Jihad Joly
Canadian policy towards the Middle East is now determined by a handful of Arab voters in Foreign Minister Melanie Joly’s parliamentary riding.
In her view, winning her constituency determines the policy decisions she takes regardless of how biased or simply wrong they may be.
Tom Mulcair is one of Canada’s most intelligent and trustworthy politicians who served as a Liberal cabinet minister in Quebec and national leader of the New Democratic Party and leader of the official opposition in Canada’s parliament.
On October 8th he wrote about what Foreign Minister Melanie Joly responded to his question about her positions on the Middle East crisis as well as the virulent antisemitism unleashed in Canada since the October 7th terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas.
“When I spoke with Joly about the Liberal reaction to the South African position (on taking Israel to the International Court of Justice for human rights violations)” he wrote “she said something that floored me: “Thomas, have you seen the demographics of my riding”? I know that “all politics is local,” but I was astonished to hear such a candid admission that very local politics were playing such a role in shaping Canada’s foreign policy on this highly complex and sensitive issue”.
Prime Minister Trudeau’s policies on the current rise of virulent and violent antisemitism in Canada has been pathetic, as have been the mismanagement of antisemitic terrorist backed protests across Canada.
In this, the Prime Minister has been outclassed and outsmarted by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and his deputy Melissa Lantsman.
Don’t get me wrong.
I am against almost all of Poilievre’s views and his style of politics and I shudder at the Canada a Poilievre administration would create.
But on the issue of antisemitism and support for Israel, I believe that he is right. Any support for the antisemitic terrorists who run the Islamist world and, by extension, its supporters in Canada, is wrong.
It seems that the Prime Minister is constantly digging himself into a political hole as his party stands twenty points behind the opposition Conservatives and is sinking.
And, rather than reach for a good solution, he simply reaches for a bigger shovel with which to continue digging his political hole.
His competence is widely questioned.
His values are widely questioned.
His ability to meet the needs of the average Canadian voter is widely questioned.
And by having a foreign minister who demonstrates her complete incompetence and lack of judgment by crafting Canadian foreign policy based on the views of her local Arab constituents rather than on what is good for Canada and Canadian foreign policy interests leaves Trudeau himself looking foolish and incompetent.
Under Trudeau and Joly, the Liberals are doomed to a disastrous showing in the next election.
If the Liberals are to survive as a viable parliamentary force, even in opposition, and not face a debacle of pitiful consequences, Mr. Trudeau and Ms. Joly must retire now and allow a new and credible Liberal leadership to emerge to fight Mr. Poilievre and his terrible vision of what Canada should be.
Both Trudeau and Joly have outlived their political “sell by “ date.
Remaining in office will only destroy a once great party the same way the once great Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was consigned to oblivion in the 1990’s.
And this could well be the Trudeau legacy should he continue to hold on to power.
An election needed for sure but the options require a lot of thought. There is no White Knight on the horizon
One word: AI. Only a computer could be programmed to ignore the kind of small-minded political expediency you describe. She may be capturing their votes, but they're capturing her mind.