I'm not so cynical as to think the timing of the expulsion of Indian diplomats was politically motivated. However, I am sufficiently cynical to note that the Liberals have put a lot of energy towards allegations of interference by India while doing little or nothing about the allegations regarding China. I also note that the actions of India are of great concern to a specific Liberal constituency that's been very vocal and carries disproportionate weight in Liberal internal politics, while the China allegations tend to revolve around the Liberals being a bit too cozy with China.
Overall, Trudeau's tactics seem a lot like a desperate effort to distract voters from things that are really bad for him and his party by saying "Hey - look over there! Ignore what's behind the curtains!" It's the kind of tactic that works for Captain Kirk on Star Trek, but Mr. Prime Minister, I've watched Captain Kirk. I know Captain Kirk. Captain Kirk was a hero of mine. Mr. Prime Minister, you're no James T. Kirk.
I'm not a Tom Mulcair fan, but in his most recent CTV piece, I think his assessment of Trudeau's attempt to force Poilievre's hand was bang on. As a former opposition leader, in Mulcair's view refusing to read the intelligence reports is precisely what Poilievre must do. Mulcair emphasized that Poilievre has been smart not to buckle under Trudeau's persistent attempts to handcuff him by shaming him into viewing the intelligence. The NDP and Bloc leaders are less important and don't have the same responsibilities as an opposition leader so they have the luxury of reading the reports. Poilievre does not. Perhaps that's why Mulcair was, and Poilievre is, the leader of the opposition and, unfortunately, Matt isn't.
Mulcair also pointed out that in the morning, Trudeau testified he never read the reports. He left that for his national security advisor; but, in the afternoon, he testified that as Prime Minister he's read lots of those reports and what they say about those nasty conservatives. He can't keep his lies straight.
As Mulcair said, Trudeau's partisan stunt hit a new low in Canadian politics. Not an easy feat!
Pollievre’s COS has the security clearance and has been briefed (by Liberal staffers) and at ‘no time’ was he informed that members of the Conservative Party were compromised. Its in Pollievres written riposte. In short, Trudeau has kept this information from the Conservative Party. It would be instructive to know if he has done the same with the NDP and the BQ. If there truly are compromised Conservatives don’t you think he would have leaked a name or two by now in order to smear the Conservatives? Thats how he works. He hasn’t. Why? Perhaps because he IS lying? The smell coming from this affair would knock a buzzard off a gut wagon.
Somebody leaked CSIS's concerns about Ontario MPPs Vincent Ke (Conservative) and Michael Chan (Liberal) to the media, so it can happen. Maybe just to MPPs?
Interesting. Unfortunately, it is presently a fact of life, thanks to CPC interference, that any person of Chinese heritage with continuing links to the Chinese mainland who wishes to run for MP/MPP/City Council will be monitored by the CPC for ideological purity and action will be taken by them accordingly. This casts a pall over everything. The CPC wants Canadian politicians to be pro-Beijing even when the best interests of Canada dictate the opposite.
Trudeau: "Polievre should get clearance and then know who in his party is subject to foreign influence and act accordingly". Trudeau knows who in his party is under foreign influence, but as of now has done nothing about it. May I ask why it is up to Polievre to clean house but Trudeau allows them to stay.
I think you covered most of the bases. Your best line is ‘I wish we lived in a country that demanded better’. I personally am exhausted by how willing Canadians are to accept mediocrity in almost everything. I hope, if Poilievre is elected, he will do better (he can’t do much worse), but it will be tough with all the obstacles in his way. There is a taint over every MP unless the names are released and Trudeau was despicable yesterday in the way he politicized a serious inquiry that he fought truth and nail to prevent.
Unsaid: maybe it's about high damn time Canada moved past using a binder full of un-indexed "stuff" to relay important security/intelligence updates to our politicians.
Also, I am well past cynical enough to believe the timing of the India thing was too cute to be coincidental.
When's the last time you remember the RCMP sitting on information for over a year and then releasing it with a press conference on a HOLIDAY, the day before the PM takes the stand to give testimony....?
I'm always amazed at how far a narcissist will go to save himself. The country, his coworkers . the opposition are expendable as long as he is in the spotlight.
My recollection is that Poilievre has always maintained that the names should be released to the public. I don’t recall any technocratic reasoning behind his decision not to seek security clearance to be informed in exchange for an oath of secrecy. He has stood up for his conviction that the people have a right to know. I guess you could call it a populist impulse but it’s one that keeps him true to his own point about f view. It never had anything to do with him being able to lead or keep a secret. His position also put Trudeau square in the drivers’ seat and strapped him in. It’s frankly beyond shocking that this analysis clearly wasn’t considered in the pre- meditation of Trudeau comments. There are many who fear the fatal fallout that may come to the careers of those for whom we have intelligence but lack evidence. They took that chance - politicians lose and sometimes they win. The time for coy gamesmanship is long past - an elbow in the boob is never a good idea.
The fact that we’ve had two by-elections recently and it’s entirely possible that folks in those ridings are going to find out the candidates they voted for have been ‘witting or semi-witting’ accomplices in foreign interference is mind boggling. Not a great way to earn back trust in our institutions.
Matt, I wish we had better more mature leaders too. This is ridiculous. And Justin Trudeau would be the first to lament the fact that citizens have lost faith in their institutions. And he would also claim that this has nothing to do with him. Many of us out here in voter-land are skeptical of all 3 leaders and the candidates they are putting forward at the constituency level. And that feels uncomfortable, distressing and really sh*tty.
By identifying that there are Conservatives that have been compromised wittingly or unwittingly, Trudeau has violated the secrecy provisions that he agreed to. He should be charged accordingly.
I wouldn't go so far as say Trudeau "identified Conservatives", because he didn't "identify"; he "alleged". He is the one who set up the rules on this entire charade, and continues to try and trap Poilievre into secrecy. Why would he do that? This "national security" excuse is utter nonsense. Trudeau is the only one who can legally expose all of the alleged political targets of China, but he won't. That by itself should tell us all we need to know.
This is the point that I don't understand. Trudeau, Singh and May have viewed the classified information and claim they are unable to release names. If Poilievre were to get the clearance, wouldn't he also be unable to release names?
That is my understanding because they have to agree to keep the information confidential. It puts the other leaders into an untenable position if they take the briefing.
Are you sure? The PM isn’t above the law. The office of Prime Minister doesn’t even exist in our Constitution. It’s only a convention that that leader of the party that forms the Government chairs the Cabinet. He has no special legal status of immunity.
I suppose if he were charged by the Mounties with violating the OSA, he could direct his Justice Minister to quash the proceedings as not in the public interest. (A narcissist sees no difference between the public interest and his own.) If the Justice Minister refused he could fire her and keep appointing new Justice Ministers until he found one who would obey. But this would stink to high heaven. And Trudeau is not in the unassailable political position he was back in SNC-Lavelin days.
Poilievre would also be unable to release the names, although nothing would stop him from continuing to demand that the government publish them.
I don't see either much upside or downside to him taking the briefing. Either way he can adopt the same policy and there is little room for him to act.
"Not that Poilievre didn’t deserve it. Poilievre is wrong to refuse the briefing, on both philosophical and political grounds." NO, Poilievre is NOT WRONG! Even former NDP Leader, Tom Mulcair, thinks Pierre Poilievre, as Leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition, is absolutely correct to refuse this briefing. Pierre is LEADING and showing us that he can LEAD by NOT taking Trudeau's made up "super special secret decoder ring" security requirement. It is and always was meant as a gag order for all who view it.
Poilievre would be unable to release the names upon accepting the briefing, although nothing would stop him from continuing to demand that the government publish them.
There is little upside or downside to him taking the briefing. Either way he can adopt the same policy and either way there is minimal room for him to act on the information.
I'm not so cynical as to think the timing of the expulsion of Indian diplomats was politically motivated. However, I am sufficiently cynical to note that the Liberals have put a lot of energy towards allegations of interference by India while doing little or nothing about the allegations regarding China. I also note that the actions of India are of great concern to a specific Liberal constituency that's been very vocal and carries disproportionate weight in Liberal internal politics, while the China allegations tend to revolve around the Liberals being a bit too cozy with China.
Overall, Trudeau's tactics seem a lot like a desperate effort to distract voters from things that are really bad for him and his party by saying "Hey - look over there! Ignore what's behind the curtains!" It's the kind of tactic that works for Captain Kirk on Star Trek, but Mr. Prime Minister, I've watched Captain Kirk. I know Captain Kirk. Captain Kirk was a hero of mine. Mr. Prime Minister, you're no James T. Kirk.
I'm not a Tom Mulcair fan, but in his most recent CTV piece, I think his assessment of Trudeau's attempt to force Poilievre's hand was bang on. As a former opposition leader, in Mulcair's view refusing to read the intelligence reports is precisely what Poilievre must do. Mulcair emphasized that Poilievre has been smart not to buckle under Trudeau's persistent attempts to handcuff him by shaming him into viewing the intelligence. The NDP and Bloc leaders are less important and don't have the same responsibilities as an opposition leader so they have the luxury of reading the reports. Poilievre does not. Perhaps that's why Mulcair was, and Poilievre is, the leader of the opposition and, unfortunately, Matt isn't.
Mulcair also pointed out that in the morning, Trudeau testified he never read the reports. He left that for his national security advisor; but, in the afternoon, he testified that as Prime Minister he's read lots of those reports and what they say about those nasty conservatives. He can't keep his lies straight.
As Mulcair said, Trudeau's partisan stunt hit a new low in Canadian politics. Not an easy feat!
Justin Trudeau continues ... over and over and over ... to prove Steven Harper right ... He (Trudeau) "is just not ready" ... Good column Matt.
Nor will he ever be.
Five words. You nailed it.
(Mark Twain ... from Missoura (sic) is alleged to have once said, "Ah would have wrote it shorta ... but I didn't have enough tam. 😛 )
Pollievre’s COS has the security clearance and has been briefed (by Liberal staffers) and at ‘no time’ was he informed that members of the Conservative Party were compromised. Its in Pollievres written riposte. In short, Trudeau has kept this information from the Conservative Party. It would be instructive to know if he has done the same with the NDP and the BQ. If there truly are compromised Conservatives don’t you think he would have leaked a name or two by now in order to smear the Conservatives? Thats how he works. He hasn’t. Why? Perhaps because he IS lying? The smell coming from this affair would knock a buzzard off a gut wagon.
Working on this.
Somebody leaked CSIS's concerns about Ontario MPPs Vincent Ke (Conservative) and Michael Chan (Liberal) to the media, so it can happen. Maybe just to MPPs?
Interesting. Unfortunately, it is presently a fact of life, thanks to CPC interference, that any person of Chinese heritage with continuing links to the Chinese mainland who wishes to run for MP/MPP/City Council will be monitored by the CPC for ideological purity and action will be taken by them accordingly. This casts a pall over everything. The CPC wants Canadian politicians to be pro-Beijing even when the best interests of Canada dictate the opposite.
Do you mean CCP (Chinese Communist Party) rather than CPC (Conservative Party of Canada)?
Yes. My error. Too many acronyms. Thanks.
There really are too many acronyms, I agree! Too easy to mix them up.
Trudeau: "Polievre should get clearance and then know who in his party is subject to foreign influence and act accordingly". Trudeau knows who in his party is under foreign influence, but as of now has done nothing about it. May I ask why it is up to Polievre to clean house but Trudeau allows them to stay.
Good question. Trudeau, at times, appears to be confused about how a leader should lead. And, at times he seems to think Poilievre is the leader
I think you covered most of the bases. Your best line is ‘I wish we lived in a country that demanded better’. I personally am exhausted by how willing Canadians are to accept mediocrity in almost everything. I hope, if Poilievre is elected, he will do better (he can’t do much worse), but it will be tough with all the obstacles in his way. There is a taint over every MP unless the names are released and Trudeau was despicable yesterday in the way he politicized a serious inquiry that he fought truth and nail to prevent.
Unsaid: maybe it's about high damn time Canada moved past using a binder full of un-indexed "stuff" to relay important security/intelligence updates to our politicians.
Also, I am well past cynical enough to believe the timing of the India thing was too cute to be coincidental.
When's the last time you remember the RCMP sitting on information for over a year and then releasing it with a press conference on a HOLIDAY, the day before the PM takes the stand to give testimony....?
Trudeau continues to diminish the stature of the RCMP by relegating them to being the (Liberal) Party Police.
I'm always amazed at how far a narcissist will go to save himself. The country, his coworkers . the opposition are expendable as long as he is in the spotlight.
Bang-on on the narcissist tag. Trudeau has more in common with Trump than folks give him credit for.
My recollection is that Poilievre has always maintained that the names should be released to the public. I don’t recall any technocratic reasoning behind his decision not to seek security clearance to be informed in exchange for an oath of secrecy. He has stood up for his conviction that the people have a right to know. I guess you could call it a populist impulse but it’s one that keeps him true to his own point about f view. It never had anything to do with him being able to lead or keep a secret. His position also put Trudeau square in the drivers’ seat and strapped him in. It’s frankly beyond shocking that this analysis clearly wasn’t considered in the pre- meditation of Trudeau comments. There are many who fear the fatal fallout that may come to the careers of those for whom we have intelligence but lack evidence. They took that chance - politicians lose and sometimes they win. The time for coy gamesmanship is long past - an elbow in the boob is never a good idea.
It seems that Trudeau went off script (again). As you said, there would/should have been analysis and Trudeau ignored his handlers.
The fact that we’ve had two by-elections recently and it’s entirely possible that folks in those ridings are going to find out the candidates they voted for have been ‘witting or semi-witting’ accomplices in foreign interference is mind boggling. Not a great way to earn back trust in our institutions.
I realized many years ago that Trudeau is not in it for Canada. He is in it for Trudeau. And once I realized that, everything made sense.
Additionally, at the local level, voters have the right to know if the candidate(s) vying for their votes are compromised.
Matt, I wish we had better more mature leaders too. This is ridiculous. And Justin Trudeau would be the first to lament the fact that citizens have lost faith in their institutions. And he would also claim that this has nothing to do with him. Many of us out here in voter-land are skeptical of all 3 leaders and the candidates they are putting forward at the constituency level. And that feels uncomfortable, distressing and really sh*tty.
By identifying that there are Conservatives that have been compromised wittingly or unwittingly, Trudeau has violated the secrecy provisions that he agreed to. He should be charged accordingly.
I wouldn't go so far as say Trudeau "identified Conservatives", because he didn't "identify"; he "alleged". He is the one who set up the rules on this entire charade, and continues to try and trap Poilievre into secrecy. Why would he do that? This "national security" excuse is utter nonsense. Trudeau is the only one who can legally expose all of the alleged political targets of China, but he won't. That by itself should tell us all we need to know.
This is the point that I don't understand. Trudeau, Singh and May have viewed the classified information and claim they are unable to release names. If Poilievre were to get the clearance, wouldn't he also be unable to release names?
That is my understanding because they have to agree to keep the information confidential. It puts the other leaders into an untenable position if they take the briefing.
Only the PM can do this, and it must be done in the House, where liability for divulging secrets cannot be a criminal offense.
Are you sure? The PM isn’t above the law. The office of Prime Minister doesn’t even exist in our Constitution. It’s only a convention that that leader of the party that forms the Government chairs the Cabinet. He has no special legal status of immunity.
I suppose if he were charged by the Mounties with violating the OSA, he could direct his Justice Minister to quash the proceedings as not in the public interest. (A narcissist sees no difference between the public interest and his own.) If the Justice Minister refused he could fire her and keep appointing new Justice Ministers until he found one who would obey. But this would stink to high heaven. And Trudeau is not in the unassailable political position he was back in SNC-Lavelin days.
Poilievre would also be unable to release the names, although nothing would stop him from continuing to demand that the government publish them.
I don't see either much upside or downside to him taking the briefing. Either way he can adopt the same policy and there is little room for him to act.
That’s exactly the point!
The (almost) last stand of a dead PM walking.
Very good column ...
"Not that Poilievre didn’t deserve it. Poilievre is wrong to refuse the briefing, on both philosophical and political grounds." NO, Poilievre is NOT WRONG! Even former NDP Leader, Tom Mulcair, thinks Pierre Poilievre, as Leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition, is absolutely correct to refuse this briefing. Pierre is LEADING and showing us that he can LEAD by NOT taking Trudeau's made up "super special secret decoder ring" security requirement. It is and always was meant as a gag order for all who view it.
Oh
Matt, you should have thought of that. I do not agree with all of your reasoning either.
Poilievre would be unable to release the names upon accepting the briefing, although nothing would stop him from continuing to demand that the government publish them.
There is little upside or downside to him taking the briefing. Either way he can adopt the same policy and either way there is minimal room for him to act on the information.
Elizabeth May read the report and feigned insouciance.
Jagmeet Singh read the report and feigned panic.
And that was all the coverage they got.