Trudeau has no moral authority to call for unity: Micheal Higgins
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s speech in the House of Commons Monday, rightly extolling Canadian values in these angry times, would have sounded authentic if he hadn’t betrayed many of those virtues.
“Our diversity is our strength,” he told Parliament at one point, revisiting one of his favourite themes. The shared values of freedom and respect were Canadian core principles, he explained. He was right. He was also right to highlight them after Hamas’ brutal invasion of Israel and subsequent springing-up of unwelcome rallies that cheered for terrorist “resistance” across Canada.
Trudeau’s speech started off well enough. He began by denouncing Hamas as a terrorist organization that had committed unspeakable acts of violence.
“Let me be clear about Hamas,” he said. “Its members are not freedom fighters. They are not a resistance. They are terrorists.”
The prime minister’s clarity was all the more welcome since so many pro-Hamas supporters, on the streets , in academia and around the world , have been praising “the resistance.”
“There are so many people in Canada who are afraid of the escalating tension here at home,” said Trudeau. Indeed, there are.
“We must not let worry, suspicion and mistrust divide us,” he continued. “We must remember that it is a short path from mistrusting one’s neighbour to entrenching division. A peaceful society does not happen by accident and will not continue without effort.”
The prime minister urged respect for freedom, free speech, human rights and each other.
“Canadians’ liberty is not about taking away the freedoms of others but living in a way that expands and strengthens freedom for everyone,” he said.
As much as this was a speech that a prime minister needed to give, it sounded hollow in the mouth of a man who has invoked the Emergencies Act to freeze the bank accounts of Canadians; who dismissed parental rights as “far right”; who condemned “this hate” when families took to the streets to protest gender ideology in schools; who called Canadians “racist” and “misogynistic” before obnoxiously asking : “Do we tolerate these people?”
For Trudeau, the desire for political expediency has always outweighed his indifference for principled action. His focus has been on leading the Liberal party to power rather than leading the country. It’s a bit rich for a man who has spent so much effort sowing division to suddenly ask for unity. Frankly, who’s going to listen? Who’s going to take him seriously?
In reply to Trudeau’s speech, Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre called for action. Speaking to the House of Commons, he painted a fuller picture of the global implications of the Israel-Hamas War, properly characterizing the main actors behind the terrorism and their motives.
“Hamas is not a militant organization,” said Poilievre. “It is not a government. It is not an activist group; Hamas is a sadistic criminal terrorist death cult, and it must be defeated.”
Poilievre pointed out that Hamas is supported by Iran. He added that both have felt threatened by the series of agreements, the Abraham Accords, that Israel has made with other Islamic countries to normalize relations. Signatories include the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
“This kind of peace between Muslims and Jews, between Israelis and Arabs, would be a nightmare for Hamas and for the dictatorship in Iran, which seek to perpetuate the conflict and the divisions as a source of power,” he said. “They need to perpetuate the hatred in order to justify their dictatorships.”
Poilievre demanded Canada take concrete action to achieve peace. The first step, he said, was to criminalize Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which involves listing them as a terrorist entity.
“It is unthinkable that the IRGC can operate legally in Canada,” he said. “It can raise funds. It can prepare logistics. It can recruit new followers. Some of the people attached to the highest levels of the IRGC live in Canada today, their very presence terrorizing peaceful Canadians of Iranian descent who desperately want to kick these terrorists out of our country. They are right. The terrorists must be kicked out. This organization must be made a criminal entity.”
He is not the first to demand for the IRGC to be listed as a terrorist entity, and it’s been described as one by the Liberals themselves. And yet, the Trudeau government has steadfastly refused to list the group. It cannot be an oversight on the Liberals part, so it must be deliberate. But why? It is long past time for Trudeau to explain this bizarre state of affairs.
Poilievre concluded by setting out a vision for Canada based not on its diversity but its individuality, contrasting with Trudeau.
“Here in Canada, we judge people on their own merits, their own deeds and their own words,” Poilievre said. “That is why the great Canadian prime minister Wilfrid Laurier, when he was asked, ‘What is our nationality?’ did not list an ethnicity, a religion or any other superficial demarcation…. He said, ‘Canada is free, and freedom is its nationality.’ So it is today.”
Trudeau’s inward-looking speech urged unity and respect but the delivery failed; he did not carry the moral authority needed to back his message.
Poilievre, however, hit the mark. With his global perspective, and an insistence on personal responsibility and freedom, he seemed to have his eye on destiny.
This article was reported by National Post
