Roundup: The town hall performance

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Justin Trudeau had his townhall with Maclean’s yesterday (in partnership with fellow Rogers publications Chatelaine, L’Actualité and CityTV, of course), and it went very well, and was engaging (and the whole thing can be viewed here). There wasn’t a lot of news, per se, that came out of it, but Trudeau did spend some time explaining certain positions, such as why he thinks there is a better role for Canada in the Middle East that draws from our experience in Afghanistan than the bombing mission does, or why he made the decision to cut the tax bracket that he did (it winds up helping more people when examined in conjunction with the new child benefit program), and the whole issue of the federal minimum wage (it only helps such a small group of people, and wasn’t likely to move too many provincial governments). Oh, and he slammed the kinds of fear-mongering politics engaged in by politicians like Donald Trump as ignorant and irresponsible. John Geddes remarks about Trudeau’s effortless adoption of the role of Prime Minister, while Paul Wells offers his thoughts on the event as the moderator, and how Trudeau compares to Harper. Laura Payton notes the very politic way in which Trudeau responded to questions, and some of the lessons that he perhaps learned from Harper in that regard.

Good reads:

  • Trudeau insists that they will balance the books before the next election. He also said he would ask the Pope for a formal apology for residential schools.
  • The government makes their case to the Supreme Court on extending the assisted dying deadline, while their special joint committee gets to work.
  • Cross-examination began in the Duffy trial, and he already admitted to a poor memory. (Reevely, Blatchford and O’Malley here).
  • RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson said the outcome of the Duffy trial could affect the investigations into nine other Senators’ expenses.
  • The speed at which Syrian refugees are being processed has increased dramatically, and more flights are going to start arriving on an increased basis.
  • There are questions about conflicts of interest as several of lobbyists are married to central staffers in the new government.
  • The government announced they would re-open the Kitsilano Coast Guard station, fulfilling yet another election promise.
  • Both opposition parties want investigations into those CRA employees who contributed to a report on the agency’s failings, but each for different reasons.
  • What data there are shows that it indeed looks like voting among Indigenous communities was way up in the last election.
  • The Canadian Press’ Baloney Meter™ tests the claim that the Liberals restored healthcare benefits for Syrian refugees (spoiler: there’s some baloney).
  • Susan Delacourt reminds us that Harper was just as image conscious as Justin Trudeau.

Odds and ends:

Admitted Star Wars geek Justin Trudeau took some sick kids from CHEO to a special screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Baltic nations misread Trudeau’s glib response that having a favourite Baltic Nation wasn’t “a thing,” and made a video to remind him they’re a thing.