Pharmacare has also been given an extended deadline. I think having limited versions of these could be money well spent (especially compared to some other areas where the government sloshes money around).
I find that appealing. It means even if I vote Liberal, then I might get a handful of the better NDP ideas.
Although my vote is already locked in anyway. Whoever is in first place, unless it is Conservatives, in which case whoever is in second place.
OH argle bargle Trudeau bad duuuuuuurrrrrrrrr.
Pretty well what some chap had to offer today in a grocery lineup.
That is the Conservatives policy platform in a nutshell
To update the thread title: “Nae sae good.”
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He’s lost several Cabinet ministers, including the high-profile resignation last week of his Deputy PM and Finance Minister, who wrote a scathing public letter of resignation on the way out the door.
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Polling about 20% behind the Conservatives for the past several months.
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Getting into the buying votes stage, by suddenly offering tax holidays and rebates (which contributed to the resignation of Finance Minister Freedland).
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Lost the support of the NDP, who had been voting to support the government in a confidence and supply agreement, when the federal government ordered striking railway workers back to work (NDP has strong roots in organised labour)
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Tories are planning on bringing a non-confidence vote as soon as the House is back from Christmas; Bloq said they would vote non-confidence; just last week, Singh for the NDP said that they would also vote non-confidence.
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Members of the Liberal caucus have been openly calling for Trudeau to resign as leader to give someone else a chance to salvage the wreckage.
If the government falls in January on non-confidence, we’re looking at an election in February (one of the worst possible months for campaigning in Canada 
) with the strong likelihood that the Liberals will take heavy losses and the Tories will form a majority government
I’m predicting the family tradition of a Walk In The Snow before New Years.
And an article that just popped up in my feed:
I don’t know if it’s pride/hubris or general dumbness, but I doubt Trudeau will resign, even if doing so would give the Grits the only (albeit small) change of keeping their majority at the next federal election. The writing has been on the wall for a while, and speaking as someone who views Poilievre as Trump-lite, eh? the idea that the current PM will delude himself into taking him on is too depressing to think about. I’ve voted for the Conservatives precisely once in my life (following the sponsorship scandal) but won’t even consider it since they’ve gone the ugly populist route. But damn, Trudeau’s been a nonstop catastophe, and I really don’t want to have to hold my nose to vote for him again.
Globe and Mail is reporting that Trudeau may announce resignation tomorrow.
Since G&M is paywalled, link to journal that is reporting on the G&M story:
The NDP is not a party that’s often counterproductive for political reasons, but this would be an example. The railroad strike was costing the Canadian economy an estimated $341 million each day that it went on, affecting thousands of businesses and their employees. It’s an essential service where strikes should never be allowed in the first place, just as they shouldn’t be in the historically confrontational postal union. Workers’ rights in essential industries can be supported by impartial arbitration, not by holding innocent Canadians hostage.
The story was picked up by wire services and the Toronto Star, but so far the CBC only has a minor story about Trudeau potentially facing a reckoning in Wednesday’s caucus meeting. He has so many pressures from all sides that it seems unlikely he could stay on. It’s sad to see how far things have fallen since this thread was started almost exactly nine years ago.
Nine years is a LONG time for a leader though. Even the US and A limits the presidency to eight years. Trudeau had a good run, but it’s time to read the room. Bow out gracefully before you get booted out. Which could happen Wednesday.
He’s got a news conference this morning and will reportedly announce he’s stepping down as Liberal leader, staying just long enough to see the new one chosen. It’s not going to be enough to stop Poilievre and the Cons from winning this year but maybe it’ll stop the bleeding enough to prevent a total 1993-style wipeout.
The GG has agreed to prorogue Parliament until March 24 and a new leader is chosen. Because the government did not want to hand over papers related to the SDTC, it has been a long time since Parliament did anything anyway. If a new party is elected, won’t they have access to the SDTC papers anyway?
The Libs will be back in eight years or so.
And it’s official:
Ah well, at least he won’t have to deal with Trump again. That had to make resignation more palatable.
Once he’s no longer PM, does Trudeau have any potential legal exposure to fallout from the SDTC scandal?
No idea. I don’t think Prime Ministers have much or any liability for official decisions. It is unclear what went on, but you’d probably have to show there was knowledge, personal involvement or benefit.
I was thinking on the broader question of Trudeau’s legacy. He was wildly popular when elected in 2015 after taking over a smoking hull of a party. He talked of sunny ways and gave idealistic instructions to his ministers. He did an adequately good job during COVID, with some early missteps, and a good job on the first round of USMCA negotiations. He prioritized improving relations with First Nations and his record here is mixed. He dragged people out of poverty, and legalized marijuana for better or worse. He helped Ukraine. But his foreign policy was often naïve and he did not deliver on important promises. He spent very freely, but it is hard to see real improvements despite the largesse. His opponents sometimes fixate on trivial details - hair, drama, socks - but there is real scandal there, and considerable hypocrisy. His understanding of (and actions concerning) economic issues seem incomplete. Important things like the military, legal reform, delegating power, cybersecurity and consumer advocacy were not much changed. His legacy will likely be viewed quite a bit more positively than it seems at the moment. But how much more?
I wouldn’t think so. There’s no suggestion of personal gain by Trudeau; at least I’ve never heard of any such suggestion, and there’s no suggestion in the Wikipedia article.
Plus, the agency wasn’t under his direct personal control.
PMs take political hits for mismanaged spending, but not personal liability.
Who’s next?
Apparently Mark Carney’s taking soundings