I was quite taken aback by Justin Trudeau's performance at the Globe and Mail debate.
We have all seen how Stephen Harper's Conservatives fail to tell the truth and mislead the public, so it's hard to believe that anyone could do worse.
At the debate, some people were annoyed by Trudeau constantly talking over others and concluded that he lacks the manner of a head of state.
My issue with Trudeau has nothing to do with his performance or speaking skill. It has everything to do with the substance and content of his speech, and this speaks to his integrity.
When he was caught in a flip-flop or making a misleading statement, Trudeau would quickly accuse his rival of playing politics. Since when was the practice of calling out your opponents with facts deemed playing politics? But he doesn't stop there. Trudeau would even declare that he is telling the truth and that he has integrity! The problem with that, of course, is that he does not provide any factual information to back up his claim.
For the record, here are a few highlights that expose Trudeau's tricks and incompetence.
1. When Stephen Harper ridiculed Trudeau's flip-flop on cutting small business tax rates and referring to small business owners as wealthy people avoiding taxation, Trudeau rebutted that his rival was "just playing politics". Playing politics? This is what Mr. Trudeau said in an interview with the CBC's Peter Mansbridge:
Peter Mansbridge: "So, there could be a cut for small business?"
Justin Trudeau: "We have, we'll probably have things to say about it, but we have to know that a large percentage of small businesses are actually just ways for wealthier Canadians to save on their taxes, and we want to reward the people who are actually creating jobs and contributing in concrete ways. So, there's a little tweaking to do around that."
2. Trudeau, his candidates and supporters continuously criticized the NDP's minimum wage policy. Trudeau's two Vancouver candidates even sent a Chinese-language release to the Chinese media that says: "The minimum wage policy released by the NDP only applies to less than one per cent of this country's workers, at the same time it will harm the interest of most of the small- and medium-size businesses."
This stance is illogical and self-contradictory. If the NDP's minimum wage only applies to less than one per cent of the labour force, how can it harm most small- and medium-size businesses?
The fact is, when the NDP tabled its minimum wage policy, the Liberal party knew it applied only to federally regulated jobs and they voted in favour of it in Parliament. Yet when election time came, Trudeau reversed his position to attack the NDP. So, who is playing politics, and who is not telling the truth?
3. Likewise, Trudeau and his followers criticized the NDP's childcare plan. The fact is, the Liberal party promised to bring in a childcare program in the 1993, 1997, 2000 and 2004 elections. However, even when they were elected and had budget surpluses, they never honoured their promise.
4. Trudeau's fiscal position is another classic example of this election. Before, he said, "The budget will balance itself." After the writ dropped, however, he drastically changed his position, declaring he will run an annual deficit of $10 billion for three years. When his rivals added up all the Liberal announcements, they found they already exceeded $10 billion.
On September 20, Trudeau told CTV, "We have a full costing coming out, no we, we're the first that put out a fully costed framework."
To this day, neither Trudeau nor his Liberal party has released a fully costed framework, nor are they the first to do so. This is not only a flip-flop, but a rather low-skill deception.
5. Trudeau and his followers attacked Tom Mulcair by portraying the NDP leader as trying to break up Canada. In a Chinese-only media release emailed to the Chinese media, the Vancouver East and Kingsway Liberal candidates made this accusation:
"Democratic Party (the release miswrote the name of the NDP) government will repeal the Clarity Act, leaving the sovereigntists much easier to break up our country. According to the current federal law, if there is a 'clear majority' in favour of independence, then a province can initiate the process for separation. The NDP thinks that 50 per cent plus one constitutes a clear majority, and would allow the process for separation to begin!"
The question is, if the NDP is going to repeal the Clarity Act, then how do we get a 50-plus-one referendum and the process for separation?
Let's be clear about the facts. First, the two historical referendums that were held on the question of separation were held under the senior Trudeau and Chretien's Liberal governments. The bar was set each time at 50 plus one. Second, if the NDP is going to repeal the Clarity Act, doesn't that make the 50 plus one referendum question irrelevant?
It is astounding to me that the junior Trudeau's ignorance of basic historical facts, his tactic to deceive the public and his accusations of rivals playing politics are so transparent and disingenuous that his performance is just plain disgraceful.
With a political leader like Justin Trudeau, no wonder the public has such a low regard for politicians.
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