If you’ve been trying to decide who to vote for in the upcoming federal election based on positions and policies any of the parties might be expected to pursue if elected, you’ve probably been pretty disappointed in the campaign so far.
We’ve had a leaders debate without the leader of the current governing party, there’s been an NDP bus breakdown, airplane mechanical issues plaguing the Conservatives and in an incident that seems almost too ironic, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s airplane was literally struck by a media bus.
And that’s all before anyone really started campaigning.
For the Liberals, campaigning initially dmeant digging up clips of Andrew Scheer taking a clearly homophobic position on gay marriage during a 2005 parliamentary session, as well as clips of various vintages showing Conservative candidates making statements that would land them in hot water today.
This was great fun for the Liberals until photos began surfacing of Trudeau appearing in blackface/brownface prior to his time in politics. While his words and deeds in government would make it pretty difficult to make the case Trudeau is actually a racist, it’s getting easier to believe he shouldn’t be trusted with the keys to the makeup case or the wardrobe. I’m pretty sure I’ve now seen more photos of Trudeau in blackface than I have of Al Jolson. Why anyone would find this type of behaviour funny enough to do once is perplexing – at three times and counting, it starts to sound obsessive.
Voters also have to decide if the fact Scheer spoke from the same stage as controversial commentator Faith Goldy at a Yellow Vest event last February is worse than allegations that, according to Goldy, then a Sun News reporter, Trudeau invited her and two friends out for drinks at a long-ago Liberal conference. Most people who spend any time consuming media today are familiar with Goldy, whose white supremacist leanings became clear during her time with Rebel Media. During the era when the Trudeau encounter supposedly occurred (he has denied it), back when Michael Ignatieff was Liberal leader, she likely carried a less toxic profile.
To get to the point, I’ve now touched on the election-related news you’ve been hearing most about, without mentioning the economy, environment, health care or housing.
Time for a reset perhaps?
