The old maxim tells that even though you might have the best of intentions in politics, that doesn't mean everyone is going to come into your tent. And so it was when Prime Minister Trudeau unilaterally declared that all Canadians were guilty of genocide.
As one of those saintly figures who is just too good for the rough-and-tumble of political life, the Prime Minister is often far too kind to his opponents, allowing them to openly question his decisions. Who could forget how the Opposition dishonestly campaigned on the idea that something called a "carbon tax" wouldn't actually be revenue neutral? The whole thing could have been avoided if Trudeau had called it an "environmental competitiveness and job creation fundraiser", mostly because you can only say all those words maybe once in a 30-second commercial where change falls out of the air ducts.
In an ideal world, a Prime Minister should be allowed to proclaim that the country he leads was not only born in sin, but continues to perpetuate the very worst crime imaginable against an identifiable group, whenever and however he damn well pleases, without being criticized. And, really, all he had to do was blame the genocide on a decade of Conservative cuts and he would have been in the clear. If only the rest of us were so noble, as to resist the dreaded and hateful partisan impulse!
The problem with not blaming absolutely everything on the Conservatives is that creates the impression in some people's minds that the Liberals might be responsible, and that is just not the way we do things here in Canada. Of course the idea that the Liberals would be responsible for genocide would never occur to anyone, but for the disinformation coming from the other side of the House.
It all goes back to the fact that Conservatives just can't sit there and wear the charge of genocide like they're supposed to, just like how they apparently can't sit there and be called uneducated, even when the data says that that's what they are. Honestly! Can you believe the absolute sense of entitlement? The reeking, shameless privilege? Let's not forget how these are the people who are constantly talking about freedom of speech. Now they're mad just because someone went out of their way to make them mad? Boo hoo!
Do you think generations of genocided Indigenous Canadians would have cried and whined on Twitter if they had been the subject of a totally harmless cartoon depicting them being led away in a straitjacket, like Minister of Fearful Tears and Jeers Lisa Macleod did? I doubt it, because they were never given the opportunity, much less a Cabinet Minister's salary and 5 months summer vacation to boot. Lisa Macleod needs to be Lisa MacQUIET if you ask me!
This is why the Prime Minister cannot afford to be kind, as much as we would like him to. He needs to take action immediately and make it clear that there are NOT "good people on both sides" here. He needs to signal to Canadians that it is OK to fight back against the rising tide of populism using whatever means they have at their disposal before it's too late.
Imagine the boost to our international reputation if we had the courage to force Conservatives to see what it's like to have to live on reserves? And imagine the huge step forward it would be for reconciliation if we charged Indigenous Canadians with the responsibility of forcing Conservatives onto those reserves with the full backing of the PMO? (Not forever, of course- just until after the election is over.) We'd probably get our seat on the UN Security Council back, at a minimum. But more importantly, we'd finally be the truly fair country we tell ourselves that we are since we're sorry.
Photo Credit: Toronto Star
Written by Josh Lieblein
