Roundup: Exit WE

Prime minister Justin Trudeau seems to be making Fridays his campaign stop field trip presser days, and this time it was to a food bank in Gatineau. Trudeau started off by announcing that because of the situation with the new national security law that China had imposed on Hong Kong, they were suspending the extradition treaty to Hong Kong, as well as exports of certain equipment including military equipment. After commenting about how the government was helping food banks during the crisis, he mentioned that they were moving ahead on delayed infrastructure projects, noting that 92 were getting underway in BC. He also said that he would be hosting a two-day virtual Cabinet retreat next week, where discussions would include how to make the country more resilient during future waves of the pandemic. During the Q&A, Trudeau stated that he was disappointed by Air Canada’s service cuts and hoped that they would be restored as the economy recovers. He also made the point that childcare was an important consideration and why it was one of the conditions for the provinces as part of the $14 billion that is still on the table, and that hasn’t been agreed to. Asked about the intruder on the grounds of Rideau Hall, he simply stuck with thanking the RCMP for their response. And with regards to China, Trudeau said that they were taking action regarding the Hong Kong situation, and looking at steps that Canada can take while we are in discussions with our allies.

Of course, Trudeau also addressed the news that shortly preceded his presser that WE Charity had voluntarily pulled out of the Canada Student Grant programme, for which he said that he was disappointed in how it unfolded, but that he would continue to look for ways to give young people opportunities to serve. He stated that he thought WE had more capacity for training and protectively identifying volunteers, and insisted again that it was the public service that reached out to WE and not his office. And a few hours later, the Ethics Commissioner said he would look into this contract on the grounds of whether or not it furthered the private interests of someone (meaning Trudeau’s family), though I’m not sure how exactly volunteering their time and profile is a material benefit when they get no money from it. Then again, this particular Ethics Commissioner has gone out of his way to invent new interpretations of offences to make it look like he’s being tough, so who knows where this will go.

On the subject of WE, new revelations came out in advance of their pulling out, including criminal activity and fraud in their Kenyan operations in 2017, and the fact that they were offering summer camps $25,000 if they brought in over 75 volunteers over a few months. To add to that, others in the charitable sector are raising questions about the assertion that WE was the only group capable of administering the programme given that they lack links with local groups across the country ­– and the government’s own Canada Service Corps could have been used instead. So it’s no wonder that WE looked at what was before them and decided to pull the plug before even more organizations started digging into their activities, and this government didn’t fight them on it, because maybe they’ve learned a lesson or two on issues management. Maybe.

Good reads:

  • The Canadian Forces member who intruded on Rideau Hall grounds has been charged with 22 criminal offences, and more may be on the way.
  • Philippe Lagassé implores you to stop writing to the Lieutenant Governor/Governor General/The Queen to withhold royal assent on a bill, or whatever else you want.
  • My weekend column looks at the dead weight in Cabinet’s pandemic response and wonders if it’s time that Bill Morneau get shuffled for someone more suited.

Odds and ends:

Colby Cosh recounts the intriguing UK court case where rival Venezuelan governments are trying to control the country’s gold stored at the Bank of England.

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One thought on “Roundup: Exit WE

  1. I’m so sick of the whiny, anal-retentive DipperCon narcs running to the principal every time Justin gets too popular or Justin says or does something that rubs them the wrong way. It’s high school politics and it’s pathetic. Scheer is god-awful but Charlie Anguish needs to GTFO. It’s all but a foregone conclusion how the poor man’s James Comey will decide, because he’s such a hard-arse who way overreached the last time. Then he’ll be called to testify before the committee, Justin will get bad PR, and the polls will start to dip and the horseshoe extremists will have gotten their pound of flesh. Just like the Bernie bros and Trump did with Hillary’s emails and Benghazi, smearing her to oblivion and even trashing the good work of the Clinton Foundation as some kind of personal slush fund doing nefarious things to vulnerable people. SNC, Same Nothingburger Controversy.

    I guess the road to hell really is paved with good intentions. I don’t know why he puts up with it. I just hope he’s able to slough it off again like he did with Blah-valin and it doesn’t jeopardize the next election, because the Cons are as carcinogenic as always. Then again, maybe he’s growing tired of the BS and sees a better path as a nonprofit activist himself. I mean, Jimmy Carter got run out on a rail after a short while, but ended up being happier and more successful doing charity work of his own, outside the free range asylum of the nation’s capital where Trump now rules over the swamp and Biden stands no chance of draining it in four years’ time. So, yeah, who knows where this will go.

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