Political Canadiana September 13–24, 2019

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Some of the most interesting historical and political Canadiana from September 13–24, 2019:

One of the most shocking developments in the current federal election has been the revelation of the appalling photos and videos showing Justin Trudeau in blackface in 2001:

• Teresa Wright writes for the Toronto Star about the mood on the Liberal campaign bus when the news first became public.
• John Geddes writes for Macleans about the political fallout from the revelations.
• Kristy Kirkup writes for the Globe and Mail about Jagmeet Singh’s reaction to the videos and the hurt Canadians of colour feel over it.
• Paul Wells writes for the Globe and Mail about what the revelations mean for the Liberals’ efforts to portray their Conservative opponents as bad people.
• Andrew Coyne writes for the National Post about how the revelations show that Trudeau is a sanctimonious fraud rather than a racist.
• Lauren Boothby and Taran Parmar write for City News 1130 about one of the Sikh men who appeared in one of the photos with Trudeau, who said he wasn’t offended by Trudeau’s actions.
• The Globe and Mail describes what voters in Trudeau’s own Montreal riding thought of the blackface revelations.
• Matt Gurney writes for the National Post about what the incident shows about everything from privilege to redemption to the Liberals’ leveraging bigotry against the Conservatives.
• Rex Murphy writes for the National Post about how resignation would be expected for any other federal candidate, and how Trudeau should do the same.
• Mark Gollom writes for CBC about what elements of an apology are necessary for a politician to survive a scandal like the revelations.
• John Geddes interviews Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan for Macleans about his conversation with Trudeau and his accepting Trudeau’s apology.
• Aaron Wherry writes for the CBC about the revelations’ effect on the public persona Trudeau tried to project.
• Elise Von Scheel writes for the CBC about former Liberal foreign policy adviser Omer Aziz’s experiences of racially insensitive behaviour working in the Liberal government and Aziz’s wondering how the party managed to miss Trudeau’s blackface appearances before now.
• Mark Gollom writes for the CBC about the various reactions people of colour had to the revelations, which ranged from anger to indifference.
• Maryam Shah writes for Global News about Elizabeth May’s revelations about one of her own candidates previously wearing blackface.
• Randall White writes for Counterweights about why he still prefers Trudeau to Andrew Scheer despite the revelations.
• Jonathan Montpetit writes for the CBC about the indifference about the revelations in Quebec among both Trudeau’s supporters and critics.

Discussions about the larger context of blackface:

• Andray Domise writes for Macleans about the history of blackface and why it’s so offensive.
• Ritika Goel writes on Twitter about the larger context of Trudeau’s blackface appearances and the conversations about racism that need to happen.
• Sarmishta Subramanian writes for Macleans about the ‘antiracism trap’, how some of the people of colour who saw the revelations were not offended by them and how the ritual shaming surrounding actions and words seen as racist won’t necessarily bring meaningful change for those who need it.
• Jolson Lim writes for IPolitics about Ottawa being able to do more to address racism in Canada, and whether the federal parties are committed to it.
• Phillip S. S. Howard writes for Rabble.ca about how Trudeau being in blackface is a symptom of Canada’s larger anti-Black racism.

Other election issues:

• The Globe and Mail presents an editorial about Canada’s overall fiscal health and the comparatively low national deficits and debt, which aren’t really being discussed in the context of the federal parties’ promises.
• Meagan Campbell writes for the National Post about the Conservatives’ promising chances in Nova Scotia based on anger at the Liberal incumbents and Liberal provincial government.
• Aaron Hutchins writes for Macleans about the Peoples’ Party of Canada’s chances of winning seats in the election, and how Maxime Bernier was invited to the official federal leaders’ debates.
• Andrew Batycki writes for the CBC about Trudeau’s failure to deliver on his electoral reform promises and Batycki’s own worries that, as a first-time voter, his ballot doesn’t really matter.
• Andrew Coyne writes about how every riding ought to be a contest during an election, and how it isn’t under the first-past-the-post electoral system.
• CTV News reports on Environment Minister Catherine McKenna’s laying out the Liberals’ environmental promises and her insistence on Canada’s credibility on climate change.
• Elise Von Scheel writes for the CBC about Andrew Scheer’s promise to clear the backlog of veterans’ benefit applications.
• Rachel Immanuel writes for IPolitics about the Conservatives’ pledge to spend $1.5 billion on new MRI and CT machines for hospitals.
• John Penner writes for the Post Millennial about Andrew Scheer’s ‘boring’ political style and its potential benefits.
• Victoria Gibson writes for IPolitics about Justin Trudeau promising a national pharmacare plan, albeit committing less to it than the Parliamentary Budget Office said would be necessary.
• Mia Robson writes for CTV News about how Catherine McKenna requires a security detail based on the physical threats she’s endured.
• Alan Freeman writes for IPolitics criticizing the tax credits Andrew Scheer is offering, saying that political tinkering with the tax system delays badly needed reforms.
• Zack Laing writes for the Calgary Herald about Alberta gun owners’ angry reaction to the Liberal proposal to ban assault-style guns.
• Geoff Norquay writes for IPolitics to question if the election will lead to another minority government.
• CBC News writes about the various spending promises the federal parties have made and the comparative lack of details on how they’ll pay for them.
• Jolson Lim writes for IPolitics about how Jagmeet Singh apologized to New Brunswickers for not visiting the province before now since becoming NDP leader.
• Alex Marland writes for Policy Options about how political candidates have become ‘brand ambassadors’ for their parties.
• Dylan Gibbons writes for the Post Millennial about the People’s Party of Canada candidate that was kicked out for asking Maxime Bernier to denounce racism in the party.
• Quito Maggi writes for IPolitics about the ‘big blue wall’ of Conservative support that the Liberals face in Alberta.
• Aaron Wherry writes for the CBC about why Trudeau can’t afford to write off Alberta.
• Dale Smith writes on his blog to criticize Andrew Scheer’s pledge to revive Stephen Harper’s public transit tax credit.
• Cam Holmstrom writes about the Green party’s mismanaged release of their full platform.
• Wyatt James Schierman writes for Loonie Politics to criticize the Conservatives for their ideological opposition to taxes.
• Global News reports on Jagmeet Singh’s pledge to build a cross-Canada corridor for clean energy.
• Aaron Wherry writes for the CBC about why Andrew Scheer’s platform seems so familiar.
• Thomas Walkom writes for the Toronto Star about how federal leaders who want to succeed in Ontario need to remember that Ontarians are Red Tories at heart.

Other items of interest:

• Chris Varcoe writes for the Calgary Herald about a new book that describes Canada’s ‘pipeline breakdown’ and the search for a new national energy consensus.
• Martin Lukacs writes for The Walrus about the false promise of Trudeau’s sunny ways when it came to Indigenous reconciliation.
• Spencer Fernando writes for the Post Millennial about the massive household debts many Canadians face.
• Sean Speer writes for Policy Options about the need to restore Canadian politics and civic engagement, and move away from technocracy at the same time.
• Linda McQuaig writes for Canadian Dimension about the closure of the General Motors factory in Oshawa and its relationship to the struggle for green energy development in Canada.
• Martha Hall Findlay writes for the Canada West Foundation about Western Canadian anger over the problems of energy development in Canada, and Canada’s ‘energy hypocrisy’ in opposing development of Canadian resources while importing resources from places like Saudi Arabia.
• Peter Kikkert and P. Whitney Lackenbauer both write for Policy Options about the need for a new and better policy framework for the Canadian North.
• Jerome Gessaroli writes for The Conversation about the different elements of conservatism, and whether the Conservative party adheres to them.
• Sharleen Gale and Joseph Quesnel write for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute about how Indigenous reconciliation will benefit all Canadians.
• Darryl R.J. Leroux writes for The Conversation about settlers claiming a false Indigenous identityhts.
• Scott Sinclair writes for the Behind The Numbers blog about Canada’s lackluster economic performance under CETA.
• Mario Jodoin writes on his blog about ways to increase taxes on the rich.
• Sarah King writes on the Acadiensis blog about conceptions of citizenship in Atlantic Canada.
• Mac Van Wielingen writes for the Calgary Herald about the Canadian energy industry’s efforts to reduce its emissions and Canada’s lack of same compared to other countries.
• Joan Bryden writes for the Toronto Star about Senator Lynn Beyak’s refusal to remove racist letters against Indigenous people from her website, to apologize for posting them or to take training about racism directed at Indigenous people.
• David Macdonald writes for the Behind The Numbers blog about the potential impact of a ‘super-wealth’ tax.
• Jason Bowden writes on his blog about the ‘caretaker convention’ in Canada and how it impacts when a party forms government.
• Tanya Talaga writes for the Toronto Star about how the Neskatanga First Nation’s water pump has been fixed, but the issues that led the community’s water issues have not.
• Don Braid writes for the Calgary Herald about how a Liberal minority government propped up by the NDP and/or the Greens would be a ‘final, lethal’ threat to pipelines.
• Robin V. Sears writes for the Toronto Star to warn against underestimating the frustration and rage among rural Canadians.