On his way out the door on Monday (or at least on his way to putting one foot – a toe – out the door), Justin Trudeau blamed his departure on everyone but himself.
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For instance, his TBD resignation was not the result of his utter failure as prime minister or his approval ratings in the -30s and the fact he couldn’t win possibly win an election and probably would bring down his entire party with him.
Nope. Trudeau insisted he had asked the president of the Liberal Party of Canada to hold a leadership contest only because “internal battles” within the Liberal caucus were a distraction preventing him from being the best option for his party and the country going forward.
Clearly, in his mind, if others weren’t plotting against him, he would still be the first choice. (For sure, he would be his own first choice.)
Trudeau also claimed his request of Governor General Mary Simon to dissolve the current Parliament and keep it from reconvening until late March was not for his own selfish reasons. No, no, no. He hadn’t sought prorogation to prevent a snap election caused by a non-confidence motion.
Trudeau blamed the opposition for holding up Parliamentary business with a filibuster that had gone on for months. What he failed to explain was that the filibuster was an effort to force his government to release documents surrounding the horrendous “green slush fund,” known as Sustainable Development Technology Canada.
The auditor general last year found 180 potential conflicts of interest in the $330-million “green” subsidy fund. With Parliament now completely closed, the opposition demands must cease. This is the same tactic Trudeau employed in August 2020 to end investigations into his family’s and his government’s cozy relationship with the WE Charities.
According to Trudeau, Parliament had to be prorogued so when it reassembles Canadians can receive the democratic governance they deserve. Never mind how oxymoronic that is. With Parliament suspended, he may govern without being accountable to an opposition, without question period, without the threat of a non-confidence motion forcing an election on him, without committees poking and prodding his scandals.
In short, according to Trudeauvian logic, the best way to achieve democratic accountability is to suspend democracy.
The most laughable, perhaps, of Trudeau’s explanations of how others had brought us to the point where he felt compelled to step down was his claim that the opposition hadn’t cooperated with his efforts – seven years ago! – to reform the way voters elect federal governments.
He insisted that in 2017 he wanted more than anything to replace our first-past-the-post elections with preferential balloting. However, those nasty opposition Conservatives wouldn’t cooperate. Had parties been able to get elected by being everyone’s second choice, Trudeau reasoned, they would have been encouraged to work together more. Members of Parliament wouldn’t be so rigidly hostile to one another’s policies and parties.
Never mind that his party has been as adversarial as any. The House of Commons sounds as if it would have been one big group hug in Trudeau’s fantasy world.
His self-serving revisionism here is that in 2017 Trudeau had a majority from his own party. He didn’t need a subservient NDP or obliging Conservative caucus to get what he wanted. He could have passed any law all on his own.
If Canada doesn’t have a preferential ballot system now, it is entirely the fault of Justin Trudeau and his Liberals. They could have approved any changes they fancied.
The true problem is the Libs looked at the alternate voting systems being proposed, realized that under all of them they were never likely win another outright majority – they would forever be consigned to cobbling together coalitions – so they let democratic reform die quietly.
Once again, Trudeau has proved himself to be the Grand Narcissist of Canadian politics.