Gerald Butts resigned today and, make no mistake, it was staged. Trudeau did not throw Gerald under the bus. Gerald leaped. But you need not worry about GB. He will do fine operating the puppet show from the darker shadows of a back room somewhere – but still within blue-tooth range – because Justin can’t think straight (if he can think at all). This resignation was a ‘show’.
And he did it to take the heat for the AG Jody debacle. Somebody had to and it couldn’t be another women – i.e. Katie Telford. Bad optics.
Jody Wilson-Raybould TRULY resigned and she did it for reasons mostly political but I may have to concede some principle may have also been involved. Her unchecked ambition and ego plays a large part but so does her otherwise strong moral character. We’ll know soon enough. She wants to be the leader of the party. I do not think she can wrest that away from the pretty boy. A lot of big Libs put him there. So, we’ll see how that plays out.
I mention all this because I do not think Gerald (aka Severus Snape) is truly evil. His resignation letter, I think, says it – he worked for the good of all Canadians. The problem is that Gerald’s sense of what is good for all Canadians is entirely derived from his own egocentric constructs. He thinks he KNOWS what is best for all Canadians and the PMOs office has operated from that ‘mindset’ since Trudeau has been in. They are simply smarter and holier than us and went about ruling that way.
Gerry may be smart. He may be good. He may even be doing God’s work but he sure as hell didn’t listen to Canadians. Gerry and Justin are both silver-spooned Easteners who are steeped in privilege and elitism. And one of them is extra stupid. And that showed from the get-go. They did NOT listen and they came from EGO. One of them is smart, the other an airhead. The marriage was doomed. It was a natural conflict of substance and vacuum. They were bound to trip up.
Where does it all go from here? I imagine the puppet strings will still be pulled and the captain will stay at the ‘stage-lit’ wheelhouse (shirtless, of course) guessing at where he is…..and I suppose that JW-R will continue to be a burr under the PMOs office. Sheer will go nuts, set his hair on fire and make another stupid racist, sexist, corporate-based statement. And Singh will continue to dissolve into a puddle. It will be steady as she goes but, but, but…
No Butts to kick around anymore.
Our Off the Grid Home 
She wanted to be the leader of the party, This is news to me.
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It’s really history. In the 1980’s Bill Wilson (her father) was talking with PET and told the-then PM that JW-R wanted to be prime minister. Now, the story is small ‘legend’ but JW-R has conducted herself in exactly the right manner to get where she is and to do just that. She may have wandered off into another field of interest (I would not know) but, if you look at her bio, she has been on a straight and somewhat fast track to doing just this very thing.
I remember distinctly having lunch with Gordon Campbelll and Mike Harcourt way back in 1975/76. The restaurant: Le Petite Montmarte in Gastown. Just the three of us. I was there because I was a bit of a profile in the pinko-bleeding heart, social conscience side of the city and Gordo was the gopher for Art Phillips, soon to be mayor. Harcourt mapped out his plan for Transpo 86 (eventually re-named Expo 86) and how he, as mayor, was going to make an impression on the world. He asked what kind of a ‘social’ impression I wanted see. And what kind of an economic impression Gordo wanted. I laughed and said, “Who the hell can plan to be a mayor in ten years and run a world exposition? I can barely plan a week in advance. Hahahahah.” Gordo said, “We are going to turn Vancouver into a world class city and I am going to do it in real estate and then in politics.” I thanked Mike for lunch and left…wondering ‘who ARE these people?’
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Wow, that’s a lot of insider stories, we will see if Jody speaks in the near future, but it was really difficult to watch Justin answer those SNC-L questions though,lol.
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She is an imperious hereditary chief. She was seen by her father as the second most powerful cabinet minister. ‘’The golden ring was with in reach.” She tangled with Butts possibly which may have lead to her going “postal.” She may end up switching political parties to lead the NDP to further her aspirations. She is generation X and Generation X like to play the “disrupter role”. The rumour is that pressure was exerted in the PM office. Was it by her or by Butts? We still do not know who was leaking? Was it she? Who is the actual victim here? Was a coup d’état stared with a planted media story?
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More knowledge than I have but I suspect that Trudeau put his two cents in and she was waiting to pounce on him and did…they may have had words and then…..she gets demoted to Veteran’s affairs. THAT was the big error. And there ain’t no fury like that of an Alpha lawyer-female scorned. So, she’s mad…leaks the story…the press eats it up…and they (PMO) cannot get ahead of it…so GB falls on his sword. So far, by the script. Trudeau should not have trod on her toes but that is what all MPs do for their constituents. He’s an idiot to poke that particular bear but it was normal behaviour for most MPs and assumed behaviour for SNC-L….after all, they got the law changed in advance, didn’t they? So, JWR is not likely an innocent here but then Trudeau IS an idiot and they all played their respective roles.
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I don’t know where you are getting your info from, but you might want to check on it’s veracity! As far as I can tell, just about everything you have put down here, is horse puckey!
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Paul now you are getting the picture! Both side are spinning on mere surmise. You can see how easy it is to make an unproven assertion and run media stories as if the voice on the rat line were telling the truth. The media narrative is mere surmise and the media will say it is unproven but will continue to spin it. They imply wrong doing without any proof whatsoever.
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Not quite. The main points are fact. No horses. No puckey. Plus the events are in sequence, the roles played all official. No lies. Yes the conversations imagined are pure surmisal but logical and expected in the circumstances. And JWR was and is angry. And out of the cabinet. You like her. I do, too. Trudeau made a mistake demoting her. She tattled on PMO to the press. Only that last statement is conjecture but who else would? She even said she could say no more…..
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For the record, I am NOT any kind of media….nor am i spinning. Nor am i accusing. I think they all played their parts with only Trudeau being stupid enough to demote an ambitious and highly principkrd angry lawyer and not expect a bad reaction.
But I am very grateful for the feedback.
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SNC is facing a criminal prosecution so where is the sustance to the claim that she was pressured to offer SNC a plea deal? Jody got to prosecute SNC so where does the specious claim that she was pressured come from? She took Butts down and has his balls for bookends. She sees Justin as weak and she can become the puppet master and the right side of his brain. Jody has made a deal to keep Justin in power and she as his chief advisor. She has the nuts of many men in her rise to influence. Typical male hubris is a wrong headed fantasy that men are running the world from the ends of their bits of chain. Jody will answer questions to save Justin’s ass now that she has Gerry’s butt.
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The fact of prosecution or not is irrelevant. Did THEY try to persuade her? Probably yes. Did she resist and do what she wanted? Yes. Did they then punish her by moving her out of the AG office? Probably yes. And did she fight back….you know what I think..yes.
YOU are not alone in thinking this is Jody’s way of getting the PM’s chair but I just do not see the Liberal establishment standing for it. Not like that. To lead the Libs will require JT stepping down and why would he? He can’t DO anything and this, at least, gets him the attention he craves. So, if he doesn’t go willingly, how does she get there?
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Wait until Trudeau loses the election and then the knives will come out.
E tu Judy?
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Wasn’t Butts ineffect the PM in all ways except name? Butts was the puppet master and Justin was his ineffectual sycophant. Every morning Justin got his marching orders. Jody thought, ‘I could become the shadow PM once Butts is gone.’ Bob Fife, who is covered by media confidentiality of anonymous sources, heard the story on his rat line. So leaked some raw meat about a lady wronged by the perfidious machinations and bingo we have a damsel in distress. From your work in mediation you must know that men are easily discredited by women because men are self serving bastards. And as you have witnessed of late once the smear starts only complete submission by that guy might save his butt. But this time his butt could not be saved. Sadly the PM got up on his dazed and confused hind legs and discovered that the truth could not save him “so Samson’s head was sent on a platter to Dililah on a platter.” Figuratively speaking. Realpolitik in operation. When the media spins it is never a spin but pure gold with a fife and drum.
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Well, first…my work in mediation taught me no such thing. I came away with a few biases but I know that they were derived from a very small sampling. But here they are for your entertainment. All women think they gave more to the marriage and they often did – tho they gave to the marriage they wanted. But about twenty % of the time, they did not give more – not by any interpretation and that fact changed nothing – they were convinced that they had been the major percentage of good and the guy was a dickhead. Women were never wrong. AND 75% of women HAD to get more in the separation – altho, to be fair, it was usually a token amount. Even the one who left her kids alone when she left with her biker boyfriend for the weekend and the dad was still 200 miles from home driving truck as fast as he could – she thought that she was the one wronged. I never came across a single deadbeat dad. But I came across more than a few work-obsessed fathers including one guy divorced BECAUSE he worked too much (he was a carpenter). Half the men were stupid about relationship, communication, partnership and (duh) romance. But – across the board – the couples largely created their own hell – one way or another – and men really did ‘NOT GET IT’ more of the time. But I would say – generally speaking – the sexes were equally good and equally as bad.
Back to your ‘take’ on things – I despise Trudeau but I do NOT think he served up Butts. I think Butts served himself up. He had to. But he isn’t going far, anyway, so it was an easy sacrifice.
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I get your point that Trudea is not a political strategist but Butts is, so why did Butts resign…you know his motivations?
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I know he puts JT and the Libs first. I know someone had to take the fall. I know how MLAs and MPs work in the corridors and i can imagine all that was presumed happening….plus….as I said, JT was likely putting out the conversation like any MP would. I am not saying that the PM and GB were bad…..the media blew that up. I am not saying JWR was bad, either. But I am saying demoting her was a mistake. AND she fought back. GB took the bullet. The end result does NOT hurt JWR. Trudeau is limping. She has ambittion…..jus’ sayin’…..
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Yes the demotion was stupid because it allowed conspiracy theories to floorish. But the Cons were not loving on Jodi when the jury did not convict in the Colton Boushie murder trial acquittal. The farmer went free the Cons loved that.
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David, I’m with you on everything but your read on Jody. This is not a power play to get rid of Justin. She is a very principled and very intelligent person, and I don’t think she could care less about moving up in the ranks. Her ambition is not what made her do this! Her principles did. SNC Lavalin is famous for this kind of shit. That company is totally corrupt! (look where they live!)
It wouldn’t surprise me if Gerald was the one who tried to get her to cave. This could be the end for the liberals, which begs the question. Is this going to be the first election that I refuse to vote?
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You might be right….I gave that a 50/50…but really….to tattle on pretty boy is a smidge unprincipled especially since the doofus DID not ultimately interfere. She may be great. I have hopes….but she took him down for this because it was personal. He reneged on reform He reneged on the environment. He is stupid in all sorts of ways but she went with him….but not when she was demoted.
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You might be right.
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Think very carefully about anonymous sources, natural justice and the right to face one’s accuser. This rat line accusation, said to be leaked from the PM’s office, and put under the shelter of the media protecting its sources is pure mischief. There is nothing of substance in the hit upon the PM. How can a rumour be discredited? Let’s surmise, like all the other surmises that someone got their feels hurt. Does any one think that hurt feelings are not part of politics? Does anyone actually think that the Caucuses of any of the political parties are NOT full of the open expression of views resulting in some hurt feelings? I’m sure it can be rough in caucus discussions. Give as good as one gets but please stop the political piling on. It’s bogus and disingenuous.
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There is no pilng on….GB took a bullet for the PM….thats a fact, JWR was demoted. Fact. Then she resigned as Minister of VA. to spite the PM. Fact. What piling?
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What is the crime! What was done wrong? These are separate events. They took place over months. They are disparate events. It is an invented narrative and you took it hook line and sinker.
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Well, I disagree, of course. But…perhaps…maybe…in a way….but what way? Did Gerry NOT resign? Did W-R NOT resign? Did Trudeau NOT dodge the questions? OK….maybe Justin and Jody had a spat over something else? Maybe Gerry resigned over something else. Maybe Trudeau is JUST getting stupider every day…could be. BUT – more to the point – what hook did I swallow? I do NOT think Trudeau did anything wrong by asking JW-R, “Hey, what are we gonna see go down on SNC, eh?” I do NOT think JW-R did anything wrong saying, “Hey! You pressuring me?” The ONLY mistake I see is that JW-R got demoted….for what? That is the ‘smell’. And that is what likely set her off….
……and, even at that, I do NOT see anything legally wrong with a spat. Politically dumb but what else is new with Trudeau?
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I recall your dismay at the rush to judgement and the denial of due process to many, as the metoo claims emerged judged, juried and convinced. The rush to judgement in the twitter universe sometime is too pat, too misinformed and too rift will surmise. Once more we have the heads of men rolling to fit a narrative. There is no due process here. The PMO is guilty but of what? Well the focus has shifted back to SNC-Lavalin’s criminal prosecution for bribery. Remember the allegation was that Jodi was pressured not to prosecute SNC-Lavalin but they ARE being prosecuted. Recently a DPA or Deferred Prosecution Agreement was passed that if used would have SNC paying hefty fines and having the company complying with court mandated conditions. This would need to be approved by a judge. In Quebec the concern in the media is not about Jodi but about of the future of SNC-Lavalin. Its possible failure, might lead to a corporate death sentence resulting in the loss of 75,00 jobs, possible harm to pensioners and possible ripples in the economy. I know these Quebec media claims appear to be hyperbole but what if it were only 8,000 jobs lost in Quebec? But in the rest of Canada the story is a version of a metoo accusation poor demoted Jodi takes a hit. What are the mind concentrating details here? More complex by far than those said Sotto voice on a gotcha rat line.
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I do NOT understand how this blog suggests that I am rushing to judge or swallowing hooks and piling on….? I really do NOT get that. Everything stated in the blog is either a fact or is very logical conjecture. But, despite even that, I condemned no one – well, Trudeau for demoting JW-R and, I may have implied that JW-R unleashed a ‘plot’ to wound the PM/PMO. That may have been a stretch but I even 50/50’d that bit of conjecture….
But you are right in a way. I did kinda rush to judge in that I saw nothing wrong done except politically. Demoting JW-R was a stupid move politically. Yes, I do think that and yes, I leaped to judge that. The rest is just reporting facts. WTH?
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The SNC-Lavalin issue has their lawyers appealing the decision to charge them criminally and not to grant them a DPA. I’m heartened to hear that the recent alleged missteps are stupid miscalculations and little else. i’m surprised that little has been said about the snitch line and its rumourmongering. When it comes to the juicest rumours the press is all in except in Quebec where the press sees bigger issues. Why no comments on your blog about the snitch line? Do you approve of Bob Fife’s methods? ‘’The drive-by smear.” You have not said.
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I have not said anything about Bob Fife and the snitch-line or Ratline because I know nothing about it. Never read it. Never heard of it. I tried looking it up and still cannot find it. Fife is a reporter. Reporters have ‘snitch lines’ for whistle blowers but, other than that, I haven’t a clue as to how BF and his snitchline play a role. Do you?
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Bob writes for the Globe and Mail and Bob reported that an anonymous source said to him , ‘Jodi was pressured over the SNC prosecution.’ Mr Fife is famous for pyrotechnics in reporting. In Quebec the possible failure of SNC-Lavalin is of grave concern but the same concern is not evident in the reporting in the English media. Loss of jobs at GM is a big English media concern but the concerns in the French media regarding the future of SNC-Lavalin, seems not to be of the same level of concern in the English media. Pension plans in Quebec are heavily invested in SNC.
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I worked for SNC.
My company was bought out by them.
20 years senority , 4 weeks holidays, pension plan, stock options, etc.
I quit in disgust after a year when I realized they didnt give two shits for the customer….it was all about “billable hours”.
85% of my coworkers that came over to SNC in the purchase….didnt last 2 years at SNC
They deserve EVERYTHING they have earned……in spades.
And now, after the endless revelations of the Charboneau Commission on Corruption infesting every level of the Quebec govt…..AND the other SNC bribery (Montreal Superhospital for $1.3 billion)……
The Quebec media have the audacity to try and defend SNC because……”we may lose jobs”.
Cry me a river.
Quebec media cant comprehend a universe without SNC advertising dollars.
English Canada media smells a rat.
Huge Front Page head lines in Both the Globe and Mail and the National Post today about Butts and SNC.
I’m loving every minute of their karma comeuppance.
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