Any time a politician resorts to making Nazi references during an argument, you know he or she is losing that argument. It’s always an out-of-bounds reference. Yet, politicians continue to make the mistake of doing it. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the latest to make headlines for just such a bone-headed move.
What makes Trudeau’s reference to “standing with people who wave swastikas” in response to Melissa Lantsman, a 37-year-old Conservative MP in Parliament yesterday particularly egregious is that Lantsman is Jewish, a descendent of Holocaust survivors. She represents a suburb that has the highest percentage of Jewish residents in Canada at 7%. Trudeau’s remarks were so over-the-top that he was reprimanded by the Speaker of the House of Commons.
Lantsman was confronting Trudeau for his draconian measures against the truckers in the Freedom Convoy, including the Emergency Act. She asked when it was that he lost his way, after having a history of speaking in support of protesters in the past. It was a reasonable criticism and she angered Trudeau by using his own words against him.
Lantsman had earlier during the Parliament session on Wednesday quoted Trudeau’s October 2015 victory speech, when he was elected prime minister.
‘A positive, optimistic, hopeful vision of public life isn’t a naive dream; it can be a powerful force for change,’ Lantsman quoted.
‘If Canadians are to trust their government, their government needs to trust Canadians,’ she quoted.
Lantsman added: ‘Those are the words of the prime minister in 2015.
‘”These people – very often misogynistic, racist, women hater, science deniers, the fringe,” – same prime minister, six years later, as he fans the flames of an unjustified national emergency.
‘So, Mr. Speaker, when did the prime minister lose his way? When did it happen?’
Trudeau responded.
Trudeau responded with scorn to her complaints, saying: ‘Conservative Party members can stand with people who wave swastikas, they can stand with people who wave the confederate flag.
‘We will chose to stand with Canadians who deserve to be able to get to their jobs, and get their lives back. These illegal protests need to stop and they will.’
Then the Speaker told everyone, including Trudeau to settle down and watch their language.
SHOCK VIDEO: PM @JustinTrudeau answers a question from Conservative MP @MelissaLantsman, a Jewish woman and descendent of Holocaust survivors by saying Conservatives stand with swastikas.
This is beneath Trudeau and his office and he should apologize. #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/cxHNEaJKGJ— Brian Lilley (@brianlilley) February 16, 2022
I think the Prime Minister should think long and hard about his own history before singling out a Jewish Member of Parliament and falsely accusing me of standing with a Swastika. What a disgraceful statement unbecoming of anyone in public office – he owes me an apology. #cdnpoli
— Melissa Lantsman (@MelissaLantsman) February 16, 2022
Lantsman has called for an apology from Trudeau but she shouldn’t hold her breath for that. Elon Musk weighed in this morning and took a jab at Trudeau for his failure to deliver a new federal budget to parliament for the past couple of years. Trudeau is taking control of the banking system to retaliate against the truckers using the Emergency Act.
Musk’s message was sent in reply to a tweet from crypto news outlet Coindesk which reads, “Canadian authorities have ordered financial institutions not to interact with 34 different crypto addresses tied to the country’s ongoing trucker protests.”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2022
Hitler jokes aren’t funny, no matter who is making them. Trudeau continues to ratchet up his aggression against the truckers. Blockades in Alberta and Manitoba have ended peacefully. In Ottawa, though, police are threatening arrests and fines for the truckers. Who had Canada is considering invoking martial law on their Bingo card?
Trudeau on Wednesday was considering using his extraordinary powers under the Emergencies Act to establish ‘no-go’ zones in Ottawa to dispel the remaining protests in the nation’s capital. Ottawa police fanned out among the demonstrators on Wednesday afternoon, distributing pamphlets saying protesters faced fines, arrests and vehicle seizures, and reading: ‘You must leave the area now.’
Candice Bergen, the opposition leader, told Trudeau that the threshold to invoke the Emergency Act had not been met. She questioned whether he did it in order to save his own job. He wasn’t popular to begin with and the Freedom Convoy has brought to light how inept and incompetent he is in handling domestic protests and civil disobedience. Political observers ponder if Trudeau will survive.
The Freedom Convoy is being demonized in the media, especially in the American press. Funny, shutting down areas of cities and protests were fawned over during the Summer of Love and the rise of Black Lives Matter in the media. Kamala Harris used her Twitter account to raise money for rioters who were arrested in Minneapolis. The truckers are not given such complimentary coverage.
As the crackdown in Ottawa begins, more police are on the streets and work crews erected fences outside of Parliament. The truckers are digging in and there is no end in sight for the convoy. Organizers are preparing to be arrested.
In a tearful video posted on social media, Tamara Lich, a convoy organizer who had earlier pledged that protesters would remain on Parliament Hill until mandates are lifted, indicated it was “inevitable at this point” that she would face arrest and possible prison time but urged people to join them in Ottawa.
“You have to know that they’re trying to provoke us. … Tomorrow is a new day, and I’m ready. I am not afraid, and we’re gonna hold the line,” she said. “This has been a really crazy ride. … I just want you to stay strong.”
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Ottawa police are working together to put an end to the convoy. Ottawa Police Department released a statement informing Canadians of what can happen.
The Ottawa Police Service wants to inform you that under provincial and federal legislation, you will face severe penalties if you do not cease further unlawful activity and remove your vehicle and/or property immediately from all unlawful protest sites.
You may be arrested and charged with criminal offences including but not limited to mischief, and potentially charged with a variety of other non-criminal offences.
Your vehicle and property may be seized or removed.
Your driver’s licence may be suspended or cancelled.
CVOR (Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration) certificates may be suspended or cancelled.
Your personal or business bank accounts, including virtual currency, may be subject to examination and restriction.
If you bring a minor (a person under 18) with you to an unlawful protest site, you may be charged and fined up to $5000 and/or potentially spend up to five years in prison.
Those who are delivering fuel and other supplies to those taking part in the unlawful demonstration can be charged.
Persons traveling to any other unlawful protest sites to participate in or support the unlawful demonstration can be charged.
Be aware that legislation now prohibits interference with any critical infrastructure including 400-series highways, railways, airports and international border crossings.
Stay tuned.
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