Politics Insider for September 14, 2021: Gloves off; confront the hospital protesters; and more Quebec drama
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One week until day E, and Erin O’Toole and Justin trudeau don’t have nice things to say about each other, CBC’s Catherine Tunney reports.
At Carp outside Ottawa on Monday, O’Toole leveled his more severe personal attack on Trudeau, contrasting the black-faced Trudeau party phase with his own military service history: “Every Canadian has met a Justin Trudeau in their lives …privileged, titled and always looking for number one. He was looking for number one when he called for this expensive and unnecessary election in the middle of a pandemic. That is not leadership, it is self-interest. And he’s Justin Trudeau from start to finish. “
A few hours later, in Vancouver, Trudeau responded with an attack on O’Toole: “I am not contesting his character. I’m not saying you don’t love your children. I am saying that you are wrong about how to guarantee jobs and prosperity and a protected country for the people in the future. But that’s what Canadians can choose. I’m going to quit and your representatives and the anti-vaxxer movement and the gun lobby and the anti-election crowd … Keep attacking me, fine. I’ll focus on the Canadians. “
Hospital protests: Trudeau was in Vancouver to promise that he would make it a crime to obstruct access to hospitals, which it may already be illegal. There were protests outside hospitals across Canada on Monday, CBC reports, that politicians of all kinds, except those of the Popular Party, were quick to condemn. The Canadian press has a good summary, including the story of Faye doiron, who is in Toronto from PEI for a double lung transplant and had a police escort to take her through the lines of unmasked and unvaccinated protesters, who said it was “frightening,” as they told her that COVID-19 would likely kill her.
When a protester taunted Trudeau about his wife, he replied, “Isn’t there a hospital I should bother now?” Global reports.
Split party: Writing For Bloomberg, Stephen Wicary points out that the unusually high numbers in the PPC polls appear to come from the conservatives.
Block bounce: In Quebec, the consequences of the English debate continue boost Yves-François Blanchet. Tooclosetocall.ca aggregator He says the bloc surge may deny liberals a majority.
Former senator and Press chief editor André Pratte have one piece at Gazette explaining why Quebecers were angry about a question raised to Yves-Francois Blanchet. In summary, the question about two Quebec laws (bills 96 and 21) was ill-informed and ill-advised, he argument. On The Montreal Diary, nationalist columnist Richard Martineau complaint (translation) what he calls “systemic anti-Quebec racism” in English Canada.
On the other hand: Constitutional and civil rights lawyer Julius Gray He says the Gazette that the laws really are bad.
“Everyone has tried to please Mr. Legault, but the truth is that those two laws are very very questionable. We have to have courage and we have to speak up even if speaking carries certain risks. I’m tired of the non-debate that you can’t discuss these things without an outraged chorus attacking you. There is no attack on Quebec. On the contrary, those two laws are bad, and it must be said without any anti-Québec sentiment. I feel very strongly that I am Québec, but I feel that those two laws are terrible. “
Dawson Survivors: If the Conservatives are also under pressure from the Bloc wave in Quebec, they won’t benefit from a mistake Erin O’Toole made in a CBC interview in which he wrongly said that the weapon used in the Dawson College shooting was illegal. Dawson survivors on Monday asked voters to avoid the Conservatives, Gazette reports.
– Stephen Maher
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