If you recall, Bambi’s latest post about Mr. Trudeau was to congratulate him for his “national order of the cedar” award ?:
Yesterday, Bambi was amused to read Mr. Richard Martineau’s funny article in the Journal de Montréal. The latter is one of the rare media where we can still read columnists with diverse opinions, along the political spectrum (e.g., federalists, sovereignists , “Trudeauist” even, ecological, etc.) Some may be more on a so-called right or conservative side (i.e., at least economically). This being said, one must keep in mind that Québeckers have historically been on the socialist (or left) side of politics like in France… so their right side is not that “right”, even if we hear otherwise in the media. This is either a misconception due to ignorance of Québec… or a pure lie ?.
Anyhow, it is the diversity of opinions that makes Bambi enjoy reading this newspaper. It reminds her of one from her childhood in Beirut, called An Nahar. The latter has been notoriously known for this diversity of opinion (she hopes this is still the case after 30 years away). We learn from each article, especially from those with different perspectives. We get a sense of the truth by reading all sides. During a civil war, such intellectual diversity is refreshing!
Bearing this in mind, before presenting a quick translation of Mr. Martineau’s article, here are some of the latest news about the We Charity saga:
“WE Charity listed real estate holdings worth $43.7M in 2018”.
“Trudeau government was willing to pay WE Charity up to $43.5M to run student volunteer grant program”. Wow. Bambi doesn’t know many charities who can afford all this, even if this organization may have argued that this helps them in saving money on space location.
Just for fun, Bambi did a quick search of our federal government’s website. She read all the letters of mandate of our federal ministers, including the “Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth”, cited above:
All the letters of mandate include a reminder to our Ministers about the Conflict of Interest Act. This is a standardized format. It means that Mr. Morneau must have received this reminder as well ?.
“As Minister, you must ensure that you are aware of and fully compliant with the Conflict of Interest Act and Treasury Board policies and guidelines. You will be provided with a copy of Open and Accountable Government to assist you as you undertake your responsibilities. I ask that you carefully read it, including elements that have been added to strengthen it, and ensure that your staff does so as well. I expect that in staffing your offices you will hire people who reflect the diversity of Canada, and that you will uphold principles of gender equality, disability equality, pay equity and inclusion.”
Since it is Mr. Trudeau’s second mandate (the letter is signed by him) and given his history of three ethical deviations thus far, he should have been more familiar with this Conflict of Interest Act ?.
Anyhow, here is another opinion piece about the We Charity:
As Mr. Chris Selley wrote: “similar ethics scandals might require resignations elsewhere but this is Canada“…. Mind you, it happens in Lebanon too ? or ☹ (not a good analogy for us these days!):
One may wonder why Minister Bardish Chagger has provided the information above. Is the idea of her party to eventually terminate he mandate, pay a $500 fine, and keep the head (our PM) et al.? It remains a possibility. Let’s wait and see…
Yesterday, the Deputy Minister told us the following:
“Clearly our government made a mistake… the entire cabinet bears responsibility for the WE Charity controversy…” :
Mr. Trudeau is lucky to have an articulate DP to help him look better in the middle of ethical scandals. Nevertheless, despite her good words, we want answers and clarifications. We want answers to the Ethics committee, not to friendly journalists (perhaps her former colleagues?).
This being said, here is a quick translation of Mr. Martineau’s piece ?:
https://www.journaldemontreal.com/opinions/richard-martineau
“What is happening in Ottawa right now is extremely important.
We will finally know if Justin Trudeau is a human being like you and me or a superhero.
THE TEFLON MAN
Indeed, if our Prime Minister goes through this scandal which is growing day by day, it proves beyond a doubt that he is a superhero with extraordinary powers.
The Teflon Man.
A creature from space that nothing sticks to.
He is blamed by the Ethics Commissioner for using public funds to pay for a little relaxation trip on the private island of his buddy, his Highness the Aga Khan?
He comes out intact!
He is blamed by the Ethics Commissioner a second time for pressuring the Minister of Justice to help SNC-Lavalin avoid a criminal trial?
He got away without a scratch!
If he comes out of this third scandal, I swear to you, I will buy a white outfit, I will shave my head and I will enter the Order of St. Justin.
I will spend the rest of my life praising the glory of our Prime Minister.
A CHUM IS A CHUM!
For those who were too busy with the witch hunt that is currently rampant on social networks to follow what was happening in Ottawa (Who soaked his willie in a drink? Who bit whom? Who will lose his job just because his name appeared on an anonymous list?), let’s remember the facts.
[Mr. Martineau is referring to all the sexual harassment accusations on social media, especially in the artistic community; Disclaimer: English is neither the first nor the second language of Bambi. She just learned the word “willie”, yes at her adult middle-age ?. It seems to be the most accurate translation of the term “didine” in French].
Justin – who is never short of ideas when it comes to healing his image as a saint, especially if it involves public money – has a flash: he is going to create a program to encourage young people to do volunteering … by paying them!
And to manage this 900 million program, he chooses … the charity WE!
Organization that will be paid … 19.5 million for its services!
Organization whose main ambassador is … his wife!
Organization that paid handsomely … for his mother, brother and wife to give talks!
Organization that received … 1.18 million from the federal government to organize a Canada Day event in 2017!
Event that featured … the mother of PM!
Mother of PM who received … $ 312,000 from WE in the past four years!
WE who never ceases to praise the greatness and the generosity of … Justin Trudeau in its ads!
As Raoul Duguay said: “Everything is in everything! “
“MY APOLOGIES!”
Every day we learn new crisp details about this scandal.
And what did Justin Trudeau do to calm the media?
He apologized!
Our PM knew WE paid family members … but he didn’t know HOW much he paid them!
Wow.
That’s an excuse, my friends.
It’s as if a singer took the pants down and said, “I didn’t know I was putting my willie [now Bambi has learned this term] in a glass of gin, I thought I was putting it in a glass of scotch! “
I’m telling you: if Justin gets out, I walk barefoot behind him.”
