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Dan-in-Ottawa

Former finance minister paints unflattering picture of prime minister

Bill Morneau's new book

Recently Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's former star finance minister, Bill Morneau, authored a book titled “Where To From Here, A Path to Canadian Prosperity”.

As is common when promoting a new book, Morneau has done several media interviews. What is less common is Morneau levelled some heavy and serious criticism against Trudeau and his office.

Morneau makes several allegations along a theme suggesting Trudeau often ignores or rejects “carefully considered calculations” for announcements that sound good or are too focussed on the “news cycle and social media” dictating decision-making, arguing Trudeau lost sight of fiscal prudence and the goal of securing Canada's long-term prosperity.

The former finance minister summarizes Trudeau’s style of governance by stating: “During the period when the largest government expenditures as a portion of GDP were made in the shortest time since the advent of World War II, calculations and recommendations from the Ministry of Finance were basically disregarded in favour of winning a popularity contest."

As a member of the official Opposition, none of this comes as any surprise as these comments do tend to accurately reflect the governing style of Trudeau. What does come as a surprise Trudeau’s former finance minister now openly coming out and stating it so publicly.

My reason for sharing the comments of the former finance minister is not to focus on the style of governance by the government but rather something else. In his book, Morneau alleges Trudeau used vaccine mandates as a wedge issue during the 2021 election and suggests that doing so “further polarized the debate in Canada.”

My question this week relates to this statement.

As we enter 2023 and have now been collectively dealing with the impacts and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic going on three years, many people have experienced this period very differently.

So my question this week is:

Based on your own experiences in life, do you encounter more polarization today compared with what you experienced pre-pandemic?

I can be reached at [email protected] or call toll free 1-800-665-8711.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.



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About the Author

Dan Albas is the Member of Parliament for the riding of Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola and the co-chair of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations.

Before entering public life, Dan was the owner of Kick City Martial Arts, responsible for training hundreds of men, women and youth to bring out their best.

Dan  is consistently recognized as one of Canada’s top 10 most active Members of Parliament on Twitter (@danalbas) and also continues to write a weekly column published in many local newspapers and on this website.

Dan welcomes comments, questions and concerns from citizens and is often available to speak to groups and organizations on matters of federal concern. 

He can be reached at [email protected] or call toll free at 1-800-665-8711.



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The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

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