Halloween is a time for scary things.
Whether it’s the gruesome movies, sinister costumes or the fact that rent is due the next day, fear is in the air.
Fear is an interesting thing. A small serving is oftentimes fine, even large doses are beneficial depending on the context. It’s an incredible motivator. Right now, my fear of failure is what’s driving me to complete this editorial and other articles I’ve left to the last minute.
Fear has people seeking approval from authorities before sending their children out for Halloween, despite the fact that school has been back in session for almost two months. It has people in the streets across this country to voice their fears about . . .
government overreach, civil rights and the cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles that control the world (Google the QAnon conspiracy if you don’t get that last reference).
Fear is also what motivates the most powerful in our country. First there was a prorogation of parliament to change the channel on the multiple committee investigations into the WE Charity scandal.
Last week, the Liberal lickspittles on these committees did their best to filibuster instead of holding their bosses to account. For those that don’t know, the filibuster is a fancy way for people that “earn” roughly $200,000 a year from taxpayers to BS for hours instead of doing their jobs. They even threatened an election in the middle of a public health crisis to strong arm the NDP into submission.
Nothing to see here folks.
The catastrophic speed with which the government’s enormous attempted collaboration with the WE Charity collapsed was a sight to see. The organization announced that they were suspending their Canadian operations in September, citing the fallout from the ill-fated Canada student service grant as a primary factor.
This scandal has already resulted in the replacement of the finance minister in the midst of rolling out enormous pandemic spending programs, let’s stop pretending these disclosures are insignificant.
Last week the government begrudgingly disclosed some of the speaking fees paid to Trudeau between 2006 and 2013 (which were already public information). The 125 payments total roughly $1.3 million, and come from a wide variety of organizations, like SYSCO Canada and the University of Ottawa. It should be noted that prior to being elected as an MP in 2008, he typically charged around $10,000 for an appearance, but after, his fee doubled to an average of around $20,000 per appearance.
It’s a perfect example of a “limited hangout” which is, in the words of former CIA staffer Victor Marchetti, “spy jargon for a favourite and frequently used gimmick of the clandestine professionals. When their veil of secrecy is shredded and they can no longer rely on a phony cover story to misinform the public, they resort to admitting—sometimes even volunteering—some of the truth while still managing to withhold the key and damaging facts in the case.”
No one’s suggesting that a few thousand bucks is persuading a rich debutant like Trudeau on any significant issue, but how much good will does it buy? Why throw these old facts into space while avoiding further questions?
The fear of losing power is the primary concern of many who wield it.
Caleb Nickerson
