Emperor Trudeau
https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/lilley-bring-back-parliament-or-just-crown-trudeau-emperor
Bring back Parliament or just crown Trudeau emperor
If we were in normal times, MPs would have been meeting on Parliament Hill on Monday, debating the government’s latest actions and spending. Of course, we aren’t in normal times and we don’t have a normal government any longer.
Instead, we got another pronouncement from the steps of the cottage, the PM’s daily morning show played out like it usually does. Justin Trudeau announced $2.2 billion of support for Canada’s cities, not new cash but a sped up payment of gas tax money they were already counting on.
Trudeau also discussed the unrest in the United States and gave Canadians a lecture on racism.
“As a country, we can’t pretend that racism doesn’t exist here,” Trudeau said.
Money for every group he wants to curry favour with — except instead of a campaign promise, he’s actually spending it.
Well most of us don’t pretend racism doesn’t exist but most of us also haven’t worn blackface. When the CBC’s Tom Parry did the responsible thing and asked Trudeau how he could lecture us over his past sins, Trudeau muttered on about how “we need to work together through this.”
This is what holding the government to account looks like now. The PM announces billions in new spending, he takes some questions — some them asking him to spend more and do more with less oversight and accountability — and then he disappears until the reality show starts again the next morning.
The way we are operating now is far closer to the basic dictatorship that Justin Trudeau has told us he admires so much in China than a functioning parliamentary democracy.
Parliament hasn’t had a real sitting since the middle of March and won’t now until at least September.
The NDP and Greens supported the Liberals in a vote to suspend regular sittings of the House until the end of September. What we will have between now and then is more of what we have been living with since MPs decided that Parliament wasn’t necessary during a global crisis – the PM making decrees from the steps of Rideau Cottage.
“I think it’s extremely important that we continue to have a well-functioning Parliament and functioning democratic institutions during this crisis,” Trudeau said from the cottage steps last week, completely missing the irony.
It’s from this spot that Trudeau now governs, makes announcements of billions in new spending with no checks and balances from the House of Commons or Senate. His near-daily pronouncements of new ways to spend money actually reminds of an election campaign —
The House will have a partial meeting in June, the special committee on COVID-19 will get just four hours to debate more government spending, likely to be in the $150 billion range.
Let that sink in: The government wants to spend $150 billion and allow just a handful of MPs to debate the merits of the proposals for the equivalent of half a day’s work.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh foolishly went on CTV’sQuestion Period to defend what he was doing. When host Evan Soloman asked him how he could say these four summer sessions are more democratic and offer more accountability than a full Parliament, Singh said he personally gets more questions.
“I normally get two questions of 30 seconds each, now I’ll get five minutes,” Singh said.
Sure, he personally gets more stage time, Parliament as a whole gets less.
We are seeing unprecedented spending by the government — well above past economic downturns, even higher spending per capita than in the war years. That requires scrutiny, that requires Parliament.
It’s time for MPs to get back to work, to do their job of holding the government to account.
If they don’t want to do that and Canadians are happy with Trudeau ruling from his cottage, then let’s admit we’ve given up on democracy and crown Trudeau as emperor.
It’s how many in the media treat him already.
https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/lilley-bring-back-parliament-or-just-crown-trudeau-emperor
Bring back Parliament or just crown Trudeau emperor
If we were in normal times, MPs would have been meeting on Parliament Hill on Monday, debating the government’s latest actions and spending. Of course, we aren’t in normal times and we don’t have a normal government any longer.
Instead, we got another pronouncement from the steps of the cottage, the PM’s daily morning show played out like it usually does. Justin Trudeau announced $2.2 billion of support for Canada’s cities, not new cash but a sped up payment of gas tax money they were already counting on.
Trudeau also discussed the unrest in the United States and gave Canadians a lecture on racism.
“As a country, we can’t pretend that racism doesn’t exist here,” Trudeau said.
Money for every group he wants to curry favour with — except instead of a campaign promise, he’s actually spending it.
Well most of us don’t pretend racism doesn’t exist but most of us also haven’t worn blackface. When the CBC’s Tom Parry did the responsible thing and asked Trudeau how he could lecture us over his past sins, Trudeau muttered on about how “we need to work together through this.”
This is what holding the government to account looks like now. The PM announces billions in new spending, he takes some questions — some them asking him to spend more and do more with less oversight and accountability — and then he disappears until the reality show starts again the next morning.
The way we are operating now is far closer to the basic dictatorship that Justin Trudeau has told us he admires so much in China than a functioning parliamentary democracy.
Parliament hasn’t had a real sitting since the middle of March and won’t now until at least September.
The NDP and Greens supported the Liberals in a vote to suspend regular sittings of the House until the end of September. What we will have between now and then is more of what we have been living with since MPs decided that Parliament wasn’t necessary during a global crisis – the PM making decrees from the steps of Rideau Cottage.
“I think it’s extremely important that we continue to have a well-functioning Parliament and functioning democratic institutions during this crisis,” Trudeau said from the cottage steps last week, completely missing the irony.
It’s from this spot that Trudeau now governs, makes announcements of billions in new spending with no checks and balances from the House of Commons or Senate. His near-daily pronouncements of new ways to spend money actually reminds of an election campaign —
The House will have a partial meeting in June, the special committee on COVID-19 will get just four hours to debate more government spending, likely to be in the $150 billion range.
Let that sink in: The government wants to spend $150 billion and allow just a handful of MPs to debate the merits of the proposals for the equivalent of half a day’s work.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh foolishly went on CTV’sQuestion Period to defend what he was doing. When host Evan Soloman asked him how he could say these four summer sessions are more democratic and offer more accountability than a full Parliament, Singh said he personally gets more questions.
“I normally get two questions of 30 seconds each, now I’ll get five minutes,” Singh said.
Sure, he personally gets more stage time, Parliament as a whole gets less.
We are seeing unprecedented spending by the government — well above past economic downturns, even higher spending per capita than in the war years. That requires scrutiny, that requires Parliament.
It’s time for MPs to get back to work, to do their job of holding the government to account.
If they don’t want to do that and Canadians are happy with Trudeau ruling from his cottage, then let’s admit we’ve given up on democracy and crown Trudeau as emperor.
It’s how many in the media treat him already.
