WE really need to get rid of this guy

bob the dog

Council Member
Aug 14, 2020
1,348
1,016
113
Might be a nice first step for Trudeau to come clean about the receding hair line. Or maybe it is people in power in general.

Hard to say he is not trying to hide it and has been for years. Read Sophie's book.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
37,237
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Liberal MP says she’s leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published May 01, 2024 • 1 minute read

Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she will not run again in the next federal election, saying disrespectful dialogue in politics, threats to her life and misogyny are what have contributed to her decision.
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she will not run again in the next federal election, saying disrespectful dialogue in politics, threats to her life and misogyny are what have contributed to her decision.
OTTAWA — Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won’t run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.


Damoff says she’s proud of her time in politics but it is no longer for her, and it’s time to turn the page to a new chapter.


She has represented Oakville North-Burlington, a riding west of Toronto, since 2015.

Damoff announced her planned exit with a letter posted on her Facebook page.

She says the current tone of politics is being driven by a desire for social-media clips and likes — a drastic change in how politicians interact with each other and the public.

She adds the tenor of political discourse has deteriorated significantly, and she fears that misinformation and “lies” spread by politicians are causing a loss of trust in institutions.

“Unfortunately, the toxic drive for social-media likes and clips among elected officials has hindered constructive conversations, exacerbated difference between us and diminished our capacity to show empathy towards each other,” Damoff said in the statement.

“The threats and misogyny I have experienced as a member of Parliament are such that I often fear going out in public, and that is not a sustainable or healthy way to live.”
 

pgs

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 29, 2008
27,363
7,326
113
B.C.
Liberal MP says she’s leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published May 01, 2024 • 1 minute read

Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she will not run again in the next federal election, saying disrespectful dialogue in politics, threats to her life and misogyny are what have contributed to her decision.
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she will not run again in the next federal election, saying disrespectful dialogue in politics, threats to her life and misogyny are what have contributed to her decision.
OTTAWA — Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won’t run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.


Damoff says she’s proud of her time in politics but it is no longer for her, and it’s time to turn the page to a new chapter.


She has represented Oakville North-Burlington, a riding west of Toronto, since 2015.

Damoff announced her planned exit with a letter posted on her Facebook page.

She says the current tone of politics is being driven by a desire for social-media clips and likes — a drastic change in how politicians interact with each other and the public.

She adds the tenor of political discourse has deteriorated significantly, and she fears that misinformation and “lies” spread by politicians are causing a loss of trust in institutions.

“Unfortunately, the toxic drive for social-media likes and clips among elected officials has hindered constructive conversations, exacerbated difference between us and diminished our capacity to show empathy towards each other,” Damoff said in the statement.

“The threats and misogyny I have experienced as a member of Parliament are such that I often fear going out in public, and that is not a sustainable or healthy way to live.”
She must be polling negatively, and has enough years in for the golden handshake . Not bad for a back bencher nobody has ever heard of .
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
37,237
3,230
113
Conservatives call on Commons Speaker to resign, say he let Trudeau cross the line
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Stephanie Taylor
Published May 01, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 4 minute read

Conservative MPs are calling on Commons Speaker Greg Fergus to resign after ejecting their leader during a heated debate, where they say equal rules were not applied to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Conservative MPs are calling on Commons Speaker Greg Fergus to resign after ejecting their leader during a heated debate, where they say equal rules were not applied to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
OTTAWA — Conservative MPs want House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus to resign after ejecting their leader — and not Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — during a heated debate Tuesday.


The Tories say Fergus did not apply the rules equally during a tense back and forth between Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.


Poilievre was kicked out of the chamber after he called Trudeau a “wacko prime minister” and refused Fergus’s request to withdraw the remark. His entire caucus eventually left as well in protest.

The insult was hurled as Poilievre pressed Trudeau to agree to British Columbia’s request to amend a Health Canada provision decriminalizing public possession of hard drugs like heroin and fentanyl.

Trudeau instead shot back that Poilievre did not deserve elected office, accusing him of courting far-right extremists.

Last week videos emerged of Poilievre visiting a carbon price protest camp in Atlantic Canada where one of the trailers featured a drawing of a symbol belonging to the far-right online group Diagolon.


Conservative MP John Brassard said Wednesday that Trudeau used “undignified” language Tuesday by inferring that Tories are connected to white nationalists.

“The Conservative party has never been represented by a more diverse group in this country like we’ve seen now, and to imply and infer that somehow we are white nationalists or racists, I think is undignified,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

Michael Barrett, the party’s ethics critic in Parliament, said equal rules must be applied in the House when the prime minister is delivering what Barrett calls “personal insults” instead of defending his drug policy.

A spokesman for Fergus said Wednesday that the Speaker didn’t just single out Poilievre, noting he also asked Trudeau to reframe one of his questions after he called Poilievre a “spineless leader.”


“The prime minister reframed his answer,’ Mathieu Gravel said.

“The Speaker offered Mr. Poilievre four opportunities to withdraw his comment and reframe his question. Mr. Poilievre did not avail himself of those opportunities.”

Poilievre instead told Fergus he would replace the word “wacko” with “extremist” and “radical,” which the Speaker rejected, asking him to withdraw use of the term altogether.

When he did not, Fergus ordered him to leave.

The Conservative leader cried censorship and said Fergus was trying to protect the prime minister.

Gravel said Fergus “has no intention of resigning.”

Most of Wednesday’s question period was far less raucous, with the Conservatives set in a sedate tone. The back-and-forth between opposition and government MPs, which saw both Trudeau and Poilievre participate, unfolded without need for the Speaker to step in.


Poilievre avoided bringing up the previous day’s events.

Rather he spoke in a slow, measured manner throughout, and didn’t react when Trudeau referenced the “new, more reasonable tone of the leader of the Opposition” and again accused Poilievre of refusing to “condemn violent extremism.”

But close to an hour into question period, when Trudeau did it again, some Conservative MPs began shouting “black face” at him. That is a reference to images of Trudeau that emerged in 2021 showing him wearing black, or brown face on more than one occasion prior to getting into politics.

House of Commons rules state if the Speaker determines “offensive or disorderly language” was used, the MP will be asked to withdraw the unparliamentary remarks, and “must rise in his or her place to retract the words unequivocally.”


The rules don’t define unparliamentary language, instead allowing the Speaker to make the decision based on a number of factors, including tone, intention and most importantly whether the remarks caused any disorder in the chamber. That means the same language can be deemed unparliamentary one day but not the next.

Liberals came to Fergus’s defence on Tuesday and continued to slam Poilievre’s actions and that of his caucus.

“When we saw the Conservatives storm out in protest, I thought it was immature,” said Housing Minister Sean Fraser.

“Nobody sent me to Ottawa to storm out of the House of Commons. Some of the comments that I heard coming from Opposition MPs was cheerleading that it was happening, saying ’are you trying to help us with our fundraising. We’re going to raise an extra million dollars off this.”’


The Conservative party sent out a fundraising blast within an hour of the incident.

Similarly, the Liberal party’s social media lit up with footage of cabinet ministers and Trudeau himself calling out Poilievre, accusing him of courting far-right extremists.

Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said on Wednesday that the Speaker was elected by MPs and respects all of his rulings.

On Tuesday, he also compared Poilievre’s behaviour to that of former U.S. President Donald Trump, which is a frequent attack the Liberals mount against the Canadian Conservative, accusing the party of importing American-style politics into the country.

“They come into our democratic institutions, they break all the rules and when they are called on breaking all the rules they leave and say they’ve been gagged,” MacKinnon said.

— With files from Anja Karadeglija and Mickey Djuric
 
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pgs

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 29, 2008
27,363
7,326
113
B.C.
Conservatives call on Commons Speaker to resign, say he let Trudeau cross the line
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Stephanie Taylor
Published May 01, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 4 minute read

Conservative MPs are calling on Commons Speaker Greg Fergus to resign after ejecting their leader during a heated debate, where they say equal rules were not applied to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Conservative MPs are calling on Commons Speaker Greg Fergus to resign after ejecting their leader during a heated debate, where they say equal rules were not applied to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
OTTAWA — Conservative MPs want House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus to resign after ejecting their leader — and not Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — during a heated debate Tuesday.


The Tories say Fergus did not apply the rules equally during a tense back and forth between Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.


Poilievre was kicked out of the chamber after he called Trudeau a “wacko prime minister” and refused Fergus’s request to withdraw the remark. His entire caucus eventually left as well in protest.

The insult was hurled as Poilievre pressed Trudeau to agree to British Columbia’s request to amend a Health Canada provision decriminalizing public possession of hard drugs like heroin and fentanyl.

Trudeau instead shot back that Poilievre did not deserve elected office, accusing him of courting far-right extremists.

Last week videos emerged of Poilievre visiting a carbon price protest camp in Atlantic Canada where one of the trailers featured a drawing of a symbol belonging to the far-right online group Diagolon.


Conservative MP John Brassard said Wednesday that Trudeau used “undignified” language Tuesday by inferring that Tories are connected to white nationalists.

“The Conservative party has never been represented by a more diverse group in this country like we’ve seen now, and to imply and infer that somehow we are white nationalists or racists, I think is undignified,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

Michael Barrett, the party’s ethics critic in Parliament, said equal rules must be applied in the House when the prime minister is delivering what Barrett calls “personal insults” instead of defending his drug policy.

A spokesman for Fergus said Wednesday that the Speaker didn’t just single out Poilievre, noting he also asked Trudeau to reframe one of his questions after he called Poilievre a “spineless leader.”


“The prime minister reframed his answer,’ Mathieu Gravel said.

“The Speaker offered Mr. Poilievre four opportunities to withdraw his comment and reframe his question. Mr. Poilievre did not avail himself of those opportunities.”

Poilievre instead told Fergus he would replace the word “wacko” with “extremist” and “radical,” which the Speaker rejected, asking him to withdraw use of the term altogether.

When he did not, Fergus ordered him to leave.

The Conservative leader cried censorship and said Fergus was trying to protect the prime minister.

Gravel said Fergus “has no intention of resigning.”

Most of Wednesday’s question period was far less raucous, with the Conservatives set in a sedate tone. The back-and-forth between opposition and government MPs, which saw both Trudeau and Poilievre participate, unfolded without need for the Speaker to step in.


Poilievre avoided bringing up the previous day’s events.

Rather he spoke in a slow, measured manner throughout, and didn’t react when Trudeau referenced the “new, more reasonable tone of the leader of the Opposition” and again accused Poilievre of refusing to “condemn violent extremism.”

But close to an hour into question period, when Trudeau did it again, some Conservative MPs began shouting “black face” at him. That is a reference to images of Trudeau that emerged in 2021 showing him wearing black, or brown face on more than one occasion prior to getting into politics.

House of Commons rules state if the Speaker determines “offensive or disorderly language” was used, the MP will be asked to withdraw the unparliamentary remarks, and “must rise in his or her place to retract the words unequivocally.”


The rules don’t define unparliamentary language, instead allowing the Speaker to make the decision based on a number of factors, including tone, intention and most importantly whether the remarks caused any disorder in the chamber. That means the same language can be deemed unparliamentary one day but not the next.

Liberals came to Fergus’s defence on Tuesday and continued to slam Poilievre’s actions and that of his caucus.

“When we saw the Conservatives storm out in protest, I thought it was immature,” said Housing Minister Sean Fraser.

“Nobody sent me to Ottawa to storm out of the House of Commons. Some of the comments that I heard coming from Opposition MPs was cheerleading that it was happening, saying ’are you trying to help us with our fundraising. We’re going to raise an extra million dollars off this.”’


The Conservative party sent out a fundraising blast within an hour of the incident.

Similarly, the Liberal party’s social media lit up with footage of cabinet ministers and Trudeau himself calling out Poilievre, accusing him of courting far-right extremists.

Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said on Wednesday that the Speaker was elected by MPs and respects all of his rulings.

On Tuesday, he also compared Poilievre’s behaviour to that of former U.S. President Donald Trump, which is a frequent attack the Liberals mount against the Canadian Conservative, accusing the party of importing American-style politics into the country.

“They come into our democratic institutions, they break all the rules and when they are called on breaking all the rules they leave and say they’ve been gagged,” MacKinnon said.

— With files from Anja Karadeglija and Mickey Djuric
Wack all their PP’s .
 
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spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
37,237
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Kim Jong Un recruits 25 new virgins every year for ‘pleasure squad’
Author of the article:Denette Wilford
Published May 03, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 2 minute read

Kim Jong Un takes time out of his busy schedule to select 25 virgin girls a year to personally entertain him in what a North Korean defector called his “pleasure squad.”


Yeonmi Park, 30, told the Daily Star that officials would “visit every classroom” and “even go to schoolyards in case they missed someone pretty.”


It wasn’t all about attractiveness, however; Park added that the girls’ political loyalty also played a factor on whether they chosen.

Park claimed she was scouted twice for the so-called honour but wasn’t picked in the end because of her “family status.”

She explained “they eliminate any girls with family members that have escaped from North Korea, or have relatives in South Korea or other countries.”



If given the green light, the next step for the young women is a medical examination to ensure they are, in fact, virgins.

Candidates who move on are then subjected to more invasive tests where even the tiniest defect, like a small scar anywhere on the body, will get them disqualified.

Once only a “handful of girls” are left, they are sent to Pyongyang to see if they make the final cut.

If selected, their “only reason to exist is to please the dictator,” Park said.



She said for many, life in North Korea is so grim that parents welcome their daughters being recruited in the hope they might enjoy a better quality of life.

Park, who fled North Korea for China in 2007 at the age of 13, has amassed more than 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube with her tales of life inside the dictatorship.

She moved to the United States in 2014 and became an American citizen eight years later, even writing a book about her search for freedom in the U.S. after defecting.

Park also mentioned that Jong Un has very specific taste, and opts for women who are “slender,” “taller” and more “western-looking.”

Within the pleasure squad, there are three different divisions, she added.

The first group are trained to massage, the second bunch specialize in entertainment such as singing and dancing, while the third bevy of women make up the “sexual activities division,” and have to not only be intimate with the tubby tyrant but his inner circle as well.

The most beautiful girls are reserved to attend to the dictator essentially as sex slaves, while the less attractive members must cater to the needs of low-ranking generals and politicians.

“They have to learn how to please these men,” Park said. “That’s their only goal.”
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
37,237
3,230
113
Kim Jong Un recruits 25 new virgins every year for ‘pleasure squad’
Author of the article:Denette Wilford
Published May 03, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 2 minute read

Kim Jong Un takes time out of his busy schedule to select 25 virgin girls a year to personally entertain him in what a North Korean defector called his “pleasure squad.”


Yeonmi Park, 30, told the Daily Star that officials would “visit every classroom” and “even go to schoolyards in case they missed someone pretty.”


It wasn’t all about attractiveness, however; Park added that the girls’ political loyalty also played a factor on whether they chosen.

Park claimed she was scouted twice for the so-called honour but wasn’t picked in the end because of her “family status.”

She explained “they eliminate any girls with family members that have escaped from North Korea, or have relatives in South Korea or other countries.”



If given the green light, the next step for the young women is a medical examination to ensure they are, in fact, virgins.

Candidates who move on are then subjected to more invasive tests where even the tiniest defect, like a small scar anywhere on the body, will get them disqualified.

Once only a “handful of girls” are left, they are sent to Pyongyang to see if they make the final cut.

If selected, their “only reason to exist is to please the dictator,” Park said.



She said for many, life in North Korea is so grim that parents welcome their daughters being recruited in the hope they might enjoy a better quality of life.

Park, who fled North Korea for China in 2007 at the age of 13, has amassed more than 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube with her tales of life inside the dictatorship.

She moved to the United States in 2014 and became an American citizen eight years later, even writing a book about her search for freedom in the U.S. after defecting.

Park also mentioned that Jong Un has very specific taste, and opts for women who are “slender,” “taller” and more “western-looking.”

Within the pleasure squad, there are three different divisions, she added.

The first group are trained to massage, the second bunch specialize in entertainment such as singing and dancing, while the third bevy of women make up the “sexual activities division,” and have to not only be intimate with the tubby tyrant but his inner circle as well.

The most beautiful girls are reserved to attend to the dictator essentially as sex slaves, while the less attractive members must cater to the needs of low-ranking generals and politicians.

“They have to learn how to please these men,” Park said. “That’s their only goal.”
the girls are probably praying that south korea nukes them. :( ;)
 
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spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
37,237
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Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says she 'never perceived' Justin as 'a prime minister'
'Because I never perceived my partner as a prime minister, I never perceived my marriage as a political marriage'


Author of the article:Mark Daniell
Published May 07, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read

Sophie Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau during the launch of her new book, Closer Together, in Montreal on Monday April 22, 2024.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, Canada’s former unofficial first lady, has the same thoughts as many Canadians right now, telling Newsweek in a new interview that she never thought of her estranged husband, Justin, as “a prime minister.”


Last summer, the Canadian couple ended their 18-year marriage and Gregoire Trudeau is now lifting the lid on their split as she hits the publicity trail to promote her new self-help book, Closer Together, Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other.


“I wrote this book so that people can know themselves better, love themselves better so that we can give us the maximum tools and opportunities to face the crises that we’re facing,” Gregoire Trudeau tells Newsweek.

Following the couple’s 2005 marriage, Gregoire Trudeau said she didn’t aspire to have a profile that would land her notoriety on a world stage.

“Because I never perceived my partner as a prime minister, I never perceived my marriage as a political marriage or our relationship for that matter,” she tells the publication.


“We were kind of just in the middle of what it means to be out there and scrutinized by the world.”

Gregoire Trudeau, 49, is plotting two books focusing on her mental health journey. Part of the description for Closer Together on her publisher’s website reads, “Sophie Gregoire Trudeau invites readers on a deeply personal journey toward self-knowledge, acceptance, and empowerment, drawing on the expertise of top psychologists, psychiatrists, scientists, and thought leaders.”

Closer Together
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau invites readers on a deeply personal journey in Closer Together.
It was written before the two called it quits. But, of course, Gregoire Trudeau is facing questions about the dissolution of her marriage to the Liberal leader, whom she married in 2005 and shares three children with.

Gregoire Trudeau tells Newsweek she wasn’t going to “reinvent myself” as Trudeau’s political ambitions started to form after they wed.


“I always look for that sense of integrity inside of me. Is it the right thing to do? And is it what I do in life?” Gregoire Trudeau says. “I won’t reinvent myself because I’m now a partner of somebody or people see me in this kind of new position, nonofficial first lady, or whatever. So, I always tried to never believe in a role or a title but stay true to course and remember that’s how I need to serve in a way.”

Justin and Sophie

As she promotes the book, Gregoire Trudeau says she wishes she didn’t have to keep rehashing their split, but said the ending of her marriage “is a very small portion of my life.”

“Of course, I wish I didn’t have to share the state of my relationship with the world,” she says. “It is my life, but it is a very small portion of my life. I don’t live my life with the cameras on. I’m at home with the kids. We’re running around, we’re booking appointments. So I don’t bring my mind there. But that being said, I now understand that being on a co-political path, and your partner does that, it implies a lot of changes in one’s life that you don’t expect. And you have to constantly adapt.”


In an interview with the Montreal Gazette last month, Gregoire Trudeau said she hopes the Closer Together “encourages people to look deeper inside themselves.”

“It’s my content and my story. When you show emotional vulnerability, it’s a sign of strength, and I hope it encourages people to look deeper inside themselves to find peace and balance in their own lives, because so many people are suffering right now,” she said.

As for the breakup, Gregoire Trudeau isn’t delving into too many details and is instead moving forward in her new reality as she co-parents with her embattled ex, who is being battered in the polls.

“Is it my fault? Is it his fault? There’s a lot of blaming, when what we’re all trying in our relationships and our connections is to heal ourselves or validate our emotions,” she said in an interview with Vogue.


In a separate cover story with Elle Canada, Gregoire Trudeau said the split wasn’t nearly as bad as she thought it could be.

“I imagined the worst-case scenario, I’ll tell you that,” she told the magazine. “I had to. I didn’t want to be naive. But I also had to protect myself.”

Looking back on their separation, there’s one word she uses to describe their breakup and their new reality going forward (Gregoire is rumoured to have “re-partnered” with a former beau).

“Hard,” she said. “(I had to) face the truth (and) choose authenticity over attachment. I’m a family woman — family is everything to me (because) I’m an only child, so the thought of breaking that mould or transforming that mould … Even the words we use to describe relationships — it’s either success (and you) stay together or failure (and you) go on different paths. We really need to develop a new vocabulary for human beings as we transform on our own paths.”

mdaniell@postmedia.com
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
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Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says she 'never perceived' Justin as 'a prime minister'
'Because I never perceived my partner as a prime minister, I never perceived my marriage as a political marriage'


Author of the article:Mark Daniell
Published May 07, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read

Sophie Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau during the launch of her new book, Closer Together, in Montreal on Monday April 22, 2024.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, Canada’s former unofficial first lady, has the same thoughts as many Canadians right now, telling Newsweek in a new interview that she never thought of her estranged husband, Justin, as “a prime minister.”


Last summer, the Canadian couple ended their 18-year marriage and Gregoire Trudeau is now lifting the lid on their split as she hits the publicity trail to promote her new self-help book, Closer Together, Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other.


“I wrote this book so that people can know themselves better, love themselves better so that we can give us the maximum tools and opportunities to face the crises that we’re facing,” Gregoire Trudeau tells Newsweek.

Following the couple’s 2005 marriage, Gregoire Trudeau said she didn’t aspire to have a profile that would land her notoriety on a world stage.

“Because I never perceived my partner as a prime minister, I never perceived my marriage as a political marriage or our relationship for that matter,” she tells the publication.


“We were kind of just in the middle of what it means to be out there and scrutinized by the world.”

Gregoire Trudeau, 49, is plotting two books focusing on her mental health journey. Part of the description for Closer Together on her publisher’s website reads, “Sophie Gregoire Trudeau invites readers on a deeply personal journey toward self-knowledge, acceptance, and empowerment, drawing on the expertise of top psychologists, psychiatrists, scientists, and thought leaders.”

Closer Together
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau invites readers on a deeply personal journey in Closer Together.
It was written before the two called it quits. But, of course, Gregoire Trudeau is facing questions about the dissolution of her marriage to the Liberal leader, whom she married in 2005 and shares three children with.

Gregoire Trudeau tells Newsweek she wasn’t going to “reinvent myself” as Trudeau’s political ambitions started to form after they wed.


“I always look for that sense of integrity inside of me. Is it the right thing to do? And is it what I do in life?” Gregoire Trudeau says. “I won’t reinvent myself because I’m now a partner of somebody or people see me in this kind of new position, nonofficial first lady, or whatever. So, I always tried to never believe in a role or a title but stay true to course and remember that’s how I need to serve in a way.”

Justin and Sophie

As she promotes the book, Gregoire Trudeau says she wishes she didn’t have to keep rehashing their split, but said the ending of her marriage “is a very small portion of my life.”

“Of course, I wish I didn’t have to share the state of my relationship with the world,” she says. “It is my life, but it is a very small portion of my life. I don’t live my life with the cameras on. I’m at home with the kids. We’re running around, we’re booking appointments. So I don’t bring my mind there. But that being said, I now understand that being on a co-political path, and your partner does that, it implies a lot of changes in one’s life that you don’t expect. And you have to constantly adapt.”


In an interview with the Montreal Gazette last month, Gregoire Trudeau said she hopes the Closer Together “encourages people to look deeper inside themselves.”

“It’s my content and my story. When you show emotional vulnerability, it’s a sign of strength, and I hope it encourages people to look deeper inside themselves to find peace and balance in their own lives, because so many people are suffering right now,” she said.

As for the breakup, Gregoire Trudeau isn’t delving into too many details and is instead moving forward in her new reality as she co-parents with her embattled ex, who is being battered in the polls.

“Is it my fault? Is it his fault? There’s a lot of blaming, when what we’re all trying in our relationships and our connections is to heal ourselves or validate our emotions,” she said in an interview with Vogue.


In a separate cover story with Elle Canada, Gregoire Trudeau said the split wasn’t nearly as bad as she thought it could be.

“I imagined the worst-case scenario, I’ll tell you that,” she told the magazine. “I had to. I didn’t want to be naive. But I also had to protect myself.”

Looking back on their separation, there’s one word she uses to describe their breakup and their new reality going forward (Gregoire is rumoured to have “re-partnered” with a former beau).

“Hard,” she said. “(I had to) face the truth (and) choose authenticity over attachment. I’m a family woman — family is everything to me (because) I’m an only child, so the thought of breaking that mould or transforming that mould … Even the words we use to describe relationships — it’s either success (and you) stay together or failure (and you) go on different paths. We really need to develop a new vocabulary for human beings as we transform on our own paths.”

mdaniell@postmedia.com
no one perceived justine as prime minister. ;)
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
25,374
9,143
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
Here’s the first thing you need to know about the new “National School Food Program” you might have heard about: There is no national school food program. There is even less a national school food program than there is a national daycare program, even less than there is a “national pharmacare deal.”
Here is a tale of two recent childcare webinars. One was organized by entrepreneurs who see their daycare centres and the families they serve being bulldozed by the Trudeau government’s national takeover of their sector; the other was held by government-funded activists and aspiring central planners who see the governmentalization of childcare as an opportunity to inject it with their notions of social justice.
The “national pharmacare deal” is at least a piece of legislation. The school food program is a press release, with details to come in the budget. And like national pharmacare (in which neither Quebec nor Alberta is interested), national school food isn’t really national at all.
“Education being Quebec’s exclusive jurisdiction, it goes without saying that we demand to receive this money without any conditions,” minister for Canadian relations Jean-François Roberge averred roughly 30 seconds after the federal government’s announcement this week.
A takeaway from the conference was that the Trudeau government is trampling parental choice and imposing its own preferences onto families. As a statement released by AACE put it, the federal government is “limiting parental choice, forcing families into state-sponsored, regulated childcare.”
Well, hey, it’s 2024. Symmetrical federalism went out with neon windbreakers. Perhaps we should just accept that “national program” now means “national program except Quebec.” And that when Alberta also says it’s not interested in “national pharmacare,” that’s just Albertans being churlish.
This is seen as “a move towards a homogenized model, crafted by discriminatory, social ideological government policies rather than reflecting the varied preferences of Canadian families. Many operators recommended that funding parents directly would give them true choice.”

Juxtapose the concerns of childcare providers trying to stay afloat and continue providing quality care to families in the face of the Trudeau government’s takeover of their sector, with what government-funded childcare activists are focused on.
I would rather not. I think the whole “national strategy” discourse warps Canadians’ minds about how this country, and federations in general, were designed to work — which can only make it more difficult to solve our biggest problems.
In March, the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care held a national webinar on “Creating an Anti-Racist Child Care System in Canada,” which highlighted its three-year project, funded by the federal government, on how to make childcare “anti-racist.”

Here’s the Trudeau’ized daycare program…

The organization advocates, among other things, “mandatory anti-racism training as part of membership in the College of ECE.” Another recommendation is to have education programs for childcare workers that “demonstrate a commitment” to decolonization and include “a mandatory course on anti-racist pedagogy” and course materials from Black, Indigenous and racialized theorists. (?????)
Point out a basic fact like “school lunches are not federal jurisdiction,” online or off, and you will immediately be set upon by people who understand very well how federalism works, but think it’s downright ghoulish for you to bring it up in the matter of hungry children. (It’s all they can do not to literally channel Helen Lovejoy’s immortal, agonized cry from The Simpsons: “Oh won’t someone please think of the children!”)
The activists also make recommendations to childcare operators, such as “ongoing anti-racism, inclusion and equity training” for staff, “ongoing training and coaching to develop and implement anti-racist, inclusive pedagogy” and creating an “advisory committee that includes Black, Indigenous and racialized community members.”
You can assemble an impressive roster of such people quite quickly by sticking your neck out slightly on social media: journalists, criminal defence lawyers, a candidate for the Alberta NDP, even a former premier: “Let’s skip the long debate about jurisdiction,” Kathleen Wynne advised, without explaining how exactly we would go about that. Would Ottawa just mail every school principal in the land a cheque with a vow of silence attached? (It might be the most efficient way.)
Three observations. First, it is not clear that forming advisory committees in which race is a criterion for admission is really an “anti-racist” initiative. Second, there is scant evidence that the childcare sector is a hotbed of racism against minorities to begin with: visible minorities are over-represented in the childcare sector compared to the workforce as a whole.

Third, there is abundant evidence that free markets and competition, not expanded government control (as advocated by the government-funded activists, who say the Ontario government should “enshrine” the right to government-regulated childcare), is an effective way to reduce racism and other forms of discrimination.
The problem is this “national strategy” schtick. It’s nothing but political branding, like the Liberals’ “minister of middle-class prosperity,” and dispassionate observers, including we in the media, should not be indulging it. All we’re really talking about is Ottawa wiring the provinces money.
Indeed, it is through maximizing choice that racism is best reduced. Parents are not interested in sending their children to racist childcare centres. Taking control of childcare away from government and giving it back to parents and the providers they choose is the best path to the highest quality and most accessible non-racist childcare. We should listen to the childcare entrepreneurs, not the activists.
 

petros

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Here is a tale of two recent childcare webinars. One was organized by entrepreneurs who see their daycare centres and the families they serve being bulldozed by the Trudeau government’s national takeover of their sector; the other was held by government-funded activists and aspiring central planners who see the governmentalization of childcare as an opportunity to inject it with their notions of social justice.


A takeaway from the conference was that the Trudeau government is trampling parental choice and imposing its own preferences onto families. As a statement released by AACE put it, the federal government is “limiting parental choice, forcing families into state-sponsored, regulated childcare.”

This is seen as “a move towards a homogenized model, crafted by discriminatory, social ideological government policies rather than reflecting the varied preferences of Canadian families. Many operators recommended that funding parents directly would give them true choice.”

Juxtapose the concerns of childcare providers trying to stay afloat and continue providing quality care to families in the face of the Trudeau government’s takeover of their sector, with what government-funded childcare activists are focused on.

In March, the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care held a national webinar on “Creating an Anti-Racist Child Care System in Canada,” which highlighted its three-year project, funded by the federal government, on how to make childcare “anti-racist.”

Here’s the Trudeau’ized daycare program…

The organization advocates, among other things, “mandatory anti-racism training as part of membership in the College of ECE.” Another recommendation is to have education programs for childcare workers that “demonstrate a commitment” to decolonization and include “a mandatory course on anti-racist pedagogy” and course materials from Black, Indigenous and racialized theorists. (?????)

The activists also make recommendations to childcare operators, such as “ongoing anti-racism, inclusion and equity training” for staff, “ongoing training and coaching to develop and implement anti-racist, inclusive pedagogy” and creating an “advisory committee that includes Black, Indigenous and racialized community members.”

Three observations. First, it is not clear that forming advisory committees in which race is a criterion for admission is really an “anti-racist” initiative. Second, there is scant evidence that the childcare sector is a hotbed of racism against minorities to begin with: visible minorities are over-represented in the childcare sector compared to the workforce as a whole.

Third, there is abundant evidence that free markets and competition, not expanded government control (as advocated by the government-funded activists, who say the Ontario government should “enshrine” the right to government-regulated childcare), is an effective way to reduce racism and other forms of discrimination.

Indeed, it is through maximizing choice that racism is best reduced. Parents are not interested in sending their children to racist childcare centres. Taking control of childcare away from government and giving it back to parents and the providers they choose is the best path to the highest quality and most accessible non-racist childcare. We should listen to the childcare entrepreneurs, not the activists.
Parents dont have Rights. They have DEI guidelines bestowed upon them by the childless.
 

spaminator

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Trudeau Liberals trying to scare voters to protect convicts
It's a desperate move to claim that getting tough on multiple murderers will strip average Canadians of their rights.


Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published May 20, 2024 • Last updated 8 hours ago • 3 minute read

Liberals are desperate to claim that getting tough on convicted murderers will strip average Canadians of their rights, says columnist Brian Lilley.
Liberals are desperate to claim that getting tough on convicted murderers will strip average Canadians of their rights, says columnist Brian Lilley.
Should Canada be tougher or more lenient on those who commit heinous crimes? Ask most Canadians, and they will have little sympathy for Paul Bernardo, Russell Williams, Luka Magnotta or Alexandre Bissonnette who carried out the Quebec City mosque massacre.


Yet, if you ask judges, the people who run Canada’s prison system or the Liberal politicians who appoint these folks, the answer is always that we should be more lenient.


There is an ongoing discussion about our justice system in Canada and the Trudeau Liberals — along with their allies in the NDP and Bloc Quebecois — are on the wrong side of the Canadian public. All three parties recently voted against Bill C-351 which would have ensured people designated as dangerous offenders and convicted of multiple murders are always housed in maximum-security penitentiaries.

Sounds like a commonsense move, but the reality is that of the 736 people classified as dangerous offenders in Canadian prisons at the end of the 2022-23 fiscal year, just 99 of those inmates were in maximum-security prisons. There were 57 in minimum-security jails and the vast majority, 580 inmates, were in medium-security facilities.


Asked to vote on changing that, and enshrining in regulations that all will be housed in maximum, only the Poilievre Conservatives voted for this. That’s surprising given the public outcry when it was revealed that Bernardo, Williams and Magnotta are all at the La Macaza prison in Quebec — complete with a hockey rink, tennis court, excellent gym facilities and plenty of freedom.

The takeaway message is that the Liberals, NDP and Bloc are on the side of convicts.

Liberals are also standing on the side of convicts, and dangerous offenders, as they try to scare voters away from Poilievre and the Conservatives. The latest message is that Poilievre wants to strip you, the average Canadian, of their Charter protected rights and freedoms.


Now, unless you are someone convicted of killing multiple people, you don’t have to worry.

Speaking recently to the Canadian Police Association, Poilievre lamented the light touch too many judges give criminals. Part of that is the legislation passed by the Trudeau Liberals, part of it is the type of soft-on-crime judges the Trudeau Liberals have been appointing.

Poilievre promised to do things differently and promised to bring in the measures promised in Bill C-351 if elected to form a government.

“Multiple murderers will only come out of prison in a box,” Poilievre said.

“All of my proposals are constitutional, and we will make them constitutional using whatever tools the Constitution allows me to use to make them constitutional. I think you know exactly what I mean.”


Poilievre’s promise to use “whatever tools the Constitution allows” was a clear reference to the notwithstanding clause, Sec. 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. That section allows Parliament to pass legislation even if the courts have ruled it unconstitutional, but it has to be renewed after five years, meaning voters get the final say.

Poilievre has specifically said he’s only going to use the clause to push back against judges who go light on those convicted of heinous crimes. He has specially cited the case of Alexandre Bissonnette when speaking about this, but the Liberals are trying to claim he’s out to destroy all of your rights.

Bissonnette murdered six people in his attack, injured five more and scarred a community. He was handed six consecutive life sentences, meaning he would never be released from prison.


The courts struck that down, and the idea of consecutive sentences, calling it cruel and unusual punishment. Poilievre says he will bring such sentencing back and use the notwithstanding clause if need be.

For that, the Trudeau Liberals say your rights are at stake.

In reality, it’s people who have committed the worst crimes, who have been given lenient sentences and protected by Liberal judges, who have to worry.

Once again, though, Trudeau and his team are showing they will go to any lengths to stay in power and in a choice between the average Canadian and convicts, they choose convicts every time.
 

spaminator

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Liberals apologize for post attacking Poilievre as Opposition seeks to oust Speaker
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Mickey Djuric
Published May 21, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

OTTAWA — The Liberal party apologized to Speaker Greg Fergus Tuesday for using partisan language to advertise his event, after the Opposition Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois called for his resignation.


The opposition parties called it yet another display of partisan behaviour from the Speaker of the House of Commons.


The latest accusation stems from a post on the Liberal party website promoting a summer barbecue event featuring Fergus, who is a Liberal MP.

The event details included a political attack on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, saying his “reckless policies” would risk the health, safety and pocketbooks of Canadians.

“The promotional material of this event uses very partisan, inflammatory language concerning the Conservative party and the leader of the Official Opposition,” said Alberta Conservative MP Chris Warkentin in the House of Commons on Tuesday.


The language in the event details was automatically included based on a template for events posted to the website, said Liberal spokesman Parker Lund.

He said a miscommunication between the party and Fergus’s riding association led to the wrong text being put on the event’s details.

A spokesman for Fergus said that the Speaker’s team did not approve the text and that the riding association did not know the event was going to be posted on the party’s website.

The Speaker’s office provided a copy of the original information for the event, which did not include any partisan language.

The more-partisan version has been taken down from the Liberal party’s website.

“It has simply become impossible to make any distinction now between Speaker Greg Fergus and Liberal Greg Fergus,” Warkentin wrote in a letter to the Speaker, asking him to resign.


“Every ruling you give now — and, with hindsight, every ruling you have given — will now all be assumed to have been delivered with a red tint.”

The Bloc Quebecois joined the call for the resignation on Tuesday, while the New Democrats called on the party to apologize.

“The Liberal Party of Canada has shown profound disrespect by publishing that without the authorization of the Speaker, without the knowledge of the Speaker,” NDP House leader Peter Julian said Tuesday.

“They should apologize to the Speaker of the House of Commons, and the House of Commons for acting this way.”

The party’s national director publicly apologized for the error in an open letter addressed to Fergus Tuesday, which was posted to social media.


“The Liberal Party of Canada unequivocally apologizes to you for this mistake, and we take full responsibility,” Azam Ishmael wrote in the letter.

This is the third time Conservatives have called for Fergus to resign.

They asked him to leave the post after a video tribute to the Ontario Liberals’ departing interim leader in which Fergus was donning his Speaker’s robes was shown to a party convention. Fergus apologized for the incident and a study by MPs yielded a recommendation that he pay a fine.

Conservatives raised ire again last month when Fergus kicked Poilievre out of the House of Commons during question period after the Conservative leader called the prime minister a “wacko” and refused to retract the comment.
 

spaminator

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Human Rights Commission report on Christmas led to fears about staff safety
Parliament unanimously denounced the discussion paper last November

Author of the article:postmedia News
Published May 21, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 1 minute read

The Canadian Human Rights Commission’s 2023 report denouncing Christmas as a racist observance “grounded in Canada’s history of colonialism,” provoked so much backlash the commission feared for its staff’s safety, says Blacklock’s Reporter.


Access To Information records indicate a single staffer, whose name was the only thing censored in 314 pages, created the report Discussion Paper On Religious Intolerance.


The commission said it hid the author’s name by invoking Section 17 of the ATI Act that states: “The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this part that contains information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety of individuals.”

The records do show the unnamed author spent two years revising the paper which was “intended to be a public resource acknowledging this issue in Canada and giving a very high level overview,” according to an internal memo.

Last Nov. 30, the Commons unanimously passed a Bloc Québécois motion condemning the Discussion Paper.



“It is still incredible we have to remind people Christmas is not discriminatory,” said Bloc House Leader Alain Therrien (La Prairie, Que.).

The motion asked that Parliament “denounce the comments of the Canadian Human Rights Commission,” “denounce any attempt at polarization” over Christmas and “unite during this Christmas period.”

It did so while MPs shouted: “Merry Christmas!”
 
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spaminator

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Independent Toronto MP Kevin Vuong asks Poilievre to let him join Conservative caucus
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Stephanie Taylor
Published May 24, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read

OTTAWA — Independent MP Kevin Vuong, who previously ran for the Liberals, says he now wants to run for the Conservatives in the next election, and has asked Pierre Poilievre if he can join his caucus.


But the Tories are not considering allowing him to sit with them in Parliament, spokeswoman Sarah Fischer said Friday.


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dropped Vuong as a candidate just days before the September 2021 vote. The party cited Vuong’s failure to disclose a withdrawn sexual assault charge before running for office, which came out in a report by the Toronto Star in 2021.

He denies the allegations that led to the charge, and called them false.

He was elected anyway, and has sat as an independent for the downtown Toronto riding of Spadina-Fort York ever since.

Sitting in his Parliament Hill office on Friday, he says that while his time in the House of Commons got off to a “rough start,” he thinks he has made an impact and has something to offer Poilievre’s team.


“I believe that I can have more to give,” said Vuong.

“That’s why I’m looking to be able to be a part of a team, to be able to do that.”

He pointed to his efforts to raise awareness about the plight of homeless refugees in Toronto and press the Liberals to eliminate interest on federal student loans in question period.

Vuong’s desire to join the Conservatives does not come as a surprise to caucus members or other party insiders. He has voted alongside the Conservatives on a range of issues from economic matters to drug policy since joining the House of Commons.

“In the last year is when it really started to, I guess, accelerate in terms of folks actively saying, ’Hey, I think you should be a part of our caucus.’ And I started to begin taking that very seriously as well,” he said of his discussions with Conservative MPs.


Vuong made it official last November when he took out a party membership.

While his critics may say he’s only interested in joining the Tories because he was dumped by the Liberals, Vuong says his background is proof of his conservative credentials.

A trained banker and a former naval reserve officer, Vuong says he comes from “pretty conservative professions.”

He’s also a member of both the Chinese and Vietnamese communities, both of which “are very conservative,” he said.

His aspirations to join the Conservatives coincides with the party’s continued favour in public opinion polls. The Tories also have several contenders hoping to run under the Conservative banner in the next election.

Vuong says he has something unique to bring to the party.


“If the Conservatives are looking for someone who can help them to connect with East Asians and the Chinese community, that’s something that I can also help with,” he said.

“Reality is they don’t have someone of that heritage. As the youngest MP of Asian heritage, elected in the 44th parliament, I not only can help to contribute that perspective, but I also can help them to connect with those communities.”

Asked whether he had spoken directly to Poilievre about his desire to join the group, Vuong said he hadn’t, and that the extent of their relationship is that they sometimes cross paths outside the House.

“We say hi to one another as I think you would speak to any colleague.”

The MP also said his desire to seek a Conservative nomination doesn’t hinge on him joining the caucus. He informed Poilievre of his desire to seek the nomination in a Greater Toronto Area riding.

“One of the things that I think I really like about the party is they care about the grassroots,” he said.

“And so my hope will be that I will have that grassroots support, and from there that grassroots support will show the party that, ’Hey, there are people within (the Greater Toronto Area) who support Kevin.”’

He didn’t rule out possibly running in his current riding of Spadina-Fort York. It’s a Liberal stronghold previously held by former Liberal MP Adam Vaughan, where the NDP often finish in close second.
 

spaminator

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Ford fuels early Ontario election speculation by declining to commit to June 2026
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published May 24, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 1 minute read

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is fuelling early election speculation by declining multiple times today to commit to sticking to the planned June 2026 date.


Ford announced today that his plan to expand sales of beer, wine, cider and ready-to-drink cocktails to all grocery stores and eligible convenience stores is being sped up.

He said late last year that the expansion would come by 2026, but now that will start far sooner, with the first phase happening this summer.

Ford took reporters’ questions after his announcement and was asked if he is speeding up the timeline in order to set the stage for an early election call.

He said that is not the reason for his alcohol announcement, but then when asked several more times if he is committed to the June 2026 election date, he did not directly answer.

Ford says he wants to make sure he fulfills his agenda and keeps the promises that he has made.