered politics for four decades, I can’t recall a prime minister or premier who has broken or deferred so many pledges, endured so many controversies, and morphed into the polar opposite of their promised fresh-face start only to retain decent levels of popularity.
For his 2,040 days as prime minister, questionable conduct, bad decisions and scandals have slid off Trudeau with a slipperiness that makes Teflon work like Superglue.
And now he’s clearly starting to angle for a fall election by arguing his agenda is thwarted by a parliamentary paralysis that can only be unblocked by a majority mandate.
Trudeau’s survivability is particularly impressive given that he has turned into a leader he wouldn’t have recognized in 2015.
His feminist credentials should be in tatters after groping allegations, and wilfully ignoring the allegations of sexual impropriety against chief of defence staff Jonathan Vance.
His pledge to work constructively with Parliament has produced a prime minister rarely answering direct questions whose office ignores motions for documents or staff appearances which borders on contempt.
His sunshine-as-the-best-disinfectant pledge of openness and transparency has morphed into a secretive-to-the-point-of-paranoid government.
His mediocre cabinet is filled with ministers of borderline competence who are most prized for their willingness to obey orders from above while backbenchers find themselves PMO-scripted to the comma.
He has bloated the size of government to the point of internal paralysis where, one veteran lobbyist noted incredulously, there are now assistant deputy ministers, senior assistant deputy ministers, associate assistant deputy ministers, acting assistant deputy ministers and expensive layers of support staff for each position.
And, as columnist Susan Delacourt points out, Trudeau has acquired an interesting ability to talk out of both sides of his mouth without hearing the contradiction. He condemns the murder of four Muslims in London as terrorism and yet stays mute on a new Quebec law which prohibits them from wearing religious clothing if they want to work in public professions.
And yet, if the polls are any indication, Trudeau’s Liberals are very close to majority territory even before the Green Party under interesting new leader Annamie Paul started its implosion.
As a prime minister of shape-shifting, ethics-bending, controlling, secretive, highly-partisan conduct, Justin Trudeau deserves a serious challenge in the upcoming election.
He’s one big win away from proving God is definitely a Liberal.
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
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Local Spotlight
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.