Last Updated on: 11th April 2019, 10:25 am
This seems like a good time to ask a question I’ve already asked once this week. Do you guys want to win the election or not?
This is a terrible strategy in every conceivable way, and if that’s not obvious to whomever devised it, I encourage that person to step out of the bubble and look around.
The Liberals have absolutely nothing to gain here.
Even if we take everything at face value and suppose that the goal is to hand Andrew Scheer and the Conservatives their legal ass and then rightfully brand them as liars to the public, this suit isn’t realistically going to be wrapped up until long after the election. In the meantime, all you’re doing is making sure that a story that felt like it may have been starting to wind down stays in the public eye for months if not years.
And what if the court doesn’t find in your favour? You’ve gifted the other side the ability to stand in front of the same public and claim vindication, which in this case means there are still questions to be asked about your integrity.
Alternatively, you could drop the suit and be seen as both weak and a bully simultaneously. Weak because you didn’t have the courage or the confidence in your position to follow through when challenged, and a bully because you tried using the legal system to silence opinions you don’t care for.
Any way you slice this it’s going to look awful to voters, especially the undecided ones.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has received a lawsuit threat from the prime minister regarding comments he made about the SNC-Lavalin affair.
Scheer says he received a letter from Justin Trudeau’s lawyer on March 31.
The letter from Trudeau’s lawyer Julian Porter took issue with what they term inappropriate comments in a statement made by Scheer on March 29 in response to new documents tabled in the justice committee from former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould.“The statement contained highly defamatory comments about Prime Minister Trudeau,” it reads.
Scheer’s March 29 statement, in part, accused the prime minister of political interference, of lying to Canadians and of corrupt conduct.
Trudeau’s lawyer alleges Scheer made false statements, and refers to the Libel and Slander Act of Ontario, which deals with any publicly published material or comments that defame or disparage an individual or their profession.
“The prime minister supports wide-ranging and vigorous political debate on matters of public policy. However, your statement, in its entirety, is beyond the pale of fair debate and is libellous of my client personally and in the way of his occupation as prime minister,” Porter writes.The Opposition leader said the threat was an intimidation tactic intended to stop him from pressing the government about the SNC-Lavalin matter — but that his party will still continue to push the Liberals for more answers.
“If Mr. Trudeau believes he has a case against me, I urge him to follow through on his threat immediately,” Scheer said.
“I stand by every single criticism I have made.”