January 6, 2025
Jim Warren
Schadenfreude (google the meaning of it!) can be fun, especially when misfortune falls on the truly deserving. Twenty-twenty-five augurs well for supporters of the oil and gas sector looking forward to the defeat of the Liberal government. Trudeau’s fall will herald a tsunami of relief and celebration on the prairies.
Steven Guilbeault, also known as the ‘Green Jesus’ by his fans, will be among the mighty who falls the furthest — all the way from the dizzying heights of the CN Tower and high public office to political has-been.
There is a chance Guilbeault will contest his Montreal seat in the next election. As of January 1, 2025 he was 9 months and 21 days short of the six years of service required to qualify for a House of Commons pension. He might therefore decide to suffer the indignity of a demotion to opposition MP status if the upcoming election is not held prior to October 21, 2025.
On the other hand, Guilbeault might realize it will be uncomfortable remaining in Parliament, particularly if the new Conservative government launches a series of “open the books and jail the crooks” type inquiries into nine years of Liberal malfeasance. He may decide lying low, out of sight and out of mind, is preferable to being in the public eye and on the hot seat in the House of Commons.
So What is an Unemployed Green Jesus to Do?
History tells us it’s not uncommon for defeated cabinet ministers and MPs to achieve soft landings in companies and organizations they treated well while in office. Plum positions await some distinguished former politicians—directorships on corporate and NGO boards, consulting contracts, and cushy jobs.
The Justin Trudeau Liberals may have surpassed all previous Canadian governments when it comes to cronyism and patronage. They lavished hundreds of favoured consulting firms, businesses and environmental organizations with cash and contrasts. Some Liberal MPs and back room deal makers may assume they are entitled to their quid pro quo.
However, the rewards system for defeated Liberal politicians in 2025 is unlikely to deliver anywhere near what it has in the past. That’s because the new government and the RCMP can be expected to launch a number of the investigations Liberals have been blocking over the past nine years. Some of those who gave and received government contracts and grants will be concerned. They might face legal problems and headlines detrimental to their personal and corporate images. Hiring or otherwise rewarding a former MP or civil servant for favours rendered would be like pinning a target on your back.
Perhaps the environmental movement will provide Guilbeault along with other Liberal MPs and functionaries with soft landings following the Liberal’s fall from power. After all the Trudeau Liberals showered anti-oil environmental groups with an unprecedented level of government funding. According to Alberta’s Allan Commission, in just the four years between 2015 and 2019, Canadian environmental organizations received $371 million in grants from the federal Liberals.
Guilbeault has been a favoured son of Canada’s environmental movement. Prior to winning his seat in parliament in 2019 Guilbeault held a number of high profile positions in the environmental movement. For instance, he served a stint as International Climate Change Coordinator for Greenpeace International from 2005 to 2008.
Guilbeault was a government grant magnet. Équiterre, an environmental group he co-founded and later worked for, received $12.5 million in provincial and federal grants plus $2.4 million in foreign funding under his watch. Guilbeault’s magic worked best when Liberals were in office in Ottawa and Quebec.
Odds are environmental groups will receive considerably less funding from a fiscally responsible Poilievre government than they did from the Trudeau Liberals. What’s more, having Steven Guilbeault on the board or as a consultant would virtually guarantee an environmental organization won’t be on a Conservative government’s gift list.
Guilbeault may hope to find his reward via appointment to a climate-related UN agency or international environmental organization like Greenpeace. That too may prove difficult given the taint of unethical conduct and outright corruption that is likely to follow former Liberal MPs into their post-parliamentary lives. The UN already has more than enough scandal and corruption on its plate. And, hiring people associated with financial mismanagement and impropriety isn’t a good look for environmental groups hoping to attract donations from individuals and charitable foundations.
Of course, if all else fails, prominent Liberals like Guilbeault can always hope for a Senate appointment. It is a safe bet Justin Trudeau, or whichever sacrificial lamb leads the Liberals into the upcoming election, will make as many last minute Senate appointments as is legally possible.
That sort of move would revive the campaign to reform or abolish the upper house.
Jim Warren
Schadenfreude (google the meaning of it!) can be fun, especially when misfortune falls on the truly deserving. Twenty-twenty-five augurs well for supporters of the oil and gas sector looking forward to the defeat of the Liberal government. Trudeau’s fall will herald a tsunami of relief and celebration on the prairies.
Steven Guilbeault, also known as the ‘Green Jesus’ by his fans, will be among the mighty who falls the furthest — all the way from the dizzying heights of the CN Tower and high public office to political has-been.
There is a chance Guilbeault will contest his Montreal seat in the next election. As of January 1, 2025 he was 9 months and 21 days short of the six years of service required to qualify for a House of Commons pension. He might therefore decide to suffer the indignity of a demotion to opposition MP status if the upcoming election is not held prior to October 21, 2025.
On the other hand, Guilbeault might realize it will be uncomfortable remaining in Parliament, particularly if the new Conservative government launches a series of “open the books and jail the crooks” type inquiries into nine years of Liberal malfeasance. He may decide lying low, out of sight and out of mind, is preferable to being in the public eye and on the hot seat in the House of Commons.
So What is an Unemployed Green Jesus to Do?
History tells us it’s not uncommon for defeated cabinet ministers and MPs to achieve soft landings in companies and organizations they treated well while in office. Plum positions await some distinguished former politicians—directorships on corporate and NGO boards, consulting contracts, and cushy jobs.
The Justin Trudeau Liberals may have surpassed all previous Canadian governments when it comes to cronyism and patronage. They lavished hundreds of favoured consulting firms, businesses and environmental organizations with cash and contrasts. Some Liberal MPs and back room deal makers may assume they are entitled to their quid pro quo.
However, the rewards system for defeated Liberal politicians in 2025 is unlikely to deliver anywhere near what it has in the past. That’s because the new government and the RCMP can be expected to launch a number of the investigations Liberals have been blocking over the past nine years. Some of those who gave and received government contracts and grants will be concerned. They might face legal problems and headlines detrimental to their personal and corporate images. Hiring or otherwise rewarding a former MP or civil servant for favours rendered would be like pinning a target on your back.
Perhaps the environmental movement will provide Guilbeault along with other Liberal MPs and functionaries with soft landings following the Liberal’s fall from power. After all the Trudeau Liberals showered anti-oil environmental groups with an unprecedented level of government funding. According to Alberta’s Allan Commission, in just the four years between 2015 and 2019, Canadian environmental organizations received $371 million in grants from the federal Liberals.
Guilbeault has been a favoured son of Canada’s environmental movement. Prior to winning his seat in parliament in 2019 Guilbeault held a number of high profile positions in the environmental movement. For instance, he served a stint as International Climate Change Coordinator for Greenpeace International from 2005 to 2008.
Guilbeault was a government grant magnet. Équiterre, an environmental group he co-founded and later worked for, received $12.5 million in provincial and federal grants plus $2.4 million in foreign funding under his watch. Guilbeault’s magic worked best when Liberals were in office in Ottawa and Quebec.
Odds are environmental groups will receive considerably less funding from a fiscally responsible Poilievre government than they did from the Trudeau Liberals. What’s more, having Steven Guilbeault on the board or as a consultant would virtually guarantee an environmental organization won’t be on a Conservative government’s gift list.
Guilbeault may hope to find his reward via appointment to a climate-related UN agency or international environmental organization like Greenpeace. That too may prove difficult given the taint of unethical conduct and outright corruption that is likely to follow former Liberal MPs into their post-parliamentary lives. The UN already has more than enough scandal and corruption on its plate. And, hiring people associated with financial mismanagement and impropriety isn’t a good look for environmental groups hoping to attract donations from individuals and charitable foundations.
Of course, if all else fails, prominent Liberals like Guilbeault can always hope for a Senate appointment. It is a safe bet Justin Trudeau, or whichever sacrificial lamb leads the Liberals into the upcoming election, will make as many last minute Senate appointments as is legally possible.
That sort of move would revive the campaign to reform or abolish the upper house.
Steven Guilbeault and His Anti-Oil, Anti-Alberta Agenda Will Be Among the Mighty That Will Fall in 2025 - Canadian Energy News, Top Headlines, Commentaries, Features & Events - EnergyNow
By Jim Warren Schadenfreude (google the meaning of it!) can be fun, especially when misfortune falls on the truly deserving. Twenty-twenty-five augurs well for supporters of the oil and gas sector looking forward to the defeat of the Liberal government. Trudeau’s fall will herald a tsunami of...
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