Trudeau’s Rewriting History

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Barry W. Bussey

“History will be kind to me,” Winston Churchill confidently proclaimed. He capped his confidence with the ace: “for I intend to write it.” Indeed, he did. It is a very readable history at that, containing the subtle and not-so-subtle swagger that creates the heroic picture of the wartime protagonist with all the trimmings of intrigue and drama.

Clearly, Justin Trudeau is no Winston Churchill. The Trucker Convoy airhorns were not the Luftwaffe’s harrowing engines delivering their payload of death and destruction on London’s roofs and streets. Nowhere comparable! Yet Trudeau Jr. took upon himself warlike powers to muzzle and crush a peaceful demonstration against the imposition of mandates. Much has been written about the Prime Minister’s abuse and need not be repeated here. Suffice it to say that Trudeau’s image is forever tarnished by his petulant reaction to those who had the temerity to oppose him.

Now, still clutching the very expansive power that his office affords, Mr. Trudeau gets to set the stage to rewrite history. The clear lines of abuse can be smudged like the digital ink of an experienced photographer as she edits her cache after a day’s work. With the stroke of her mouse, she can eliminate any unwanted wrinkle or blemish on the subject’s face. Indeed, a photographer’s finished work is part original and interpretation.

So, too, the Prime Minister and his shrewd advisors can limit the terms of reference for the Public Inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act. In this way, they can ensure that the review look only at the parts of the story that depict the Prime Minister as the heroic Churchill staring down the Luftwaffe’s assault on Ottawa. The terrorists in their semi-trucks were really the panzer divisions in disguise. But for his dramatic escape to his Meech Lake lair, the country would have lost its fearsome, mustachioed prince.

Theatrical perhaps, but I do wonder whether our Prime Drama Teacher would not approve of such a characterization of his Walter Mitty fantasy.  

As other commentators have also noted, the problem with a drama instructor as our prime minister is that we have an individual who is given to acting the role rather than being one in truth. This is clearly revealed in the Order-in-Council[1] that sets forth the guardrails within which the Honourable Paul S. Rouleau, a former liberal advisor and one who worked at the same law firm as Trudeau, Sr., is expected to stay as he conducts the inquiry. Notice what he is asked to do as Commissioner of the Public Order Emergency Commission:

examine issues, to the extent they are relevant to the circumstances of the declaration and measures taken, with respect to:

• the evolution and goals of the convoy and blockades, their leadership, organization and participants,
• the impact of domestic and foreign funding, including crowdsourcing platforms,
• the impact, role and sources of misinformation and disinformation, including the use of social media,
• the impact of the blockades, including their economic impact, and
• the efforts of police and other responders prior to and after the declaration.

Justice Rouleau is given the keys of the treasury to sit anywhere in Canada he prefers at anytime. He may involve any person he feels is necessary; he may engage experts and pay them accordingly. His only limitation is not to do anything that would jeopardize any ongoing criminal investigation or proceeding, or affect international relations. All of this will be conducted in both official languages. And his report will be delivered to Parliament by February 20, 2023.

Did you notice anything missing?

There is no mention of examining the Prime Minister’s role in the whole affair.

One would hope that the Honourable Justice will not only do justice but be seen to do justice for all Canadians. One would hope that he will not be tempted or intimidated by this political process to favour the government’s side of the story. Nor, be so influenced by his former political life that he cannot objectively consider this very political case before him.

And let’s hope that the federal government does not hide behind “cabinet confidence” and refuse to allow the Commissioner to see all communication that went on in the halls of power. We already know that the government made decisions after relying on false stories spread by CBC[2] (and since retracted[3]). An unblinking light must shine on all the offices of the PMO and not only on those who peacefully protested on Wellington Street below.

Mr. Trudeau’s claim that his invocation of the Act was “about keeping Canadians safe, protecting people’s jobs and restoring confidence in our institutions,” remains as hollow today as when he made it on Valentine’s Day 2022. It does not, as we would say in law, pass the smell test – especially since his own actions have caused the very crisis he describes. It was his use of emergency powers that deeply damaged public faith in our banking structure, justice system, and political institutions. And he continues to enforce mandates that have caused incredible suffering and loss.

Restoring confidence in Canadian institutions now rests on the shoulders of Justice Rouleau. With that in mind, I sincerely hope that he will see through the Drama Teacher’s caped suit and review critically (in the traditional sense) the role that the Prime Minister had in escalating a peaceful protest into a confrontation that was totally unnecessary. It is perhaps time to consider the entire context of a prime minister who demonized the protestors as a “fringe minority with unacceptable views,” forcing the unvaccinated to lose their jobs and promoting divisions between families and communities. And, now we have to endure the horrendous expense, that we can least afford, of a public inquiry that will be in the millions of dollars, all because of the dramatic flair of declaring a peaceful protest an existential threat when it was nothing of the sort.

May it not be Mr. Trudeau writing our history. May it be the courageous few who speak truth to power, including those within the PMO, who willingly come forward. May they put the country first as this history is written.

[1] Order in Council, PC Number: 2022-0392, 2022-04-25, online: https://orders-in-council.canada.ca/attachment.php?attach=41898&lang=en

[2] See True North, “Attorney General David Lametti confirms that the government referred to CBC articles to justify its use of the Emergencies Act,” (April 27, 2022), Twitter, online: https://twitter.com/TrueNorthCentre/status/1519318807105388544?s=20&t=x1o564PNXvHqq5uJrlrnxQ

[3] “CBC Pulls False Convoy Story” (March 11, 2022) Blacklock’s Reporter, online: https://www.blacklocks.ca/cbc-pulls-false-convoy-story/. In addition to the claims about foreign funding and terrorist involvement, other claims have since been disproven; see Cosmin Dzsurdzsa, “Statistics Canada data debunks claims that border blockades impacted trade” (April 26, 2022) True North, online: https://tnc.news/2022/04/26/statistics-canada-data-debunks-claims-that-border-blockades-impacted-trade/.

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