Canadians got a double dose yesterday. There was hope in the afternoon and fear at night. Susan Delacourt writes:
Politics is always a dance between hope and fear — doubly so in a pandemic.
So Canadians were treated to two speeches from Trudeau and his government on Wednesday, ranging from optimism to pessimism as COVID-19 remains dangerously on the march through this country.
The speech from the throne, with its promise of “brighter days” — not exactly sunny ways — was clearly drafted as the more hopeful declaration from Trudeau’s government. But the prime minister’s televised address to the nation was about the very real fears rippling through the country right now. There was nothing very sunny in it at all, really.
“We’re on the brink of a fall that could be much worse than the spring,” Trudeau said. “I know this isn’t the news that any of us wanted to hear.”
Basically, Trudeau was giving us a double-barrelled dose of hope and fear on Wednesday, which are operating on different timelines.
The Conservatives and the Bloc grumbled. The Conservatives are now a prairie party; and they grumbled about natural resources. M. Blanchet believes he speaks for -- and only for -- Quebec. He grumbled about provincial jurisdiction.
So now it's up to the NDP and the Liberals. It will take some work, but they might be able to dance with each other. This is surely no time for an election.
Image: medium.com
8 comments:
The Cons showed themselves to be clueless. Candice Bergen's focus was on fossil fuels and austerity measures - a totally inappropriate response to global warming, pandemic and economic turmoil. It's a good thing the Cons are out of power or we'd look a lot more like Trump's America.
Cap
"This is surely no time for an election" said the man who doesn't live in B.C. We're off to the polls in late October. I registered for a mail-in ballot the day after Horgan dropped the writ. I'll go to the mailbox, pen in hand, fill it out there and then, pop it back in the mail, my civic duty discharged.
I wouldn't mind if the feds did the same. When a nation gets hit by something of the magnitude of Covid-19 isn't it always appropriate the the public be consulted on how their government is doing? Actually I would just like to see O'Toole and the Tories consigned to their fitting place.
Today's Conservatives are inspired by today's Republicans, Cap. It should be no surprise that they're clueless.
You may want an election, Mound. And Mr. Horgan has given you your wish. My sense, however, is that Canadians -- at this point -- don't want to go to the polls. We'll soon see how good my instincts are.
.. we really have no 'say' .. said in another way, 'we have no standing' no consultation.. and the 'Public Service' from our elected.. MPL's or MP's is essentially non existent. We do get service from the non elected public servants.. i.e. bureaucrats in Healthcare, Education, Public Transit to varying extents.. or none north of Sudbury, Winnipeg, Edmondon, Prince George etc.. I can't speak for Quebec or the Maritimes
We do get dosed with scandal and failure however.. so I guess I shouldn't complain.. perhaps that's the cure for COVID-19. Should we fulfill our role as dupes of Political Parties ? Who was it that recently pointed out Election Platforms are just that.. for Election purposes only.. Not meant as actual 'promises' or future 'Policy'.. Banana dangling from a fishing pole.. and we are just donkeys I guess
The Cons and Candace Bergen managed to retread old familiar bullsh!t ground yesterday. On the one hand, it was all about accountability and paying back of all this borrowed deficit money because they still regard themselves as superlative businessmen which past performance has never validated but who among them can read or remember? And secondly a gripe about the Liberals not caring about the common man. Excuse me? That must be the common man, shovel in hand, loading tarsands hoppers and worried about layoffs, not the millions actually out of work through no fault of their own.
I'd have to say that as an exercise in social commitment to the broader Canadian community, and however bungled in practice, the Liberal government has at least tried to be the opposite of the Conservative's BS, lack of inclusivity, and societal divisiveness. The right intent has been there with JT even as he proves to be a sort of upper class nitwit, and I'll pay my share of the bill willingly even as the NDP prod him for more. Are we in this together or aren't we? The Cons aren't. The BQ aren't.
As for premier Legeault and his useless utterings on getting more Federal transfers so that grand and glorious Quebec can have the chance to screw things up even worse than they demonstrated they were fully capable of this past spring -- go blow bubbles and learn to love your country, which last time I checked, was Canada. Same for that idiot kenney and his dream for Alberta of an autocratic catholic society with 1890s social norms and privatizations of all these bleeding heart social programs since women got the vote and increasingly joined the workforce. Extra money is for the already rich. Add him, Ford and the dull dimwitted Moe/Palliser all together and their brains as dynamite wouldn't go off with enough force to blow their noses, and yet these ideological dopes want to farm out our health care to the profiteers and cut social payments. I have no respect for any of them; got zero time for Cons of any description in fact - home-province, potential country-wreckers one and all, just for the glimpse of a shiny new loonie to fondle, a personal chance for the brass ring, and to hell with society at large.
BM
It's possible that we might be consulted, sal -- if there is an election. But, as I wrote to Mound, my guess is that Canadians don't want an election now.
This really is about society at large, BM. And, unless we can think in those terms, we'll fail.
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