The author is a former conservative strategist. He was a political adviser in the Harper government as well as in the opposition.
Inflation, recession, rising prices and falling purchasing power will dominate the media landscape in the coming months. In the background, however, there is a multitude of poorly managed crises that have accumulated over the seven years of power of the Trudeau government and are beginning to hurt him.
Crisis management is commonplace in politics. Every day brings its share of news that makes the government look bad. The basic rule is to respond quickly and adequately to the following questions: when were you informed of the situation? What information have you been given? And, most importantly, what concrete actions have you taken and in what time frame?
The length of the media cycle of a crisis depends on these responses. It can be short or long. Often, the strategy is to hold on until some other piece of news takes over to eclipse it. However, a risk persists when there is an accumulation of bad news related to the same ministry or a given problem. It then becomes a narrative framework, with a multitude of supporting examples.
The same news is repeated then, according to the unveiling and update of increasingly disturbing data. The government can no longer impose its views. This is when the impression of incompetence sets in among voters, who ask themselves: “Isn’t that settled? The image of the wear and tear of power crystallizes, which accentuates in them a desire for change.
Worsening border mismanagement
The passport fiasco is just the tip of the iceberg in the mismanagement of our borders. The revelations about the ArriveCAN app, which cost Canadians $54 million, are only just beginning to make headlines. The Conservatives won their supply day motion last Wednesday asking the Auditor General to look into the matter. The memory of the waste surrounding the sponsorship scandal lingers.
Media coverage of the Roxham Road situation will also continue. The number of people entering the country at this location each month is only increasing. The costs to accommodate them are estimated at more than half a billion dollars, according to journalist Romain Schué. The awarding of contracts is scrutinized, including those awarded without a call for tenders to the companies of a liberal donor, for 28 million dollars. The figure of 50,000 irregular asylum seekers is mentioned for 2022, a peak compared to the previous record of more than 18,000 in 2017. The situation is getting worse, and the Trudeau government’s laissez-faire attitude is appalling.
Canada is unfortunately a land of welcome for despots and their families. This is not new, but the Iranian situation and better coordination of countries to impose sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine means that Canada can no longer be left behind. Whether it is to study there, hide and launder embezzled money there or live there without being worried, Canada is a destination of choice, and that must stop.
The past is not lacking in examples. One of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s sons wanted to buy an apartment in Toronto and flee to Canada. Relatives of the family of Ben Ali, former leader of Tunisia, have taken refuge in Montreal. The families of Beijing’s communist regime elites, including Huawei leader Meng Wanzhou, have luxury residences in Vancouver. The Trudeau government is now expected to confiscate assets and deport leaders linked to Iran and other totalitarian regimes. He announced 76 million to apply the sanctions. It must show results.
Intimidation on Canadian soil by foreign agents is no longer anecdotal. The presence of political and economic spies is a reality that must be combated. Light has yet to be shed on what happened at the Winnipeg lab, but again, that would be just the tip of the iceberg. Canada, through its technologies and its natural resources, is the target of espionage. The Trudeau government must expel the spies if it does not want to be accused of being lax and of not taking national security seriously.
Speaking of deportations, there are thousands of illegal immigrants in the country with lost criminal histories. In July 2020, the Office of the Auditor General revealed that the Border Services Agency was unable to trace 35,000 foreigners it was due to deport, including nearly 3,000 with criminal histories. The government is doing nothing to change the situation.
Armed violence in Montreal is no stranger to the presence of Mexican cartels on Canadian soil. The murder at the Rockland Center in Montreal in August is a reminder of this. It was no coincidence that Prime Minister Harper introduced a visa for Mexicans in 2009, a decision that Justin Trudeau was quick to reverse. The Trudeau government is betting on banning weapons, but the problem of smuggling and border control remains. The April 2020 Portapique killings in Nova Scotia were carried out with smuggled weapons; banishment would not have changed anything.
Immigration delays are also a crisis that will continue to make headlines with each new data update. The period of treatment stretches more and more. Minister Sean Fraser has just announced a new target of 500,000 immigrants per year by 2025, but, with the current deadlines, one can question his department’s ability to process applications.
Every crisis requires action. We don’t expect everything to be resolved immediately, but the list is growing, and time is not on the Trudeau government’s side. In a year, I doubt we will see any improvement and results. The economy will dominate the media landscape for the next few months, but it will not erase the problem of border control and the protection of our territory, which is also a sovereign role of the State. And this is only the tip of the iceberg of poorly managed crises for which the Trudeau government will pay the price.