Western Standard - May 25, 2023


Singh must step up on CCP interference scandal...


Episode Stats

Length

5 minutes

Words per Minute

196.73416

Word Count

1,004

Sentence Count

61

Hate Speech Sentences

1


Summary

Governor General David Johnston's report on election interference by the Chinese Communist Party has been widely panned by critics, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's own son, Justin s little brother, and former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 I mean, the boldness of Trudeau in appointing somebody as clearly personally compromised as Johnson to the position caught even the most cynical of people off guard.
00:00:09.260 It wasn't surprising, I guess, that Trudeau would appoint a close friend to the position.
00:00:13.080 But still, it was unexpected to see a statesman as experienced as Johnston jumping into such a clear conflict of interest.
00:00:21.320 I mean, Johnston's been more of an uncle-type figure for Trudeau than a political colleague,
00:00:25.360 and he's indicated as much in multiple interviews where he waxes on about his fond family ski trips with their Trudeau family and other gatherings.
00:00:33.960 And of course, most damning of all, Johnston was a board member with the Trudeau Foundation,
00:00:38.380 which has been embroiled in this whole mess, it seems, every time something comes up with the CCP interference.
00:00:44.180 Look at this, former Trudeau Foundation head Morris Rosenberg.
00:00:47.640 He was tasked with checking for election interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections,
00:00:51.660 and unsurprisingly, Rosenberg found no issues.
00:00:55.360 Though we know CSIS had been raising flags about Chinese Communist Party interference in those elections,
00:01:00.840 somehow Rosenberg didn't see it.
00:01:02.640 Of course, Rosenberg was also the head of the Trudeau Foundation when it was happily receiving donations from Beijing.
00:01:08.340 I guess perhaps signing checks can cause selective hearing or seeing.
00:01:14.040 Still, one would have hoped that Johnston could retain a sense of principle.
00:01:17.680 Perhaps he'd keep his name in the clear and call for an independent public inquiry into the CCP election interference scandals.
00:01:23.300 Maybe he would have said, well, that's just my job, whether I'm a tight buddy with the Trudeau family or not.
00:01:28.560 I mean, come on.
00:01:29.440 We've seen sitting MPs with their family in Hong Kong being threatened by the CCP.
00:01:34.080 We have Chinese police stations set up in Canada.
00:01:37.660 You know, Communist Party police stations intimidating Canadian citizens over here.
00:01:40.960 Who could possibly look at all that evidence and say we don't need an inquiry?
00:01:44.900 Well, David Johnston is who, actually.
00:01:46.880 So after decades of building a respectable reputation in public service, Johnston has thrown it all away with his absurd report on the interference scandal.
00:01:54.840 I mean, an inquiry is going to happen on this eventually, one way or another.
00:01:58.000 And Johnston now is going to be remembered and disgraced as a man who tried to whitewash on behalf of Justin Trudeau,
00:02:03.820 rather than, you know, honored for his years of prior service as governor general, among other roles.
00:02:09.060 Johnston now is rightly under fire for his terrible report.
00:02:12.600 And he's trying to shoot the messenger, you know, with CSIS and undercutting Canada's security agency
00:02:17.500 as he's trying to provide cover for the Trudeau government.
00:02:21.460 Now, it appears Johnston wanted to ensure Canadians knew just how tone-deaf he was
00:02:25.560 when he doubled down and used former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci.
00:02:31.240 Iacobucci? I'm terrible with Italian names.
00:02:33.340 But he gave Frank as a character reference.
00:02:36.640 The problem is, Frank Iacobucci is on the board of the Bloody Trudeau Foundation.
00:02:42.800 All roads keep leading back to that foundation.
00:02:45.820 Well, the foundation is supposed to be separate from Trudeau himself.
00:02:48.240 The list of members is packed with his closest friends, including his brother and his half-sister.
00:02:52.420 Alexander Trudeau, Justin's little brother, was involved in garnering the scandalous $140,000 donation
00:02:58.900 to the foundation from Beijing.
00:03:01.420 This is a pretty short arm if we're going to say it's an arm's-length foundation.
00:03:05.200 The Trudeau Foundation doesn't actually appear to do a lot of charitable work,
00:03:08.380 but it sure keeps a lot of liberal friends gainfully employed
00:03:11.040 while taking in money from the Chinese Communist Party.
00:03:14.020 So why is the CCP so obsessed with funding the Trudeau Foundation
00:03:16.720 if not to curry favor with the Prime Minister?
00:03:19.060 I mean, rest assured, Beijing doesn't pour money into other Canadian charities,
00:03:22.420 I haven't heard of the Chinese Communist Party's sponsorship of the Canadian Special Olympics
00:03:27.940 or, you know, putting any money into any cancer funds.
00:03:31.220 No, they just put money into the Trudeau Foundation for some reason.
00:03:34.480 Interesting philanthropists.
00:03:36.080 Johnson's report isn't worth the paper it's written on.
00:03:38.820 Now the burden of responsibility lands on the shoulders of NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
00:03:44.200 I mean, Singh's been talking tough for months on the interference scandal,
00:03:47.220 but he won't threaten his cozy agreement with Trudeau by doing anything about it.
00:03:50.900 It's time for Singh to act.
00:03:52.860 How much longer can he keep propping up this corrupted mess?
00:03:55.840 Does he really think Trudeau would go to the polls rather than face an independent inquiry on the issue?
00:04:00.860 I mean, if he pushed it, if Singh pushed it, and Trudeau made it a confidence vote, I just doubt it.
00:04:05.320 I mean, if Trudeau went to the polls on that, it would be political suicide.
00:04:07.460 I can't think of a worse political campaign platform than,
00:04:10.480 I feel so strongly that the interference should not be investigated that I've decided to call an early election.
00:04:15.840 That would be the end of Trudeau, finally.
00:04:18.320 Singh's NDP pace.
00:04:19.420 They must be tired of his constant capitulation to Trudeau.
00:04:22.440 I mean, cooperative agreements are one thing,
00:04:23.880 but propping up a government with strong whiffs of corruption emanating from it is another.
00:04:27.880 This sort of cover-up is an issue so serious it never should have happened with a majority government.
00:04:32.240 Never mind a minority one.
00:04:34.240 If Singh doesn't step up to do his job and force an independent inquiry,
00:04:38.040 his character is clearly as corrupted as Trudeau's is.
00:04:40.820 Enough is enough, Jagmeet.
00:04:42.280 Get off your butt, quit being the yappy, toothless chihuahua, and actually do your job.
00:04:48.440 Well, that's what's got me going on that today, guys.
00:04:50.580 Yeah, who knows?
00:04:51.320 You know, Singh is talking, oh, this is bad.
00:04:54.100 We need an inquiry.
00:04:54.940 We need an inquiry.
00:04:55.600 Well, guess what?
00:04:56.000 You're standing there.
00:04:56.640 You've got your hand on the handle to force an inquiry, Jagmeet.
00:05:00.500 You're the only one who can do it.
00:05:02.520 So enough talk.
00:05:03.520 Either call it or just admit that you're just Trudeau's little boy.