Trudeau and an impetuosity that many feared
WHO’S SORRY NOW? A contrite Justin Trudeau speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast: ‘BLESS those who persecute you; bless and DO NOT CURSE.’
The morning after he told his parliamentary colleagues to go forth and multiply, Justin Trudeau spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast.
Without irony, the prime minister read from Romans 12, which states: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”
As Will Rogers once said: “I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.”
It would be nice to report the text, which also urges believers to “live in harmony with one another,” was chosen in a moment of spontaneous contrition but apparently it was picked some time ago. Nevertheless, Trudeau did return to the scene of the crime, in an apparent attempt to break the world apology record, lamenting his “poor choices” in the House of Commons.
The Conservatives are now trying to link Trudeau’s apparent belief he’s the king of Parliament Hill to the government’s arbitrary approach on a range of policies, including democratic reform.
It’s too early to say whether the “incident,” as it is referred to internally, will have longer term implications.
My Lebanese cab driver said he watched it all unfold on television and now has renewed respect for Trudeau.
“He made a mistake and he apologized. Everyone is human. It made me glad I’m here. In Lebanon, the prime minister can shoot you dead,” he said.
When you put it like that, it’s a reminder that everything is relative and few political storms in this country deserve a “gate” suffix.
Even by Canadian standards, this doesn’t compare to the TransCanada pipeline debate of 1956, widely blamed for bringing down Louis St. Laurent’s government. On that occasion, an MP died in the chamber because of stress, while the normally staid Co-operative Commonwealth Federation leader shook his fist and berated the Speaker for succumbing to government pressure.
But this incident is salient because it hints at an impetuosity and immaturity in the prime minister that many warned would be a hallmark of a Trudeau government. That it has not thus far is a testimony to Trudeau’s discipline and ability to learn quickly.
He has performed well above expectations. Yet there remain nagging doubts about the exhibitionist side of his personality.
Others better qualified than me will opine on whether the impulse to gaze wistfully into the distance for Vogue is linked to the rage that compelled him to cross the two-swords lengths that separate the government from its opposition.
The most immediate impact is the shredding of his legislative agenda.
As soon as he did what he did, Trudeau lost the ability to get the bill on assisted dying to a vote and sent to the Senate before the House rises for a break week.
His actions compelled the Speaker to find a prima facie breach of privilege and spark a debate in the House on “the physical molestation” of New Democratic Party MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau. That pre-empted everything the Liberals wanted to debate, including the assisted dying bill.
To go back to the 1956 pipeline example, it erupted into an almighty political hoolie because the government of the day treated the opposition with contempt.
As trade minister C.D. Howe later recalled: “We were too old. I was too old. I didn’t have the patience it takes to deal with Parliament.”
The ill will that led to the confrontation Wednesday was a power-grab motion by the Liberals that would have given the government almost total control over parliamentary procedure. The failure of opposition parties to accept this with good grace is what prompted the prime minister to cross the floor.
The withdrawal of the offending government motion — a climbdown in the face of unanimity on the other side of the House — will go some way to re-assuring Canadians that the Liberals have re-discovered the patience required for a functioning parliament.
But it will not console those who feel Trudeau’s performance has confirmed their worst fears about his unsuitability.
The only way to restore confidence is for the prime minister to live up to his own rhetoric.
Perhaps a nightly recitation of Romans 12 is in order: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.”
I DIDN’T HAVE THE PATIENCE IT TAKES TO DEAL WITH PARLIAMENT.