Trudeau and SNC

“The Imposter” is the wrong title for the April cover story; it should be “The Hypocrite” (“Trudeau’s truth,” Politics, April 2019). Merriam-Webster defines imposter as “one that assumes false identity or title for the purpose of deception” and hypocrite as “a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion” or as “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.” When Canada proclaims to China that we can’t interfere with the arrest of a Huawei executive, but interferes with criminal proceedings on behalf of SNCLavalin, that’s hypocrisy. When the government interferes in justice to SNC for the stated purpose of saving jobs, but forces the cancellation of an oil pipeline by changing the rules, killing thousands more jobs, that’s hypocrisy. To ban tanker traffic for the Pacific but allow them up the St. Lawrence is nothing but hypocrisy. The word hypocrite ultimately came into English from the Greek word hypokrites, which means “an actor” or “a stage player.” Seems like an appropriate descriptor for Justin Trudeau in more ways than one.

Paul Gagnon, Calgary

Shame on you! Justin Trudeau has done and will do more for women and Indigenous equality than any other leader. Yes, there was pressure on Jody Wilson-Raybould to revisit her portfolio, but as Gerald Butts and others have pointed out, it was not unreasonable. No laws were broken, and no other prime minister has given his caucus such freedom to speak and not just parrot speaking points. How quickly we forget Stephen Harper’s party of one! Mr. Trudeau has had to deal with a crazy U.S. president and international democracies tumbling, and many Canadian Indigenous nations all wanting something different. Look around the world and be grateful for the governance we enjoy. Could you please focus on the great things that have happened in the past three years and have some compassion for the enormity of challenges to governing in these crazy times? As people clamour to take down Mr. Trudeau, I remind you all to be careful what you wish for.

Doreen McRitchie, Guelph, Ont.

Never have I read a more damning article on any political party than Paul Wells’, which is warranted. Canadians and Justin Trudeau were duped by the Back Room Club. The Liberals convinced almost the entire country that the young rock star was the answer to everyone’s dreams. They pushed Trudeau into a position for which he was ill-prepared. Having not even managed a work crew at the local coffee shop, he was made chief operating officer of the biggest, most complicated corporation in Canada. No other organization, anywhere, would have done this and not expect failures; only the Back Room Club.

Brian Mellor, Picton, Ont.

You have had your go at Justin Trudeau, so how about the next cover being Andrew Scheer with the title, “The Hypocrite?”

Dianne Powell, Wentworth Station, N.S.