Seriously. Watching journalists in Canada is like watching 7 year olds playing soccer. Just a gaggle of kids chasing the ball. No strategy or plan. Only focused on one ball while the world burns around them.
— Neil Before Zod™ (@WaytowichNeil) March 15, 2023
🧵
— Rambod Behboodi (@GenevaTradeLaw) March 4, 2023
The most interesting thing about the China scandal that has Canadian media in a feeding frenzy is that we know exactly nothing about it. It's a scandal because they say it is, not because anything scandalous has been revealed.
My $0.02 about the media-driven "scandal". 1/ pic.twitter.com/0bJDVZSFmO
Former CSIS director Richard Fadden, who also served as national-security adviser to Mr. Trudeau and former PM Stephen Harper.... “I think [David Johnston] is probably the only person in 🇨🇦 that would add sufficient credibility to the special rapporteur process....” @globeandmail
— Judy Gombita (@jgombita) March 16, 2023
Most of Canadian media are already on-side with Johnston, so it will be an uphill battle now for the Flying Monkeys to try to dislodge him.whatever one's opinion of David Johnston being named a Special Rapporteur, "Beijing-funded Trudeau foundation" is a crass, ignorant comment
— Steve Ricketts (@SteveRickettsSP) March 16, 2023
or, as we like to say, just another tweet from Pierre Poilievre https://t.co/EsskLWHul7
In the Globe and Mail, Ibbitson called this "an inspired choice" but Andrew Coyne isn't as happy - I think because the likelihood of a public inquiry will recede if the media believes the China questions are being dealt with so the "scandal" story fades into the incoherence which it may richly deserve.Given that @PierrePoilievre and just about every Conservative MP is lining up to walk all over David Johnston’s reputation, now might be a good time to refresh ourselves on what Conservatives thought of the man when they were in government. #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/SXorTcOiXH
— Mark Gerretsen 🇨🇦 🇺🇦 (@MarkGerretsen) March 16, 2023
So, former high level Harperites are now fighting with the rabbit hole Poilievreites over David Johnston.
— Bluenoser Forever (@long17_de) March 16, 2023
Imagine trying to besmirch a Harper appointed former GG and one of the foremost academic minds in Canada, because their hatred for the PM is all consuming. Insane.
I see. Now this investigation is morphed into an investigation of Trudeau rather than of foreign interference in our elections. You're working hard to sound reasonable while impugning Johnston's integrity.
— If they are all Fredo, we are all Frodo (@FaganKara) March 16, 2023
Another old white guy demands Trudeau do everything 100% to his liking, and bemoans the absence of a reality in which that’s possible. Welcome to Canadian journalism, folks. #cdnpoli #cdnmedia #CdnMediaFailed https://t.co/0IJPrG9t6n
— Matthew Forbes (@VaughanPappy) March 16, 2023
Note to the Conservatives, “Stephen Harper’s Governor General is a secret Liberal” is in the No Soup For You zone https://t.co/veGG6JogXb
— Evan Scrimshaw (@EScrimshaw) March 16, 2023
Scrimshaw says as of right now, the Liberals are not paying a political price for this scandal:By his own standards, aren’t Coyne’s interests too close to this for him to offer credible criticism of the process?
— Justice.Happy supports Ukraine!!! (@Happyjustice4) March 16, 2023
David Johnston will investigate whether the intelligence leaked to the Globe raises the serious concerns the Globe claims it raises. https://t.co/13aV2vJPJC
... there’s a lot of shit that’s been thrown against the wall that might be bad if true, and a lot of frankly shitty journalism from Global in reporting intelligence without independent verification and potentially mischaracterizing how senior the report that forms the basis of naming the PCPO MPP was intended for.It’s a story with a load of issues regarding its accuracy and its scope, and acting like this is exacting a political price on Trudeau in the face of evidence that so far it’s not is dogshit.Both Abacus and Mainstreet have clear majorities of Liberals wanting an inquiry into this, which makes sense – as of now, there’s no real reason to think an inquiry would hurt the Liberals. Only in the hearts and minds of the most rabid partisan Conservatives does anyone actually believe that Justin Trudeau is working for China or in cahoots with Beijing.An inquiry, or a report from the I Can’t Believe It’s Not A Public Inquiry, likely ends with a list of sensible re-writes to security legislation that was mostly written before the invention of the Blackberry. What it likely doesn’t include is a smoking gun that hurts the Liberals or Trudeau.At the end of the day, this is probably the biggest policy challenge of this government outside of setting up CERB and the wage subsidy. Getting this right is incredibly important as a policy matter and anything that can try and make sure our elections are secure should be done.But that’s not the same thing as thinking this is a political crisis for the government and the Liberals. It’s not yet. May it become one? Sure. But it’s not one now, and to the parts of the punditry and the commissioning editors out there trying to narrative build a crisis for the Liberals, stop trying to re-run the past. It’s not nostalgia, it’s just wishcasting.
Now that it's *finally* being reported that Beijing's political interference in Canada is probably much, much bigger within Conservative circles, watch Pierre Poilievre suddenly pivot to the price of mulch during gardening season.
— Asif Hossain (@asifintoronto) March 11, 2023
Because what Canadians really care about is health care:Perhaps it’s time for the media to start putting the issue of China’s meddling into perspective? Despite the non stop coverage it matters to about 6% of Canadians. @CBCNews @CTVNews @globalnews @globeandmail 🤷♀️ https://t.co/mOeR6FpDzI
— Roz Avanthay (@roz_avanthay) March 12, 2023
And here is another 29 year tracking of public priority for health care . Unlike debt , which was tied with health care in the 90s , health care has remained a pinnacle issue and is now over 30 points higher as a priority than debt . But what do the public know? https://t.co/efjxIRL98x
— Frank Graves (@VoiceOfFranky) March 16, 2023
