Whatever Happened, Prime Minister Trudeau?

A little bit of humility, please. Humble pie, it’s been on your table all year prime minister and you’ve refused to eat it. 

Canada’s aspirational prime minister has been on the receiving end of poor advice, the party political machine has kicked in with old characteristics, it’s tiresome and disappointing. Just like the Conservatives before them, Canada’s Liberal Party are banking on that most Canadians don’t care much beyond what they can do with their pay check.

It’s simple really, if you’re swept to power on enthusiasm to do politics differently — remember, reducing the PMO’s (Prime Ministers Office) influence, transparency, social license — then do it. 

Go before Canadians, apologise for not being true to those aspirations, let Jody Wilson-Raybould run unopposed by a Liberal candidate in her Vancouver-Granville riding in October, let it be the start of a reconciliation. That would be different.

Then work on a plan for climate action that’s not 21 years out of date.

We’re having the wrong conversation about climate change in Canada – while better than not having one at all, a Conservative government would eliminate it all together, the narrative must change.

The failure to engage with people whose livelihoods will be affected by either reducing or stopping the rapid expansion of the oilsands (née tarsands) needs to be addressed. It’s easy to understand why people making a living would be resistant to such change and why they are fodder for the climate change denial industry.

If they experienced the shutdown of the Atlantic fisheries that forced them to leave their homes, travel thousands of miles to set up new lives and send money back home, it makes that task far more difficult. The direct threat of losing a well-paying job is the visceral reality, and it requires a solution.

How do we help and how can we be expected to trust the words of politicians when they lie? 

Trudeau has one shot to get his apology right. It has to be genuine and the actions that follow must match.