By Stephen Vance, Editor
For the first 14 years of my life, 24 Sussex was occupied by a Trudeau, and now after a surprising, if not stunning victory in the October 19 federal election, a Trudeau will once again take up occupancy at the limestone manse overlooking the Ottawa River – not just yet however, as the old structure has apparently been falling apart for decades, and it is finally going to be given the overhaul it so badly needs.
The new Prime Minister has been busy over the last few weeks putting together Canada’s first gender balanced cabinet – 15 men, and 15 women who along with the new Prime Minister all crammed into a bus for the “team” ride to the inauguration ceremony. All wonderfully politically correct, and all carefully orchestrated and choreographed for the media and their ever anxious cameras.
With any luck the new government will now get to work implementing all of their campaign promises, which will inevitably lead to more mugging for the cameras, but the honeymoon for new governments doesn’t last long, especially in this era of social media, and the Trudeau bashing will no doubt begin to surface by the time we’re swapping our Sorels for flip-flops.
There is no doubt that as a nation, this recent election seems to have given us an injection of positivity, and the feeling I get from talking to people is that they are generally optimistic, and they have high hopes for the new government.
Obviously there are many others who are less convinced that Trudeau-the-younger will be the white knight that so many seem to think he is.
Trudeau and his new government have their work cut out for them. Many Canadians are hurting, truly hurting, and are desperate for help in a wide range of areas from jobs to healthcare and everything in between. Outside our borders there are constant pressures ranging from economics and trade deals to whether or not we should be in the business of dropping bombs on suspected terrorists, to how we can help with the growing refugee crisis.
Locally, those of us in the Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound riding no longer have a member of parliament as part of the government. Long-time MP Larry Miller was reelected as expected, but he will now sit in opposition. What impact will that have on our riding? Will we be overlooked at times? Possibly, but this is where we will see if Miller has the chops for opposition. It has been nearly a decade since Miller was an MP on the other side of the parliamentary floor, and it is a much more difficult job when your party lacks the power of a majority government. Miller will have to find a balance between finding a voice, advocating for this riding, and his duties to his fellow party members sitting in opposition to this new government. A few years ago an article in the National Post suggested that Miller had the ear of Prime Minister Harper, now he will have to find a way to have the concerns of our riding heard by Trudeau and his cabinet.
It is clear from the past few weeks that the Trudeau government is young, hip, and enthusiastic, it will be interesting to see how they perform once they have some dirt under their nails, and some scuffs on their shiny shoes. Only then will Canadians know if they made the correct choice on October 19.
