Trudeau in Trouble over Trips

[Luce NDs]

The scandal is that Justin Trudeau is vacant. He's more like his mother than his father. This is a real government of lightweights - and nothing better among the Conservatives.

Alas, the Greens and the NDP have not gone nearly as far as they should (and must) in dealing with our problems.

Problems ... what problems? If blind ... we are not able to see such fate ... right of to the left ... wobbling!

Humour in life will do it ... one must leave to become sober , stern and stoic ... and thus we leave our sense ...

Tis a literature thing ... if scripted adequately ... it can be humbly satirical so they will critically wonder ; "what def uck did he just say?" The mystery thus goes on ...

 

[Ritafee]

Aah, I see, you voted for mother theresa

???

 

[Jae]

???

I didn' even know she was running.

 

[Jae]

 

[Luce NDs]

I didn' even know she was running.

When in the subcontinent you'll get eM if you don't mind your Di*ET ...!

 

[Mendalla]

I didn' even know she was running.

My understanding was that she spends all her time laying around these days.

 

[Graeme Decarie]

The reality is that a large part of the Christian world is made up of atheists - who regularly attend church. George Bush Jr. is one of them.

 

[Luce NDs]

The reality is that a large part of the Christian world is made up of atheists - who regularly attend church. George Bush Jr. is one of them.

We are sacred atheists ... we believe in divined things ... instead of single hidden strings ... partisan myths ...

Some say this is bi fu rick ate dead ... all busted up ... beyond the stern hoer's faces ...

 

[Jae]

The reality is that a large part of the Christian world is made up of atheists - who regularly attend church. George Bush Jr. is one of them.

?

 

[Luce NDs]

?

Thus the great unknown power ... a ? an icon of question ... some wish to learn nothing further ... and thus nothing goes on ... an enigma?

 

[revjohn]

Our PM Trudeau was just found guilty of 4 counts of conflict of interest. Penalty? None so far.

Unless you think getting your fingers wrapped by the ethics commissioner is equal to a pat on the back that isn't quite true.

He did offer an apology. Hopefully he won't break the law again - but is that enough?

He did offer an apology. Hopefully we some meaningful action to accompany the apology. I think the critics who have suggested that the PM reimburse the expense of those trips personally have an excellent point. That was what we expected the Senators who had fraudulent expense claims to do.

Parliamentary Ethics violations generally not criminal acts so no laws were broken. He has broken Parliamentary rules and there are usually some consequences for that. At minimum that amounts to your political adversaries pointing out that you broke Parliamentary rules. The long and short of that is not much. I mean, when Conservatives do it other Conservatives look the other way while the Liberals, NDPs, Bloc and Green holler. So I expect that Liberals will cut the PM a fair bit of slack while the Conservatives, NDP, Bloc and Green put on some outrage Kabuki theatre for points.

Vacations are expensive. Should he and his family get to enjoy them on the public dime?

It is one of the perks of being the Prime Minister. The issue raised by the Ethics Commissioner is not that the PM cannot accept such gifts. It is that the PM should be more thoughtful about accepting such gifts from individuals who are connected to lobbying efforts. And, of course, the reason why the PM should be more thoughtful about accepting such gifts from individuals who are connected with lobbying is so that impropriety can be avoided.

For example, voting on bills or motions in Parliament, or even in Caucus which could be seen as repaying a favour.

Trudeau already lost some of the support he picked up on the voting reforms he failed to follow through on. That most likely cost him swing NDP and Green types. He will not likely get them back again. The Conservatives will make great hay out of this because it gets them back into their Liberals spend like drunken sailors on shore leave schtick and that in turn allows them to spin their myth of Conservatives being better managers of the federal purse.

Which is better than the image they are going to have to deal with on account of their close connection to Rebel Media and the anti-fascist sentiment rising up because of the dog-whistle politics they have favoured more recently.

 

[Luce NDs]

Unless you think getting your fingers wrapped by the ethics commissioner is equal to a pat on the back that isn't quite true.



He did offer an apology. Hopefully we some meaningful action to accompany the apology. I think the critics who have suggested that the PM reimburse the expense of those trips personally have an excellent point. That was what we expected the Senators who had fraudulent expense claims to do.

Parliamentary Ethics violations generally not criminal acts so no laws were broken. He has broken Parliamentary rules and there are usually some consequences for that. At minimum that amounts to your political adversaries pointing out that you broke Parliamentary rules. The long and short of that is not much. I mean, when Conservatives do it other Conservatives look the other way while the Liberals, NDPs, Bloc and Green holler. So I expect that Liberals will cut the PM a fair bit of slack while the Conservatives, NDP, Bloc and Green put on some outrage Kabuki theatre for points.



It is one of the perks of being the Prime Minister. The issue raised by the Ethics Commissioner is not that the PM cannot accept such gifts. It is that the PM should be more thoughtful about accepting such gifts from individuals who are connected to lobbying efforts. And, of course, the reason why the PM should be more thoughtful about accepting such gifts from individuals who are connected with lobbying is so that impropriety can be avoided.

For example, voting on bills or motions in Parliament, or even in Caucus which could be seen as repaying a favour.

Trudeau already lost some of the support he picked up on the voting reforms he failed to follow through on. That most likely cost him swing NDP and Green types. He will not likely get them back again. The Conservatives will make great hay out of this because it gets them back into their Liberals spend like drunken sailors on shore leave schtick and that in turn allows them to spin their myth of Conservatives being better managers of the federal purse.

Which is better than the image they are going to have to deal with on account of their close connection to Rebel Media and the anti-fascist sentiment rising up because of the dog-whistle politics they have favoured more recently.

Politic and politic 'n and a' politic status are all about appearances ... not necessarily virtues on the surface!

A parallel to looking good in church ...

 

[ChemGal]

Aah, I see, you voted for mother theresa

The person who was pro-poverty?

 

[Luce NDs]

When poor enough the Irish dig further for answers to shallow questions ... get through films and difficult tapestries ... veils?

 

[Lastpointe]

But today it was noted that it is actually a Criminal Code violation for an elected official to accept things like this trip. Punishable by five years in prison

And it was suggested in the article that if a cabinet minister was convicted of this ethics violation, say the Défense Minister vacationing with a rich someone who also lobbies him, the minister would be removed. One rule for Trudeau, another for all the rest

 

[Luce NDs]

But today it was noted that it is actually a Criminal Code violation for an elected official to accept things like this trip. Punishable by five years in prison

And it was suggested in the article that if a cabinet minister was convicted of this ethics violation, say the Défense Minister vacationing with a rich someone who also lobbies him, the minister would be removed. One rule for Trudeau, another for all the rest

Tis separation of social contract from the ideal contract for the far removed authority ... besetting poles ...

 

[Ritafee]

I love a country where our biggest scandal is our prime minister went on a family vacation to a long time family friends island.

The United Nations says more than 5,200 civilians have been killed and more than 8,800 injured – estimates it cautions are conservative.

Amnesty International Canada secretary-general Alex Neve called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to join Germany in condemning what Saudi Arabia is doing in Yemen.

"Germany's decision to halt arms sales to all parties to the devastating conflict in Yemen is tremendously encouraging," Mr. Neve said.

"Canada must now follow Germany's lead by cancelling the $15-billion light armoured vehicles deal with Saudi Arabia," he added.

"Working to end suffering in Yemen necessitates keeping arms out of the hands of the various forces responsible for war crimes and other terrible abuses."

The Trudeau government declined to answer a question from the The Globe and Mail on Monday on whether it will move in concert with Germany.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland's office referred the matter to her department. A Global Affairs spokeswoman said Canada "remains deeply concerned by the conflict in Yemen" – so much so that it sponsored a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate and report on the matter.

Last week, the Liberals announced $12-million in humanitarian aid for Yemen, where war has crippled the economy, left millions on the brink of famine and caused one of the most deadly cholera epidemics in modern history. The money brings to $65-million the amount that Canada has given to the Arab country.

Human-rights advocates have accused Canada of playing both sides of the conflict, profiting from arms sales but also trying to ameliorate it.

NDP foreign affairs critic Hélène Laverdière urged the Liberals to move in concert with Germany. "It's ridiculous to pledge humanitarian assistance to Yemen on the one hand, and to continue dealing arms to the perpetrators of the conflict on the other," she said.
Germany halts arms exports to Saudis, others at war in Yemen

 

[Luce NDs]

The United Nations says more than 5,200 civilians have been killed and more than 8,800 injured – estimates it cautions are conservative.

Amnesty International Canada secretary-general Alex Neve called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to join Germany in condemning what Saudi Arabia is doing in Yemen.

"Germany's decision to halt arms sales to all parties to the devastating conflict in Yemen is tremendously encouraging," Mr. Neve said.

"Canada must now follow Germany's lead by cancelling the $15-billion light armoured vehicles deal with Saudi Arabia," he added.

"Working to end suffering in Yemen necessitates keeping arms out of the hands of the various forces responsible for war crimes and other terrible abuses."

The Trudeau government declined to answer a question from the The Globe and Mail on Monday on whether it will move in concert with Germany.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland's office referred the matter to her department. A Global Affairs spokeswoman said Canada "remains deeply concerned by the conflict in Yemen" – so much so that it sponsored a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate and report on the matter.

Last week, the Liberals announced $12-million in humanitarian aid for Yemen, where war has crippled the economy, left millions on the brink of famine and caused one of the most deadly cholera epidemics in modern history. The money brings to $65-million the amount that Canada has given to the Arab country.

Human-rights advocates have accused Canada of playing both sides of the conflict, profiting from arms sales but also trying to ameliorate it.

NDP foreign affairs critic Hélène Laverdière urged the Liberals to move in concert with Germany. "It's ridiculous to pledge humanitarian assistance to Yemen on the one hand, and to continue dealing arms to the perpetrators of the conflict on the other," she said.
Germany halts arms exports to Saudis, others at war in Yemen

And they say confusion and chaos has no effect of divided brain theory ... but affects the mind ... a denied entity ... by those without thought! Fall in the good grief curve ... and you know with negotiation at the bottom you'll come round ... to awakening ... real I'z Asian ... schitz ...

 

[Ritafee]

And they say confusion and chaos has no effect of divided brain theory ...

• "Working to end suffering in Yemen necessitates keeping arms out of the hands of the various forces responsible for war crimes and other terrible abuses."

• "It's ridiculous to pledge humanitarian assistance to Yemen on the one hand, and to continue dealing arms to the perpetrators of the conflict on the other"

Follow the money ...

• $65-million is the amount that Canada has given to the Arab country for humanitarian aid.

• $15-billion is the amount of the light armored vehicles deal with Saudi Arabia.

Aah, I see, you voted for mother theresa

This is the kind of response that @Pinga gives to me when ever I raise any issue of concern other than the one that she is trying to lightly dismiss ... I take @Pinga 's 'rebuttals' to me as indicative of her level of commitment to 'caring' for the oppressed. If it benefits her directly she cares ... if it does not ... "Sigh".

How about this ... is this scandalous enough to discuss?

• Investigation into immigration detention in Canada found a system that indefinitely warehouses non-citizens away from public scrutiny in conditions intended for a criminal population.

• More than 100 of those currently detained for immigration purposes in Canada have spent at least three months behind bars and one-third of those have been detained for more than a year.

• The system is also expensive, costing taxpayers more than $58 million a year, or roughly $250 per detainee, per day.

“Lots of people in Canada, if they knew the extent of what’s going on, they would be upset,” says Macdonald Scott, an immigration consultant who has represented Toure and dozens of other detainees.

Toure is not trying to stay in Canada. He says he was born in The Gambia and raised in Guinea, and he would happily return to either country, but neither will take him back because he lacks the paperwork to prove his citizenship.

Meanwhile, Canada’s border police believe he is unlikely to appear for his removal if either country ever changes its mind. So he waits in jail, indefinitely.

“I’m not a criminal, but I’ve been in jail four years,” Toure says. “That’s supposed to happen in other countries, not Canada.”

Responding to widespread criticism from humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee in 2015, the Liberal government announced last summer its intention to create a “better” and “fairer” immigration detention system. But while Justin Trudeau’s government has detained fewer people than the Conservatives did under Stephen Harper, there has been no meaningful change in policy that would end a system criticized as inhumane, arbitrary and a violation of international law.

Canada detained 6,596 people for immigration purposes in the 2015-16 fiscal year, including more than 201 children. Detainees are either kept in one of three medium-security detention centres or in maximum-security provincial jails.

Some of the detainees are former permanent residents who committed crimes, served their sentences and now await deportation; others, like Toure, are failed refugee claimants or those who have otherwise been deemed inadmissible to Canada and whom the government considers a flight risk or a danger to the public.

The average length of detention was 23 days last year

By the government’s own description, immigration detention is not supposed to be punitive; it is meant strictly as a means of facilitating deportation. For some detainees, that’s the case. The average length of detention last year was 23 days. But for many individuals, like Toure, who lack the right documentation or whose home country won’t take them back, detention becomes unpredictable and tortuous. The United Nations has called on Canada to set a “reasonable time limit” on immigration detention, as other countries have. The European Union, for instance, has a limit of 18 months, while several countries will release detainees if they can’t be deported within 90 days. Canada has no maximum length of detention.

Immigration Detention | Caged by Canada, Part 1 | Toronto Star

 

[revsdd]

But today it was noted that it is actually a Criminal Code violation for an elected official to accept things like this trip. Punishable by five years in prison

You don't cite a source for who "noted" this. I'd be curious to know because as far as I know this isn't even something that the Conservative Party has suggested - which makes me question the reliability of your source.

The only section of the Criminal Code I can find that would even remotely apply would be Section 119, as follows:

119 (1) Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years who

• (a) being the holder of a judicial office, or being a member of Parliament or of the legislature of a province, directly or indirectly, corruptly accepts, obtains, agrees to accept or attempts to obtain, for themselves or another person, any money, valuable consideration, office, place or employment in respect of anything done or omitted or to be done or omitted by them in their official capacity

But there has to be corruption for this to apply, not just a potential conflict of interest.

And it was suggested in the article that if a cabinet minister was convicted of this ethics violation, say the Défense Minister vacationing with a rich someone who also lobbies him, the minister would be removed. One rule for Trudeau, another for all the rest

Maybe, maybe not. It would be the Prime Minister who would decide whether or not a particular violation warranted removal. Conflict of Interest violations are essentially political issues and the decisions on how to handle them are generally made by politicians for political reasons.

I do agree with the "one standard for Trudeau, another for all the rest" suggestion. If only because Trudeau's mandate letter to his ministers when they took office noted that they should avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest - but Justin Trudeau clearly did not follow that advice himself.