Do you hear what I hear? It is the sound of changing public opinion in Canada.
What you did not hear was our new prime minister responding to it. On that front, total silence.
Give him some credit -- Justin Trudeau doesn’t want to break a promise. But I think Canadians would be willing to give him some wiggle room here on two very important commitments he made.
First, I think it’s a good thing for Canada to welcome Syrian families who really have lost everything and have nowhere to go. But it is unrealistic to bring in 25,000 people in a month. That would be 6,300 people landing in Montreal and Toronto every week beginning Dec. 1. Unrealistic and ill-advised.
Canadians are a welcoming and generous people but everything must be done to ensure the new arrivals pose no threat to our security, so what is the hurry? What would be so wrong with extending the timeline? Is another six months unreasonable? Let’s get it right. The first job, the very first job of any government is to protect its citizens. To stick to a promise made in the heat of the election campaign that is clearly not in the national interest is foolish. And it does augur not well for this new administration.
Point two: the Paris attacks. Another Trudeau election promise was to cancel Canada’s participation in the bombing of the Islamic state. Paris changed everything, yet the PM is sticking to his position – our CF18s will pull back. What kind of message is Canada sending to the world after the barbaric attacks in France? The French president is right when he says we are at war.
The “we” is every country that cares about fundamental democratic values and respect for human rights and dignity. It is our obligation not to walk away from the darkness but to defeat it. If we truly want to stand with France, then why would we now silence our fighters? It is somewhat naïve to say that Canada will make a difference by offering to help train local troops. Is that really that’s the best we can do?
And in the aftermath of the Paris massacres, we had our rock star prime minister arrive in Turkey for the G20 seemingly more interested in taking selfies with anyone who wanted one. Two days after Paris, where the mood should have been more serious and circumspect.
His introduction to the world stage began with him telling a joke and then he talked about climate change. Two days after Paris. Perhaps he figures grounding the CF18s will be better for the planet and greenhouse gases.
There is great hope still for this new way of doing things in the governance of our country. But the actions, or inactions, of the new PM are somewhat troublesome. He should show flexibility, leadership and a willingness to listen to what is clearly important to Canadians right now. After all, he did say its 2015. And the world is changing.
