A week before the start of the parliamentary term, many must have rolled their eyes when reading in The duty that the Trudeau government wanted to take advantage of its three-day preparatory retreat to “return to its roots”.
When we are as short of solutions as we seem to have been for months, we have to fall back on commonplaces, but that of returning to the roots was particularly poorly chosen.
We already have the impression that the Liberals are desperately remaining true to themselves, even when it is clear that it is not working. How do we describe those who believe they will obtain different results using the same recipe?
It must, however, be recognized that the temporary cap on the number of foreign students welcomed into the country each year, which was announced Monday by the Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, constitutes a first breach, however slight, of liberal dogma of salvation through immigration, even if it is irregular.
Canada is arguably not the only country in the world where a significant proportion — 25%, according to Globe and Mail — of those who come to study there in principle do not study, but must nevertheless find accommodation. It is still not normal for bogus studies to be the business model of an entire network of private institutions. The phenomenon is not new, but it becomes intolerable in times of housing crisis.
Speed of action has never been the Trudeau government’s trademark. The decision to reimpose visas on Mexican nationals, a growing number of whom claim asylum upon landing, has not yet been made. “It’s clear that a turn of the screw is necessary. Will it be a quarter turn, a half turn or two turns? That’s to be determined,” Mr. Miller said. Small or large, there will nevertheless be a correction, despite the obvious displeasure it will cause the Mexican government.
The Trudeau government is not yet considering curbing permanent immigration or recognizing that Canada’s capacity limit may not just be a temporary phenomenon.
On the other hand, he has clearly understood that Canadian voters are beginning to run out of patience and that the housing crisis risks altering their sense of hospitality, while ultimately ruining his chances of re-election. When the fire is in the house, we become less picky about dogma.
The President of the Treasury Board, Anita Anand, declared that the free fall of the Liberal Party of Canada in the polls is not a matter of concern for her government, which would only be interested in the well-being of the population . This is reminiscent of hockey players who say they do not monitor the ranking of teams and the point gap that separates them from participation in the playoffs. Either, the elections will not take place until next year, but a delay of 17 points constitutes a very steep slope.
Whatever limitations are imposed on the entry of foreign students or Mexican asylum seekers, they will only have a marginal effect on the housing crisis, of which immigration constitutes only one cause among many. others, at least as important. It is obvious that immigrants have nothing to do with the dramatic drop in housing starts.
The interest of members of the Trudeau government in the next American election clearly indicates that they see their salvation elsewhere. It goes without saying that Canada must prepare for a possible victory for Donald Trump. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, and her predecessor François-Philippe Champagne recalled having already “played in this film”, which would qualify them for a revival.
Mr Champagne said the prospect of Mr Trump returning to the White House was not a matter of “fear”, but rather of “preparation”. The unpredictability of this free electron would undoubtedly require increased vigilance, but it is clear that the Liberals are banking much more on the association that can be made with Pierre Poilievre.
Mr. Trudeau set the tone in his end-of-year interviews, when he declared that Canada was not immune to a rollback of abortion rights or transgender rights, as is the case occurred south of the border.
“We might think that this will never happen in Canada, that it is the Liberals who are trying to scare the world, as usual. I’m sorry, but this wasn’t supposed to take place in the United States either. » To hear him say, the fire threatens not only the liberal house, but the entire country.