PONDERABLES
How can an end to the war in Ukraine be negotiated with a despot who won’t even acknowledge there’s a war going on?
THINGS I FIRMLY BELIEVE
The people who for the last two years saw their lockdown experience as living at work rather than working from home will gladly return to the office.
MY ANTIPATHY TOWARDS JUSTIN TRUDEAU
A number of followers felt last week’s item denigrating Justin Trudeau was mean-spirited. I fully understand Trudeau supporters seeing it that way, but they would do well to remember that Justin, himself, is an extremely mean-spirited individual. His vindictive treatment of former cabinet ministers Jody Wilson-Reybold and Jane Philpott is a glaring case in point.
Some others thought it was unfairly disrespectful. It’s true I have no respect for Justin Trudeau. If his last name was anything other than Trudeau he would never have been heard of. Instead of being prime minister of Canada he would likely still be a dilettante drifting from one part-time job to another while living off his family trust fund. Which, incidentally, originated from his grandfather’s wealth, not his father’s.
It was Justin’s grandfather, Charles Emile Trudeau, who amassed the family fortune. And it’s ironic in the extreme that he did so by owning dozens of gas stations in the province of Quebec, never realizing that his son and grandson would both hypocritically do their best to wipe out Canada’s petroleum industry.
DOUBTING CANDICE BERGEN’S JUDGEMENT
She supported the protesters’ lengthy and disruptive occupation of downtown Ottawa. Then she evicted Erin O’Toole from Stornoway, the traditional home of the leader of the opposition, and moved in herself. She did this even though it’s unclear whether an interim leader is entitled to do so, and in less than six months she’ll no longer even be “interim.” This week she came out in favour of a no-fly zone over Ukraine which, even though narrowly defined, might well trigger a nuclear response from the unpredictable Putin.
MAYBE THE CONSERVATIVES WILL GET IT RIGHT THIS TIME
The federal Conservative party has announced the rules for its 2022 leadership “convention” (quotation marks because mail-in ballots hardly constitute a convention). Its election organizing committee has made many positive rule changes, so perhaps they’ll get it right this time. Their last two leadership races resulted in leadership flops, with both Andrew Scheer and Erin O’Toole proving they weren’t up to the job. And in 2017, the insufferable Maxime Bernier came within 644 votes of being the leader.
Following are the most important changes:
1. The entry fee has been tripled to $300,000.
2. The candidates’ spending limit has been raised to $7,000,000. from $5,000,000.
3. Candidates must obtain signatures from 500 party members spanning 30 riding associations and seven provinces. That’s down from 3,000 members, which proved to be an arbitrarily difficult entry barrier.
4. Members’ fees must now be paid directly to the party by cheque or credit card, which means new members will have made a conscious decision to join the party. This will eliminate the possibility of candidates themselves paying for blocks of new memberships, which in the past reached levels bordering on corruption.
5. The race is decided on a points system, with each of the country’s 338 ridings allocated 100 points. A candidate must now get 50% plus one vote to win. In the past, points were based on the candidates’ share of the votes. Also, if a riding has fewer than 100 members, it’s now only one point per vote.
AND A LEADERSHIP DILEMMA
Not least of the federal Conservative party’s current problems is the leadership dilemma it finds itself in regarding the leading candidates for the top job. The current front-runner, Pierre Poilievre, is well-positioned to win the race, but it’s far from certain he can win a federal election. On the other hand, Poilievre’s main challenger, John Charest, would probably easily win a federal election but may not be able to win the leadership.
DOLLY PARTON
Dolly Parton’s announcement that she was declining induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because, in her opinion, she “wasn’t worthy,” was a poignant example of why she’s one of the most universally popular and respected entertainers of all time. She further enhanced her principled reputation by promising to record a rock and roll album in order to see if she could actually earn the honour.