Tag: Poli Savvy

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Poli Savvy: The storm before… the storm?

It’s been a whole new world of pain for the Liberal Party, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau deals with accusations of racism over his use of “brown face.”

Old yearbook photos have been posted by TIME Magazine, showing Trudeau with a unique take on Aladdin, complete with a turban and dark face paint. Naturally, many Canadians were less than impressed with this attempted display of multiculturalism, leading Trudeau to issue apologies to the public and… NDP leader Jaghmeet Singh?

According to CBC, Trudeau approached Singh to apologize for the incident – a confusing move, seeing that Aladdin is of an Arabian background, not Indian. Moreover, it seems that Singh has enough on his plate, given that the Steel Workers Union of Regina might vote Conservative according to the Regina Post. A traditionally New Democrat group in the NDP heartland, workers are being forced to choose between work opportunities provided by a pipeline or job protections offered by Singh. Whether this highlights a dangerous trend among unions is yet to be seen, but the NDP certainly cannot afford to lose support after previous defections to the Green Party of Elizabeth May…

… who is facing her own scandal, covered by the Toronto Sun since an image on the party website shows her holding what appears to be a photoshopped reusable mug, though the truth is much more sinister. It was proven that May was instead using a single-use paper cup to store her coffee, leading to calls of hypocrisy by voters who feel that the pro-environment leader should lead by example. How this will affect the Green Party’s chances at a federal majority is too early to say. Regardless; Liberal scandals, NDP popularity drops, and Green Party controversies could prove to be advantages for the Conservative Party of Canada’s leader, Andrew Scheer.

Well yes, but actually no, since the National Post reported that Ontario’s CPC base is in trouble due to major cuts in healthcare, environmental protection, student grants, social services, legal aid… basically everything, by Conservative premier Doug Ford. A fact not lost on Scheer, who, interestingly, has conducted most of his Ontarian campaigns without Ford by his side. Undoubtedly a risky move that could alienate “Ford Nation” voters, but one that would gain the approval of no other than Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet.

Incensed by the cuts to French-language services, under Ford no less, Blanchet has expanded his campaign to include francophone towns in Ontario; as covered by Global News. Claiming that French-speakers outside Quebec are being treated like second-class citizens, he has called for votes towards an independent Quebec, a bilingual Supreme Court, and expanded powers for the federal commissioner of official languages. In other words, nothing new; but a stark contrast to fellow Quebecer Maxime Bernier.

From claiming that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant to backing a candidate who had published racist tweets, as covered by CBC, the People’s Party of Canada leader is no stranger to controversy. However, Bernier is facing a lot of criticism for calling environmental activist Greta Thunberg “mentally unstable”, in a series of tweets back in September. Aside from the fact that picking a twitter fight with a 16-year-old is frowned upon in politics, his choice of words proved quite poor seeing that Thunberg has autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.

Ultimately, how these scandals impact the upcoming election remains to be seen. Canadians will simply have to vote for whichever party they feel is the best choice for Canada or the best option available.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

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Poli Savvy: Walking on eggshells one week into the election

The election campaign is now in full swing. From the start, the Liberal party was taken aback by reports alluding that their cabinet blocked efforts by the RCMP to investigate allegations of obstruction of justice regarding the SNC Lavalin scandal. Trudeau’s main statement in response to the questions regarding his cabinet’s involvement was roughly his job as Prime Minister is to be there to stand up for and defend Canadians’ jobs.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer debuted his campaign with a public reprimand of the PM, calling on Justin Trudeau to allow law enforcement to investigate his cabinet. The somewhat unknown conservative leader is struggling to make a name for himself that is not Harper or Ford.

Trudeau was not present at the first English debate hosted by MacLean’s and City TV. Instead, he rallied in Edmonton, one of the bedrocks of the Trans Mountain Pipeline project.

The Green Party was almost laughed off the stage by commentators and Scheer, despite Elizabeth May having the only political plan that even begins to address our climate crisis economically and scientifically.

Jagmeet Singh marked some points by connecting the Conservative leader to the much-hated Conservative Premier of Ontario during the debate.

“[Scheer] believes that the priority should be making life easier for the wealthiest,” said Singh. “I believe it has to be different and we can do it differently.” However, Scheer and Ford have not been seen together since the debate, indicating Scheer is distancing himself from his fellow Conservative.

This week hasn’t been all policy. A photograph of Trudeau surfaced on Wednesday, published by the TIMES, depicting the Prime Minister in blackface back in 2001.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Trudeau stated in the Liberals’ campaign plane. “I should have known better, but I didn’t and I’m really sorry.” Trudeau has since admitted to other occasions where his costumes involved blackface.

One leader that has not shown restraint in his response is Singh, stating “What we see now is an ongoing pattern of behaviour that is going to hurt Canadians.”

Needless to say, this will have an impact on the Liberals’ re-election campaign. But does a picture of a man 20 years ago define him? At the end of the day, it is up to the people to determine what to make of Trudeau’s character.

 

Graphic by Victoria Blair

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Poly Savvy: Old Rivalries in New Brunswick

Both the New Democratic Party and the Green Party have butted heads the past two weeks on what appears to be a controversial development in the eastern province.

Previously thought to be 14 defectors, eight former New Democratic candidates have switched over to the Greens, as reported by the CBC. One defector, former party executive Jonathan Richardson, even went so far as to blame the move on NDP leader Jagmeet Singh’s ethnicity’s effect on regional popularity.

Naturally, such a statement has led to accusations of racism against the Greens, accusations that the party has vehemently denied. Instead, it was pointed out that Singh had not once visited the Maritimes since assuming his position in 2017. Unsurprisingly, words have been thrown back and forth since the defections, reaching levels of passive-aggressiveness best reserved for thanksgiving.

But regardless of the political bickering, the real question remains; what will be the consequential effect of these disputes on the upcoming federal and provincial elections?

The answer is… probably nothing.

It’s no secret that the Green Party has never been one to gain more than two seats at the Federal level, so far. Nor have they established any sort of major political ground on the eastern seaboard. Therefore, it’s safe to assume that no riding was ever truly in sight for a Green takeover; as New Brunswick is primarily split between Conservative and Liberal MPs, with a slight lead for the Blues.

In fact, the Greens hold a mere three provincial seats out of the province’s total of 49. Zero on the Federal level.

But what about the NDP? Have they lost any potential advantage in future polls?

Again, not necessarily.

The “defectors” mentioned consisted of members of the Oranges, who ran in the 2018 provincial elections. Ran, not won, as the NDP had not gained a single seat. Most of these individuals had figured that their prospects would be better for joining the Greens, either through the assumption that following a Sikh leader would hurt their chances or genuinely believing that Singh had not done enough to remain popular in the area.

In the end, the Greens did not gain a single seat as the New Democrats did not have anything to lose. To find out if the former had gained any clear advantage, we will need to see the results of the upcoming elections.

Until then, the Green Party will just have to settle for brownie points.

 

Graphic by Victoria Blair

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Poli Savvy: Misogyny of climate crisis deniers

At the beginning of September, People’s Party of Canada’s leader Maxime Bernier denigrated environmental activist Greta Thunberg in a tweet, calling her “mentally unstable.” Although he later retracted and apologized for his comment, this just  illustrates yet another ugly, misogynistic face of climate change deniers.

Really, why do white men seem to have a harder time accepting the environmental crisis than others? Worse even when a woman is in a powerful position and has a strong voice in the matter?

Research published by Oxford University explored the green-feminine stereotype, where both men and women judged eco-friendly products, behaviours, and consumers as more feminine. Simply put, it showed that men believe climate action is “unmanly.”

What Bernier did by attacking the 16-year-old activist was a demonstration of white fragility. Thunberg isn’t posting photos of what she is eating seeking some kind of instant glory. Her message is not a personal cry, but one that is universal. Inevitably, she confronts us with our own actions – or, mostly, our inactions.

It seems that Conservative white men have found their arch enemy within voices like Thunberg’s, which represent everything they believe is slowing them down; women and caring for the environment.

But truly, how fragile is masculinity to believe that environmental actions are more feminine? Isn’t it ironic that men tend to be considered less sensitive than women, but when it comes to the perception of their masculinity, we are suddenly walking on eggshells?

As Thunberg will be making her way towards Montreal to attend the climate protest on Sept. 27, we can only expect to see more misogynistic comments online. Comments which, sadly, switch the focus of what’s really at stake. The environmental crisis should not be a battle of the sexes.

 

Graphic by Victoria Blair

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Poli Savvy: How Campaign Slogans Are Identically Different

In the last weeks of August, both Liberals and Conservatives unveiled their TV ads and campaign slogans, ahead of the Oct. 21 vote.

While Trudeau’s campaign decided to go with “Choose forward,” Tories went for “It’s time for you to get ahead,” which you can only imagine fueled many waves of laughter on Twitter, as they are now just one typo away from being ridiculed. For Elizabeth May’s Green Party, “Not left. Not right. Forward together” is their campaign slogan. The NDP has yet to reveal theirs.

Do they all sound the same to you? Truthfully, as we live in a time where scrolling and swiping quickly is generally the way we consume our information, slogans will sadly end up being the only piece of the political puzzle voters acknowledge when heading to the polls.

Yet, the difference is there. What often sounds either like a call for action or an embarrassing pickup line can actually make or break an election.

“The Conservatives are talking about putting individuals ahead, while the Liberal’s forward movement revolves around government and country – ‘you’ versus ‘we,’ if you like,” wrote national columnist Susan Delacourt in The Star. 

Words are charming, yet very dangerous as they hide an entire platform. And as Canadians head to the polls in October, forward or together, there will be no coming back.

 

Graphic by Victoria Blair

Climate change ads as partisan activities?

As we come to the end of a summer with some of the highest recorded temperatures, Elections Canada’s decision to declare climate crisis ads as partisan activities during the election period fueled a lot of reactions across the country.

Although Election Canada says it only applies to “activities or ads that specifically identify a candidate or party,” Dianne Saxe, former environmental commissioner of Ontario, argues that such regulations means the absence of science-based information.

“It’s absolutely outrageous. It’s wrong in law, it’s harmful to this election and it’s dangerous to public trust,” Saxe said in an interview with CBC Radio’s Metro Morning.

The decision came after the leader of the People’s Party of Canada, Maxime Bernier, made some remarks questioning the urgency and legitimacy of the climate crisis. As a result of such claims, any groups planning to run paid advertisements over $500 must now register with the government as a third party.

While there’s much misinformation and fake news threatening our democracy, declaring such an important issue as partisan is stopping environmental organizations from carrying the facts and helping Canadians make the best decisions throughout the election.

The environmental crisis is not an opinion. Nor is it a choice. It has become everyone’s responsibility, especially our leaders, to start making decisions that will positively affect our planet. And if we can’t even talk about it during elections, we are destined to remain blind.

 

Graphic by Victoria Blair

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