How many of you remember the Summer Jobs program fiasco of 2018? That is when the federal government took an existing program and added an ideological test to the grant money that was being handed out. As you might recall, the ideological test “…required potential employers to attest that ‘both the job and the organization’s core mandate respect individual human rights in Canada, including the values underlying the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as other rights.’ ” The main problem with this was attesting a “right” to abortion. A pro-life group saw the problem and took the government to court.

The Minister in charge of this file at the time was Patty Hajdu, and her actions back then smacked of activism. She oversaw a decision that forced potential recipients of the grant money to agree to a statement that had moral implications. There was hope that this “strings attached” move would have been overturned by the courts, but this did not happen; in fact, in an October 22nd ruling, Justice Catherine Kane declared: “…this Application is not the forum to fuel this debate.” The case was dismissed, and we now have a bad precedent of ministers being able to attach ideological strings to the money distributed through programs for which they are responsible. Interestingly, the judge found that the “…limitation on the Applicants’ (Charter) rights was minimal….” “Minimal” does not quite cut it; the precedent and the message it sent to Trudeau’s cabinet is significant.

The current cabinet, unveiled on October 26th, is packed with more activists in important portfolios than before; it even has some Liberals questioning the direction of the government: “A number of Liberals reached out to express their concerns at the appointment of former activist Steven Guilbeault as the new environment minister and the removal of other more centrist voices like Marc Garneau and Jim Carr,” writes John Ivison in the National Post. The inclusion of Guilbeault especially, a known climate activist who has previously been arrested for his shenanigans is telling. Terence Corcoran wrote of him: “Guilbeault’s recent ministerial history at Heritage Canada suggests he is capable of massive overreach, incapable of getting things done by attempting to do things the government should not be doing.” He went on to write: “…installing radicals and climate-first activists who have a track record of extremism to the most important portfolios in the cabinet today suggests a level of risk-taking and commitment that puts the Canadian economy on a dangerous track.” Indeed!

On the subject of Liberals who are not too happy with the current administration, there is always Warren Kinsella (a former staffer for Jean Chrétien) who is highly critical of Melanie Joly being given the foreign affairs portfolio: “…the worst cabinet minister in the history of Canada.” And speaking of former PM Chrétien, who seems like a conservative by today’s standards, he recently expressed some concern about Canada’s ballooning inflation noting that we are “moving into a dark alley.” This is due to the government “printing money” without restraint.

Trudeau himself will have to take the responsibility for the people that he appoints to cabinet and for their actions. His choices are a reflection of the kind of government that he wants to run, one that is irresponsible on the economic front, and continues to be activist against traditional morality on the moral front.

Probably every government has had some activists in its ranks. But with the current administration, there seems to be an ongoing effort to silence or eject (as with Jody Wilson-Raybould) anyone who brings an “adult perspective” to the room. Trudeau seems to prefer activists to adults, and his latest cabinet choices reflect this. Expect more activism and less good governance. More big government and less independent thought. More ideological tests and less freedom.

For a party that believes in responsible government and freedom for all, support CHP and let others know about our policies that are based on unchanging moral standards.