So it is official. Justin Trudeau has prorogued Parliament until September 23.
On that date there will be a Speech from the Throne and then very soon afterward I would expect that there will be a budget. If the PM is to be believed, during his announcement today, both will be the most progressive that this country will have ever seen and they will address some issues that otherwise would not be addressed in normal times.
Alot of people, including me, are hoping for a little boldness from them as one of the perverse effects of this pandemic is a more general acceptance of government spending. All of the economic measures introduced during the pandemic have all been well received, despite the efforts of some on the Conservative side at discrediting them, and the massive deficit needed to finance them was greeting with a collective shrug. There might actually be an opportunity to accelerate the relegation of the Conservative Consensus into the dustbin of history.
Politically, this is a shrewd move. Yes, the resignation of the Mr. Morneau and the stigma surrounding prorogation (caused by Stephen Harper's abuse of the procedure) will cause some short term pain for the Liberals. However, some choice bits of the speech and budget will be leaked in the coming weeks to get people talking about them and then when they are tabled in Parliament the Opposition will have the choice of supporting them or voting against them and bringing down the government. If I am Justin Trudeau I would be quite pleased with running an election based on two documents officially tabled in Parliament, particularly since I believe they will be a comprehensive medium to long-term plan for facilitating the economic recovery of Canada after the pandemic. On the other hand, the Opposition Parties would have some explaining to do if they voted such a plan down and stating "PM bad and scandals" as the reason would probably not impress non-partisan voters, the voters who actually decide elections.
Finally, as I stated in my previous post the events of the day essentially stomped on any efforts to generate any buzz or excitement around the election of the new leader of the CPC. Justin Trudeau laid a trap for the Conservative media and they appear to be falling into it. He also trolled the Conservatives very well. Without excitement and buzz the selection of the new leader, regardless of who it is, will be largely ignored, particularly during the final weeks of the summer, during a global pandemic and with back-to-school anxiety ratcheting up across the country.
I am hoping that the Trudeau Liberals realize the once in a lifetime opportunity that they have for addressing a whole host of issues that they would otherwise not be able to address in normal times. I am hoping that the Throne Speech and the Budget are reasonably bold documents, although I do realize that there will still be economic and political constraints. I am hoping that sanity will prevail in at least one Opposition Party so that we can get on with dealing with these issues, although I would not be too displeased if that sanity did not prevail and the Liberals could fight an election based on these two documents. If that were to happen I would like their chances very much.
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Don't forget that there is a lot more buzz about Chrystia Freeland becoming the first female finance minister, and leading the "she-covery," than about the CPC leader doing... just about anything. Right now the "face" of the CPC is the supremely detestable Poilievre, who this morning accused Freeland of being complicit in upholding "Trudeau corruption". Guess who he gets to face as critic in QP.
The opposition parties are really revealing their testosterone-infused outrage and overplaying their hand. Particularly Blanchet, who is in some bad-boy hot water of his own, but also the Bernie Bros of the NDP, whose Yankee cousins were just as vicious to Hillary Clinton as the Trump GOP. Attacking Margaret Trudeau wasn't bad enough. Now they go after Chrystia Freeland. And so soon after Catherine McKenna faced a misogynistic attack at her office. As though it isn't bad enough that they have all been vilifying Justin Trudeau in subtle and not so subtle "effeminate" terms for years.
Polling continues to show that the Liberals are entrenched with women voters, and not because of "tokenism" as the press cynically demeans Trudeau's cabinet, but because of policies and representation. The opposition aren't doing themselves any favors by encouraging more vitriol against the governing party that is resolutely focused upon the most feminist and progressive slate of economic and social reforms in the country's history. So they try desperately to smear Trudeau as a "fake feminist" lacking credible bona fides even as they attack his cabinet ministers, accuse Liberal-supporting women of voting for him for no other reason than physical attraction, etc.
They have no policies to offer as an alternative to the ambitious platform the Liberals are planning, with some very impressive people brought on board to "build back better." So they continue to complain about WE, about prorogation, about Liberal "cover-ups," and now about Freeland's credentials. When even Doug Ford wants nothing to do with their antics, it's clear they have gone off a lot more than just a "glass cliff." I think they sense the danger of impending irrelevance and are thrashing about in their (political) death throes. Hopefully it comes sooner rather than later.
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