CORRECTION: Trudeau did NOT resign

Although you couldn't see it for fog, the sun rose this morning, as usual, over Cape Spear NL, the most easterly point in the People's Republic of Canuckistan -- Justin Trudeau, prop. 

Yes, Virginia, yesterday's smarmy and self-serving speech notwithstanding, Blackie McBlackface is still Prime Minister of the Great No-longer-white North. If a document -- e.g. an immigrant visa for an Islamic terrorist or a cheque to the President of Rumbabwe -- requires his signature, he'll still be there at Rideau Cottage.

"But," you may ask, "didn't Elon Musk say 'Trump won, Trudeau resigned!'?" Indeed he did, but he was only half-right. 

Desperate to get rid of Little Potato, hopeful Canucks didn't listen carefully to his words of farewell. What he actually said was, "I intend to resign as party leader [and] as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process."

Geddit? Not "I am resigning today" but "I intend to resign...after..." Future tense throughout. The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau is still Prime Minister of All Canuckistan, and there's not a damn thing any of you frostbacks can do about it.

To ensure that corruption business will be carried on as usual until such time as he actually resigns, Junior took the precaution of asking the compliant Governor-General (whom he appointed), to prorogue (read: suspend) Parliament until March 24th, at which time a new session will begin. Until then, there will be no annoying questions asked or challenges made to the supremacy of M Trudeau, his Liberal Party, and the liberal elites who run what is left of Canada.

The Big Question to be answered is: who will replace the Greatest Narcissistic Procrastinator in Canadian history. Walt will now give you the morning line and predict the likely result of the race nobody wants to win. Early entries are:

Mark Carney, former Governor of the Bank of Canada and, more recently, the Bank of England. Born with a silver sppon in his mouth, educated at private schools, member of the Toronto liberal elite. Has the backing of Big Business and (especially) the Big Banks, since he's "one of us". Like former Liberal Leader Michael "Iggy" Ignatieff, but without the charm. Vulnerable to the sasme attack ad: "He didn't come back for you!"

Chrystia Freeland, rebarbatvie former journalist whose farewell party at the Groan and Wail was held in a phone booth. Most recently Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister (an office not recognized in Canada's constitution) until she quit last year when told she was about to be demoted. Another resident of Toronto's toney Rosedale enclave. Has Ukrainian heritage but the Ukrainians never vote Liberal. Speaking style reminiscent of an Anglican missionary declaiming the Articles of Faith to a congregation of fuzzie-wuzzies. Will have the backing of the Sikh bloc as the most easily manipulable. Oh, she's a woman too, the darling of the feminists, both female and male.

Dominic LeBlanc, the latest to hold the dreaded Finance portfolio, because no-one else would take it after Ms Freeland quit. Son of a Governor-General, friend of the Trudeau family since childhood. "I've known Justin since he was a baby!" Bilingual (unlike the other two) and from New Brunswick/Nouveau Brunswick so won't upset the Québécois or the Toronto elites. Congenial (read: bibulous) and "a safe pair of hands", meaning he can be trusted to do nothing and depart gracefully following the spring election disaster.

And the winner will be... Dominic LeBlanc. Since the Gliberals face certain defeat in the election which will be called within days of the opening of the new session of Parliament, none of the other candidates will be trying too hard. They will be focusing on what happens after M LeBlanc resigns. He, however, will be happy to retire with the title of Prime Minister -- he's been everything else! -- and the pension and other perqs that go with it. 

You read it here first. Walt's lifetime pct: .987.

Further reading: "Justin Trudeau goes out blaming and betraying Canadians one more time" - Tasha KHeiriddin, in the National Post, 6/1/25. Lede: "In classic narcissistic fashion, Trudeau on Monday blamed his party — and everyone else — for his problems"

Taking it to the streets

Hitting the bricks, waving placards, raising voices in protest is something Canadians don't do very often. Especially in the winter when it's cold and you want a tot of brandy in your Tim's just to keep from freezing.

But yesterday, according to "From facebook to filling the streets", more than 25,000 fed-up Canucks braved the elements in two dozen cities to protest again Tory Prime Minister Stephen Harper's slap in the face of democracy. I refer to his totally unnecessary and indefensible decision to prorogue Parliament, so that he can effectively govern by fiat until spring.

Nothing like this has been seen since...let's see...since Clarence Campbell suspended Maurice Richard for the rest of the NHL season. And that demonstration [riot, surely! ed.] was confined to Montréal. This time people turned out from coast to coast!

What's it all about, anyway? What is it that has normally placid and apathetic Canadians so exercised? An editorial in the Globe and Mail puts it down to our collective disgust at "the subjgation of parliament to prime ministerial whim".

The way I see it, something more, something greater, has been demonstrated. Mr Harpoon clearly thought he could get away with avoiding parliamentary scrutiny of his government and himself by shutting Parliament down twice in one year.

Harper seems to have thought that the Canadian people would not notice or would not understand or would not care...or all three. He was wrong!

Now let us see if the people will remember, come the next general election. And please let it be soon!

The contemptuous...or contemptible...Mr. Harper

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made one of his infrequent revelations of his true self on Monday. In an interview with BNN (Business News Network) he let slip his true feelings about Parliament.

He is openly contemptuous of it. He dismisses it an unnecessary check on his power to govern Canada. He wishes it would just go away.

Mr. Harper (I will no longer write "Call Me Steve", for he reveals himself as a dangerous autocrat, and ought to be taken more seriously) actually said that having Parliament sitting creates instability, because your elected representatives, Canadian friends, like to "play games" like holding enquiries into Harper's decisions regarding Afghanistan, or calling for votes on his legislation, or generally asking his lordship to be accountable to the people.

Yes, the Prime Minister, who holds office by grace of the votes of about 37% of the 50-odd percent of Canadians who bothered to vote, suggested that his prorogation of Parliament gives him the opportunity to do the serious business of the nation without the distractions of democracy, e.g. having to appear during Question Period to answer those annoying queries from opposition MPs.

Here are a couple of other viewpoints.

The Harper government's attack sheep, the pencil-necked Tony Clement, said that prorogation was only of interest to "the chattering classes" and certain "Ottawa elites". He'd only had "around three dozen" e-mails from his constituents in snowbound Parry Sound, Clement said. Walt says that if 36 voters in Parry Sound, where the chief concern is getting out of winter's blast, bestir themselves to e-mail their M.P., the issue is one of serious concern!

Also yesterday, Mr. Harper’s sometime mentor and chief of staff, Tom Flanagan, now teaching politics at the University of Calgary, gave his own explanation for prorogation. On CBC's Power & Politics with Evan Solomon the professor said that everyone knows the only reason Mr. Harper prorogued was to “shut down the Afghan inquiry.” Mr. Flanagan was talking about the special Commons committee investigation into the Afghan detainee affair. The committee now finds itself silenced as a result of the prorogation.

Mr. Flanagan also said that it's too bad Mr. Harper doesn't really like democracy. Exactly. Contemptible.

A couple of days ago I gave you a link to en editorial in the Economist saying just that. In case you didn't read the piece, let me just quote the last paragraph. Read it and heed it.

Mr. Harper is a competent tactician with a ruthless streak. He bars most ministers from talking to the media; he has axed some independent watchdogs; he has binned [British English for "trashed", ed.] campaign promises to make government more open and accountable. Now he is subjecting Parliament to prime-ministerial whim.

He may be right that most Canadians care more about the luge than the legislature, but that is surely true only while their decent system of government is in good hands. They may soon conclude that it isn't.

Mr. Harper's arrogance has not gone unnoticed

Canadians, who are thought to be so uninterested in politics as to be capable of sleeping through a military coup, seem to have taken some note of the arrogant and dictatorial action of their prime minister in proroguing Parliament.

According to a report by EKOS released yesterday, most Canadians say they are aware of Mr Harpoon's decision to prorogue Parliament so as to be able to rule without having to account to anyone. Roughly two-thirds of those who understand what Harper has done say they disapprove.

Even in American and Britain, where little attention is paid to Canadian politics, eyebrows have been raised. Yesterday I pointed you towards articles in the Guardian and the New York Times. Today I recommend "Harper goes prorogue" (geddit?), an editorial in The Economist.

"Parliamentary scrutiny may be tedious," the writer says, "but democracies cannot afford to dispense with it." Just so.

For a longer and fuller treatment of this theme, consider an op-ed piece by Michael Ignatieff, Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Make fun, if you will, of the Iggster's questionable abilities as a political leader, but you have to give him credit for being a thinker.

Here's the nub of Mr. Ignatieff's argument: This shutting down of Parliament is not a rash or impetuous act. It is part of a consistent pattern of behaviour on the part of Mr. Harper’s government. Whenever Stephen Harper gets into political trouble, his first impulse is to steamroll over democratic institutions that get in his way.

If you agree that Harper's bypassing of Parliament so as to rule directly and without impediment is bad for democracy and bad for Canada, let your voice be heard. And remember it come the next federal election.

Steven Harper speaks out on dissent

When a government starts trying to cancel dissent or avoid dissent is frankly when it’s rapidly losing its moral authority to govern. (Stephen Harper, Canadian Press, April 18, 2005)

This quote appears in a letter sent to Agent 3 by Bev Hodgson, the Liberal candidate in the Canadian riding of Niagara Falls. She goes on...

"Shutting down Parliament in the middle of the night is signature Mr. Harper. This is the fourth time in just three years that he has shut down Parliament in order to wiggle his way out of a bind. No Prime Minister in Canadian history has shown as much disrespect for Parliament!

"Shutting down Parliament has of course raised speculation about a spring election.
Canadians have said, loud and clear, that there is no need for an early election, but it seems we are heading for one anyway.

"Turning the snubbing of Parliamentary democracy into a criticism of the Senate is one of Mr. Nicholson’s best spins yet -- this after Mr. Harper has appointed more Senators than any other Prime Minister in Canadian history, and is set to appoint another five.

"We all know that Canadian News doesn’t often reach into the US or the UK, but this extraordinary move by Mr. Harper has raised eyebrows abroad as well as at home. See "Shafting Democracy in Canada", from the Guardian, and "Canadian Leader Shuts Parliament for 2nd Time", from the New York Times.

"As well, Canadian Reporter Kady O’Malley dispels the myths that are being spun by the Conservatives in "Memories of Order Papers Past", on the CBC News website.

"I hope you will join us," Ms Hodgson concludes, "in denouncing this latest tactical move by Mr. Harper."