{"id":15430,"date":"2023-04-09T10:46:31","date_gmt":"2023-04-09T14:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/?p=15430"},"modified":"2023-07-24T20:24:16","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T00:24:16","slug":"the-endless-laughter-in-the-prime-ministers-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/?p=15430","title":{"rendered":"The endless laughter in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Niagara Independent, April 7, 2023 \u2013<\/em>Can you hear that endless laughter from behind the closed doors of the Prime Minister\u2019s Office? If anything, the past few weeks have proven that PM Justin Trudeau and his political operatives take Canadians for fools. Their audacious announcements and admissions are outrageous.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanadians won\u2019t criticize a former GG, your friend David, to provide his thoughts on China.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

In response to Canadians\u2019 call for an independent public inquiry into the revelations about the undue influences of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Canada, the PM hand-picked a longtime family friend to serve as his \u201cspecial rapporteur\u201d and provide his government counsel on possible next steps \u2013 counsel Trudeau signals will not be forthcoming until the end of May.<\/p>\n

Former Governor General David Johnston is as unfit to counsel on China relations with Canada (and with the Trudeau family) as Morris Rosenberg was in counselling on foreign interference in the 2021 election. Both were members of the Trudeau Foundation (Rosenberg was the Chairman!) when that organization was advising CCP-connected Chinese donors on how to deposit hundreds of thousands of dollars into its coffers.<\/p>\n

With a deep-seeded affection for China, Johnston is inarguably biased. During his time as University of Waterloo president he championed Canada-China universities exchange programs and established the Confucius Institute, an organization that has been exposed as an agent of CCP propaganda and espionage operations. For his close relations with the Chinese establishment, he has been given an honorary doctorate by Nanjing University and has been feted at many ceremonies in China. Also, three of Johnston\u2019s daughters attended university in China.<\/p>\n

Most obscene in this rapporteur appointment is the fact that the Trudeau family and the Johnstons are close family friends, growing up as neighbours in Laurentian cottage country. Canada\u2019s former GG has recounted fond memories of Pierre-Elliot and him visiting dockside in their Adirondack chairs while young Justin romped around with the Johnston kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho cares about ethics in government? The appointment won\u2019t last a 24-hour news cycle.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Last week, MP Michael Barrett revealed that a close relative of a senior cabinet minister had been named the head of the government\u2019s ethics commission. Martine Richard is the sister-in-law of Minister Dominic LeBlanc and now oversees the body that rules on conflict-of-interest laws. This is the same commission that, in the past few years, has found PM Justin Trudeau and his cabinet ministers guilty of conflict-of-interest on multiple occasions.<\/p>\n

Ironically Dominic LeBlanc has recently been found guilty of an ethics violation in awarding a government contract to a cousin of his wife (who, as it is, is related through marriage to the new commissioner!).<\/p>\n

This blatant nepotism was met with cynical quips by many in the press corps. Veteran Globe and Mail<\/i> columnist Andrew Coyne tweeted \u201cThey are just trolling us now\u2026\u201d. Alex Pierson, Toronto talk radio host tweeted, \u201cThey don\u2019t even pretend anymore.\u201d Political commentator Spencer Fernando observed, \u201cThey\u2019re laughing at us now. Total contempt for the Canadian People.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a follow-up editorial Fernando reflects on Canadians\u2019 ambivalence to what is transpiring in Ottawa and what that has meant for the Trudeau Liberals. He wrote: \u201c<\/i>Each time they\u2019ve gotten away with a scandal and remained in power, they\u2019ve only become more emboldened. Rather than be grateful for having survived politically, the Liberals seem to think they can get away with anything and continue to push the bounds of unethical behaviour\u2026 That kind of entitled attitude is not only disgraceful, but it\u2019s also dangerous because of how deeply anti-democratic it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a matter of fact, the PM defends the appointment saying that Martine Richard was originally hired years ago by former PM (and Liberal bogeyman) Stephen Harper.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re saving the planet. Besides Canadians won\u2019t notice\u2026 it\u2019s just like boiling the frog!\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

On April 1, the government increased the carbon tax again, adding a few cents per litre to gasoline and heating fuel. This hike is Trudeau\u2019s \u201cprice on pollution\u201d that will have Canadians paying 37 cents tax per litre at the pumps in 2030. The schedule of gradual tax hikes keep Canadians as content as frogs in warming water when it comes to the economic impact of the carbon tax.<\/p>\n

The false promises of the carbon tax scheme were that the tax would be revenue neutral and it would force down emissions. It is becoming evident that it does neither. Canada\u2019s emissions levels are not being reduced. And the government\u2019s long-standing claim that this tax is refunded in full to Canadians is now debunked. On a recent CTV interview, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault admits that Canadians are not being rebated as much as they are paying in carbon tax, \u201cIf you do the average, yeah, it\u2019s true, it\u2019s going to cost more money to people\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The Parliamentary Budget Office claims that families will pay $710 more in carbon tax this year above what they will receive back in their rebate. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) states families\u2019 next loss is more than that: $847 over and above the rebates. The CTF has also done the GST math and factors that in 2030, the government will have a $924 million windfall in GST applied on the carbon tax.<\/p>\n

Having exposed the government\u2019s disinformation on one of the fundamental underpinnings of its carbon tax regime, the question is whether Canadians will become wary of just how hot their situation will get by 2030 when the full schedule of carbon tax hikes is implemented on gas prices, utilities, and all goods and services.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s keeping track anyways? We\u2019ll just pass it off as an unfair partisan attack.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

At a time when a growing number of Canadians are having financial difficulty and are rocked with inflation and rising food prices, the reports out of Ottawa of the PM\u2019s tone-deaf extravagance are \u201cMarie Antoinette-esque.\u201d Here is a glimpse of the lavishness of Trudeau\u2019s lifestyle these days:<\/p>\n