As the Liberal's prorogation of Parliament stretches into its sixth week, the impact of the inability of Canadians to scrutinize the government's decisions is really starting to show. In this week's episode veteran political strategist Sean Schnell and I break down some particularly egregious examples, including:
A $70k Oscar party??!: Government records show that the Liberals allocated at least $70k of your taxdollars for an Oscar party at Canada's Los Angeles consulate that was scheduled to take place this week. A similarly luxe Oscar party at the same consulate last year featured red carpets and lobster rolls all paid for by you, and was covered by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (also paid for by you). We break down what we found out about this event - that costs more than most Canadians could ever dream about spending on their own wedding - and explain exactly how the prorogation of Parliament is preventing Canadians from understanding where their taxdollars are going.
Liar liar pants on fire: The Liberal leadership debates definitely gave coronation vibes, with none of the candidates taking any swings at frontrunner Mark Carney. That didn't stop him from making several major gaffes, the first of which was not knowing the cost of an average basket of groceries. The second was a big ole lie regarding his very personal involvement in moving Brookfield's headquarters from Canada to the United States while he was still the Chair of the corporation's board, after Donald Trump was elected and after Donald Trump threatened massive tariffs on Canada. Carney rounded out his week with even more lies…about which board positions he still retains in spite of saying he'd renounced all of them (https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/carney-says-he-resigned-from-all-his-roles-to-run-for-liberal-leadership-turns-out-he-hasnt), and dubious claims about his accomplishments.
You're a meme, sir: On that last point, the Liberal front runner became a viral meme this week after making an eyebrow raising claim about his work history. This time, Carney claimed that he helped former Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin balance the budget. One small problem - his timing was wayyyyy off and he couldn't possible have done what he claimed he did. This sparked an avalanche of memes of Carney making outlandish claims. To end the week off on a lighter note, we share some of the best.
Election vs return of Parliament: Once Mark Carney (most likely) wins the Liberal leadership race on March 9th, he'll have to make a decision - will he immediately go to an election, or will he allow Parliament to resume on March 24? Either scenario is possible, but each choice carries a range of issues. We break down what all of those issue are and which path Carney is likely to choose.
All that and more, on this week's episode of our podcast. Don't forget to select auto-download for this podcast so you don't miss an update. Have a topic you want us to discuss on next week's episode? Reply to this email.
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