It is as if the Trudeau Liberals believe they are able to suspend reality – and maintain Canadians’ trust and confidence. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.
There was a tragicomical moment at the Justice Hogue inquiry on foreign interference this week when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jumped the shark with his testimony, claiming he did not want to be partisan while collaring Conservative parliamentarians as the foreign agents of interest.
Wikipedia defines the idiom to “jump the shark” as a term that describes an entity that “has reached a point in which it has exhausted its core intent and is introducing new ideas that are discordant with, or an extreme exaggeration of, its original purpose.” It is a term that was coined by an episode of the comedy sitcom Happy Days, where the central character, Fonzy, in swim trunks and his leather jacket completes a waterski jump over a live shark. It was a vaudeville stunt that, even in its performance, was viewed as wholly unbelievable. That particular show, that act of jumping the shark, has been immortalized for its cringey senselessness.
Canadians have witnessed Trudeau jumping the shark before: wearing blackface while stating Canadians had something to learn from his indiscretions; the SNC Lavalin criminal affair and sidelining Jody Wilson-Raybould; invoking the Emergencies Act to clear bouncy castles and freeze bank accounts; and, the WE charity scandal — with his mother and then-wife in tow. However, this week, this jump was particularly audacious.
Trudeau has a well-known fondness for the Chinese communist regime. His political career has been intertwined with Beijing interests, from the money that went to his riding association and the Liberal campaign, to the behind the scenes Canadian-Sino deals regarding the COVID-related virus research and vaccine development. For months now, Trudeau and his ministers have withheld any hint of the names on the list of MPs identified by the Canadian intelligence and security services as having colluded with foreign governments. As a direct result of the Liberals’ actions on this matter, all parliamentarians are under a cloud of suspicion – and many have suggested that the names of potentially treasonous parliamentarians have not been made public because Trudeau himself may be at the top of that notorious list.
On Wednesday, with all the theatrical pretense of a high school drama teacher, Trudeau testified before the inquiry that the parliamentarians of concern are within the Conservative Party. Trudeau stated, “Because I am Prime Minister and privy to all this information I have the names of a number of parliamentarians, former parliamentarians or candidates, in the Conservative Party of Canada who are engaged or at high risk of, for whom there is clear intelligence around foreign interference.”
He continued with politi-speak more suited to the campaign hustings: “It is so egregious to me that the Leader of the Official Opposition who is certainly trying very hard to become Prime Minister is choosing to play partisan games with foreign interference and accusations on foreign interference but not taking the least bit serious as regards to his own responsibilities as Party leader….”
Trudeau’s accusations before the inquiry were rebutted immediately by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre issuing a media statement: “At no time has the government told me or my Chief of Staff of any current or former Conservative parliamentarian or candidate knowingly participating in foreign interference.”
Poilievre countered: “My message to Justin Trudeau: Release the names. But he won’t. Because Justin Trudeau is doing what he always does. He is lying.”
Remarkably, this was the second spectacular accusation relating to foreign interference in less than a week. The RCMP staged a Thanksgiving weekend press conference to announce that the India government is responsible for conducting criminal activities on Canadian soil, including murder. The motive for this foreign interference is that the Modi government is looking to silence Khalistani separatists, who are operating in Canada to support an independent Sikh state in the Punjab.
Trudeau followed this RCMP media event with one of his own where he suggested the India government was killing Canadian citizens, disrupting Canadian sovereignty, and being a threat to public safety. He stated he had evidence yet shared none.
In response to these serious claims, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that Trudeau was using the India allegations as a distraction from his own political troubles with his caucus, the economy, and the lawlessness in Canadian streets. On the last point, Modi observed the Trudeau Liberals have been selecting immigrants for “narrow political gains” from regions of the world where there are terrorists. Inferring the Liberals are catering to Sikhs and pro-Hamas Palestinians, Modi accused Trudeau of farming Liberal votes at the expense of Canadians’ safety and social order.
With this fiery Trudeau-Modi exchange, it is evident that Canada-India relations are shattered. If a former foreign policy adviser to the Liberals is correct in his assertion that it is nothing more than a self-serving political powerplay, then Trudeau’s public assault of India’s government may prove pyrrhic for Canadians. Omar Aziz made the statement in the Globe and Mail that the government would not clamp down on Khalistani financing or activities in Canada because Trudeau himself “didn’t want to lose the Sikh vote to Jagmeet Singh, so we dug in our heels.” Another jump. Another shark.
The ludicrous “shark acts” that defy sensibility are being played out time and again with the Trudeau Liberals. There is Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland saying the economy is in great shape and claiming “our economic plan is working” even as Statistics Canada reports levels of food insecurity has hit peak levels and income inequality has hit the highest level ever recorded, with 60 per cent of Canadians experiencing a decline in their disposal income.
This week, Liberal MPs took to social media to celebrate the fact Canadians were receiving their carbon tax rebates even as the parliamentary budget officer delivered a report that documents households across Canada, with the exception of those in Quebec and B.C., are worse off when considering all fiscal and economic impacts of the carbon tax, and not just the tax paid at the pump or on home fuel.
The parodies are endless (and would be humourous if they were not so serious). Just in the last few months there has been Stephen Guilbeault sidestepping the fact volunteer firefighters were halted from assisting with the fire that razed Jasper. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair has had to explain why it took his office 54 days to sign off on a critical warrant respecting a Liberal powerbroker expected of foreign interference. Housing Minister Sean Fraser is ignoring the fact home construction starts are declining while asserting the Liberal’s housing plan is working. Harjit Sajjan was MIA when news broke that he had asked 100 Canadian Forces personnel to dance behind a Punjabi pop star at a Vancouver concert – this after he escaped having to explain his direction of special ops military to rescue 225 stranded Sikhs, taking them away from their emergency evacuation mission in Kabul, Afghanistan.
It is as if the Trudeau Liberals believe they are able to suspend reality – and maintain Canadians’ trust and confidence. After the Liberals suffered an embarrassing bi-election defeat in one of their stronghold Montreal ridings, Trudeau defiantly stated, “There’s more work to do, and we’re going to stay focused on doing it.” He claims that the country’s sagging economy is due to a global downturn and the government’s unpopularity is a result of poor communications. He dismisses the current polls which are consistently showing that the Liberals trail the Conservatives by 20 points – forecasting a thrashing defeat for his government.
Given his inexplicable confidence within the maelstrom of scandals and personal embarrassments, it is as if Justin Trudeau knows something about the impending election that Canadians do not. He fancies himself a masterful campaigner. Perhaps he has another jump in mind.
Chris George is an advocate, government relations advisor, and writer/copy editor. As president of a public relations firm established in 1994, Chris provides discreet counsel, tactical advice and management skills to CEOs/Presidents, Boards of Directors and senior executive teams in executing public and government relations campaigns and managing issues. Prior to this PR/GR career, Chris spent seven years on Parliament Hill on staffs of Cabinet Ministers and MPs. He has served in senior campaign positions for electoral and advocacy campaigns at every level of government. Today, Chris resides in Almonte, Ontario where he and his wife manage www.cgacommunications.com. Contact Chris at chrisg.george@gmail.com.
