Mid-terms Justin Trudeau: the honeymoon is over?

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Raymond Filion

Sunday, 15 October 2017 19:45

UPDATE
Sunday, 15 October 2017 19:45

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OTTAWA | It will be two years this Thursday, the Canadians elected a majority liberal government. Justin Trudeau came to power declaring to bring with him his “ways sunny”.

When the liberals arrive mid-term, several say note that the atmosphere has changed.

“We feel a government that is more on the defensive,” the professor Éric Montigny, department of political science of the Université Laval.

The last few weeks have not been easy for the government. His proposal for tax reform the minister of Finance has been highly criticized.

In spite of the changes that will be announced Monday at the end of a special meeting of the liberal caucus, professor Benoît Pelletier believes that the government’s image has been damaged.

“I think the government has done much evil,” said the ex-minister of quebec.

The tax reform, it is necessary to add the cultural policy of the minister of canadian Heritage, which is also very badly received in Quebec. The decision not to impose the sales tax on the services of Netflix has been denounced both by the divided culture that the government Couillard.

“The unicorn flying that Justin Trudeau is in the middle of a storm” ran a headline this week in the prestigious british magazine “The Economist,” adding that “mistakes and misadventures” began to hurt the government.

New tenors of the opposition

For the professor Montigny, another fundamental element has changed since the advent to power of Justin Trudeau: the two main opposition parties have now chosen their leaders in view of the upcoming elections. Andrew Scheer is now leading the charge of the conservatives in the Commons, while Jagmeet Singh comes in to replace Thomas Mulcair at the head of the NDP.

The vis-à-vis liberals may be more vocal at the time that Justin Trudeau must deliver the goods in several complex cases.

Many issues to resolve

The prime minister has also promised reconciliation with aboriginal peoples, but the national survey on women and girls missing and murdered aboriginal is rather bad part. Resignations and departures multiply since the beginning of the year.

“It is easier to make fine speeches, to express good feelings, to create committees of investigation, but at some point it is necessary to act,” says political scientist Christian Dufour.

The liberals also need to find solutions to the threats on the free trade Agreement of north america, on the timber industry and the trade war that book Boeing to Bombardier.

Much work also remains to be done in anticipation of the legalization of marijuana promised for the next summer.

In addition, after two years in power, the Trudeau government has still not found a solution to the failings of the payroll system Phoenix federal officials. “That a liberal government would not be able to fix the payroll system, it is deplorable, it is really a shame”, denounced Michel Lépine of the trade Union of Workers of the Health and the environment, a few days ago.

Other decisions are also still to wait: the future of mail delivery by Canada Post, and the deployment of military and police in the framework of a peacekeeping operation the United Nations peacekeeping.

“Mr. Trudeau is still the prime minister sitting comfortably. But I would say that the real test is in front of him,” says Christian Dufour.