In the Telegraph, Michael Taube writes: “Justin Trudeau’s smug incompetence is making Canada a laughing stock.” First the broad observation, then the specific action that prompted it:
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been a mediocre, ineffective leader since coming to power in 2015. Every time you believe he’s reached the lowest depths of political incompetence, he finds a new way to sink even further into the muck.
His latest fatuity:
Global Affairs Canada adjusted its international travel advisory this week to warn the LGBTQ+ community against supposed discrimination they may face in the United States. “Some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect 2SLGBTQI+ persons,” the advisory noted, and to “check relevant state and local laws.”
I have a preliminary question: what is with the “2S”? That’s a new one on me.
But here’s the point: the idea that a gay (or whatever) person traveling in the U.S. is going to face “discrimination” is ridiculous. There are some states where a gay tourist under the age of 18 won’t be able to get a sex change operation, and there are states where a gay tourist who enrolls in a public school–but how could a tourist do that?–won’t be instructed in the wonderful multiplicity of genders. That’s it. So the Canadian government issues a travel advisory.
Having worked in a federal government, I can say with certainty that this update would have never seen the light of day unless the Liberals [Trudeau’s party] had signed off on it.
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What was the point of this? Nothing. Like many things that have come out of Trudeau’s Canada the past eight years, it was completely pointless.
A reporter asked Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister about this travel advisory, in the context of Canada’s relationship with the U.S. It is, after all, quite extraordinary to issue such an advisory about a friendly country. Her answer was a sublime example of diplomatic nothingspeak:
Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was asked by reporters about the change to the international travel advisory. She provided a predictable non-response response with plenty of political spin. “We are able to manage that relationship regardless of the choice that the people of the United States make,” she said. “Even as we work hard on that government-to-government relationship, every Canadian government, very much including our government, needs to put at the centre of everything we do the interests and the safety of every single Canadian and every single group of Canadians.”
To me, this advisory seems like a typical instance of left-wing governments that are out of ideas when it comes to policies that will actually help their citizens, defaulting to wholly symbolic pandering to one favored group or another. But Mr. Taube sees a broader significance:
[T]hings have noticeably changed since Trudeau became Prime Minister. Canada’s relationship with the U.S. quickly soured when Donald Trump was President. Ottawa wasn’t invited to join the AUKUS security pact in 2021, either, and the White House has said there are no plans to change this. This means that Joe Biden, a fairly like-minded progressive, most likely has real concerns about Trudeau’s leadership.
They would be justified. The U.S. and rest of the world have taken notice of Canada’s rapid decline as a serious, relevant international player during Trudeau’s unserious, irrelevant leadership. They hope it will change when the next Canadian election is held. Many Canadians feel the exact same way.
That strikes me as an optimistic view, but I hope he is right.
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