PM Justin Trudeau's Canada

[steveintoronto]

To add substantive reference to the "gender factor" I state in prior posts, and how this is happening in the UK in both major parties as well as here:

Which MPs have defected from parties to join the Independent Group?

1/12 The Independent Group
Details on the individual MPs are in the following photos
Reuters

Chuka Umunna: Politicians are grateful for TIG – here’s what one of Theresa May's cabinet ministers told me

‘Some fresh, principled, rebalancing will, I predict, have more impact than people immediately realise’

www.independent.co.uk

This is just for the new Independent Party, more mostly female ones have left their party to sit as independents in the House, but on many issues, will align with the Independents.

I can define this a bit better than previously posted, as this isn't driven by a sense of 'Feminist Zeitgeist'. It's driven by a rejection of stuffy, parochial, paternalistic and conniving existing parties.

Women, by their very nature, are more sensitive to the fetters of this kind of overbearing control. And they're starting to to vote...with their feet! The ratio of 'defectors' so far in Westminster is over 2:1 women to men.

I'm looking for an article that analyzes this phenomenon. Will post when found. Meantime, back in Canada, eh:

[...] Liberal backbencher Celina Caesar-Chavannes, who announced last week she won’t seek re-election, tweeted her support for Philpott, as she has done repeatedly for Wilson-Raybould since the SNC-Lavalin controversy erupted a month ago.

“When you add women, please do not expect the status quo. Expect us to make correct decisions, stand for what is right and exit when values are compromised. Thank you Jane Philpott for articulating this beautifully,” Caesar-Chavannes wrote. [...]

Philpott joins Wilson-Raybould in resigning from cabinet over SNC-Lavalin

Treasury Board president Jane Philpott resigned Monday from the federal cabinet, saying she’s lost confidence in the way the Trudeau government has dealt with the SNC-Lavalin affair. Her resignation came just less than a month after former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould resigned from...

toronto.citynews.ca

That may sound facile, but other nations' female reps are displaying that too. There's substance to this...

Addendum:

11 MPs have just quit their parties — what the hell is going on?
Adam Payne and Thomas Colson

Feb. 20, 2019, 12:33 PM

• Eight Labour MPs and four Conservative MPs this week quit their parties to form a new centrist bloc called the Independent Group.
• The group's members are all vocal opponents of Brexit, but say the group also reflects disillusionment with the leadership of the two main parties.
• More MPs are set to join the new group in the coming weeks.
• Here's what the historic splits mean for Brexit, the future of the Conservatives and Labour, and the prospect of a snap general election.
• [...]

• 

  11 MPs have just quit their parties — what the hell is going on?

  UK politics is in shock after 11 MPs quit the Conservatives and Labour to form an independent group, with more set to join them. Here's what it means.

  www.businessinsider.com

 

[steveintoronto]

We're Canada - we don't do 'constitutional' well.

This is an interesting point, and I digress through the lens of time: We used to do 'Constitutional Issues' magnificently, the envy of the developed world...over a generation ago! The Supreme Court of Canada is renowned as being (gist) "The most proactive in the developed world to the point of giving alacrity to the Constitution where it isn't written de-facto, and actually making law within the intent of the Constitution where needed".

The wording of the terms of separation is an example. Human Rights is another. But in the last generation? Ottawa has languished. At least it's non-partisan. All parties have failed on it. I may be mistaken, but the PMs who pushed constitutional progress the most were lawyers!

And here we are again, with a lawyer pushing integrity, and the son of a lawyer completely missing the integrity aspect. On Aboriginal Issues, JWR has been stymied. The failings have been Bills being tabled too late to get passed by the House. I'll try and find reference for that and post. JWR has almost the entire Aboriginal diasporo on her side. It is a Liberal failing, but not hers specifically.

 

[Jasmine18]

Federal Poll (Ipsos) - CPC 40%, LPC 31%, NDP 20%

globalnews.ca/news/5...


Predictions for next week

 

[steveintoronto]

Federal Poll (Ipsos) - CPC 40%, LPC 31%, NDP 20%

globalnews.ca/news/5...

Things are going to be plastic for a few weeks at least, but man, that's writing on the wall!

My sixth-sense? They will bounce back a bit, but still only into minority territory. If the Dippers can't take advantage of this, then they too are finished. Green might do well, but still only a handful of seats.

It's crunch time for the Libs, and I agree with Palace Coup depicted. But here's the thing, even if a coup does happen: Is it still going to be "Same old same old'?

Or is it going to be "Honest Women's Day?" Because the Libs have to reinvent themselves, get more women out to support them, and find a way to win. And unless they actually transform, they won't make it past minority....which isn't such a bad thing. It will raise the power of the few Greens that get elected (up from what it is now) and spawn more independent parties, one of which would be disaffected Libs. As long as the Cons can't form a majority, it could actually produce the change this nation needs politically.

Some sunny days, my friends, some sunny days...

 

[Admiral Beez]

I would be cool with Freeland as PM.

No, please no. Her speaking cadence and ability to use so many words without saying anything (more so than most politicos) is excruciatingly irritating, and her off-message handling of US and China relations an abject fail. https://www.macleans.ca/politics/what-if-donald-trump-has-a-point-with-chrystia-freeland/ Under Freeland’s tenure, we’ve got two Canadians kidnapped by the Chinese government, and another facing execution (sure, do the crime, do the time, but he was already convicted and sentenced to prison, not death).

That said, I can’t think of any Liberals that would be a good PM. That’s the problem when you make it the Trudeau party. Maybe Climate Barbie? Trudeau just needs to tackle this full on. He knew that Philpott was the AG’s friend, why didn’t Trudeau address her concerns, as presumably, she didn’t just resign without first voicing them.

Chrétien would have handled this so differently, and decisively. I can envision him now, after the AG resignation saying: “of course we put pressure, the DPA option is there for these exact cases, we need to protect jobs across Canada, and perhaps the idiot Conservative leader would rather we shut down SNC”. But Chrétien would’ve never got to this point, as he’d put in the cabinet people he could trust and rely on, forgoing any need for public shows of political correctness or inclusiveness.

IMO, with the NDP finished in Quebec, Trudeau wins another majority in October, followed by more scandals and distractions. Had I known Trump was going to win in 2016, I’d never have voted Liberal in 2015, as Harper would have been the best PM to manage US relations at this time, unless they brought Mulroney or Chrétien out of retirement.

 

[steveintoronto]

[...]
This is just for the new Independent Party, more mostly female ones have left their party to sit as independents in the House, but on many issues, will align with the Independents.

I can define this a bit better than previously posted, as this isn't driven by a sense of 'Feminist Zeitgeist'. It's driven by a rejection of stuffy, parochial, paternalistic and conniving existing parties.

Women, by their very nature, are more sensitive to the fetters of this kind of overbearing control. And they're starting to to vote...with their feet! The ratio of 'defectors' so far in Westminster is over 2:1 women to men.

I'm looking for an article that analyzes this phenomenon. Will post when found.[...]

And the articles are starting to appear. Renzetti is able to define this better than I could:

If you want women in politics, don’t expect politics as usual

ELIZABETH RENZETTI
PUBLISHED MARCH 5, 2019
[...]
But that wasn’t going to work, because all indications are that women generally go into politics for different reasons than men, and operate differently once they’re there. Not all women – we share biology, not ideology – but there is enough research out there to suggest that women in office do not believe in politics as usual. And once more women are brought into office, politics will have to change. We are seeing the consequences of that right now.

Research has shown that girls are not encouraged toward a life in public office, and are less likely than boys to feel it’s open to them. As a result, when women do seek a nomination, they’re more likely to be advocates than party insiders, and they prioritize social change over personal advancement. As Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics, said in 2015: “Our shorthand for that is that women run to do something and men run to be somebody.”


Consider this conclusion from Politics: Women’s Insight, a global survey of 200 female politicians published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union: “Women talked of bringing about social change in the way power operates and this meant being true to oneself rather than being concerned about images constructed by others.” The women who responded to the survey “did not enter politics for power ‘over’ outcomes; rather women were interested in ‘power for,’ ‘with’ and ‘to’ the people."
[...]

What Trudeau failed to realize: Women in politics don’t believe in politics as usual

If you want more women in cabinet then it has to come with an understanding that things will change. The way the game is played will have to change

www.theglobeandmail.com

I do think there's a bit more to this case than just those, JWR and Philpott are especially steeped in morality, dedication, integrity and principles, but Renzetti makes an excellent case for many others.

 

[Jasmine18]

No, please no. Her speaking cadence and ability to use so many words without saying anything (more so than most politicos) is excruciatingly irritating, and her off-message handling of US and China relations an abject fail. https://www.macleans.ca/politics/what-if-donald-trump-has-a-point-with-chrystia-freeland/ Under Freeland’s tenure, we’ve got two Canadians kidnapped by the Chinese government, and another facing execution (sure, do the crime, do the time, but he was already convicted and sentenced to prison, not death).

That said, I can’t think of any Liberals that would be a good PM. That’s the problem when you make it the Trudeau party. Maybe Climate Barbie? Trudeau just needs to tackle this full on. He knew that Philpott was the AG’s friend, why didn’t Trudeau address her concerns, as presumably, she didn’t just resign without first voicing them.

Chrétien would have handled this so differently, and decisively. I can envision him now, after the AG resignation saying: “of course we put pressure, the DPA option is there for these exact cases, we need to protect jobs across Canada, and perhaps the idiot Conservative leader would rather we shut down SNC”. But Chrétien would’ve never got to this point, as he’d put in the cabinet people he could trust and rely on, forgoing any need for public shows of political correctness or inclusiveness.

IMO, with the NDP finished in Quebec, Trudeau wins another majority in October, followed by more scandals and distractions. Had I known Trump was going to win in 2016, I’d never have voted Liberal in 2015, as Harper would have been the best PM to manage US relations at this time, unless they brought Mulroney or Chrétien out of retirement.

I think the issue is even if Trudeau survives, he is setting one hell of a counter push against his him long term where you could get a Doug Ford Tyle in power federally.

I actually wonder if Doug Ford did not go for Premier but went for PM against Trudeau, I wonder how would the election be like in Oct.

For all of Fords fault, he would way better then Scheer in generating buzz and rallying the anti Trudeau vote.

 

[BurlOak]

I’d never have voted Liberal in 2015, as Harper would have been the best PM to manage US relations at this time, unless they brought Mulroney or Chrétien out of retirement.

So you say it's ok to vote for an idiot if you think 1 country might have a international leader who will help hide his faults.
I think it's better not to vote for an idiot. And now I think many people are going to say that they can't support a Party the supported this idiot for the past 6 years.

 

[steveintoronto]

The Con who I think has acquitted herself well above the expected norm in this affair is Lisa Raitt. You could tell there was a level of respect and a modicum of dignified behaviour between JWR and Raitt during the cmte hearings.

It behooved both of them well. More than well...welcome and refreshing. I'm not a 'feminist' and if any of these women are, they're not wearing it, they don't have to. They're able to function within a paternal, patriarchal institution, and by the standards of that institution, able to stand taller than the men in the room.

That speaks volumes to me...and I have immense respect and trust in these women to 'do right'.

 

[PinkLucy]

Poll Tracker: Federal poll averages and seat projections | CBC News

View the latest federal poll averages and seat projections from the CBC's Éric Grenier, as well as historical data back to 2009.

www.cbc.ca

From the aggregation of polls, which translates to 157 seats for the Conservatives and 142 for the Liberals.

 

[Northern Light]

Poll Tracker: Federal poll averages and seat projections | CBC News

View the latest federal poll averages and seat projections from the CBC's Éric Grenier, as well as historical data back to 2009.

www.cbc.ca

From the aggregation of polls, which translates to 157 seats for the Conservatives and 142 for the Liberals. View attachment 175588

Not too far different than the data I have access to. In terms of most probable that's about what I have the Libs and BQ. I have the Tories hair lower, the Greens and NDP a hair higher.

 

[Northern Light]

The Con who I think has acquitted herself well above the expected norm in this affair is Lisa Raitt. You could tell there was a level of respect and a modicum of dignified behaviour between JWR and Raitt during the cmte hearings.

It behooved both of them well. More than well...welcome and refreshing. I'm not a 'feminist' and if any of these women are, they're not wearing it, they don't have to. They're able to function within a paternal, patriarchal institution, and by the standards of that institution, able to stand taller than the men in the room.

That speaks volumes to me...and I have immense respect and trust in these women to 'do right'.

I disagree with Lisa Raitt on any number of policy issues. But she's well known in Ottawa for being a very decent person on a personal level.

 

[Admiral Beez]

So you say it's ok to vote for an idiot if you think 1 country might have a international leader who will help hide his faults.
I think it's better not to vote for an idiot. And now I think many people are going to say that they can't support a Party the supported this idiot for the past 6 years.

What did I just read? What does “can't support a Party the supported this” even mean? Are you okay?

Who are these idiots you refer too? It appears from the above that you think Harper, Mulroney, Chrétien and Trudeau are all idiots.

 

[steveintoronto]

Canadians appear to be woefully unaware of how this isn't just a 'Canadian' thing. It's happening in other nations, where women are refusing to be compromised by imposed parochial hypocrisy, and doing what many of my generation did in the Sixties and Seventies: Rebelled on the basis of principles:

This is from EuroNews, English language version.

euronews (in English)

Published on Feb 20, 2019

 

[steveintoronto]

What did I just read? What does “can't support a Party the supported this” even mean? Are you okay?

Who are these idiots you refer too? It appears from the above that you think Harper, Mulroney, Chrétien and Trudeau are all idiots.

What's astounding is how livid and reactionary reader comments are at the Globe and Mail (and other sites) on this matter. What unifies the commenters is that the reactionary stance is from all sides, Con and Lib, because they just can't understand the concept of 'standing on principle'.

Most of the commenters are lost causes, but I do have sympathy and concern for their daughters. If they get something right, 'it's because I taught them good". But if they get it wrong, "it's because they're women".

Heads, I win. Tails, you lose.