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The Niagara Independent, January 14, 2022 \u2013<\/em> In a Hill Times<\/i> front page story this week EKOS Research pollster Frank Graves mused that Canadians\u2019 view of their prospects entering a new year was \u201cunsurprisingly quite dark.\u201d He observed that Canadians are feeling high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. This appraisal of Canadians\u2019 negativism is reflected in another survey conducted by Nanos Research, which found that less than one in five Canadians (18 per cent) expect the country\u2019s economy to rebound in the next six months.<\/p>\n Canadians appear to have rather bleak expectations for 2022 and no doubt this anxious feeling is compounded by the current headline news: inflation and rising costs of living, impending climate calamities, mounting health care crises \u2013 and a constant feed of the health and political news of the never-ending pandemic.<\/p>\n This despair is also being fueled by headlines concerning the country\u2019s political leadership \u2013 the actions of PM Justin Trudeau and his government.<\/p>\n Following the September 2021 federal election there were a majority of Canadians that believed Justin Trudeau should resign. In the immediate aftermath of the election, in which less than one in three voters cast their ballot for the Liberals, a Maru poll reported that 77 per cent of Canadians believed their country to be \u201cmore fractured than ever.\u201d The poll revealed deep feelings of regional division and an apathy or distrust of the country\u2019s national leadership that appeared to be increasingly populist and small-minded.<\/p>\n Since this public opinion snapshot, PM Trudeau and his government continue to exacerbate Canadians in the way they manage the nation\u2019s contentious issues of the day. The PM\u2019s leadership (or lack thereof) was on display again this week when Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced he would introduce a personal tax on Quebecers who have chosen not to vaccinate. The premier\u2019s Tuesday theatrics came after federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos mused aloud last Friday that provinces need to consider mandating vaccination \u2013 something he personally supports.<\/p>\n Though Quebec\u2019s \u201canti-vax tax\u201d violates Canadians\u2019 human rights and attacks the very foundational principles of the country\u2019s public health system, PM Trudeau would not condemn the premier\u2019s overreach. But alas, one might expect no less from a PM who has not missed an opportunity to vilify Canadians that have chosen not to get vaccinated. He characterized Canadians who are unvaccinated as \u201cextremists\u2026 who don\u2019t believe in science\u201d and many being \u201cmisogynists and racists.\u201d He has repeatedly singled out the unvaccinated and has recently gone as far as to suggest all delayed surgeries, lockdowns, and public health restrictions are a result of the ten per cent of Canadians who have chosen not to vaccinate. Through the week the PM has deliberately sidestepped the responsibility for readdressing Premier Legault\u2019s assault on Canadians\u2019 rights. It appears for Justin Trudeau, the ends justify the means when dealing with \u201cthese people.\u201d<\/p>\n The PM\u2019s inaction in defending Canadians\u2019 rights has also been disturbingly obvious with two egregious rights\u2019 violations currently unfolding within La Belle Province<\/i>. Inexcusably, the Trudeau government has chosen to not defend Gatineau teacher Fatemeh Anvari when she was removed from her classroom for wearing a hijab. It has also permitted the Legault government to unilaterally change the Canadian constitution and impose new French language laws that undermine the language rights of Quebec minorities.<\/p>\n The Trudeau government\u2019s preferential treatment of Quebec has become an increasing source of division in the country. From the many clandestine activities defending SNC Lavalin to carrying out backroom favours for Quebec through the pandemic (masks shipments, vaccine supply), the Trudeau government has not blinked in shortchanging TROC. Underscoring its obvious favouritism was the Trudeau government\u2019s quick and quiet five-year extension of the federal-provincial equalization agreement that has the majority of Canada\u2019s redistributed funds shoveled to La Capitale Nationale<\/i> (a.k.a. to TROC as Quebec City).<\/p>\n The Trudeau government\u2019s management practices are consistently undermining Canadians\u2019 confidence in government and its institutions.<\/p>\n Then there is the disconcerting radio-silence from the government on pressing matters relating to Canada-China relations: the new foreign policy on China, the fate of Huawei\u2019s involvement with Canada\u2019s G5 network, the Canada-China virus research in Winnipeg, possible foreign interference in the federal election, and a host of unaddressed human rights issues in China.<\/p>\n Perhaps the Trudeau government\u2019s greatest attack on the national psyche since its re-election is the PM\u2019s selection of a \u201cclimate activist\u201d for the country\u2019s environment minister. Defying the country\u2019s history, economic realities, and bitterly cold winter climate, Steven Guilbeault is intent on shutting down Canada\u2019s oil and gas industry. He has already telegraphed he will champion the government\u2019s green agenda with little regard for the impact it will have on western Canada, the national economy, or on working Canadians. Guilbeault is on a mission and he has Trudeau\u2019s explicit blessing. (More on this issue in the coming weeks.)\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n On Tuesday of this past week, Canadians observed the birthdate of Canada\u2019s first prime minister and had a chance to reflect on the hopes and aspirations Sir John A. Macdonald offered our young, fledgling nation. On that same day, as Premier Legault\u2019s announcements were met with Trudeau\u2019s calculated silence, we were reminded of the country\u2019s existential threats that come from within, agitated by our current PM and his purposeful divisiveness.<\/p>\n Chris George<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is an Ottawa-based government affairs advisor and wordsmith, president of\u00a0CG&A COMMUNICATIONS<\/a>. Contact:\u00a0ChrisG.George@gmail.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n