Taxpayers to fund former PM Trudeau's lifetime perks
Episode Stats
Words per minute
157.5969
Summary
As a former Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau is now eligible for a lifetime of perks, including an RCMP security detail and a special pension. Some Canadians showed up to boo Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his way out of the Prime Minister s office.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
As a former Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau is now eligible for a lifetime of perks including
00:00:08.360
an RCMP security detail and a special pension. The BC NDP proposed a new bill to grant themselves
00:00:15.560
emergency powers in response to US tariffs. Some Canadians showed up to boo Prime Minister
00:00:21.340
Justin Trudeau on his way out of the Prime Minister's office. Hello Canada, it's Monday,
00:00:26.460
March 17th and this is the True North Daily Brief. I'm Cosmin Jirja. And I'm Isaac Lameru.
00:00:33.380
We've got you covered with all the news you need to know. Let's discuss the top stories of the day
00:00:38.640
and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.
00:00:44.940
When new Prime Minister Mark Carney was sworn into office Friday morning, Justin Trudeau lost
00:00:50.340
much of the power and perks he has enjoyed for the past nine years. But don't feel bad for our
00:00:56.180
outgoing Prime Minister. Trudeau joins an exclusive club with just five other living members,
00:01:02.120
former Prime Ministers who enjoy a lifetime of special perks. For the last nine years,
00:01:07.300
Justin Trudeau has been spoiled by the taxpayer, living a life similar to a billionaire with a
00:01:12.640
private jet, multiple estates, private chef, a driver, police protection, nannies for the children,
00:01:19.760
dozens of assistants and political aides, and the power to spend billions of dollars and control
00:01:25.260
the legislative and executive branches of government. That all disappeared for Trudeau
00:01:29.860
as of Friday, March 14th, 2025. Being Canada's former head of government, though, does come with
00:01:36.620
plenty of perks. Sitting Canadian Prime Ministers are protected by the RCMP's Prime Minister
00:01:42.620
protective detail, providing a security team to protect them at all times, at home and abroad.
00:01:49.000
All departing Prime Ministers are offered protection services by the RCMP's VIP protection detail.
00:01:56.400
Some former PMs, though, have turned the security detail down or only take advantage of it in certain
00:02:01.920
circumstances. Pierre Elliott Trudeau was the first Prime Minister to receive a security detail after
00:02:07.840
leaving office on the recommendation of the RCMP, as security officials were worried that Trudeau's
00:02:14.360
controversial tenure would make him a security risk. The younger Trudeau is likely to receive a full
00:02:20.360
security detail immediately after leaving office, as Trudeau presided over a largely unpopular
00:02:26.040
government in his final years that saw him met with angry protesters at his public events.
00:02:31.880
Prime Ministers, who have served at least four years in office, are entitled to a special pension
00:02:37.140
on top of their normal pension as a member of Parliament. In a formula determined by the Prime
00:02:42.000
Minister's salary upon leaving office and the years served as Prime Minister, Trudeau's annual allowance
00:02:47.200
will be $109,674. He will be eligible to begin collecting this allowance when he turns 67 years
00:02:55.920
old. This is above his parliamentary pension, which he can begin collecting in a year and a half when he
00:03:01.460
turns 55. So Isaac, where does Trudeau go now? Will Canadians be hearing more from Trudeau in the future?
00:03:10.160
And what sorts of jobs have former Prime Ministers gone on to do after leaving office in the past?
00:03:15.920
Well, Cosmin, I'm sure this isn't the last we'll be hearing of Trudeau. Firstly, I don't expect the
00:03:21.440
spotlight to immediately disappear from him. For example, if he goes out and does something in public,
00:03:26.240
he'll surely be recognized and likely recorded or at least documented in some way.
00:03:30.320
As for past Prime Ministers and their jobs, the former Prime Minister I hear the most about is Stephen
00:03:37.040
Harper, which of course makes sense because he was the Prime Minister before Trudeau. Harper's made
00:03:42.480
headlines for various things after politics, such as criticizing Trudeau, appearing on shows like Ben
00:03:48.640
Shapiro, and endorsing Pierre Polievre. More recently, in November 2024, Harper was named Chairman of the
00:03:56.560
Board of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation. This wasn't necessarily a job,
00:04:01.360
though, because Harper said he'd do it for free as a meaningful act to his adopted home province for
00:04:06.400
the last 46 years. As for other past Prime Ministers, like Jean Chrétien, he did what many other did,
00:04:13.360
post-politics, as they were lawyers before becoming Prime Minister, which was, of course, returning to
00:04:18.640
practice law. Kim Campbell, the third shortest tenured Prime Minister, had a varied career,
00:04:24.320
post-politics. She taught at Harvard for three years, was the Secretary General for a Spanish
00:04:28.960
non-profit, headed a leadership college at the University of Alberta, and headed the Independent
00:04:34.160
Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada judicial appointments. As for Justin Trudeau, he was, of course,
00:04:39.760
a school teacher and a drama teacher before he was Prime Minister, so maybe he'll return to teaching.
00:04:48.800
Concerns are mounting over the BC NDP government's proposed tariff response bill,
00:04:53.680
which would grant the province sweeping emergency powers to override provincial laws and regulations
00:04:58.800
without due process in the legislature. Opponents argue that the bill is a massive power grab by
00:05:04.560
Premier David Eby that threatens democratic accountability. Leader of the Conservative Party
00:05:09.600
of British Columbia, John Rustad, warned that the bill would give the provincial government, quote,
00:05:14.000
almost unlimited powers with zero oversight. Rustad wrote, quote,
00:05:19.040
If you thought government overreach during COVID-19 was bad, wait until you hear about what BC's
00:05:24.720
radical NDP is trying with Bill 7. He explained that the bill contains a, quote,
00:05:30.160
Henry VIII clause, referring to the tyrannical 16th century British monarch who initiated the English
00:05:36.080
Reformation. Mancini said, quote, Bill 7 contains the broadest Henry VIII clause
00:05:41.280
I've seen in some time. These extraordinary clauses allow cabinet to amend a primary law
00:05:46.560
via regulation. This bill is even broader. It permits cabinet to amend almost any primary law.
00:05:52.880
I see no justification for this. The BC government's news release downplayed the bill,
00:05:58.000
saying it allows the cabinet to remove or amend barriers impeding interprovincial trade,
00:06:02.560
impose tolls on non-Canadian commercial vehicles, instruct public bodies to exclude US suppliers,
00:06:08.320
and more. However, a closer look at the bill's wording reveals British Columbians may be subject
00:06:14.240
to new tolls as well. The provincial government said guardrails are in place, such as the inability
00:06:19.920
to override First Nations consultation. The act has a sunset clause that will automatically
00:06:24.960
be repealed by May 2027. Hidden within the contents of the bill are also powers allowing the government to
00:06:31.120
modify existing laws, overriding previous regulatory requirements to facilitate rapid responses to
00:06:37.360
foreign trade actions. Under the proposed legislation, the cabinet would have the authority
00:06:41.600
to amend or repeal provincial regulations without legislative debate. So, Cosmin, are there other
00:06:47.200
things in this bill that should concern British Columbians? Absolutely, because if you were to listen
00:06:52.960
to the BC NDP and how they're presenting this, they're talking about it as if it's a simple and reasonable
00:06:59.920
response to the tariff, but it's actually a massive government power grab. And I would encourage people
00:07:06.960
to just go to the BC Legislative Assembly website and read Bill 7. And a lot of it is couched in these,
00:07:15.600
like, in legalese and these terms, but what you see in the subtext, what this bill is actually talking
00:07:22.080
about is a huge government power grab. And it puts bureaucrats in charge of trade, procurement,
00:07:30.240
and even tolls without real accountability. So, first of all, the bill allows the government to override
00:07:37.680
existing trade rules and regulations at will without any legislative debate. They can change laws
00:07:44.800
as much as they want without a vote. And unelected officials get to pick winners and losers based on
00:07:53.120
this pretense of the threat that the US tariffs are causing to the British Columbia economy. So, they
00:08:00.320
get to decide which goods and services can be sold in BC regardless of existing laws. And it sounds a lot
00:08:07.360
like central planning, not free market economy. And then for the procurement section, they can hand out
00:08:14.560
contracts with almost no oversight. And this is more to that picking winners and losers. And we know the
00:08:21.120
government has had quite shifty and shady deals when it comes to procurement. And additionally,
00:08:28.960
all these actions undertaken, if this bill gets passed, essentially shields them from lawsuits,
00:08:35.120
even if they act irresponsibly, cause irreversible damage to the British Columbia economy. So, the bottom
00:08:42.320
line is just that Bill seven expands state power, it reduces transparency, competition, and targets
00:08:50.320
individual rights. It's literally the opposite of freedom and they're falling back on the same tactics
00:08:56.560
they used during the pandemic, which we knew now know was overblown, yet they still seize those powers
00:09:04.160
Justin Trudeau departed the Prime Minister's office with a smile and a casual wave goodbye to a crowd
00:09:13.840
of angry Canadians who showed up to express their displeasure with his government for one last time.
00:09:19.680
Protesters waited for him to exit his downtown Ottawa office Friday, hurling expletives at him,
00:09:25.520
accusing him of, quote, treason and yelling that he had no legacy to be proud of. Trudeau has taken the
00:09:32.080
departing reception in stride. Video of the former Prime Minister leaving Parliament,
00:09:36.960
carrying his chair and sticking his tongue out for the security camera went viral Tuesday,
00:09:42.000
a common tradition for members of Parliament when they leave the Commons. In his farewell address
00:09:47.520
to Canadians, Trudeau stuck to the script, echoing a Team Canada message. Trudeau published a social
00:09:53.760
media post on Friday thanking Canadians for, quote, trusting and challenging him. Much of Trudeau's legacy
00:10:00.240
will be marred by his scandals and broken promises. His government's overreaching response to the
00:10:05.760
COVID-19 pandemic involved harsh vaccine mandates for federal public servants and anyone traveling by
00:10:12.400
air or rail, not to mention border restrictions, including mandatory usage of the costly Arrive Can app.
00:10:19.680
Trudeau's handling of the pandemic ultimately led to protests en masse in Ottawa with the Freedom Convoy in
00:10:26.240
2022, which he controversially invoked the Emergencies Act, the first time the extreme legislation was used to
00:10:34.480
quash the protesters. Federal court later ruled its use unreasonable and unconstitutional. He also had a
00:10:42.000
storied history revolving around various conflicts of interest from the infamous SNC-Lavalin scandal and cash for
00:10:49.120
access fundraising, which linked him to prominent foreign influencers, as well as receiving gifts and vacations from
00:10:55.680
wealthy outsiders. Isaac, what are some other scandals and policies Trudeau will likely be remembered for?
00:11:03.760
Yeah, honestly, Cosmin, there's almost too many scandals to list that Trudeau has been associated
00:11:09.680
with in some way during his tenure as prime minister. Interestingly, I found a video of Senator Donald
00:11:16.160
Neil Platt on X where he lists some of the scandals. These are only those between the years 2015 and 2021,
00:11:23.120
and the video of Platt's monologue is 15 minutes long. You listed some of these, but to list a few that may
00:11:30.000
ring a bell are, of course, Trudeau and Blackface, Aga Khan, the SNC-Lavalin affair, the Arrive Can app,
00:11:36.000
and the WE charity controversy. Then, of course, there are the many scandals of ministers under Trudeau's
00:11:41.440
leadership, some of which are still ongoing. The one that might ring a bell as it's been covered extensively at
00:11:46.800
True North is, of course, former employment minister Randy Boissoneau's past business dealings and fake
00:11:52.400
Indigenous heritage. Despite Trudeau often taking a pro-woman or gender-inclusive approach, he's had
00:11:59.200
many scandals in that avenue as well. Viva Fry listed some of them on X when he interviewed Ruby
00:12:05.680
Dalla, a woman who was questionably disqualified from the Liberal Party of Canada's leadership race.
00:12:11.200
Trudeau also admitted to groping a reporter, but apologized for it. Fry continued saying that
00:12:16.640
Trudeau elbowed an NDP MP in the breast and was twice found guilty of ethics violations. He said that
00:12:23.040
Trudeau fired a woman who would not follow his orders and the list goes on. Time will tell what
00:12:28.800
Trudeau's legacy will really be. I wonder what we can expect from Mark Carney's leadership, especially if
00:12:34.080
he does not win the next federal election and his tenure is short.
00:12:40.400
That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. You can stay on top of new episodes every weekday by
00:12:45.760
subscribing to The Daily Brief on iTunes and Spotify. Also, while you're at it, make sure to hit us with