What’s wrong with what Justin Trudeau said here?
I’ll give you a broad hint: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. En effet, c’est tout correct:
The remarks in question come from an interview Trudeau did in Nov. 2010, with French-language interviewer Patrick Lagace, on a Tele-Quebec show called Les francs-tireurs.
He was explaining why he believed that Quebec would be stronger within Canada — stronger than it would be in fighting to be a separate country. But to make that point, he slammed Alberta’s dominance of the current Conservative government.
“Canada isn’t doing well right now because it’s Albertans who control our community and socio-democratic agenda. It doesn’t work,” Trudeau said.
When Lagace asked whether Trudeau believed Canada was better off “when there are more Quebecers in charge than Albertans,” Trudeau replied in the affirmative.
“I’m a Liberal, so of course I think so, yes. Certainly when we look at the great prime ministers of the 20th century, those that really stood the test of time, they were MPs from Quebec … This country — Canada — it belongs to us.”
But of course, the usual suspects are getting their boxers in a bunch over it:
For Conservatives, the remarks presented a golden opportunity to cast Trudeau in the same frame as his father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau.
“This is the worst kind of divisiveness, the worst kind of arrogance of the Liberal Party and it brings back for many Westerners the kind of arrogance of the national energy program which of course devastated the Western economy,” Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told reporters.
Oh, Jason. You lying little worm.
After the Alberta Progressive Conservatives were first elected in 1971, Premier Peter Lougheed embarked on a decade-long campaign to have more provincial influence in federal decision-making, while resisting what he saw as infringement by Ottawa on Alberta’s rights.
That culminated in October 1980, when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau introduced the National Energy Program, following a deadlock in negotiations with Alberta over an energy-pricing agreement and without consulting the oil industry.
The NEP sought more federal control over the energy industry. The program had three main goals: increase the federal share of energy revenues, boost Canadian ownership in the oil industry, and make Canada self-sufficient as an oil producer.
The Trudeau government also introduced a tax to fund Ottawa’s energy company Petro-Canada, and gave grants to Canadian-owned companies to encourage exploration.
The NEP triggered an outcry, not only in Alberta but in the U.S., where American-based energy companies accused the Trudeau government of nationalization and killing investment in the industry.
Lougheed vowed to take the NEP to court. Trudeau, surprisingly to some observers, told the House of Commons that Lougheed was taking a “reasonable and rational approach.” Some pundits suggested that seemingly calm reaction stemmed from Trudeau’s confidence that the courts would inevitably side with Ottawa in finding the federal government had the authority to intervene in the industry.
Trudeau wasn’t so conciliatory when Lougheed also retaliated by cutting provincial oil production, vowing to shrink the industry to about 85 per cent of its capacity.
In reaction to the NEP, foreign companies began selling off energy assets in Canada, which eliminated many jobs, particularly in Alberta. Thousands of Albertans were unable to pay mortgages and the real estate market crashed.
But yeah. Go right ahead and blame the NEP, not the arch-conservative assholes in charge of Alberta and Big FOREIGN Oil. After all, they’re pulling your puppet strings, and Harpo’s too. And he’s not even from there — he is a born and bred Torontonian!
If there is anything Justin Trudeau needs to back down on, it is THIS:
Justin Trudeau has come out strongly in favour of a Chinese state-owned energy company’s effort to purchase Calgary-based petroleum producer Nexen.
Trudeau made the comments in an opinion column published in some Postmedia newspapers and websites Tuesday, arguing that China’s objectives are not “sinister” and that Canada is in an enviable position for engaging the Asian power.
“China has a game plan,” the Liberal leadership contender wrote. “There is nothing inherently sinister about that. They have needs and the world has resources to meet those needs.
“We Canadians have more of those resources — and therefore more leverage — than any nation on Earth.”
…because Pierre Elliott Trudeau would not stand for that. He had more brains and guts than that.
And if Justin truly wants to be his father’s son, he should start by not letting the SupporiTories cut off his ‘nads.
