Justin Trudeau fell right into Stephen Harper’s Bill C-51 “trap”, GreenLibs member says

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      Love him or hate him, Stephen Harper is a superb gamesman.

      Even a member of a strategic environmental voting organization that wants to see the prime minister booted out of office has some grudging compliments for the Conservative leader.

      “I have to hand it to the guy,” Jon Cooksey of the GreenLibs, formerly the B.C. Green Liberal Caucus, told the Straight in a phone interview today (March 26).

      According to the Vancouver filmmaker, Harper’s handling of the introduction of Bill C-51, the antiterrorism bill, has been nothing short of “brilliant”.

      Cooksey described the legislation as a “trap”, and asserted that federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau walked into it by deciding that his party will vote in favour of the measure. (Today, the party proposed some amendments to the bill.)

      It’s a trap because the legislation lumps environmental activists like Cooksey and others in with violent extremists, the filmmaker explained.

      “He is setting traps for Trudeau where Trudeau, in order to seem centrist, has to tack to the right,” Cooksey said.

      Harper knows that in an election year, Trudeau has to win votes from both the right and left, and polling shows that the antiterror legislation is a popular one, he added.

      Aside from Harper, there’s one other guy who’s happy about that—NDP leader Tom Mulcair—according to Cooksey.

      “Of course Mulcair loves that,” Cooksey said. “Great, I’ll tack to the left and Trudeau will end up looking like a…quisling. You know, Trudeau will look like the guy that’s betraying all of the left and all of the environmentalists.”

      According to Cooksey, Trudeau’s support for Bill C-51 could lose him some votes from the left, which is what Harper wants.

      Rather than focusing his criticism on Harper and working together with the Liberals to defeat the PM, Mulcair appears to be “gleefully” going along with Harper’s ploy, Cooksey maintained.

      “Because he doesn’t like Trudeau either,” Cooksey said of Mulcair. “So he keeps shoving Trudeau into these traps that Harper is laying. And that’s maddening for me.”

      Comments

      7 Comments

      Austin Greengrass

      Mar 26, 2015 at 8:47pm

      It is disgusting to have politicians paid to represent us that are more interested in playing political one up man ship games with Canadian Rights and Freedoms and our international reputation than doing what is morally correct and the wishes of the vast majority of the Canadian public...The manipulation of the public by mass media funded by tax dollars and unopposed secret trade deals ...the obvious contempt of parliament shown by most mp's and senators makes me think it is time to charge them all with treason and demand the death penalty for betrayal of public trust.

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      p kelly

      Mar 27, 2015 at 5:06am

      Are you kidding me? It's now Mulcair's fault that Trudeau is inept? Give me a break. This guy is supposed to be the next Prime Minister. But can resist blaming everyone else for his own incompetence.

      Henriux

      Mar 27, 2015 at 9:00am

      Mulcair and the NDP have nothing to do with Trudeau's vote. The Lib leader is voting according to his own will, and the Libs should take full responsibility for their vote.

      Michael Gangnon

      Mar 27, 2015 at 10:32am

      If anyone saw that exchange harper was not the winner I have been negotiating contracts for 36 years Harper was stuck for an answer and all he could do is say Nananannana he was disgusting to say the least the only reason the idiot who thought Harper was the winner must be in his gang of spin doctors that never listen to anyone other than their dictator leader Harper the truth will be in a few months when Harper so called Plan folds like an accordion when the Mounties or the provincial policed walk into your home after you send an questionable email all Canadians freedoms are on the line this C 51 if past will be the beginning of our downfall in our country only an idiot would say something so stupid. How serious do you think it could be first off Harper is bombing the most terrible Isis terrorist on this earth the world has not seen such brutality in the last 3000 years. but its not our responsibility and I wouldn't die for any of it but if you agree with harper then lets see you and his children get over there just wait until the bodies start to come back if their not burned to a crisp . and the part you don't understand what we do over there is Bomb people good and bad that means we will have lifetime enemies that we will surely wish we never had so why don't you get back into the harper spin room your making the rest of us ill

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      kdh

      Mar 27, 2015 at 1:53pm

      Public support for Bill C-51 has since plummeted. Only 40% of Canadians supported it according to Forum Research, and a new poll has shown that dropping to ~37%. The only poll that showed it was popular was one conducted immediately after its release by Angus Reid.

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      Sharon Rose

      May 6, 2015 at 6:44pm

      Justin was played and like a troubled kid, fell for harpers game

      W Laux

      May 7, 2015 at 3:35am

      Trudeau is a fool. Anyone who votes Liberal this year is a fool. Don't split the Left Vote.

      Vote for the Party that stands up for Canadians and our Rights and Freedoms.

      Liberals and Cons.

      Two sides of the same coin.

      Had the Ad Scam when I left Highschool and have had to live in the ever increasing Fascist society Harper and the Conservatives have created ever since then.

      Alberta showed the rest of Canada what we should be doing.

      Vote NDP.

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