Okay. I’m going to break my own policy here and link to a Kinsella article because it’s just so interesting!
Most mainstream outlets didn’t even want to touch the Trudeau Grope story when the rumours first started trickling out. Then some in Canadian media started picking it up. But yesterday during his Bash the U.S. tour, Justin was asked about it and repeated the official statement: That he doesn’t remember having any “negative interactions” that day.
Except that it is very puzzling that Trudeau provided a quote for a column in the Creston Valley Advance at that time explaining that he didn’t realize the woman was “reporting for a national paper” or he would never have been so “forward”!!
And now we hear from Warren:
He “doesn’t think he had any negative interactions there.” Not exactly a categorical denial.
So, that matters, and so does this: the young woman who was assaulted doesn’t want to say anything else about the incident. She holds a senior position in a federally-regulated sector, and she is undoubtedly afraid about what could happen to her and her family. Until she says otherwise, then, she should remain what she is. Which is anonymous.
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And I totally agree. But the problem for Justin now is that his Feminist persona is becoming tainted with hypocrisy, which affects his credibility.
And so that Golden Boy image is becoming increasingly tarnished. The PMO must be desperately hoping this story goes away but there are too many unanswered questions that won’t be satisfied by a “selective memory” response.
Blue Like You2 
He doesn’t recall any negative interactions. Only two possibilities. He’s lying, or he groped women so often it wasn’t noteworthy to him
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Yes. Typical narcissist. So many pics of him with his hands all over other women. He probably figures it’s his birthright.
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He is a self described feminist, I wonder if he could define that for us?
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Also, if he did have to write an apology to her, you’d think that would stick somewhere in his memory. If he or anyone had groped me I’d have made a scene, that’s what women need to do, not sit on it for years after the fact.
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We must question why this woman cannot come forward with her side of this disgusting disrespectful side of the groping incident. We must not say sexual assault although it was clearly very distressing attack on the woman. I respect her feeling that she needs her privacy. I would ask her to reconsider and think about standing up for all women who faced these groping attacks 18 years ago. We all know that groping was common until this recent me too that Trudeau champions.
Are we to believe that he considers himself above the law that he spoke about.
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OT – All 13 Thai boys and their leader have been found alive after being trapped in an underground cave by floodwaters ten days ago. I’m sitting here thousands of miles away with tears in my eyes so I can only imagine how their parents must be feeling!
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Yes that is wonderful. I hope all goes well getting them out!
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The M S M are succeeding again the reporter was groped during an interview days before. Why not ask about the interview with the reporter ? Did Trudeau grope the reporter during the interview?
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That is very interesting and explains why Trudeau keeps saying he didn’t recall any negative interactions “that day”.
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Will Trudeau abide his own rules/standards and step aside to deal with GropeGate?
He may not recall it but he has said we must believe those who come forward.
Sometimes memories have to be tweaked, if this was reported in newsprint at the time surely it can be retrieved.
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The incident was reported at the time by the victim. She was extremely distressed and is still probably distressed.We understand her reluctance but this occurred and we need to support her.
We need to investigate and question Trudeau about this.
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Warren Kinsella has an interesting post on this today and says exactly how Trudeau should deal with it. Will he, doubtful and this might be his downfall. I don’t think Trudeau has strong political instincts like Chretien did. One thing that drove opposition parties nuts in the 90s is Chretien’s approval seemed to stay consistently over 60% no matter what he did and he was good at getting bad stories off the front pages fast. Trudeau is not and thus his approval may have rebounded over the Trump tariffs but that could be short lived.
What I find most annoying is he seems to be what Jordan Peterson calls a postmodernist otherwise looks at everything through oppressor vs. oppressed despite the fact the groups he falls under would mostly be an oppressor. With the rich, which he is, he went on how they are not paying enough taxes and we need more wealth distribution, let still lives the high life and in fact even with his own money puts it in a trust fund to lower tax bill and lives in Ontario instead of Quebec to pay less. If CAQ wins this fall and cuts taxes (Quebec unlike Ontario has a surplus so can afford large tax cuts), I wonder if he will move back further showing his hypocrisy. What he did was dumb and inexcusable, but the fact he claims to be a feminist just makes it look even worse. I like many would be quite happy to see his postmodernist vision be thrown in the political trash can where it belongs. Whether it be seeing everything through gender lenses, appointing people on race and gender instead of qualifications, and endorsing Celina Cevar-Chavannes in her whole intersectionality of race is just divisive and doesn’t seem to be winning over the groups he wants to, but pushing away those who feel they are being labelled as oppressors. Racism and sexism are problems and need to be dealt with, but like the boy who cried wolf, go after it where it really exists not virtue signaling, because of you are screaming discrimination all the time, eventually people will tune out and that just may be the time when they shouldn’t.
I will have a blog up soon now that I am back giving a post mortem on the Ontario election as well as discussing what this means for Canadian politics in general, so stay tuned.
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Looking forward to your post mortem on Ontario election Mile. I think it has made the federal Liberals just a wee bit nervous. nervous
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Hard to say what the reaction is. Even if the Liberals lose, I doubt they will fall to 7 seats in Ontario, but I could easily see something like 40.5% Tories (same as provincially), 33.6% Liberals, and 19.6% NDP otherwise NDP and Liberal numbers flipped. Some may tell themselves Ontario tends to vote opposites and there is some truth to that, but that is not always the case, after all if it was Trudeau would have not won in 2015. I think the bigger message here is their shift to the left maybe helping them in the downtown cores, but makes them toxic in rural areas, and is turning away centrist voters in the suburbs, but considering how stubborn Trudeau is, doubt he will pivot towards the centre. He is not like Chretien who has good instincts and can easily make changes to deal with the problems. If Chretien were still in power, you would see him make policy changes to avoid a similar fate, but Trudeau I think will probably use the excuse Ontario always votes opposites, Liberals had been in power for 15 years instead of 4 so winning was impossible or Ford will be so unpopular come 2019 he will save the party and I think taking either approach is dumb.
At the same time the Tories need to see this as opportunity but not get complacent. Otherwise we have the potential to win over those same voters who gave Doug Ford his majority, but much like the Ontario PCs did, we will have to earn them, we cannot assume they will automatically come over to us.
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It looks as if Trudeau is lying low to try and escape the ‘heat’. In the last five days including today he has had three personal days, one with ‘private meetings’ and one, Canada Day, where he flitted about the country. Then he’ll be off to Latvia, one of the Baltics he claimed weren’t a thing. I don’t think his strategy will work. The pressure is building and Twitter is hinting there may be other revelations to come.
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If this leads to Trudeau’s resignation, that is great news. While not a Liberal fan, I think there are many Liberals who could do a far better job than he does or at least not as bad. And you know as someone who travels a lot, I kind of liked it when no one knew who our PM was, which was the case under Chretien, Martin, and Harper, but unfortunately isn’t under Trudeau as he is well known internationally. Actually it’s embarrassing when people ask me what I think as most are shocked when they hear I dislike him. In some ways sort of like Obama who wasn’t overly well liked at home except in the first and final year but very popular abroad. I figure when you don’t pay taxes, it’s easy to like someone whose personality appeals to you, but when you pay taxes and are affected by the decisions its a much different story.
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Great comments here! Doing a lot of babysitting this week so not too much time but please carry on. Thanks!
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Manny Montenegrino @manny_ottawa has compiled a list of personal/ private meetings days over the past three weeks.
“Itinerary @JustinTrudeau PM of 🇨🇦
Personal/Private:
June 16th
June 17th
June 18th (1/2 day)
June 22nd
June 25th
June 26th
June 29th
June 30th
(Canada 🇨🇦 Day)
July 2nd
July 3rd
July 4th
Where is the Media on this issue.
Are they covering for him, why?”
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Ha-ha! Good for Manny.
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Apparently BBC and CNN as well as a few other foreign news sources have reported about grope gate. Not sure if they made headlines but this is what happens when you have a PM who tries to be an international celebrity, the good, the bad, and the ugly gets reported as opposed to someone like Harper who asides political junkies few outside Canada knew whom he was (which is a good thing IMHO).
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We also have to remember that the usual suspects are working over time to try to cover up Trudeau’s grope. Brian Lilley lays that out beautifully here http://brianlilley.com/so-cbc-covered-up-the-kokanee-grope-for-trudeau-who-else/ Also, MacLeans had an interesting piece last week suggesting that it was Trudeau’s office who leaked the Harper visit to Washington to try to deflect attention away from Gropegate.
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Blatchford had a thoughtful story up along these lines last week. CBC is among the outlets that knew all about the grope and possibly other incidents before the election and actively suppressed it. Christie Blatchford talked about how other media organizations are constantly being cut, both employees and facilities. Trudeau promised before the election to not only restore CBC funding, but also increase it, and he did. We are at the stage now where over 50% of all media in Canada is state run. It’s actually kind of scary.
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Manny also despoils Justin’s repeated use of the term “that day” (three times in a 14-second video clip) by pointing out that the interview ‘grope’ preceded the day of the festival (“that day”). So, of course he recalls no negative reactions on “that day”. Interesting, eh? Manny, the lawyer, knows how to dig for the truth in a simple statement.
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Just updated my blog on the Ontario election and my thoughts. A bit long but is divided by issue. I will have a separate one later on the big issues ahead including gropegate. Feel free to leave any comments including even disagreeing with aspects. I like healthy debates on issues even where I disagree.
In the mean time I remember back in my university days here on Rock 101 (I don’t know if they exist anymore as I use satellite radio now), they had what were called twisted tunes. When Arnold Schwarznegger was accused of groping they used the Beatles’ song Eleanor Rigby and changed it to Governor Arnie is always groping women. Perhaps they should change it to Prime-minister Trudeau is always groping women as that would be fitting. I think what is most shocking about revelations is it goes against the whole idea of him being a feminist.
That being said I know a few people who have met him and I’ve heard he is very full of himself. Also not the smartest on policy either, in fact back in 2006 I actually went to a Liberal event where he spoke (note I was a member of the BC Liberals then so I got invites to events at both parties since I had friends in both federally since BC Liberals are a pro free enterprise coalition with members from both parties) and he was talking about his youth volunteering. I asked him a tough question of how he would pay for it without raising taxes and he couldn’t give a straight answer so told me then he needed to learn a lot more before becoming PM and I don’t believe he has.
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I was hearing on twitter Trudeau and Ford are meeting tomorrow. Does anyone know if this is true. Should be interesting. Obviously the two have to work together but somehow doubt they will agree on much. Trudeau as mentioned on my blog had largely friendly premiers when he came to office save Saskatchewan. Now he has trouble in BC (pipeline), Saskatchewan (carbon tax), Ontario (same as Saskatchewan), probably soon in Quebec (combining tax forms and differences on immigration if CAQ wins who are leading in the polls right now), Alberta next year (Kenney who will likely win and like Ford and Moe opposes Trudeau), perhaps Manitoba (when Pallister came to power most premiers were progressive so probably figured it wasn’t worth picking a fight he would lose, but if most premiers are conservatives there will be pressure on him to join in), and perhaps maybe in Atlantic Canada (All PC parties there promise to oppose the carbon tax and polls show them competitive in both New Brunswick which votes this September and Newfoundland which votes next year). Off course with this gropegate maybe he will be forced to resign, but somehow I am skeptical that will happen. Brown didn’t have a lot of caucus support unlike Trudeau as well as after blowing three easily winneable elections, the PCs were trying to be super careful and not take any risks in blowing a fourth so I actually think had the election been in 2019 or 2020 Brown would have stayed on to let things play out, but closeness to election meant he had to go. Problem for the federal Liberals is they are the party of Trudeau and if he is not their leader it falls apart, while the PCs have a large pool of talent so easy to change leaders if one becomes a problem.
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It’s true. Ontario media have had it since noon today.
Given that we’re already hearing whiffs from the Trudeau government about transfer payments, I have to wonder whether this is Trudeau’s attempt at playing hardball with Ford?
The article I just posted below shows the double standard in the reporting and actions taken between Trudeau’s proven Gropegate and the alleged accusations hurled at Patrick Brown. I bet the media will have some good questions.
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Interesting. Good the meeting is happening and will be interested to see what happens. As for gropegate agree double standard but lets see how this plays out.
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No matter what one thinks of Patrick Brown, I found this article very good at tagging the double standard being displayed by the usual left-leaning media types. https://www.spencerfernando.com/2018/07/03/difference-between-how-patrick-brown-justin-trudeau-allegations-were-treated-shows-the-elitist-medias-massive-anti-conservative-bias/
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Looking forward to being able to follow politics more closely starting on the weekend, but this sure caught my eye! https://twitter.com/jdsnowdy/status/1014601799930601472
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Of course there’s more to come. Why didn’t the Global reporter ask any follow-up questions of Sophie after she alluded to an affair during the interview I linked to a couple of threads back? Derrick Snowdy alluded to a questionable occurrence with a staffer in 2011. When will that come out and how much more is there out there?
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I expect there are more stories and women out there. The rumours around JT when I was at school in Ottawa and he was at Katimavik were plenty. A known party-boy and ladies man before Sofie.
The question is whether the media will dig down and find them with the same zest they do in reporting on Conservatives.
We already know the answer to that one.
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We’re told that the reporter is working in a federally regulated industry at present. Wouldn’t it be ironic if that federally regulated industry, of which broadcasting is one, just happened to be the CBC?
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Why has the story surfaced at all if the person who was allegedly groped does not wish it go beyond the accusation? Is it because it’s doing all the damage she wants it to do without being taken any further? How can such accusations be proven in a court of law without witnesses?
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An anonymous someone sent the newspaper clipping to WK who broke the news of its existence. Frank magazine opened the whole can of worms when it wrote about the incident several months earlier. Was the same person responsible for disseminating the info to both? And where does the CBC fit into all of this now that we know they’d been sitting on the story for a while? Someone was determined to get the story out to as wide an audience as possible, that’s for sure.
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Trudeau is not doing well with his answers, Mr Butts should advise him to stop digging, every time he answers he’s digging himself deeper.
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I thought is was a horrible scrum. You’re right. Digging himself in deeper by the day. AND, it’s the question on the minds of most. Those other issues they discussed? Not so much.
So this morning residents of Toronto who live on the waterfront were treated to a shirtless Justin taking a jog – photographers in tow.
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Media making a big stink about Ford administration refusing the money from the feds for the illegal border crossers. I guess as long as Ontario doesn’t have to put up one cent we should accept it, but I don’t think there is anything racist about wanting people to come legally instead of illegally. Canada does not grant any foreign national the automatic right to enter Canada and while some point out our obligations under international treaties to take those seeking asylum, which I support, they should at least enter through a proper port of entry. If the US is a safe country then they should be refused as with asylum seekers you apply in the first safe country not shop around. If we do not feel the US is safe anymore, then we should suspend or terminate the agreement. When I was in the UK recently, there was a sign at Heathrow airport before the border line up saying if an asylum seeker, declare at the border and your chances of being refused were much higher if you didn’t declare there. So its not about refusing asylum seekers, simply saying they must go through the proper channels.
That being said, I think Ford is going to face a lot of push back from the left and it will get ugly no doubt. How the public will respond is anyone’s guess. I imagine the vast majority of PC voters will just become more hardened in their choice and even less likely to go elsewhere, but since elections are always won on the margins, it is the swing voters we have to keep an eye on. Most Ontario voters are either firmly in the pro-Ford or anti-Ford camp, but the small minority in the swing camp is ultimately who will decide in 2022 whether he gets a second term or not. That being said considering how many awful stories against him were run during the campaign and only made a minor dent, makes me think the types who get angry at this probably never voted PC and never would.
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Actually, the media last night put the questions about his groping first above the other issues he was asked about. Several local networks led with the groping questions and JT’s answers.
Re: The questions around immigration was muddled and made worse by Trudeau’s answers. It didn’t help him one bit. I did think that many of the media outlets got the condescending tone of Trudeau right.
Ford’s actual statement had nothing to do with immigration policy at all and everything to do with the resettlement of asylum seekers to Toronto.
Trudeau is back again meeting with John Tory this morning. I’m confident that he’s giving him the same message about the stresses his city is under re: asylum seekers. Illegal at that.
Push back Miles? Count on it. How Ford and his team handle it will prove to be exactly what the majority of Ontarians voted for.
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I was going more on the tweets from media outlets I saw but point taken. That being said unfortunately we are going to have to listen to the left scream the sky is falling everyday as long as the PCs are in power. The important point for Ford is to not get to distracted on this and push ahead with his agenda. In the past the left disliked conservatives, but it seems now they are over their top in their hatred of them and seem to not accept in a healthy democracy sometimes the left wins, sometimes the right wins, it seems a lot won’t accept anything other than left wing governments all the time.
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This may also break your Kinsella rule but he’s right. https://twitter.com/kinsellawarren/status/1014984041425092608?s=21
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For sure. Trudeau is just trying to rationalize his behaviour and it’s not working.
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Trudeau has apologized for something he says he didn’t do but he remembers he didn’t do anything inappropriate? Who in Hades will believe that one, he can stop digging, he’s going to need a big machine to fill the hole.
BTW, what was he trying to prove by running shirtless in Toronto today? Is he saying why would any woman mind be groped by such a handsome dude?
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No kidding Liz J. With his photographers in tow it had to have been stage-managed.
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And a convoy of black cars following closely behind with one pulling up to the curb ready to pick him up after his well-choreographed stunt/photo op. Did you notice him appearing to talk into his hand (a phone) and then jog alone to a different path? “OK, guys, here’s where I go it alone for the cameras. You got that? Then back to the car. It’s too damn hot for much more of this.”
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When did the allegation that Trudeau groped a woman become an accusation against us as a society, something we have to reflect on? Why must we atone for his bad behaviour? That’s a tactic used by children. What a disgusting excuse of a man he is.
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This is not going away:
David Akin
Verified account @davidakin
David Akin
Retweeted Catherine Cullen
Rose Knight: “It happened.” Trudeau this morning on CBC Radio recalling how he felt when he read Rose’s editorial 18 years ago: “I did not know to what she was referring.”
Catherine Cullen
Verified account @cath_cullen
The woman who made the groping allegation against Justin Trudeau in 2000 has issued a statement, including her name.
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Now what? Will she be able to prove it? Will the accused groper be having any more add to his shovel?
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A good column by Lorrie Goldstein here on this subject and of the double standard displayed by the media https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/goldstein-what-if-groper-controversy-had-been-about-a-conservative-leader
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Slightly off topic but on Ontario politics, many are making a big stink about Lisa MacLeod using the term illegal immigration instead of irregular border crossings. It is illegal to enter Canada without presenting one’s self to a CBSA officer. Try entering any foreign country illegally and I can guarantee, you will be deported and likely barred for many years or even life from re-entering. If as a Canadian you cross illegally, you will be fined or arrested. Yes some refer to the UN convention which states one can claim asylum regardless of how they enter the country and that is true, but it doesn’t change the fact entering anywhere other than a port of entry is illegal, it’s just we don’t prosecute those who claim asylum if they enter illegally. The reason UN convention allows one to enter illegally is in some cases they have no choice (i.e. those tunneling under the Berlin Wall, North Korean defectors, Cuban dissidents taking rafts to Florida for example), but jumping the border a few kilometers from an official port of entry is not what I consider an example of crossing illegally because you are fearing for your life, safety, or security. And it is not racist to want people to enter the country properly. We are a sovereign country, but a generous and compassionate one. I am glad we take in many immigrants a year and proud of our history of helping those in need, but we do not have open borders nor should we. Groups like No one is Illegal are not representative of the mainstream and their idea of no borders is plain silly. So I don’t think MacLeod’s comments were off base at all. In fact if people want to avoid Canada electing someone like Trump, best to control the border as it is uncontrolled borders that allows more radical ones to win votes. Lecturing people on how we should just let everyone in isn’t going to fly politically. And likewise a lot of immigrants don’t like illegal border crossings as immigrating to Canada is a very long process taking a lot of time and a lot of paperwork so many who came the proper way resent those who jump the queue. I am all for us taking refugees, but getting a US visitor’s visa and then jumping the border from a safe country is not what I call a refugee as a refugee is supposed to make a claim in the first safe country not engage in asylum shopping. Someone who flies here directly from an unsafe country and needs our protection, that is a different story (i.e. a Chinese political dissident who catches a flight from Beijing to Vancouver and then declares refugee status).
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You are so right about the anger and resentment these asylum-seekers-of-convenience cause to those of us who have had to jump through hoops to get to Canada legally. The process takes much longer now than when my family and I immigrated here. Because we had no sponsor my father had to have a job waiting for him to start immediately and prove that, as someone from Poland, he could speak, read and write English or French. There were health checks and immunizations, in addition to background checks. There were no handouts. People saved long and hard to be able to afford a place to live, furnishings and food with enough left over to last until that first paycheck. Things have definitely changed but not always for the better.
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Well for starters, can they be considered refugees fleeing from the US?
How would we feel if people were being allowed into the US from here and being called refugees?
People coming into any country this way are illegals, Trudeau and company can call them irregulars all they want, they are still not legal immigrants. This could set a president and we could end up with a huge problem. As it is we really have no idea who or what elements we are letting into the country.
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Actually none of them are Americans but it’s true they are entering via the US and generally the idea is if you are a refugee you apply in the first safe country you arrive in, not shop around. The only ones that might have a case is if facing deportation from the US to a country that was unsafe but despite Trump being in power, US refugee laws haven’t really changed (Congress has to change them) and they do meet international standards thus why we have the third safe country agreement.
UK has a similar problem with many refugees camping out in Calais and then jumping in the back of a lorry or on the train to try to get to the UK despite the fact France is a safe country so they should be making the claim there (or whichever European country they landed in first). That was a big reason the UK refused to join the Scheghen agreement as right now if you make it to Italy undetected you can go all the way to Sweden without passing through border controls so the worry about asylum shopping. And many do go to the Northern European countries like Germany or Sweden which have better job opportunities and welfare systems than the Mediterranean ones do even though the Mediterranean ones are still safe.
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Trudeau must have been a bit squeamish/sheepish meeting with Doug Ford after the way he trashed PM Harper for attending a function with Doug and his brother Rob.
Trudeau seemed to think the Fords were not fit for public office. It sure must have made him uncomfortable shaking his hand, not sure I would have offered a hand to the twit , a nod and a smile from Ford would have been enough.
Mr Trudeau has a lot to learn, he’s proving not to be a quick study every time he opens his gob.
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Very exciting that the Thai cave rescue is underway now! Four boys out so far now from what I’m hearing.
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Thai TV is live streaming https://www.facebook.com/SpringNewsonline/videos/10155598371285841/UzpfSTEzMDE0MDgxNzAyMjE2NDoxNzQ2MTU4MjYyMDg3MDcw/ and the Guardian has live updates https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2018/jul/08/thailand-cave-rescue-operation-divers-trapped-boys-live
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Just heard that a sixth boy has been rescued now!
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Now all boys and coach out! Amazing.
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Wondering how the crowds are for Trudeau’s pancake flipping at the Stampede this year?
He should try taking off his shirt and riding a bronco, I’m sure the way he tosses around BS the bull might feel he is kinfolk and be easy on him and the cowgirls would all be swooning.
Oh wait, this is Alberta, no swooning over the pony there!
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I’m getting very upset with Conservatives saying that Sheer isn’t good enough and we need another vote to get Max in. We have a leader and it only makes the Liberals win again with this kind of nonsense. Twitter is active today trying to split the party. Max didn’t win, so be it!! Smarten up Conservatives!!
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Conservatives do need to smarten up. I think if we look at Ontario most already have. There will always be some sore heads, not team players,and the media will give them all the time they want.
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For all Scheer’s flaws, Liberals would have had a field day with Maxime Bernier on attack ads. Libertarianism is DOA and that could have just painted him as someone who wants to gut social programs while giving big tax cuts to the rich and wants to sell off everything the government owns to his rich friends. Off course that is false, but just saying I am pretty sure they would run an attack ad like that and it might work.
By contrast with Scheer they will try to play up the scary social conservative or Donald Trump of the north, but since he is neither, it will likely fall flat. They will also play up the idea of Harper with a smile. That might work, although remember 32% voted Tory so the Tories only need to pick up another 8% to win a majority so even if 60% of Canadians think Harper was a disaster (not saying it is that, just what if) and don’t want him back, if 8% who voted Liberal last time decide Harper was better than Trudeau, then you have a Conservative majority. Never mind also turnout was unusually high due to many younger voters who normally don’t vote showing up. Not sure that will hold next time, whereas the 32% who voted Tory will definitely show up again so if turnout falls to 60%, Tories could get 37% without gaining a single new vote. This may shock some, but Harper actually got more raw votes in Ontario in 2015 than Doug Ford did, the difference was turnout was 11% higher then as opposed to last provincial election. So point being Liberals would have had a much easier time scaring people about Maxime Bernier than they would with Scheer.
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We’ve heard this time and time again…..milk will not be cheaper. When you get eggs in the States for 27 cents, that isn’t even paying for the carton so you know the store is giving them away to get you in there. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-abandoning-the-dairy-supply-management-system-would-create-more/
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Seems his cabinet is largely sticking by him, including his woman’s minister and the female employment minister. The employment minister (Patty Hajdu) has actually said that what he did was no big deal and not harassment. I guess it’s officially OK to grab a coworkers butt now. I think I’ll test it today. (Not)
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lol!! Only Justin Trudeau gets a free pass.
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Yes, Justin gets a freebie. It will now likely fizzle out, the receiver of the alleged grope says she has no intention of talking about it any further. He apologized.
It means he did it. Of course he had a different perspective on the matter. I’m sure this will bolster Patrick Brown and others accused and tossed into the ditch, losing their jobs, their reputations.
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Nope, not a chance that “It will now likely fizzle out”. There’s an election coming up in just a short while and I can see CPC ads reminding us all of what a sleazy hypocrite Trudeau (he of the double standards) truly is. And there’s still time for another shoe or two to drop.
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There are rumours at least 2 other women have spoken to CBC. So it’s just a matter pf when and if CBC decides to throw Trudeau under a bus and support a new saviour for their jobs as leeches.
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I’m hearing that too about CBC. Lots of rumours on Twitter. Perhaps the women will approach a different news outlet.
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OT – Nigel Farage: “Unless Brexit is back on track by March 2019, I will seriously consider putting my name forward to return as @UKIP leader. The will of 17.4m voters must be carried out.” Look out, One World Government. You can fool some of the people some of the time but good old Nigel has your number all of the time.
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I hope he doesn’t since like or dislike the Brexit deal, the idea of prime-minister Jeremy Corbyn and his radical leftist government is far scarier and most be avoided at all costs. My worry is if UKIP gains any ground, Corbyn could win due to splits on the right much like Alberta or what we had to a lesser extent federally in the 90s. My understanding is the free mobility of labour part will end on December 31, 2020 so there is no pulling back on that. Likewise UK will still have the right to separately negotiate its free trade deals with others and set its own tariffs although it will establish agreement with Europe to collect EU tariffs for products destined to the EU. This is done to avoid extra paper work and allow free flow of goods.
The big issue seems to be following EU law without being a member. My understanding is the UK will only do so to make it easier to sell in the EU, but they will have every right to choose not to, its just that business wise it makes sense to harmonize laws. Canada and the US have harmonized many of the same laws for the same reason even though unlike the EU we are under no obligation to. Otherwise economically it makes sense for the UK to follow EU law, the real issue is are they required to or will they just do so because it makes sense but can choose not to if they don’t want to.
I think the real lesson with Brexit is once you join an organization that involves giving up a lot of sovereignty it is next to impossible to regain it without a lot of economic pain. I however support the idea of the EU unlike some, but think they should have a three speed Europe whereby countries that want to retain more sovereignty can do so within reason, the status quo, while those that want deeper integration can do so. As a strong supporter of democracy, I may not care for the idea of a European superstate or federation, but if the majority in a member state want this, I believe that is their right just as those that don’t want to be part of the EU should have that right too.
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It’s not always and only about business. It’s about controlling your own borders, deciding who can enter or be refused entry, about establishing your own laws and electing your own governments to enforce those laws. It’s about not having Big Brother looking over your shoulder demanding his thirty pieces of silver while he commands you to follow his rules and his standards in everything you grow or produce or import and export. It’s about the EU rule book that no one is allowed to peruse without an official guard and a time limit. Copying any portion of it in any manner is strictly forbidden. It’s about unelected overlords who set those rules. It’s about reclaiming your sovereignty and your right to exist as a separate nation. Stuff the EU!
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No its not all about business, but economic impacts of policies need to be considered too. Also being sovereign means deciding for yourself but it doesn’t mean being different in every aspect, it means copying what works well and going differently where there are differences. On free mobility of labour, EU is not the only organization with it. Australia and New Zealand allow free mobility of labour between the two countries, Gulf countries do as well and in fact even the US allows nationals from Palau, Micronesia, and Marshall Islands the right to live and work in the US. Now granted the other agreements can easily be terminated without much difficulty if there are problems.
All international organizations involve giving up some national sovereignty but in today’s interconnected world, we do need to cooperate with others not isolate ourselves. Certainly the EU went a lot further than most, but lots of Europeans support the EU and I think if most Europeans want a closer union that is their right just as those who wish to leave can do so. So the point being UK taking an isolationist path or as a matter of fact any country taking it is silly and will just cause lots of harm. Its about finding the right balance that involves being open to the world, but also still having the ability to chart your destiny. As for how much sovereignty each country should give up, that is up to each one to decide, although I am pretty sure if all 28 countries had a referendum on whether to stay or leave the EU, at most 3 to 5 might vote to leave (UK was always one if not the most Eurosceptic) so even if we dislike the EU, the majority of EU citizens in majority of member states support it.
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There’s a difference between compliance and co-operation. One is forced; the other is negotiated. The EU, as it now exists, demands compliance with rules set by an unelected body of increasingly power-hungry bureaucrats. Following in lockstep is not always the wise course for all. What may benefit one or two member states may work to the detriment of another. Forced compliance is dictatorial. Business started the whole mess when someone somewhere determined that if the Common Market was beneficial to all previous participants the premise that underlined it should be expanded, in scope and in depth. Britain first showed some backbone by refusing to adopt a common currency. That is the yoke other nations will have greater difficulty throwing off.
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And UK will still be leaving. Only the Liberal Democrats advocate cancelling leaving and considering they only have 12 seats no chance they would win a snap election. The Tories have still promised UK will leave and it will leave both the single market and customs union. It will also end the free movement of labour as of December 31, 2020 (since many areas of shortages were filled by EU migration, they will need to revamp immigration rules which will take time). If a snap election were held, the only party that could beat the Tories is Labour and Corbyn has a long history of Euroscepticism unlike much of his party and while he supports remaining in the customs union, Labour would still leave the EU and end the free mobility of labour too. Now Corbyn’s economic policies are dangerous which is why he should not be in power.
In terms of laws, they are not actually made by unelected bureaucrats but can be imposed by other countries. How it works is the unelected European commission proposes the laws, but only the Council of ministers (all members of national governments, say if on agriculture it would be agriculture ministers) and the European parliament (directly elected by members) can pass the legislation into law and they can block any bad law originating from the commission. Nonetheless you can get outvoted by others thus the issue is does one favour pooling sovereignty with others or not. UK from what I understand voted in favour of far more EU laws than not. Also as a member they get a say too although not the whole one. The debate between hard and soft brexiters seems to be about aligning laws. One issue not discussed here is Northern Ireland. To prevent a return of the troubles, there is a strong determination to ensure no hard border will return. In fact Irish citizens unlike other EU citizens will continue to enjoy the right to live and work in the UK even after the transition period has ended for this reason. So because Ireland is still part of the EU and has no intention of leaving avoiding a hard border will probably put some limits unless they agree to have Northern Ireland stay in the single market and customs union while border controls between it and the rest of the UK. Also even after leaving all businesses still must follow EU law if they want to do business in the remaining 27 countries so it makes sense to generally align with your largest trading partner much as Canada’s regulatory regime largely aligns with the US, but unlike EU members we are not required to, but rather do so to ease the flow of business.
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For AnneSWON – Here is what the British PM promised, go to 3:47 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lZ8a5WIWzI . Sounds like an exit to me but as we know with politicians they often spin things in their favour so I guess time will tell but at least from what she is saying sounds like a full Brexit. The one thing she doesn’t mention is will the UK have the right to negotiate their own trade deals or will it mean staying in the customs union which would prevent this.
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Theresa May at one point was a staunch Remain campaigner and is the wrong person to lead a full Brexit. Her long-held beliefs preclude that. She has yet to provide evidence that she has her nation’s full interests in mind. Like Trudeau she refuses to walk away from identity politics, which is rampant in Britain and getting worse by the day. Brexit needs to happen. The EU and its tentacles reach too far into a sovereign nation’s ability to make decisions benefitting its people and its best interests. The EU is too big, too unwieldy, too costly and too powerful.
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For those interested. Ontario’s legislature resumes sitting today. To follow live click here. Currently voting on a Speaker. https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/video
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Ted Arnott was chosen as speaker which being a veteran, this seems like a good choice. He has been there since 1990 and seems like a well versed and fair and no doubt will handle his role well. I suspect things will get fairly testy a time considering how much the left hates the Ford administration thus the importance of choosing the right speaker.
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Ted was the alternate speaker under the Liberals. This is not new to him. He’s had practice.
He and Ford will do fine.
All of the latest hype from the left, and teacher unions about cuts to repairs to schools, dropping indigenous programs (which amounted to 3 programs), is so wrought with mis-information as to be laughable.
Re: school repairs. Most of the money promised boards had not materialized under the former government. It was supposed to come from the money made from Cap-and-Trade.
What did boards do before that? What DID they do with their allocations? Under the Liberals school repairs in Ontario grew to millions in backlog. Could that be because there was more incentive to close schools in disrepair and not save them?
Not to mention that most of the money from Cap-and-Trade was supposed to go to cleaning up the environment. Why is it going to school repairs. Just and FYI that we’ll be hearing plenty from a group called Fix Our Schools (it’s EFTO sponsored).
Re: those indigenous language programs will likely be the responsibility of the local school board to fund. It’s not unlike any request for language preservation. If, for instance there was enough demand for Dutch language programs to be held in a school community it’s the local board that could see to it happening.
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Why not do what other ethnic communities do – hold classes on a Saturday for those interested? Or is there another agenda in the works?
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Twitter is already railing against these Ford decisions! Looks very organized.
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Betting they were organized and ready to pounce before the election in anticipation of a
Ford win. It’s just what the Left and their minions do when they lose power. We can expect it to go on, it’s up to the people to show them it’s not going to work. We need to let our media outlets know that too.
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Let’s get back to teaching the basics. That’s where the bulk of the school day needs to be spent. Special interest themes cannot be allowed to overtake what’s most important – reading, writing and math skills and facts need to be taught to mastery before any additional topics are even considered. Those are the areas where the opinions of the teacher take a back seat to the aims of the subject matter.
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Another Trudeau fail – this would be hilarious if it wasn’t so embarrassing to the country
https://www.spencerfernando.com/2018/07/12/watch-trudeau-ignores-pm-of-belgium-walks-to-his-wife-instead/
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Campaign research has the first poll out on Ford’s policies and most asides scrapping the cap and trade are quite popular including the changes to pharmacare. On cap and trade, it is split down the middle and the same on fighting the federal government on the carbon tax although considering he got just north of 40% probably not something to be too concerned about. Not sure what the public’s response is to the changes on the sex ed curriculum, but going back to 1998 seems a bit too far back. Since schools doesn’t start for another six weeks, there is probably enough time to at least get rid of the more controversial parts and then replace with a new one later on. Besides I don’t think sex ed is a weekly course like math, usually it is a few sessions in the entire school year or at least was when I went but that was over 20 years ago so maybe has changed and that was also in BC, but my point being if only say 5 sessions in the school year, they could just have those in the spring of 2019 which would be enough time to change it.
Nonetheless like any leader, his challenge will be to keep his approval rating over 40% by midterm as it seems asides from Brad Wall not too many premiers in recent times have been able to do this. In fact most recent poll showed only three premiers with approval ratings over 40% and all three (Ford, Horgan, and Moe) have been in office for less than a year. The one thing Ford might have going for him is people have very low expectations so it will be easy for him to meet them (similar to Chretien, McGuinty, and Harper as opposed to say Martin and Trudeau who had high expectations and fell well short).
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It’s going to be interesting watching Trudeau vs Ford for the next year leading up to the 2019 federal election. The Fed Libs seem to think bashing Ford’s government is a winning strategy but I think that could come back to bite them if they tick off too many Ontarians.
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Hard to say. Ontario does have a history of voting opposites, although that rule doesn’t always apply so Trudeau is probably hoping it will pan out this time, but I think today by and large most vote the same way provincially as they do federally at least with regard to those who vote conservative (you do have the promiscuous progressives who vote for whichever party on the left is most likely to stop the Tories). Off course Ontario is one province, but the most important one vote wise so even if Ontario goes Tory the Liberals could although not easily compensate for this if they do well in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, and BC (the Prairies will go conservative no matter what). Trudeau also might have more conservative premiers he doesn’t like as Jason Kenney will probably win next year and Quebec this fall could swing rightward with the CAQ winning.
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It’s going to be interesting for sure. The Federal Liberals are really worried about losing Ontario which is why they are going after Ford. They have more to worry about than than Ford, they better look at their own house and the head of their operation.
Have the legs come out from the grope affair? We all recall how long the bogus “wafergate” story went on. Guess it’s the old story, different strokes for different folks.
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It’ll resurface at some point down the road but for now there’s more important stuff for the media to deflect to. There’s Trump, Lisa MacLeod, Doug Ford and any other member of the misogynist, racist, anti-immigrant, intolerant, far-right, and insert-your-invective-of-choice conservatives to slam.
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Pretty bereft of ammunition when they have to use Trump to flog the Canadian Conservatives.
Pretty Boy, avowed feminist, accused/alleged groper we call Prime Minister, will be acting tough on the trade war the Liberals are happy to have to serve their purpose, make him look like he is taking good care of the matter. Trump trumps every time, he keeps them all twisted in knots they can’t undo.
Now it appears Hudson’s Bay is playing politics as well, no longer carrying Ivanka Trump merchandise. That will not help them much.
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How many people are willing to make a two or three hour round trip to shop at Hudson’s Bay? The closest stores to me are in London or Windsor so why bother unless your time and their absurdly high prices are of no consequence to you? I haven’t ventured inside a Bay store in decades so I don’t feel as though I’m boycotting anyone or supporting the politics of any party. It’s all just blather.
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Btw, HBC is now owned by an American who’s dissatisfied with his country’s choice of leadership and is trying to make it appear as though his decision to boycott the Ivanka Trump line has widespread influential Canadian business support.
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Haven’t shopped at HBC for years and this confirms my decision.
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Doug Ford and most other conservatives have already said they are united on taking action on the trade war so if the Liberals attack the Tories of wanting to cozy up to Trump, it seems they might have a tough time. Generally when your country is attacked you tend to unite never mind Conservatives in Canada still remain pro free trade as they’ve been since the 80s, they haven’t reverted to protectionism like the GOP has. Yes some including Scheer supported Brexit (others like Mulroney, Kim Campbell, and Jean Charest opposed it), but EU is a whole different ball game than NAFTA so comparing apples to oranges.
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Big news of the day, all the poor folks wishing to buy an electric vehicle will not get thousands of dollars from the taxpayers of Ontario under Ford government. It’s almost a mortal sin according to the environmental zealots.
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lol!! Too funny Liz. Yeah cry me a river for those poor people not getting their humongous rebate courtesy of our tax dollars and hydro bills.
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