In response to the fake ad's run by the CPC

Liana Kerzner

1 hr

Okay, let's do another post that isn't intended to trigger people but probably will.

There's been a lot of spew about how the Federal Liberals haven't been transparent. The way I see it, they have the opposite problem. They provided the improved transparency they promised and it bit them in the ass.

The Trudeau regime is objectively more transparent than Harper's was, though that isn't saying much. However, the whole SNC Lavalin mess is a shining example of how the public demands transparency, then can't handle the raging, real-time mess that comes with it. It is fact that Trudeau could have prevented Jodie Wilson-Raybould from testifying. It is fact that he didn't stop her. That may have been a political miscalculation, because it led to multiple additional news cycles. But, in fairness, it was what this government promised. It matters that they took the hit and did what they said they would do.

Transparency is never infinite. We all have private lives for a reason. Shutting down additional stuff on SNC Lavalin wasn't the Liberals stifling transparency. It was preventing government from grinding to a standstill over an exaggerated controversy when there were things like, you know, steel tariffs to deal with. Again, should every sneeze in those negotiations be made public? No. You can't get anything done that way.

And about those steel tariffs? Yeah, Trump attempting to steamroll the Canadian economy because he's a raging bully is a big part of the reason the Liberals didn't balance the budget. There's an argument to be made that it was better judgment to break that promise and not screw up major business sectors than to play bumper sticker politics with "promises made, promises kept" claptrap.

Politics is a blunt instrument. Governing is nuanced. The clash of these two realities is something the Trudeau government has managed poorly. They have a lot of achievements to promote but instead they're perpetually on defence.

Their achievements include :
The beginnings of Indigenous reconciliation.
Enshrining rights for trans people into Canadian law.
Finally closing the book on the Omar Khadr chapter.
Standing up to Trump.
Promoting "brand Canada" on the world stage in a positive way other countries took note of.
Standing up to Trump some more.
Not having a major terrorist incident on this government's watch. (even though they called some things terrorism that were really not)
Gender parity in cabinet.
Standing up to Trump some more.
Pursuing trade deals with new countries to limit our export dependence on America.
This connects to standing up to Trump.
Reparing Canada's human rights record that suffered significantly in measurable metrics under Harper.
This meant standing up to Trump on social issues.
Defending women's rights not just over our bodies, but over our workplace dignity (sometimes awkwardly). Taking harassment claims seriously, even when the Prime Minister himself was briefly implicated before he was in public office...
... Which is in stark contrast to Trump's handing of things.
Boldly commiting to the human right to seek political asylum, even if it causes short term financial challenges.
(The contrasts to Trump write themselves.)
Despite what Alberta claims, the feds did work with the oil sector to try to find solutions when prices crashed.
Legalizing weed.
Attempting assisted dying legislation (even though JWR bungled the writing of that law and it needs to be fixed)
Owning ethics breaches even when they were relatively small, like the Aga Khan thing.
Going to places and talking to people who oppose and sometimes actively hate the Trudeau government. His town halls weren't gaffe free - people kind, anyone? - but it did show his kindness and tolerance of people who disagree with him...
... Again, in stark contrast to Trump.
And yes, the Federal Liberals put in a carbon tax. Because at this point, carbon taxes are one of the most effective tools a government has in changing habits regarding greenhouse gases. Climate change is REAL, so I am fine with having to pay more to do what we can to save the planet for future generations.

Joking aside, all of these actions were controversial. That's what happens when you're in government. If we only judge a government by its mistakes, all of them look terrible. But, objectively, Canada as a whole it's more just, more free, and more equal than when the Liberals took office, and they staved off a direct and real attack on our economy from the Orange Menace to the South of our border. Trump's pot shots could have been devastating. The Liberals, all things considered, did okay standing up to the mammoth US economic threat when a lot of other countries, like Mexico, just folded.

Trudeau has always been a flawed leader, because all leaders are flawed. He grew up in privilege and so appears frequently out of touch. By his own admission he was pretty green, taking the job earlier than he wanted to just because there was no other really solid candidate. The Liberals also courted the far left way too hard; they were never going to be able to pass those moral purity tests after an entire term of making hard decisions. There are other things too, but why belabour the point? Trudeau didn't declare war on science or ignore the Indigenous file like his predecessor. Harper's flaws as a leader were glaring too - he was just better at party discipline because he was good at tightening proverbial nooses and gags.

The Conservatives are claiming that Trudeau was "not as advertised", which is a bizarre attack line. Trudeau isn't a soft drink or a car. He's a person, and people are never simple. If someone expected Trudeau to be some sort of Renaissance Man Messiah who walked on progressive water, that's the fault of their ignorance and unreasonable expectations, not his last campaign. All I hoped for was that he'd get more right than he got wrong. I have strong objections to some Liberal decisions (I'm allergic to weed so now any gig at a club means I risk getting majorly sick because second hand weed smoke is Everywhere. I also disagree with some wonky stuff I won't get into here.) I'm also completely disgusted at their lousy comms shop. But I can't deny they've done an okay job, even without comparing them to the cartoonish dystopia that is America right now.

This is not telling anyone to vote Liberal in the fall. Vote for whoever you want. Vote NDP. Vote Green. I'd say even vote Conservative if Scheer hadn't already completely morally compromised himself in my eyes. Trudeau is a bad liar. Scheer is worse. And Scheer has been lying a lot.

I won't be voting for Jagmeet Singh's party because it took him too long to "accept the findings" of the inquiry into the 1985 Air India bombing. One of my best friends at the time and most of her family died on that plane. It feels like a disservice to their memory to consider supporting a guy who couldn't take that seriously. But if other people don't have similar aversions to the current NDP leadership, I totally understand.

What I DO want is to people to make their choice in the fall based on complete facts, not attack ads running during Forged in Fire... And screw you, History Channel Canada, for making me sit through those crappy commercials just so I can hear "Eet Weel Keel."

You will never be content with any leader if you only judge them on their mistakes, because all leaders make them. However, I think there's merit to giving Trudeau another term based on his commitment to human rights and freedoms, and a competent, if not brilliant, management of the economy. Most of my issues with the Trudeau government rest in their execution of their initiatives, not where their hearts and minds are at regarding where we need to go. It's easy to demonize politicians, but we need them. They're a better alternative than Divine Right of Kings.

Also, consider voting local. Those MPs work their butts off and could really use the support.

We will have a stark set of choices in the upcoming election. Trudeau is flawed and spoiled but at his core he seems decent, and I think that governing has smacked a lot of the spoiled out of him. His upcoming campaign will make that clear whether he's humbled at all. But Scheer is a cynical opportunist who had no problem cozying up to hate mongers too toxic for Facebook, and choices like that matter. Singh, meanwhile, seems too invested in identity politics to even see terrorism for what it is without needing it spelled out for him on an Etch-A-Sketch. Again, he's probably a decent person, but those are things that leaders have to get right on the first try and he didn't. And... As much as Elizabeth May is very likeable, the Green Party doesn't have a hope in hell of forming government, but that doesn't mean a Green vote is invalid - vote your conscience. We are fortunate in Canada to not have a two-party system. I just think that someone needs to say that while there are many reasons not to vote Liberal again, there are remaining valid affirmative reasons to give them your vote as well.

This may seem like a depressing set of choices, but voting is a civic duty, not fun. If you're waiting for some "prince that was promised", to borrow from Game of Thrones, you end up with a bunch of warlords. Perfect is often the enemy of the good. Facts matter.

And now I shall sit back and watch people knee-jerk and miss the point, because it's politics. That's unavoidable.