Anne Kingston: When pressed to be personally accountable, the PM has a tendency to transform things into a 'teaching' moment. It did not work today.
Justin Trudeau dropped by the National Press Gallery on Thursday morning to issue a non-apology apology before planning to fly to Iqaluit where he’d express regret for government mistreatment of Inuit during TB epidemics between the 1940s and ’60s. Canada’s prime minister is a champion of issuing fulsome apologies when they are formal and historical and don’t involve his own behaviour.
Trudeau did remind the AG that he was an MP from Quebec at a Sept. 17 meeting, he said. He did confirm she told him she had made a final decision; he asked her to “revisit” it, he said, and she said she would. She didn’t get back to him so he assumed her decision was no longer final. Trudeau has a tendency, when pressed to be personally accountable, to transform it into a theatrical “teaching” moment.
Wisely, Trudeau did not recycle the “women experience interactions in professional contexts and other contexts differently than men” line on Thursday. But he came close: “Situations were experienced differently and I regret that.” Exactly what he regrets was not clear. He did speak of “next steps” involving “external expert opinions” on such things “as the dual role of the minister of justice and the attorney general.
Much remains unanswered. Trudeau avoided one question about why he didn’t leave Wilson-Raybould in Justice after she turned down the Indigenous Services portfolio. A plethora of questions remain, including Wilson-Raybould’s and Jane Philpott’s future in caucus.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Gerry Butts bingo - Macleans.caAnne Kingston: Wednesday's hearing will require that Trudeau's former principal secretary find a high road heretofore untravelled by the government in its response to the SNC-Lavalin crisis
Read more »
Justin Trudeau's sorry apology - Macleans.caAnne Kingston: When pressed to be personally accountable, the PM has a tendency to transform things into a 'teaching' moment. It did not work today.
Read more »
The merits of a physical daily planner include not escaping from past mistakesA paper planner may seem old school, but as Anne T. Donahue writes, flipping past those pages forces her to confront both mistakes and growth
Read more »
Justin Trudeau's sorry apology - Macleans.caAnne Kingston: When pressed to be personally accountable, the PM has a tendency to transform things into a 'teaching' moment. It did not work today.
Read more »
Justin Trudeau speaks about the SNC-Lavalin scandal: Full transcript - Macleans.caThe PM finally addressed the ongoing crisis in his government, repeatedly and without apology pressing the issue of potential job losses. Read his full statement.
Read more »
It's time for Justin Trudeau to put his cards on the table - Macleans.caAndrew MacDougall: Until everyone involved in the scandal testifies—not just Gerry Butts—this looks like a cover-up, not a transparent process
Read more »
Justin Trudeau, my how you've changed - Macleans.caAndrew MacDougall: Justin Trudeau looks like the un-smart, un-serious man that so many of his political opponents have always insisted he is.
Read more »
Justin Trudeau, imposter - Macleans.caPaul Wells: The phoniness of the Prime Minister’s handling of the SNC-Lavalin file is a trait he shows the Canadian people all too often
Read more »
Contrition? Justin Trudeau didn't come to say he's sorry - Macleans.caA month into this crisis, the Prime Minister didn’t offer clarity on the key questions, placing a bet that the longer it goes on the less Canadians will care
Read more »