Trudeau underwhelms 2 years in
From fighter jets to democratic reform, it’s one broken promise after another, writes Janice Kennedy
Two years ago, I did something wacky. I voted aspirationally.
Two years ago, I was delighted by the victory of the Justin Trudeau Liberals I helped elect. Their parade to Rideau Hall for the swearingin looked like a collective embodiment of invigorating hope and change. But that was then. In this two-year electoral anniversary week, rain is falling steadily on the Sunny Ways parade.
Campaign promises broken or unfulfilled, bungling, displays of ineptitude, fiscal recklessness — all defiantly wrapped in a banner of staggeringly misguided selfcongratulation, as if the sun were still shining — have left countless 2015 Liberal voters disillusioned with a government that has a genius for optics and rhetoric. And not much else. Give the Liberals credit for a fairer child benefit, the Syrian refugee welcome, meritbased Senate appointments, Chrystia Freeland — but they still come out looking bad.
Their vaunted assisteddying legislation, which should have been the compassionate act of justice suggested by the Supreme Court, is instead a half-baked law that leaves suffering people in the lurch and is still being legally contested. Marijuana legalization (and is anyone else as sick as I am of this trivial distraction from genuinely important issues?) looks as if it’s going to be a self-defeating bureaucratic nightmare.
The Trudeau cabinet that in 2015 looked so contemporary and promising has managed to shatter its shining optics, a convincing argument for competence as the primary criterion, no matter how seductive the image of diversity and gender equality.
Smart and compassionate, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett has been reduced to KoolAid-drinking cheerleader status, wearing borrowed symbols, referring to nonIndigenous Canadians as “settlers” (an offensive term used by militants to dismiss 35 million non-Indigenous Canadians), presiding over a disastrous inquiry and tossing out bundles of money — with roughly the same lack of direction or salutary impact as in days past.
In Finance, Bill Morneau has so far distinguished himself not only by giving the nod to projected deficits that morphed from “modest” to mammoth, but also by promoting what is laughably called tax reform, proposals that have alienated doctors, lawyers and businesspeople across the country.
And how about poor Maryam Monsef? When Trudeau’s erstwhile democratic institutions minister didn’t quite bring about the electoral reform he promised repeatedly throughout his campaign, he simply dumped the promise — and dumped Monsef, ironically, into the Status of Women role.
In what may have been the most cynical reversal of his young prime-ministerial career, Trudeau decided that first-past-the-post was just fine after all. (Interestingly, Democracy Watch and Fair Vote Canada recently called on the federal ethics commissioner to investigate Trudeau’s “dishonest and improper actions” in this regard. It may be touchingly idealistic, but Democracy Watch’s Duff Conacher says politicians should be prohibited from “blatantly misleading Canadian voters with false election promises.”)
In Environment, Catherine McKenna is obviously following marching orders that have her pleading passionately for action, while doing a whole lot of not much. Pipelines versus no-pipelines in the Trudeau government is mostly about having your cake and eating it, too.
The disastrous Phoenix pay system (that perfect metaphor for all the things government does badly) remains unfixed — as does 24 Sussex, our electoral system, much of our infrastructure, overdue reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and our fleet of antique fighter jets.
Canada Day 2017 and the Canada 150 commemoration, a bungled celebration presided over by Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly, remain a bitter taste in the mouth. Injustices such as mandatory minimum sentences and courtroom backlogs remain as problematic as ever.
Meanwhile, in dazzling displays of self-infatuation, Trudeau goes bouncing around the world, a Peter Pan in silly socks, his fixed grin suggesting he actually believes his fawning and unenlightened world press coverage. Could he possibly have taken Rolling Stone’s cover seriously? (“Why Can’t He Be Our President?” I mean, come on. My dog Toby could do better in the Oval Office.)
Realistically, voters expect the fulfilment of campaign promises to take time. But we also expect to see a beginning, to see the most pressing matters start moving toward resolution. We expect the flame to stay lit.
Like millions of other Canadians, I cast my 2015 ballot with genuine hope, rather than the lesser-evil option that has marked so many of my trips to the polls. And at the moment, the far-right Conservatives and confused NDP offer me no compelling reasons to vote other than Liberal. Yet.
But Trudeau is halfway through his mandate, most of his promises unfulfilled, while his opponents are shaping persuasions that may be ready long before 2019. Tick, tick.
There is an iceberg of disillusionment out here, mammoth and threatening. The Trudeau Liberals have seen only the tip of it.