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Share this Story: Matthew Lau, Canada's woke Emperor has no clothes
Matthew Lau: Canada's woke emperor is naked Many Canadians don't want to be seen as stupid or intolerant and have agreed to pretend the prime minister is magnificently dressed in virtue. Photo by Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images
Article content Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperors New Clothes tells the vain Emperor that his new extravagant suit would not be visible to anyone dumb or incompetent. The suit was not visible to all the officials and people in the land, even the emperor. However, they did not want to look stupid so pretended the emperor was in a splendid outfit as he paraded through the city wearing his new clothes until a small child noticed that the emperor was actually wearing nothing.
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Article content Today in Canada, there is an unremarkable prime minister. He presents himself as a feminist, a climate activist, advocate for Indigenous progress and a servant of social justice. Even the closed Parliament public health measures could not stop him kneeling at a packed Black Lives Matter demonstration. Canadians have accepted to pretend the prime minister is a shining example of virtue, rather than being stupid or intolerant. It is becoming increasingly difficult to accept the reality. Canada's woken emperor is naked. Sorry, this video is not loading.
Tap here to view other videos by our team. Refresh your browser or Matthew Lau: Canada's woken emperor doesn't have clothes. Back to video The she-covery line, which was typical of Trudeaus flagging campaign in the first two weeks, didn't work.
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This article compares to Trudeau's first tenure as prime minister when he appointed a gender-balanced Cabinet. A reporter questioned Trudeau about his decision to appoint cabinet members based on their gender. He answered that the year 2015 was the year. His answer was praised and admired by many. It was six years ago, and much has changed since then to ruin his reputation as feminist. Some might have thought that Trudeau, a former drama teacher, was exaggerating his commitment to feministism when he used the word peoplekind in 2018. These suspicions were reinforced by the fact that each of the federal government's last two budget documents contained over 200 pages of Gender Equality Statements, Gender and Diversity Statements, and Gender-Based Analysis-Plus. Even the most dedicated feminists may admit that 200+ pages of this material in the budget each year is excessive.
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Article content Trudeaus' mismanagement of his gender-balanced Cabinet has not only been suspect of embellishment but also inconsistent with the feminist principles that he promotes. After Jody Wilson Raybould and Jane Philpott, two competent female cabinet ministers, Trudeaus made a scandal out of their cabinet resigning, Trudeaus tossed them both from the Liberal caucus. His reputation as a feminist leader was not enhanced when Maryam Monsef, the gender equality portfolio minister, called the Taliban "our brothers" last week. In the last six years, Trudeaus reputation as a climate saint also has declined. Since Trudeaus inception, there has been a constant misalignment between his government's excesses and its lectures about how ordinary citizens must live more sustainably to save the planet. For example, Canada sent 383 people across the ocean to Paris for the UN climate conference. This was a remarkable display of climate commitment but it was far less efficient than the United States or United Kingdom which sent together only 244 people to Paris, despite having 13 times Canada's GDP.
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Article content [realted_links/] Just as it does with climate change, so too does the federal government make grand gestures regarding Indigenous issues. Federal spending has increased significantly on Indigenous programs, and federal government pronouncements about whose unceded land everyone is supposedly occupying have also been significant. Despite the fact that Indigenous Canadians have less economic opportunity than other Canadians, boil-water advisories regarding reserves continue to be in effect. Canadians are used to being tolerant of hypocrisy, incompetent politicians, and other mumbo-jumbo. However, the past 18 months has been difficult for everyone and significant government failures have made people's impatience even more acute. Many Canadians are becoming more annoyed by the lack of clothing by the woke Emperors. Matthew Lau is a Toronto writer.
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