Will Trudeau Shine in the Sun?

Whispering in the Wind (WITW 16) February 19, 2014

Trudeau’s Time in the Sun Has Come – Will Trudeau Shine?

Two of Canada’s most important political operatives (Prime Minister Steven Harper and  Leader of the Official Opposition, Thomas Mulcair) are scrambling, each trying for different reasons, to discredit the upstart leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau.  Last April Mr. Trudeau emerged as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and a persona wrapped around his youthful looks and his father’s legacy.  His political opponents too quickly came to the conclusion that Justin Trudeau had no substance and aired their demeaning views nationwide – surprise, surprise – Justin Trudeau’s rating in political polls soared with the Canadian public thinking that Mr. Trudeau offered something different, HOPE.  What Mr. Harper and Mr. Mulcair didn’t realize, they were in part responsible for Mr. Trudeau’s success.  Following are a few examples of Mr. Harper and Mr. Mulcair’s miscalculations and errors: 

Mr. Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada

Mr. Harper’s personal credibility (and his ranking in the polls) suffered terribly in the past year and highlighted by his dismal performance in the House of Commons and his possible role in directing the activities of the “independent” parliamentary chamber of sober second thought.  The public expressed their suspicion and disappointment in the many polls taken, all strongly suggesting that Mr. Harper was/is wrong and his government is definitely going in the wrong direction.  More recently Mr. Harper’s government has again shown its arrogance with the introduction of the Fair Election’s Act – here Canada’s chief electoral officer has labeled Harper’s proposal to be “an affront to democracy”. 

Mr. Mulcair and the New Democratic Party of Canada

New Democrat leader Thomas Mulcair has also damaged his credibility with the electorate.  His poorly thought out positions on Senate reform (Mr. Mulcair feels the Senate should be abolished) and the negative views voiced in the United States on the Keystone XL pipeline debate reveals a lack of statesmanship and a lack of understanding of international relations with the United States – at the same time Mr. Mulcair wiped out the brownie points he accrued with the Canadian public on his masterful performance opposite the prime minister in the Senate scandal debate.  Mr. Mulcair has an added problem in that his power base is in Quebec and that makes him particularly vulnerable opposite the Justin Trudeau factor and yes, the Trudeau legacy factor. So is there more to the Trudeau image than his good looks and engaging personality?  Is there more substance than his coup last month on Senate reform when he boldly declared Liberal Senators to be “Independent Senators”?  Well Canadians are going to find out this weekend at the Liberal policy conference in Montreal where Mr. Trudeau is scheduled to make two critical policy speeches – the big question, Will Trudeau Shine?           

Games in Sochi, Good Stuff - Games in Ottawa, Just Beginning

Whispering in the Wind (WITW 15) February 12, 2014

Like millions of Canadians I’ve been glued to a television set watching the Sochi Olympics games – that’s not to say there are no games being played in Ottawa:      

Harper’s Proposal, the Fair Elections Act

The tight time-frame to debate Mr. Harper’s electoral reform bill has resulted in an outright rejection by the leader of the official opposition Thomas Mulcair – Mr. Mulcair said the Conservatives were cheaters in the last election, therefore they lack credibility in their proposed Fair Elections Act.  Justin Trudeau is equally suspicious saying that the legislation limits the investigative powers of the chief electoral officer.  Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand said the proposed legislation is “an affront to democracy”.  I liken the government’s proposed legislation to having a front-line police force without any investigative powers – powers to determine evidence, establish the possibility or likelihood of a wrong doing and authority to interrogate and arrest – it is then up to a judge to make a final determination of wrong doing.  Under the proposed bill, the only role of the chief electoral officer would be to inform the public of when, where and how to vote.  The whole proposal is bizarre – it wipes out the front line enforcers of a truly fair electoral process – hopefully the drafters of this ill-conceived bill see their errors.

Harper’s Proposed Aboriginal Education Program

Last October Mr. Harper put forward a sweeping aboriginal education program that puts the education of aboriginal people on to the backs of individual reserve authorities.  Recently Mr. Harper attached some hefty dollar figures which pleased a good number of First Nation’s chiefs, including Assembly of First Nation’s national chief, Shawn Atleo.  No doubt in my mind, Mr. Harper has shown that he is a true master at political strategy.  Mr. Harper has passed on the responsibility for the education of aboriginal youth to the chiefs of 611 reserves, ten provinces and three territories.  Mr. Harper has absolved the federal government of any liability attached to the education of aboriginals and he will not be attached to a residential school type legacy.  Mr. Harper has even downloaded the setting of performance and teaching standards on to the provinces and territories – it is worth noting the provinces and territories were not consulted on the matter. 

Trudeau’s Senate Reform Initiative

Another brilliant strategy was unveiled a couple of weeks ago by the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau.  By declaring his Liberal Senators “Independent” he introduced a novel thought:  make Senators independent no matter what their political stripe might be.  The concept.is bold and just might work.  One media observer suggested that if Mr. Harper had declared his Conservative Senators to be “independent” it would be a stroke of genius.  So I’m going back to watching the Sochi Olympics - it’s easier and faster to pick the winners and losers, it’s the guy or girl wearing the gold.  

Harper Had a Bad Week, Trudeau Had a Good Week, Mulcair Had a So-so Week

Whispering in the Wind (WITW 14) February 5, 2014

There is a lot to talk and write about when it comes to recent events in national politics.  Here are some recent headlines and my views on the issues: 

“Keystone XL gets environmental OK from U.S. State Dept.” (CBC News, January 31, 2014)

The U.S. State Department has given approval for the Keystone XL Pipeline project saying that it has no major environmental concerns regarding the construction of the $7 billion project.  A few points need to be considered – this latest review is the fifth environmental assessment done on the project – the southern portion of the pipeline is already operating and moving oil from Oklahoma to Gulf Coast refineries - U.S. industry is claiming that the U.S. has an oil surplus, with some firms now applying for export permits – the final decision, regarding the application to move Alberta’s product will be made by the President of the United States and for the present, no timeline has been set for a final decision.  My view is the Democratic base supporting President Obama doesn’t want the northern portion of the Keystone XL project undertaken and the U.S. doesn’t need Alberta’s oil, at least for the time being.  It adds up to be very bad news for Prime Minister Harper who has championed the project from the start and considers Keystone a major plank in the Conservative’s Economic Action Plan.  According to a number of observers a decision on the pipeline will not be made by the U.S. president until late 2014 and if Democratic politics in the U.S. remains as it is today, the likely answer will be a major delay if not an outright no – hope I’m wrong.   

“Liberals will reopen closed Veterans’ offices” (NL News Now, February 3, 2014) 

The Conservative government has again been plagued with a public relations disaster – this time the focus is on Veteran’s Affairs Minister Julian Fantino, the closing of eight regional Veterans Affairs offices and Mr. Fantino’s apparent inappropriate attitude at a single meeting with veterans last week.  With the help of the union movement protests have blossomed across the country with the public and veterans asking for Mr. Fantino’s resignation from his portfolio.  Thomas Mulcair has called Mr. Fantino’s actions disgraceful and the minister should be fired.  Liberal leader Justin Trudeau has taken a more calculated, astute political perspective by saying; when the Liberals form government he will not only re-open any offices closed by the Conservatives but expand services to ensure veterans receive the help they so desperately need and deserve.

Trudeau’s Senate Idea fresh, brave – and worth considering (The Globe and Mail, January 30, 2014)

The Globe and Mail columnist Jeffery Simpson has likened the current debate on reforming the broken Senate to be a “puzzle without a solution”.  From my perspective if there is to be a solution one first has to clearly identify the problem or problems plaguing the Red Chamber.  From my perspective there are three clear problems associated with the Senate mess, two of which are being addressed, at least in part.  The first problem has two issues; the loose, uncontrolled expenses and residency guidelines.  The audit underway is reviewing all expenses for all Senators and the report is expected to be released soon with specific control measures recommended.  The second problem is the role, influence and misdeeds of the Prime Minister’s Office in the operations of the Senate.  The RCMP is investigating possible illegal activity undertaken by individuals but the police will not address the paramount issue of having or building an “independent” Senate free from the influences of party politics and party leadership – so what is the solution, or is it truly a puzzle without a solution?  This all leads to the third major issue – can the Senate be rebuilt to become an “independent” chamber that offers parliament sober, second thought?  It might be Pollyannaish but Justin Trudeau just declared the Liberal Party members sitting in the Senate to be “independent”.  Mr. Trudeau also suggested that the selection of future Senators be taken away from the sitting prime minister – it’s that simple, it’s revolutionary and it just might work. 

About the author – For the past six years Ed Shaske has written a political column for one of Alberta’s rural, weekly newspapers, the Smoky Lake Signal.  Mr. Shaske has accumulated 40 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, as a market analyst, economist and an international trade negotiator – read more at:  edshaske@blogspot.com