Rhetoric in the House of Commons is getting pretty rancid. Gary Mason writes:
Something rather remarkable happened in the House of Commons earlier this week: A sitting MP accused this country’s Prime Minister of running a jackboot dictatorship.
And in his next breath, he referenced Russian President Vladimir Putin, a dictator currently unleashing death and destruction on a peaceful democratic neighbour.
Yes, federal Conservative MP Brad Redekopp (Saskatoon West) really did compare Ottawa’s use of the Emergencies Act to help end the so-called “freedom convoy” occupation of Ottawa to what Mr. Putin is doing to Ukraine.
It gets worse.
When Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen got up to complain about the language Mr. Redekopp used, Conservative MP Rachael Thomas (Lethbridge) jumped to her colleague’s defence.
“Mr. Speaker,” she began. “I just did a quick review in the dictionary. According to the Oxford dictionary, a dictator is a ‘ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained control by force.’
“There are many Canadians who would hold the view that this applies to Mr. Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada.”
This is what passes for parliamentary debate in this country in 2022.
This nastiness has a geographical centre:
It likely isn’t coincidence that Ms. Thomas and Mr. Redekopp are from the Prairies. Alberta and Saskatchewan represent the epicentre of anti-Trudeau rage in Canada. That same rage was at the heart of the Ottawa protest and related border blockades. Vaccine mandates were just a proxy, the cover used to give the insurgency some vague credibility. We can’t forget that organizers had drawn up a manifesto that included the demand that the current government, and Mr. Trudeau in particular, be removed from office.
But the nastiness is not limited to politicians from the prairies:
Politics in this country have changed a lot over the last number of years. Civility can still be found when you look hard enough but it can also feel like an endangered species. Ideological differences shouldn’t be fuelled by the demonization of those you disagree with. And yet that happens all the time, especially with this Prime Minister.
When political opponents become enemies, we're in trouble.
Image: Linked In
16 comments:
When the Speaker fails to discipline vitriolic outbursts in the Commons, we end up with MPs calling the PM a dictator. Tony Rota is gutless and lets far too much unparliamentary behaviour pass. In Thomas's case, she referred to the PM by name, a parliamentary no-no well known to a seasoned MP. She was clearly hamming it up for the cameras, probably for use in a re-election ad, and should have been expelled.
Cap
This animosity isn’t something new in Alberta or Sask. My father past away in 1996 at he age of 78. He fought during the Second World War with the Royal Newfoundland Regiment assigned to the British. As a child I remember him saying the CCF was an arm of Communism. Presently, research would be an asset in learning why this attitude then. That comment would have taken place around 1954. Any thoughts anyone? Anyong
The Speaker's role is critical, Cap. Finding a good one isn't easy.
That opinion of the CCF-NDP has been around for a long time, Anyong.
Owen, PP would be just as happy being a petulant little dictator himself. The closest Prime Minister to being a dictator in my lifetime was none other than Stephan Harper. As for offering insults, I agree that Conservatives, particularly from the Prairies, are a bunch of Maroons. RG
JT is far from perfect, RG. But God help us if PP replaces him.
The Americanization of Canada continues particularly politics.
Time to turn off FOX and CNN.
TB
Animosity certainly isn't new. I grew up in the Prairies and have definite memories about how well liked Trudeau Senior was, even if I didn't really know who he was at that point. Still, I don't recall people calling him a dictator, or calling him and anyone who supports him a traitor to the country and not really Canadian. I've seen both almost as soon as Justin was elected, and as the above post makes clear, that is no longer just fringe people talking smack, but the elected members of Parliament in the Conservative party. Harper is definitely a large part of the impetus behind this. He and the party immediately started running personal attack ads whenever the Liberals elected a new leader, sometimes going after the person most likely to win even before the leadership race was over. Always attacking and demonizing the individual to try and cripple them in people's minds even before the election rolled around. And he was highly successful with Dion and Ignatieff, and while less successful overall with Trudeau, it only seems to have inflamed the Conservative base even more that their view isn't the one carrying the day. Social media has probably made this worse, but the danger is very real. They no longer see anyone but themselves as legitimate Canadians. They don't just disagree with people like me, but think even voting Liberal makes you "not a real Canadian". And if you aren't really a Canadian, then you shouldn't be allowed a say in how Canada is run. That's how they can stand up and claim Trudeau is a dictator despite his winning an election recently, because he and his supporters don't really count in their minds. Not really Canadians. Traitors, even. Enemies certainly. I do agree we should be very worried about where this leads.
An excellent suggestion, TB.
Harper made politics deeply personal, BJ. It's a trend that has only gotten worse.
If PM J Trudeau really was a dictator they wouldn’t be around to make such claims.
UU
We live in an age where we have a lack lustre PM opposed only by an opposition that draws it's talking points through social media and USA TV!
The electorate have been seduced by memes click bait and unrealistic promises.
This has only come about as elected governments have reduced themselves to promoters of special interest rather than national interest.
TB
Why is little PP running ads talking about what he’d do or not do as prime minister when he still needs to win the party leadership first. Very premature I’d say.
If the conservatives ever grow another pair they will dump the reform contingent. This part of the party is holding them back. I’m sure they’d win more often. If the reformers have to go it alone I feel they will wither on the vine as there isn’t enough of them to have a seriously shot at getting in the big chair. Having to stand alone and come to the realization that most Canadians, by far, don’t agree with their tactics or policies would be good for them and us.
It sounds a lot like the rhetoric that was coming from the truckers, UU.
We are breaking down into regional tribes, TB. That can't be good.
The Reform wing only represents a region of the county, Graham. They are not a national party.
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