Thread by @Happyjustice4

Long thread:

People ask, how can you still want to vote for Trudeau after this. (Well actually, some people sneer, clearly thinking those of us who continue to support him lack their great wisdom and judgment). I will tell you why I do.

First, I think I’ve been clear in my comments thus far that I question Dion’s factual and legal conclusions. At the worst, based on his conclusions, Trudeau intentionally went as far as he believed he legally could to get WR to grant the DPA, but didn’t intend to cross the line.

But let’s say he did intentionally cross the line. How do I vote, knowing that being ethical is so important for someone in power. Well, I have to balance that w what happens when Cons are in government. Who wins, and who loses.

Financially, I win w a Con govt. My taxes may go down (they went up under Trudeau). I’m middle aged, white, comfortably retired, in a long term and loving relationship, physically and mentally healthy. I’ve got nothing to lose w Scheer in govt.

My guess is that many of those media and academic types calling for Trudeau’s head right now have nothing to lose either. They live comfortably, work in their office building and ivory towers, talk about data, and research and basically do really smart academic kind of things.

I have a comfortable life. Many might say I have a great life. I am lucky. Unlike most of you tho, I have a real appreciation for how lucky I am. I have spent most of my career working w and advocating for the most vulnerable people in society.

I’m talking about the working poor, the poor, and the desperately poor. I’m talking about the mentally ill, the physically less able, the people w FASD or other cognitive disorders who cannot function in society without assistance. I’m talking about refugees or immigrants.

Now lots of academics and journalists write about these people. They may even do studies on them. Precious few work w them on a day to day basis. Precious few have any real understanding of the barriers they face just to survive. Politicians have even less understanding.

So why is this important? I’ve practiced law thru various federal and provincial governments and have a 1st hand knowledge of how policy affects these people. Provincially, underfunding social, education and health is devastating.

Federally, keeping immigrant families apart, hardline refugee policies (including, under Harper, deporting Convention Refugees which I understand had not been done under previous govts), failure to address underlying causes of crime in any meaningful way, is devastating.

And what about the LGBTQ community? I used to see teens and young adults mired in addictions because their gender or sexual identity was shunned by their communities. We currently have the choice of a PM who openly accepts this community, or a PM who barely tolerates them.

And what about POC. Obviously I can’t speak for them, but is it any secret that hate groups are openly advocating white supremacy these days? Which govt will be more accepting of these groups?

Don’t tell me that we can choose to vote NDP or Green. That’s all nice and fluffy in theory, but we all know the only parties who can form govt are LPC or CPC. I don’t need some guy finger wagging at me telling me I have options outside the LPC. I don’t. We all know it.

So my vote isn’t for me. It’s for the country. It’s for the poor, the vulnerable, the disenfranchised. It’s for the people I think should have the same awesome life I have, and who will never get that life w a CPC govt.

Are the liberals perfect? Not by a long shot. Like all govt bureaucrats and, frankly, everyone else, they could use the input of the people on the front line who work hard every day to bring safety and security to our most vulnerable.

But the liberals are at least interested in making life better for people. We know this by the way they rely on evidence based policy instead of ideology. We know this by the way their leader, and his cabinet, openly embrace diversity.

I know this by seeing a Cabinet that reflects gender diversity. By seeing judges who reflect diversity. I see a PM who openly acknowledges his privilege and who actively works to break that down.

I could talk about the environment. There’s really no dispute the CPC aren’t going to seriously tackle climate change. I could talk about reconciliation. I’m sure the NDP could do more on this than Trudeau, but they won’t win, and Scheer isn’t even talking about it.

This ethical failure is serious. For some it may be the most important issue that determines their vote. Awesome. But for those people who are directly, and negatively, affected by CPC policies, there are bigger issues.