Today, in St. Hyacinthe, QC, our reporters asked Liberal leadership candidate more questions about the $277,000 he says he has earned in speaking fees since becoming an MP in 2008. You can watch one of his answers in the video above but I’ve also reproduced here below. If I parse it back correctly, Trudeau is saying his speaking tour has been necessary because Canadians are tuning out what happens in Parliament — and that, of course, is the fault of the current Conservative government — which means that if MPs, like Trudeau, want to talk to Canadians about their ideas and policies they advocated, well, the House of Commons is no longer the place to do that:
“Part of my job is to represent people. It is to make sure that the values of the people who elected me in Papineau are being heard in Ottawa and across the country. The work I do to put forward those issues and those values is something I’m very, very proud of. A job of a politician is not just a 9-to-5 job. We work on weekends. I’m present in community organizations regularly in my riding and across the country .That’s what we do, and we do it in a way that best matters. The fact that Ottawa right now is not a place where we can actually have real debate, where the government invokes time allocation and closure any chance it can get to prevent anyone – whether it’s a third party verifier or an oppositon MP – from actually speaking out against positions this government has taken means that Ottawa is less and less relevant to all Canadians. And the work that I do out here listening and connecting and building the trust of Canadians is essential to me.”
Prime Minister Harper has been making political announcements, major political announcements that should be done at home — away from Ottawa, in fact – away from Canada ever since he was made Prime Minister.
It’s no wonder that Ottawa has become irrelevant. Harper has done his best to make that happen. I’d rather not have it that way, but at the moment, that’s what it is. Far away and pointless.
I don’t care how much money Justin Trudeau or any other MP makes on the side … IF (s)he makes that extra money on his/her own time, not while Parliament is in session AND not from work that may constitute a conflict of interest, like NDP MP Andrew Cash’s work for the CBC.
Regardless of how irrelevant Trudeau thinks Ottawa is to Canadians, the reality is he is being paid taxpayers’ money to BE on the job in Ottawa or in his riding, not travelling around the country on a self-promotion tour.
I’ve said the same thing about the 7 NDP MPs who ran for the leadership of their party and now 3 Liberal MPs are also often absent from the House because they’re out on the road trying to get support for their leadership bid.
The NDP & Liberal leadership campaigns have been drawn out over 3 or 4 months, so that adds up to quite a number of days’ absence. MPs’ absences from the House should be recorded, with absences for personal reasons, including running for the leadership, carrying a monetary penalty, the same way senators are docked for missing over 21 days.
I fully agree with Justin Trudeau’s comments & attitude!
Trudeau is less & less relevent.
Silver Spoon spoiled hypocritical entitlement brat, When cdns are struggling this guy has the nerve to to go around taking monies When he should be at work. Then again the charities & alike are just as much suckers for paying him, Looks good on the one that lost money having him there.
I just can’t see this self-centered, egotistical person (Trudeau) representing our country on the world stage. He might be an idol to the younger generation, but no adult could possibly see him as Prime Minister. We haven’t heard one idea from him that would lead us to believe he has any substance.