Since his election in 2015, Liberal PM Justin Trudeau’s season highlights have included tearful apologies, bungling trade deals, and illegal taxpayer funded escapades – with no substantial or effective changes in policies taking place – except to increase the tax burden on our aging population retirement funds and award $10.5M to a Canadian fighter of al-Qaeda.
After five years in Canada, personal experience tells me that life is good enough for the majority of people to remain complacent with politics. This changed when the controversial Omar Khadr settlement was ruled in late 2017, awarding $10.5 M CAD to a convicted member of Al-Qaeda and killer of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer. Khadr was also found guilty of attempted murder, conspiracy, spying, and supporting terrorists. Khadr was detained at Guantanamo bay, but later retracted his statement as a false confession, claimed torture, and counter-sued the Canadian government. In 2010 the Supreme court ruled that Khadr’s human rights were denied him—violations including interrogation without counsel and sleep deprivation. The final result was a $10.5 M payout of taxpayer money and an official apology.
Aside from the retracted guilty plea, it was ruled that there was no credible evidence that Khadr had been tortured as alleged, and that his confession was recorded after he was videoed assembling IEDs, amongst other terrorist activities.
This perversion of justice on many levels is another exemplary display of the Trudeau leadership’s acrobatic skills – jumping around questions and bending over backwards for anyone. All the while claiming moral high ground and hoping people believe him. As a country that prides itself on justice, self-reflection, and reconciliation for all, where is the justice for the widow and two children of Sgt. Speer? Is it up to the average Canadian to “save” citizens who have willingly fought against their own country?
Just last week, JT showed his mastery at bending the narrative again when he was confronted at a town hall in Ontario. Sympathizing with a woman who was livid over the ruling, he claimed that he shared the same anger BUT because the government “wilfully turned its back on defending a Canadian’s rights and allows a Canadian to be tortured and mistreated” and therefore, “we all had to pay.” In the end, he justified and took credit for the settlement for saving the Canadian taxpayer money, as the fee would have been upwards of $30-40m if it went to court, to a standing ovation.
The most disturbing part of this exchange was that there were people booing a woman protesting a payout to a convicted terrorist. I believe this is a symptom to the sickness that has infiltrated Canada, where shirtless calendars and selfies seem to be the new standards of measure for a true leader – a Canada where “justice” is a buzzword of our very same leaders that completely infringe upon it. It’s a leadership that abandons its own citizens in the darkest time of their lives, as shown in the disastrous Fort McMurray fire in 2017.
In spite of all this, the one positive I see from this situation is a sort of political awakening for many Canadians, whose frustrations have been slowly growing over the past two years. It gives me hope just reading the different comments online that show me there is a rising tide of opposing voices that will not stand while the values of Canada are corrupted and we lose even more respect.
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