Liberal Party of Canada Leadership

[Fishbone Jones]

Pot, This is Kettle, Black, Over

Speaking points for the Hon. Jason Kenney, P.C., M.P. Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism on the occasion of a breakfast meeting hosted by the Islamic Society of North America
Mississauga, Ontario, November 29, 2008


link to text here http://web.archive.org/web/20120804181322/http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/speeches/2008/2008-11-29.asp

BTW this headline from Huffington Post  "Jason Kenney's Speech To Islamic Group ISNA Erased From Government Sites "

Link here http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/18/jason-kenney-isna-trudeau_n_3618659.html

A computer glitch I'm sure umf, umf, umf hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Haven't heard Fox News North Sock Puppet Ezra Levant  howling about Kenney

I never said it was a perfect world

Keep it civil.

 

[a_majoor]

I never said it was a perfect world

Neither did I.

This is just as offensive, and truly sad that the minister did not apologize for the bad judgement displayed there.

 

[Inquisitor]

Thank you both. Will do best to improve.

 

[a_majoor]

This looks like it will devolve into the sort of bunfight that no one wins. Biggest loss is to the nursing home, which is now out $20,000.:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/22/they-consider-this-matter-closed-charity-drops-refund-request-to-justin-trudeau-kicks-out-board-members/

‘They consider this matter closed’: Charity drops refund request to Justin Trudeau, kicks out board members

Lee Berthiaume, Postmedia News | 13/07/22 | Last Updated: 13/07/23 9:54 AM ET

The request for Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau to return a $20,000 speaking fee has been rescinded by the charity in question.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Whitehorse Star - Vince FedoroffThe request for Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau to return a $20,000 speaking fee has been rescinded by the charity in question.
 
OTTAWA — The New Brunswick charity at the centre of a political firestorm over Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s public-speaking fees this past spring has dropped its request for a refund.

The Grace Foundation has also cut ties with several board members, including one blamed for leaking a “private” letter about the issue to the federal Conservatives.

The moves come weeks after the foundation, which supports an 80-bed nursing home in Saint John, said it was “deeply distressed” the issue had become fodder for partisan attacks.

Foundation chairman Ian Webster could not be reached Monday.

But Trudeau spokeswoman Kate Monfette said the Liberal leader’s office was in recent contact with Webster “and he informed us that they will not be requesting a reimbursement.”

“They consider this matter closed,” Monfette added.
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The foundation’s board of directors wrote in March to Speakers’ Spotlight, the agency through which Trudeau was hired for a June 2012 fundraiser, asking that his $20,000 speaking fee be returned because the event resulted in “huge disappointment and financial loss.”

The board says it decided to let the issue drop in May when it received no response.

But Trudeau offered to repay the foundation last month after the Prime Minister’s Office got hold of the letter sent to Speakers’ Spotlight and circulated it to the media as part of a campaign criticizing Trudeau for taking money from charities.

Local Conservative MP Rob Moore later revealed it was board member Judith Baxter who informed him of the request to Trudeau and gave him a copy of the letter.

The Harper government appointed Baxter to the board of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in 2007 and again in 2011, and her husband is a member of Moore’s federal Conservative riding association.

The Grace Foundation board has said it did not give Baxter or anyone else permission to approach Moore “or any other political person” to champion the organization’s request for a refund.

The foundation’s website on Monday showed five of the organization’s 10 board members no longer listed, including Baxter.

Reached at her home by telephone, Baxter confirmed she was no longer with the board but otherwise refused to comment before hanging up.

Fellow board member Susan Buck, who wrote the letter to Speakers’ Spotlight, was also dropped as a director, and refused to comment.

Seniors’ organizations and municipal politicians in Saint John have said it is “sad” the Grace Foundation got dragged into a political melee, and that the organization isn’t partisan but supports an important nursing home in the community.

In addition to the Grace Foundation, Trudeau offered to repay any other organization unhappy with any speech for which they had paid him since he was elected to Parliament in October 2008.

Monfette said none had made such a request. She declined to comment further, including when asked whether Trudeau would donate the $20,000 to the foundation.

Trudeau revealed to the Ottawa Citizen in February that he was paid a total of $277,000 by 17 organizations that hired him to appear at events while he was a member of Parliament.

lberthiaume@postmedia.com

 

[Remius]

Sounds like something backfired.  I bet we won't be hearing from the CPC on this issue.

 

[CougarKing]

Justin..."the gift that keeps on giving."  But I guess his "pretty boy" image is enough for the debt-drenched twenty-something baristas with Philosophy MAs who elected him:

:

National Post link

Kelly McParland: Justin Trudeau may be too perfect to be middle class

For a moment, there, Justin Trudeau had it in his hands.

From his office in Ottawa, he’d managed to effortlessly upstage Stephen Harper, who’d gone to the edges of Canada in search of the perfect photo op. Sure he’d smoked pot, he allowed, stressing to the interviewer that he wanted to be fully “transparent” about his life. Not often — just five or six times — and once since he became an MP. But he didn’t like it much: ” I’m not really crazy about it.”

Whammo. The perfectly calibrated political response: hey, I’m young and cool enough to smoke pot, rebellious enough to have smoked it even as an MP, but secure enough in my identity to admit I don’t like the stuff and would rather give it a miss.

A trifecta.

Then he blew it.  Not only is he unthrilled by pot, and rarely touches alcohol,  but he also doesn’t like coffee. Doesn’t drink it.

Uh-oh. Big mistake. Twitter, which digested the pot confession with something less than its usual breakdown,  went bat-crazy over the coffee declaration. What? No coffee? Was Justin suggesting that the legions of ultra-cool young urban hipsters who prowl the cities looking for a Starbucks line-up they can stand in, iPhones at the ready so they can discuss their private lives while waiting to order the latest unfathomable caffeine concoction, were somehow out of step?

Is he nuts? Facebook pages across the land were immediately consulted. Should we all stop drinking coffee? Was there an advisory from hipster headquarters? Is the venti dead? Nope, drinking coffee (even if there’s really only a tiny bit in there with the milk, sugar, caramel, sprinkles and other stuff) is still a required indulgence.  Could Justin have made a mistake?

Well, yeah. The Huffington Post, which broke the big coffee confession, quickly slapped up a slide-show of twitter-gasps from disappointed young coffee groupies. Trudeau — who is, you know, like, tuned into social media — quickly realized his error and fired off a self-deprecatory tweet:

Hah. Good try Justin. But it could be too late. Lacking policies, all the Liberal leader has to justify his popularity is image, and image can change quickly. The idea of Justin Trudeau as latter-day knock-off of his father may be hard to sustain once it sinks in that he spends his day … doing what?

“I never smoked a cigarette in my life, I don’t drink coffee.” he told HuffPo. “I don’t drink a lot.”

His body is his temple: no pollutants shall enter. When the Trudeau family wants some kicks, they all crowd into a canoe and go floating down the nearest river (where photographers just happen to pop up to record the occasion). Between family outings he installs dimmer switches in their typically suburban home, wearing his typical weekend garb of T-shirt and cargo shorts, (carefully recording it on Twitter, if a video crew doesn’t happen by.)

Raising the question: is this guy really one of us? He has no vices. He never enters the sort of places most average Canadians hang out. If he was somehow forced to visit a Timmies, he’d order a dry multigrain bagel and a small green tea. Remember when Stephane Dion was accused of eating a hot dog with a knife and fork? He never did connect with voters.

Seriously, the core of the emerging Liberal strategy is to position Justin Trudeau as a representative of a younger generation of middle class Canadians, in tune with their needs, concerns and aspirations. But, four months into his leadership, he seems about as middle class as Michael Bloomberg. He’s the millionaire son of a famous Canadian, who grew up with a trust fund and earned $277,000 in four years just giving speeches. He’s been in the public eye since birth. His wife is a model and TV host.  You couldn’t sit down with him to discuss the issues over a beer or a coffee. Does he really understand what it is to deal with student debt, a hefty mortgage, maxed-out credit cards, an obnoxious boss or the simple, excruciating struggle to find a job?

Not that he’s a bad guy. He could model for Vogue, or Canadian Parent, which is fine. But middle class? Nah. If he knows anything about it, he must have read it in books.

National Post

 

[George Wallace]

Since when was Trudeau "Middle Class"?

 

[OldSolduer]

Since when was Trudeau "Middle Class"?

Agreed. His father the Ponce - I love that  term - was far from middle class.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Since when was Trudeau "Middle Class"?

I think that's the point of the article

 

[Navy_Pete]

I think at this point any alternative to Dear Leader and his minions would be good.  Not a fan of any of the parties, but the polarisation in parliment where sound bites are more important then actually getting things done needs to stop.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

I think at this point any alternative to Dear Leader and his minions would be good.  Not a fan of any of the parties, but the polarisation in parliment where sound bites are more important then actually getting things done needs to stop.

Actually, the last session of parliament was probably the most productive session that the Hill has seen in decades.

As to sound bites and polarization, this government is no different that those that preceded it.

 

[Navy_Pete]

I guess productivity and effectiveness are matters of opinion; systematically gutting the environmental legislation covering all our waterways and fisheries as part of the budget omnibus bill is one of the many ways they gamed the system and bypassed normal parliamentary procedures.

While other governments have had their own problems, this particular government is taking things to different level.

 

[PPCLI Guy]

I guess productivity and effectiveness are matters of opinion;

Indeed they are unless the assertion is backed up by some kind of metric.

I too found the omnibus bills distasteful, but more in their delivery than in their content.  I am increasingly finding this government to be mean-spirited, small-minded, high-handed and devoid of grace or graciousness.

 

[OldSolduer]

I think at this point any alternative to Dear Leader and his minions would be good.  Not a fan of any of the parties, but the polarisation in parliment where sound bites are more important then actually getting things done needs to stop.

I rather object to your assertion that the PM is to be compared to Kim Jong Il - a North Korean dictator. :facepalm:

Maybe I should refer to Justin Trudeau as "Uncle Joe".

 

[Kat Stevens]

Nah, he could never grow a rocking Stalin 'Stache, let alone pull it off.

 

[OldSolduer]

Nah, he could never grow a rocking Stalin 'Stache, let alone pull it off.

Yeah you're right. Maybe Little Ponce is a better name......

 

[ballz]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/trudeaus-cannabis-candour-part-of-plan-to-brand-liberals-as-party-of-transparency/article13944430/

Trudeau’s cannabis candour part of plan to brand Liberals as party of transparency 

Joan Bryden
OTTAWA — The Canadian Press
Published Sunday, Aug. 25 2013, 11:19 AM EDT
Last updated Sunday, Aug. 25 2013, 11:21 AM EDT

There is method to Justin Trudeau’s reefer madness.

His willingness to confess his past proclivity for puffing pot is part of a deliberate strategy to brand the Liberal leader as a different kind of politician - one who’s open and transparent to a fault, even when it might be more politic to dissemble.
 
It’s a calculated risk that could pay big dividends or blow up in his face, Liberal insiders acknowledge.

But he’s determined to make transparency a trademark of his leadership.

His voluntary admission last week that he took a pull on a joint at a dinner party three years ago — while he was an MP — wasn’t the first example of Trudeau’s potentially perilous frankness and it won’t be the last.

During the leadership contest that crowned him last spring, Trudeau voluntarily disclosed all his sources of income, including his inheritance from his late father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, and more than $1 million earned on the public speaking circuit.

The fact that he continued to accept hefty speaking fees from charitable groups and educational institutions after being elected as an MP in 2008, sparked sufficient public backlash that he eventually offered to refund any group that felt it hadn’t gotten its money’s worth. In the end, none took him up on the offer.

As with the marijuana admission, the speaking fee controversy handed Conservative and New Democrat rivals an opportunity to jab at what they consider Trudeau’s Achilles’ heel: his judgment, or lack thereof.

But Liberals are gambling that the appeal of Trudeau’s candour will outweigh any concerns about his behaviour.

“It’s the type of leadership that (Canadians) have been waiting for,” Liberal House leader Dominic LeBlanc wrote last week in a blog on the party’s website as the pot controversy raged.

“Rather than duck and dodge, our leader gave straight answers to tough questions.”

The commitment to transparency isn’t going to be confined to the leader, however.

During a three-day caucus retreat in Prince Edward Island that begins Tuesday, Liberal MPs and senators are to be presented with a template for publicly disclosing their expenses online, starting this fall. That’s in keeping with a promise made by Trudeau last spring amid the uproar over the Senate expenses scandal and it could potentially turn up some unwelcome surprises.

MPs will also be given a rundown on how the party intends to handle Trudeau’s pledge to hold open nominations in every riding across the country, forgoing the leader’s power to appoint candidates or protect incumbents from challenges — and risking some messy internal battles in the process.

And insiders say he’ll unveil yet more proposals later this fall for making politicians more open and accountable.

The emphasis on transparency is aimed at contrasting Trudeau’s Liberals with what they claim are Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s ethically challenged, tightly scripted Conservatives.

Trudeau’s openness about smoking marijuana, along with his call to legalize and regulate weed, has the added benefit of appealing to the young and progressive voters who might otherwise support the NDP, Liberal strategists contend.

While some voters may have qualms about the wisdom of a lawmaker openly confessing to flouting the law, Trudeau’s team believes most are more concerned about economic issues and that’s where they’ll pass judgment on the leader’s fitness to govern.

To that end, Trudeau is likely to unveil some specific proposals this fall in a bid to put some meat on the bones of his declared top priority: improving the fortunes of the struggling middle class.

Major platform planks will await the election in 2015 but Liberal finance critic Scott Brison says the plight of middle-class Canadians is too urgent to ignore in the meantime.

“We’re not just waiting until the next election,” he says.

I've been wondering if more was going to be said on this site about this reefer stuff... this article isn't too far off from the truth.

It was a smart move for Trudeau to support legalization of marijuana. It's a battle easily won over the Conservatives, an area of their "tough on crime" bill where I feel they went in the wrong direction (minimum jail sentences for some petty marijuana-related offenses), and I think most Canadians would agree. It's unfortunate to say this, but this may also mobilize more young voters, who typically don't vote, but are more likely to vote Liberal or NDP than for the CPC.

I also felt that this whole admitting to smoking pot while being an MP was a big risk. On one hand, it probably does buy him more credibility as a human (always good if the voters feel you are more like them), but definitely less as a politician and a lawmaker. I think, all in all, those that will hold this against him, and those that will buy into the incoming attack ads that will undoubtedly paint Trudeau as a pothead, are probably part of the older generation that wasn't going to vote for him anyway.

"During a three-day caucus retreat in Prince Edward Island that begins Tuesday, Liberal MPs and senators are to be presented with a template for publicly disclosing their expenses online, starting this fall."

This though, this is the real gem. This *is* showing real, tangible leadership. This is really taking the bull by the horns in an area that will resonate with Canadians. I don't know if this was his idea or not, but the Liberals are moving in the right direction with this if they want to take a bite out of the Conservatives.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Leave it to the Mop & Pail to turn his breaking of our laws, into a positive facet of his leadership abilities. :

 

[Rifleman62]

Trudeau’s cannabis candour part of plan to brand Liberals as party of transparency

It's a puff piece by the Liberal Party allies to excuse/engender his greatness to the populaces.

Not only did he smoke pot, he knows/associates with someone who has a stash large enough to pass around. A dealer?

You can look at these links if you are interested:

http://bcblue.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/prince-of-pot-marc-emery-stands-by-statement-trudeau-smoked-dope-with-him/

For a laugh. JT's hair: http://bcblue.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/another-brilliant-lampoon-video-justin-trudeau-hair-care-line-up/

 

[ballz]

Not only did he smoke pot, he knows/associates with someone who has a stash large enough to pass around. A dealer?

Are you kidding me? :rofl:

I expected this kind of response around here, but let's get real. The prohibition on marijuana is archaic and a joke. Canadians are sick of it, and it's on its way out. While I think its poor leadership to be blatantly breaking the laws as an MP, and certainly poor judgement to do so, trying to pretend he is unfit to breathe the same air as the rest of us, and corrupt to the point that he might be hanging around with drug dealers, is taking away from YOUR credibility and those who would vote against him.