U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., responds to reporters in Washington, on Dec. 3, 2021. Mr. McCarthy told other GOP lawmakers shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection that he would urge then-president Donald Trump to resign, according to an audio recording posted on April 21 by The New York Times.J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press
A friend and I were discussing the sorry state of politics around the world when he reminded me of a scene from the 1967 bedroom farce A Guide for the Married Man.
In it, the character Charlie is found in bed, at home, with another woman. “Charlie, what are you doing?” his wife screams upon entering the room. “What?” he says.
“With her, there,” she replies, pointing to the naked woman in bed. At this point, Charlie and his paramour get up and quickly begin getting dressed.
Charlie’s wife continues to express outrage, while he continues to act baffled about what she’s talking about. “You know very well what I’m talking about,” his wife says. “Her.”
“Who?” he replies. At this point, “her” has dressed and has slipped out of the room. Charlie is now fully clothed and making the bed. When he finishes he goes into the living room, grabs the paper, sits down and starts reading.
“Aren’t you even ashamed of yourself?” she asks him.
“Why?” he replies.
His wife wanders back into the bedroom where everything seems normal. She begins to think maybe she imagined the whole thing. She returns to the living room and says: “Charlie, what would you like for dinner?”
While it’s a scene people might have chuckled at in 1967, it’s unlikely to seem as funny today. My friend’s point, however, was that it was akin to what is happening in our politics. Charlie’s strategy of “deny, deny, deny” is enjoying a renaissance. Brazen lying in the public realm is taking place with few, if any, consequences.
There always has been a certain amount of lying in politics, but those caught doing it were often held to account, were forced to pay a price. Then Donald Trump came along.
Mr. Trump, of course, lied repeatedly while in office, about everything from who won the last U.S. election to the size of his inauguration crowd, to awards he said he had received but hadn’t. Even when reporters pointed out his falsehoods it didn’t matter. Mr. Trump convinced many Americans that he was the one telling the truth; it was the media distributing fake news.
Politicians, especially in the Republican party, took note. Even if you got caught out in a lie it didn’t matter. There were no consequences.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy is the latest example of this phenomenon. In recent months, he has played down any role Mr. Trump may have had in inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building. This was not always his view. Recently, it was reported Mr. McCarthy initially blamed the whole thing on the former president. He has denied this – despite the presence of a verified recording of him saying precisely that.
It’s the fake media, twisting his words and misrepresenting the facts, he maintains in his defence. Deny, deny, deny. Even Republicans who know Mr. McCarthy is not telling the truth also know he can get away with it. If Mr. Trump did nothing else, he helped delegitimize the media among many in his party.
We have not reached this point in Canadian politics – yet. But we should not kid ourselves about the potential of it happening here. Mr. Trump’s brash, take-no-prisoners style of politics already has a foothold here. Can the normalization of lying that he ushered in be far behind?
It is something we need to be on the lookout for because we have seen the damage that unrestrained deception in our political discourse can inflict. Our society is protected against dishonesty in so many aspects of our daily existence; there are laws against lying in court, about lying on financial documents, lying in advertising campaigns. We need to be just as protected against politicians who lie.
Some of this is the job of the media. We must be vigilant in calling out politicians who disseminate information that completely misrepresents the facts. A recent example is Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre’s video about the housing crisis, one that contained a series of statements that did not hold up to scrutiny.
It’s not just Mr. Poilievre who deserves examination, of course, it’s everyone from the prime minister on down. Lies by our public officials, regardless of how big or small, hurt us all – they eat away at our democracy and threaten the stability of our political discourse.
We have a front-row seat to what can happen when society allows lying to go unchecked. And we want no part of it in Canada.
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Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
