Willful Blindness

Willful Blindness

By: Ryan Young

I generally make it a point to stick to local politics and not delve into the worlds of national and international politics, but with so few people seeming to notice or care that our Prime Minister just broke a federal law, I felt that I had to chime in on the matter.

The issue in question is Justin Trudeau’s family vacation to a private island owned by the Aga Khan. The Aga Khan is the spiritual leader to more than 15 million Ismaili Muslim. The fourth of the line Aga Khan, Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, is a noted billionaire philanthropist in addition to his role as a respected spiritual leader. He was granted honorary Canadian citizenship by Stephen Harper in 2009. While not a registered lobbyist himself, his foundation is responsible for lobbying millions from the federal government for international development. He is also a long-time family friend of the Trudeau’s and was even a pall bearer at Pierre Elliott’s funeral.

The Aga Khan owns a private island in the Bahamas and that was the site of a new year’s celebration that was attended by Trudeau and his family, as well as Newfoundland MP Seamus O’Regan and the President of the Liberal Party of Canada. Canada has very strict laws regarding the interaction of public officials with known lobbyists, and the trip has raised several red flags with opposition MP’s and ethics watchdogs. Given that the families are close, a holiday get together is not such a strange or bad thing, but the Liberal guests traveled to the island via Khan’s private helicopter, which changes the whole issue from a bad judgement call to a violation of the Conflict of Interest Act. Section 12 of the act clearly states:

“No minister of the Crown, minister of state or parliamentary secretary, no member of his or her family and no ministerial adviser or ministerial staff shall accept travel on non-commercial chartered or private aircraft for any purpose unless required in his or her capacity as a public office holder or in exceptional circumstances or with the prior approval of the Commissioner.”

That means that the Prime Minister was strictly forbidden from accepting the ride on the private helicopter, even if it was a family friend, and even if there was no other way to reach the island, as has been alleged. He had the option of clearing the trip beforehand with the ethics commissioner, but chose not to do so. Some have suggested that this was a poor lapse in judgement by Trudeau, but given the Liberal track record with ethics in the recent past, I think that is giving the Prime Minister a free pass. It is a clear violation of the act and the Prime Minister must be held accountable for his actions.

You can read the conflict of interest laws here: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-36.65/FullText.html

Let me be very clear here. The fact that Trudeau and his family and friends spent some time vacationing with a family friend on a private tropical island is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. With all the problems in our country right now, where the PM took his holiday vacation is small potatoes. But we can’t ignore the fact that the leader of our country willfully broke the law, when he had every opportunity to go through the proper channels to make it right. A simple call from the PMO to the ethics commissioner explaining the situation likely would have led to the request being granted. Unfortunately, through either incompetence or pure arrogance, the PM decided to act first and ask for forgiveness later and failed to inform the commissioner until days after the trip, when it had already been reported in the media. Asking for forgiveness later is not always a bad strategy for life, but it is behaviour unbecoming a Prime Minister, and Trudeau’s pure disregard for the ethics that come with his title should not be easily dismissed.

What bothers me the most is the willful blindness from people on these issues that should really matter, but apparently don’t. I mean our Prime Minister breaking the law should be a big deal, but instead of outrage on twitter, all you see is golden shower jokes and Trump Bashing. I am no more of a Trump fan than I am a Harper fan, but neither one of them has publicly admitted to breaking the law, yet we are willing to ignore Trudeau’s actions and brush a blatant breach of trust by a so-called progressive world leader under the rug while we watch the squirrel down south and assure ourselves that at least we have better than Harper now. Do we really?

The position of Prime Minister should not be a popularity contest. We need our leaders to be role models. Selfies are fine, and I have no issues with having a young Prime Minister with good hair, as long as he is willing to be the leader that he sold the country on.  So far, despite the sunny media coverage, that has not been the case. It is just business as usual in Ottawa. Trudeau continues to sell himself as a progressive, and it is an easy story to buy when you see him marching in the pride parade or talking tough about climate change. But when you look at the policies he has implemented, and the ones that he is dragging his feet on, he begins to look less like a saviour and more and more like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

In Trudeau’s own words on the use of Khan’s private aircraft, "It's something that certainly we look forward to discussing with the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner, but we don't see an issue on that." That statement alone should be enough to raise red flags about the Prime Ministers understanding and respect for our federal conflict of interest laws, which is one of the most important pieces of legislation in the country. Laws that safeguard against our politicians being “bought.” That the Prime Minister doesn’t see an issue with the situation only creates more questions about his ability to lead the country and his commitment to making Canada a better place than it was under Harper.

The private aircraft clause might even be a silly law in the big picture, especially when you consider the circumstances of the logistics involved in getting to Khan’s island. But being a silly law does not make the Prime Minister above it. Our current marijuana laws are considered by many to be silly as well, but try lighting up a spliff next to a police officer and see what happens to you. No matter what we think of it, the law is the law, and when we allow our elected officials to be above the law, we set a very dangerous precedent for ourselves and for our future. Elected officials need to be held to a higher standard, and we need to stop giving them a free pass through our own political apathy.

It will be very interesting to see how much life this story takes on. Will Trudeau face consequences for his blatant disregard for the law or will the media let him off the hook and let the story fade into the night? It usually drives me crazy that most people are more concerned about Trump or Trudeau than our own shit-show of a political scene here at home, but this is one instance where I would like to see people take a real interest and demand that the Prime Minister is made to answer for failing to respect the laws of the land.

A resignation seems a little extreme for this situation, but after days of refusing to provide details, and then acknowledging that he knowingly broke the law, I can’t really think of another course of action that would be suitable. The Prime Minister had plenty of time to get the trip approved, despite being fully aware of the illegality of his actions, and we cannot condone such actions from our elected leaders. While it is doubtful that a resignation will happen, and far more likely that the story will be swept under the rug, I hope that my readers will remember stories like this that continue to prove that there is no difference in party politics. Laws are for the plebes and government is no place for the concerns of the common man. As long as we continue to be willfully blind to the failings of our leaders, this will never change. Whether people believe it or not, the power really is in our hands. It’s time for us to stand up and use it. If we make enough noise, together, we can make sure that politicians are taken to task and held accountable when they fail us. Power to the people.

Is Steve Kent Planning to Make NL Great Again?

Is Steve Kent Planning to Make NL Great Again?

By: Ryan Young

Despite all of the media hype and wishful thinking, the race is over and the bad man has won. There is a lot of shock going around on social media today, with people shaking their heads and asking how this could have happened? I tried my best to avoid this marathon election like the plague. With all of the problems we are facing here in Newfoundland and Labrador, it was hard to justify expending energy on a foreign election that had gone so far off the rails. But should people really be surprised at the result?

It was easy to get caught up in all of the media hype and spin. From emails to assault, there has been no shortage of side shows to distract people from what was really happening among the electorate. None of the pundits seemed able to recognize the growing discontent in America towards the establishment, and the media ignored all but the most hard-core Trump supporters, painting them all as hillbilly “deplorable's.” They failed to take into account how many closet Trump voters were waiting in the wings. These voters decided the election. They didn’t want to be publicly associated with Trump’s “crazy” views, but they were fed up enough with the status quo that they were willing to take a chance on him, rather than deal with another for years of business as usual in Washington.

All throughout the campaign the narrative was about how Trump’s support came from the dark, uneducated underbelly of America. He was endorsed by both the Christian right and the KKK, and he threw a rock into the hornet’s nest of immigration with his stance on Mexicans and Muslims. He was shown to be a racist, a bigot, a sexist, and a man who has no qualms about mocking people with disabilities, yet he was elected without much difficulty at all by a large majority of the American People. His promises to build walls and ban Muslims were met with a sympathetic ear by millions of people, but the truth lies in the demographic numbers. Despite the claims about the identity of his support base, Trump was able to carry 52% of educated white men and 30% of women voters. This is a clear indication that there is something very wrong with the US political system and people wanted change, no matter how crude that change might be. For many voters, anything was better than the status quo. This should be a wake-up call to political leaders everywhere, that people are waking up and they want the power back.

What effects this election may have on Newfoundland and Labrador are yet to be seen. Trump’s promises to break down free trade deals are met with conflicting views. Some believe it could be a great thing for our economy, while others caution that it would be regressive. We will have to wait and see how things play out policy-wise, but we have certainly witnessed a further awakening of our own political extreme right with the rise of Donald Trump. Many people in this province are also fed up with the establishment and the status quo. We keep changing back from red to blue but nothing really seems to improve for the people. Even though most local pundits would not admit it, there has been quite a political awakening in this province in the past year, and people here are ready for real change. Plenty of people agree with Trump’s views on things like immigration and it is not that unbelievable to think that we might find ourselves with a similar personality running for leadership before long.

One interesting thing of note on the twitter feed on election night was PC MHA, and leadership hopeful, Steve Kent. Kent posted, and then quickly deleted a photo of him wearing a Trump “Make America Great Again” hat. He didn’t delete it before someone grabbed a screenshot, however, and the image was shared widely on twitter. With his recent support for federal Conservative Party leadership candidate, Kellie Leitch and her “Canadian Values” platform, we must wonder where Mr. Kent stands on the political spectrum. Many in the PC party have been hoping for a return to traditional conservative values and maybe Kent is getting ready to play that role in the hopes that he will become the next premier.

Let’s face it, as much as people hate to admit it, much of the Trump-style rhetoric would go over very well with a large segment of NL voters, especially conservatives. Is it too much of a leap to think that Kent’s far right leanings in recent months could be an indication of the path he intends to take to the eighth floor of Confederation Building? The PC’s are convinced that their time in opposition is no more than a four-year sabbatical until they are ushered back in to fix all the blunders made by the dastardly Liberals. As far as they are concerned they will have little opposition in reclaiming the throne in 2019, but Kent knows that to become premier with his baggage, he will need to change the narrative.

Now I am certainly not saying that Steve Kent is any of the things that Donald Trump has been accused of being. I have never heard him use racist, sexist, or bigoted words during his time as an MHA and I certainly have no reason to believe that he is anything but a good, hard-working public servant. But if Kent does not hold the same type of conservative values as Trump and Leitch, then why the support? Why would you venture out into that political wilderness? Steve Kent may be a lot of things, but stupid is not one of them. He says that he supports Leitch because she is his friend, but I think there is more to the story than that. During the last federal election, we endured former Prime Minister Stephen Harper telling the country that it was okay to be racist towards your neighbors, and even though he lost, the conservative base that resonated with that message was strong. The siren song of legal marijuana was just stronger, allowing the Liberals to get out the youth vote that put them over the top. The federal Conservative strategy was well thought out, and they proved that millions of Canadians were willing to vote for the Leitch style of Canadian Values.

With Newfoundland in so much political turmoil, the PC’s are looking for something to turn the tide in their favor. Despite the plummeting Liberal polling numbers, the Tories have been unable to capitalize on public discontent, and their own numbers have remained very low. They are still seen as out of touch and people have not forgotten the mess they left behind when they were given the boot last fall.  Any logical thinking conservative would be well aware of how well the values game went for Harper, and with the election of Donald Trump, the timing may be perfect for that type of extreme right leader to swoop in and be the pied piper that NL voters are always waiting for.

If this is indeed the road that Steve Kent is planning to go down, it will be a bitter pill to swallow for Newfoundland and Labrador. We are in the midst of a unity crisis right now as it is, even though most people don’t realize it. If we get a party leader that is willing to stir up that same dark underbelly of our province to further his or her own political fortunes, it could very well do irreparable damage to our social fabric. What we need is a leader that can unite us. Further division will be our downfall. Would our province vote for a Canadian Values style campaign? I don’t know, but people are so angry at the Liberals right now that even those who don’t support those values might be willing to vote blue, just to get rid of the red boogeyman.

I have no idea what Steve Kent’s intentions are, but when it comes time for the PC party to pick a new leader, I hope that people will ask him what his support for both Donald Trump and Kellie Leitch means. What are the values that Mr. Kent intends to bring to Newfoundland and Labrador if he is given the premier’s chair? Political strategy is one thing, but if Kent is planning on dragging our province down the same road that Donald Trump just dragged the US down, we should know about it.  

There are many problems in this province right now and we need a party and a leader that can unite us. We can’t afford the divisional politics that have dominated the political landscape of North America for the past couple of years. As tempting as it is to follow down this proven political path, it will be up to us to keep our potential leaders in check and remind them of what real Newfoundland Values are. Kindness, generosity, and the ability to work together to get things done are the traits that have guided the people of this province for five hundred years. Maybe it is time that we flipped the narrative back on its head to start applying these values to our politics, instead of preying on fear and uncertainty and always pointing the finger of blame. So, instead of taking the easy political road, let’s leave the politics of fear and hate behind and start working together to build a united Newfoundland and Labrador that will work for everyone. What are we waiting for?