Trudeau gets help from CBC's Marg Delahunty in stopping reporters' questions
Author of the article:Joe Warmington
Published Mar 10, 2023 • Last updated 3 days ago • 3 minute read
Justin Trudeau talks with Mary Walsh and her Marg Delahunty TV comedy character Thursday in Ottawa.
Justin Trudeau talks with Mary Walsh and her Marg Delahunty TV comedy character Thursday in Ottawa. PHOTO BY SCREEN GRAB /Twitter
Mary Walsh and her comedic Marg Delahunty TV character scored an exclusive encounter with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but not everybody is laughing.
Trudeau, who has been stonewalling on intelligence operatives reportedly warning him about Chinese election interference, got some help off the bench, and out of retirement, from Walsh’s Delahunty character in blocking reporters from asking questions Thursday.
“We were mad,” said Guillaume St. Pierre, president of the Parliamentary Press Gallery and a journalist with the Journal de Montreal. “It should not have happened.”
Timing is everything.
Yes, Walsh, a.k.a. the Warrior Princess of CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes fame, managed to slip past security and the parliamentary press gallery to get a one-on-one with Trudeau as he stickhandles through the scandal. However, Walsh, wearing her famous red dress from a recurring comedy character on the show she used to be on, was not talking about Chinese money being funnelled to political candidates, or how the Trudeau Foundation returned $200,000 in Communist cash.
“We are all so outraged about everything that we are not listening to each other anymore,” Delahunty ranted.
Trudeau interjected: “That was always your shtick.”
It looked like scripted shtick as Trudeau’s photographer Adam Scotti got into position for the photo op. Some press gallery members complain it was orchestrated, but the PMO denies that.
“We played no role in providing access to Mary Walsh and her team into Parliament,” the PMO said.
What is obvious is those trying to change the channel to save Trudeau’s political career are pulling out all the stops to run out of the clock. U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit this month.
While Walsh’s pride of Newfoundland character is merciless on conservative politicians — laying a kiss on former prime minister Stephen Harper, teasing then Conservative leader Andrew Scheer how he was going to blow the upcoming election and of course the famous ambush on Mayor Rob Ford’s driveway that scared his young kids, in which he said he didn’t know who it was and called the police — she is known to yuk it up with Liberals.
This was another example of laughs all around when it comes to pretending to ambush the one-time drama teacher and actor, known to dress up in costume himself. Marg gushed: “A good-looking guy like you, you probably know how to fix that, right? So I am here to listen to what you think how we get everybody back together again, how do we calm the waters, how to get Canada unbroken?”
At that point, in front of parliamentary security, Walsh grabbed Trudeau’s arm while turning her head as if she noticed somebody else she wanted to talk to walking by.
“Oh my God, is that Pierre Poilievre over there?”
Rim shot — the leader of the opposition was the butt of a joke.
Trudeau smiled, pulled away and disappeared behind the corridor as Walsh blew a kiss. If it was a decoy, it was perfectly executed. Mission accomplished.
Not everybody saw the humour in it, though. Behind Walsh, actual reporter Louis Blouin, of Radio-Canada and vice-president of the press gallery, started to ask a question but the prime minister was able to ignore it and flee.
St. Pierre said Blouin was “pissed off” about it and sent a note of complaint immediately.
Walsh, who was granted temporary day pass credentials, essentially helped the PM avoid another embarrassing scrum with tough questions, like what happened Tuesday. Instead, her audience with the PM will be featured on the next 22 Minutes show.
While this act may be hilarious for some, helping Trudeau avoid answering about Chinese election meddling is infuriating for others.
jwarmington@postmedia.com
View attachment 17605
While Mary Walsh and her comedic Marg Delahunty TV character scored an exclusive encounter with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, not everybody's laughing.
torontosun.com