Tag Archives: Political Corruption

Aug 20 2020

Manipulation – Confusion – Election Jitters


Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics

Re-Posted Aug 20, 2020 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Greetings Martin

I hope family is doing well. Your latest PB mentions the organized effort by gates and world economic forum to manipulate the entire world.

All of your past teachings have always said that No one can manipulate the World markets as “even Buffett couldn’t corner silver.” Even when they asked you to go in with them in Russia and they had the world bank on their side. Still failed.

So if they are manipulating this extremely organized effort do we think It will succeed? And if It does or doesn’t do you have suggestions for your subscribers as to where the hell we should go?

Like all of your readers I am MUCH!! Less concerned about Covid and Much more concerned about civil unrest and taxation etc

I work and live in NYC🙈🙈🙈

Everything you’ve written has occurred. I awake at night in panic about what to do. Just sell my practice and move to another state/country is a frequent conversation of my wife and I.

Leaving a buisness behind is one hard thing – leaving my other family members behind another. But we are willing to do whatever is best.

You had mentioned that you are going to release an update on places etc

Do you know when this may occur?

Normally I am concerned with equity markets but Socrates has done a great job of keeping us in the market to the long side even when all looked hopeless. Now with all of the “day traders” thinking its 1999 is It time to get a bit defensive as we head into the election cycle?

Much thanks as always!! You may know how much you help all of us, BUT I want you to hear It again. We All Thank you!!

Regards,

JCL

ANSWER: I do not see this attempted manipulation of the world economy as being successful. They are truly out of their minds, but they are a bunch of academics and billionaires who have never walked out of the street and dared to speak to one of the great unwashed. To them, we are all just pawns of finance too stupid to understand what their super-human minds are capable of seeing the future. However, sometimes a pawn can take down a king.

Leaving the cities like New York is ultimately the smart thing to do. However, it all depends on the election. If Trump wins there will probably be more violence from the usual characters. The Democrats have promised to bail out the states if they keep people locked down and unable to vote when possible other than mail. If Trump wins, those states will be hard-pressed for destroying their economies on a wish and a prayer.

The problem you have is that property values will decline in the cities. They are rising even in North New Jersey with people coming in and bidding over asking price. You can at least hedge your bets by trying to sell and rent until you see what happens. At least then you will be in a better position to leave faster.

This is certainly dividing families. Some refuse to think it can get worse. They want to be optimistic. My old professor said two people were standing on the top of the World Trade Center and a gust of wind blew them both off. The pessimist immediately started praying to be forgiven for his since. The optimist, as he was passing the fourth floor, said: Well so far so good!

Just try to be nimble. It is hard to leave – I know. Elizabeth Warren lays it out. They are playing to change America into a socialist country that has failed whenever it has been attempted.

 

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Elizabeth Warren

 

Friends —

This is our moment. Our moment to decide who we are as a country. Our moment to dream big and fight hard. And yes, our moment to win this battle for the soul of our nation.

But understand this: to make real progress towards social, racial, and economic justice, we have to win big in November. And we can only do that if we work — and persist — together.

As far as the markets go, the indexes are being propelled by a very select few stocks. The broader market is better reflected by the Russel 2000. There is always the risk that summer rallies end up in October panics.

Aug 18 2020

$30M Advance to WE Charity Still Outstanding?


WHERE’S THE MONEY?

Ken Grafton image

Re-posted from the Canada Free Press By  —— Bio and Archives—August 17, 2020

We Scandal, Justin Trudeau

For reasons not disclosed, WE Charity received a $30M advance payment from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in connection with the contribution agreement to administer the Canada Student Service Grant (CSSG) program.

The government has not confirmed repayment.

Questions regarding the program began almost immediately following the announcement on April 22nd by Prime Minister Trudeau of a $9-billion student aid package, which contained CSSG.

WE received payment(s) from the government amounting to $30M (for yet unspecified purposes)

While the contribution agreement with WE was not approved until June 23rd, WE started work on May 5th. According to testimony from Trudeau Chief of Staff Katie Telford before the Finance Committee, an unnamed official in the PMO spoke with WE on May 5th (in what must have been an interesting call), following approval of WE by the COVID-19 Cabinet Committee (on the basis of a recommendation from Youth Minister Bardish Chagger).

The PM testified however that he didn’t hear about WE in connection with CSSG until May 8th.

Cabinet approval was given on May 22nd, and the public service began negotiating an agreement with WE the following day…eighteen days after WE started work.

It was reported that although the contract was signed on June 23rd, it came into effect on May 5th (before the PM heard about it). If this sounds like complete nonsense, the “backdating” of contracts is generally permissible under Canadian Law…but not however for the purpose of misleading third parties (such as the public) or to circumvent Rules or Legislation (such as the requirement for Cabinet approval).

In the wake of growing controversy regarding conflict of interest and another investigation by Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion, cancellation of the WE agreement was announced on July 3rd.
Public confusion is forgivable here. The timeline is convoluted, but critical.

Somewhere between May 5th and July 3rd – and we can only assume that both the Ethics Committee and the Finance Committee will investigate transaction dates in order to determine whether any payments were made prior to signing the contract on June 3rd – WE received payment(s) from the government amounting to $30M (for yet unspecified purposes).

Where is the money now?

Appearing before the Ethics Committee Aug 11th, Chagger could not say how much of the $30M has been repaid by WE since the contract was finalized; “We can share that … $30 million has been released to the organization through the contribution agreement. I was not aware of how much money has been returned,” As Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Youth, Chagger was responsible for CSSG.

Non-Liberal committee members, and many Canadians, were surprised to learn that Chagger didn’t know how much money had been recouped…and that it wasn’t a higher priority.

Conservative MP Michael Barrett asked, “Why hasn’t the money been returned at this point? That seems odd. It’s been quite some time since the program was cancelled or that WE withdrew…” Chagger responded, “We want to ensure that all processes are being followed. So, I can assure you that the public service is working with the organization to ensure that it is returned.”

According to a Global News article on Aug 11th, WE issued a statement saying that they have repaid $22M of the $30M handed out when the contract was signed, and have been waiting on the government to accept the remaining $8M…whatever that means. A WE spokesperson said, “WE Charity has repeatedly communicated to ESDC the desire to return the remaining funds as soon as the government is able to accept the transfer.” They did not elaborate as to why they hadn’t returned the full amount immediately, or why the government was having difficulty accepting the outstanding balance.

Due diligence has been one of many glaring anomalies with respect to WE-Gate, with questions regarding WE’s financial health.

In testimony before the Finance Committee, Kate Bahen of watchdog Charity Intelligence Canada, outlined how she used easy-to-access financial data to report that WE Charity had financial stress, “At August 2019 year-end, WE Charity had cash and investments (gross funding reserves) of $11.5m compared with $14.0m at year-end August 2018. WE Charity’s bank loans increased to $13.7m in 2019 compared with $11.1m in 2018. This creates a negative funding reserve of $2.2m. For the second year, WE Charity is in breach of its financial covenants on its bank debt. Its bank has waived these conditions for the current period.”

With the $1 trillion debt that the Liberals have incurred, Canada has already emptied the national piggy-bank…and every penny counts

This would be the point where the loans officer at your local bank branch stops returning your calls.

A cursory review of WE’s 2018 Audited Financial Statement should have raised red flags.

Alarmingly, clerk of the Privy Council Ian Shugart admitted that federal officials did not probe WE Charity’s financial situation or governance structure when doing homework on the $912-million deal.

It has also come out that the WE agreement was actually made with the WE Charity Foundation, a private company owned by WE founders Marc and Craig Kielburger, not WE Charity. The foundation has no employees or assets, other than WE Charity. Since the payment was made to what is effectively a holding company, recovery of the funds could prove problematic.

It is incumbent upon the Government to inform Canadians what the status of the $30M is exactly, and when it will be fully repaid. If $22M has indeed been repaid, the government needs to say so, and recover the remainder owed.

With the $1 trillion debt that the Liberals have incurred, Canada has already emptied the national piggy-bank…and every penny counts.

Where’s the money?

Aug 18 2020

Kondratieff Wave – COVID – Future


Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics

Re-Posted Aug 18, 2020 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Hello Mr. Armstrong,
I would first like to thank you for your work on the public and private blogs so we small investors can understand the greater trend that has been building for quite some time.
I also hope that your health conditions have gotten better and that you are recovering.
Your work has deeply shifted my view from the university education that I have just now finished; ideological stances are everywhere.
However, I am confused about a subject that is not an economic one -COVID.

Regardless of the political motives being used with this virus to create the premises of a “new” socialist revolution (political Economy); this virus has come right around the 2020 solar minimum so are we to expect this virus to continue in some way shape or form (Mutate or another virus)?

Furthermore, what guidance would you give to the next generation (West), those coming in this new cycle of China’s undeniable Empire now facing inward in building their domestic economy?
We are seeing all the hallmarks of the end of the Western Empire’s absolute reign with crippling doomsayers, more broadly the cultural landscape of the West (Climate Change, Equality against Freedom)?

You have said that we will see a rise in the commodity cycle, is the commodity cycle synched with the Kondratieff wave of the new Energy being needed to create this new future.
Are these rare minerals part of the bigger trend?

The ground is moving but as Churchill once said we must “Never let a good crisis go to waste”

Thank you for reading this entirely, I hope you all the best
Sincerely
RLB

ANSWER: The Kondratieff Wave has been seriously abused over the years. Look at the economic structure from when he constructed that data for the wave. Commodities were 70% of the economy during the mid-19th century, falling to about 40% by 1900, and eventually 3% by 1980. This is why the Kondratieff Wave failed to work as people were predicting. The next ideal turning point will be 2028.

If I constructed a cycle based on the snapshot of the economy today, 70% would be the service industry. But things change with time so the model must also adapt to the changing structure of the economy. Additionally, there were waves of innovation pointed out by Schumpeter, but even this still missed the underlying causes. Prices certainly soared during the war, for this is when food production was also disrupted. Make no mistake about it, this COVID scare has reduced food production precisely as what unfolds during a war.

Even this still fails to dig deep enough. This was also a solar minimum. We were gradually coming out of the Little Ice Age and it was still cold into 1850. Therefore, the rise in warming was been a dead-cat bounce. Consequently, we are still in a position where we are vulnerable to a decline in solar activity, which is already reducing food production. Shortages will be seen in North Korea which will incentivize an invasion of the South if they see the USA becoming divided and weak. We also see crop failure in China. The rise in prices will be from SHORTAGES, not speculative demand.

Even if we assume that this virus was manmade, that does not prevent it from mutating. The common cold is a coronavirus and we cannot cure that. This will most likely mutate for years to come. That does not mean we should be locked down with masks for the rest of our lives.

As far as guidance is concerned, first, forget European languages and start studying Mandarin. As far as skills, look to technology. Programming will be critical, for it teaches you what is possible in this new age of artificial intelligence.

Aug 15 2020

Left – Right – Middle – Inevitable


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics

re-Posted Aug 14, 2020 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Do you think the Republicans are any better than the Democrats in Washington?

SP

ANSWER: All career politicians are a problem for they lack contact with the people. Longer-term, this form of government I seriously doubt will last. This is the very same problem of corruption that infected the Roman Republic which ended in the civil war and then Imperial Rome began. If you look at Athens, there was a constant battle between the oligarchy and those who were Democrats. Representative government has never been sustainable because politicians can be bribed.

The crisis with the Democrats is confined to the leadership which is pandering to the extreme left. My father was a Democrat. Not all Democrats are evil. The vast majority are not extreme left which will make this election very interesting. Then about 10% of the people are truly independent and will swing back and forth. The middle ground Democrats and Republicans have always worked together. But make no mistake about it, all career politicians of both parties are protective and do not like outsiders. They did not like Ronald Reagan at first because he was only a governor. Note that they picked Harris for VP not that she is qualified, but that (1) she is part black, (2) a woman, and (3) a Senator so she is in the game.

All Republics die from oligarchies and become infested with corruption. They hated Trump before he even took office BECAUSE he was not one of them regardless of his comments. It has always been a closed club. My father as a lawyer who defended a client against Republican U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy in his hearings.

Had the Supreme Court simply ruled honestly that Equal Protection is not limited to race, creed, or gender, but also class, we would not have this Marxist struggle. If you bad mouth a minority it is hate speech. If you bad mouth someone who has more than the average in material wealth you are exposing an injustice. If the Supreme Court simply upheld the constitution which makes no exception based upon any grounds, we would not have this clash between the parties and reduce the class warfare which ALWAYS leads to the collapse of every Republic in history.

Aug 15 2020

Markets, the Future & This Craziness


Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics

Re-Re-Posted Aug 14, 2020 by Martin Armstrong

It is impossible to forecast the markets without this political war that is taking place and the organized Great Reset. People have asked what about the extreme Republicans? It is very hard to find the middle ground any more. Both parties have their middle and those in the Democrats I speak too are equally concerned about the extreme left which has taken control. I have explained that this appears to be the last stand for the extreme old-guard in the Democrats. Their proposals of bailing out all state government pensions and to impose a tax on every transaction in the markets aside from income taxes will certainly undermine the economy long-term.

The extreme left in the Democrats only brings out the extreme right in the Republicans. We have also had enough of this 99% conviction rate and judges who always rule in favor of the government. We are simply without representation in the middle ground. The future will be so determined by events in the 2020 election. But regardless of who wins, the financial capital of the world will be moving anyhow by 2032.

This appears to be a question of global confidence which will turn on the election. But there are rising protests and the middle ground Democrats are becoming very disturbed by these tactics that seek to punish the people in hopes of overthrowing Trump. But the damage to the global economy will only start to surface after the election only because the life-preserver in many regions cannot be maintained forever and people who have lost their jobs will be out on the street. Only then will we see the true extent of this mess.

Aug 14 2020

Defending The “Defender In Chief”: John Yoo On Trump’s Fight For Presidential Power


An Interview with John Yoo

Monday, August 3, 2020

On the occasion of his new book, Defender in Chief: Donald Trump’s Fight for Presidential Power, Hoover visiting fellow and Berkeley Law School professor John Yoo joins the show to make a spirited case against the criticisms of Donald Trump for his supposed disruption of constitutional rules and norms. The conventional wisdom is that Donald Trump is a threat to the rule of law and the US Constitution. Mainstream media outlets have reported fresh examples of alleged executive overreach or authoritarian White House decisions nearly every day of his presidency. In the 2020 primaries, the candidates have rushed to accuse Trump of destroying our democracy and jeopardizing our nation’s very existence. In his book and on this show, John Yoo argues the opposite: that the Founders would have seen Trump as returning to their vision of presidential power, even at his most controversial and outrageous. It’s a fascinating and often humorous discussion that could not be more timely.

Recorded on July 29, 2020

Aug 13 2020

A Plea from a Member of the Italian Parliament – International Call to Action


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics

Re-Posted Aug 13, 2020 by Martin Armstrong

International call to action: demand your governments to access the technical-scientific data of Covid-19 emergency!

Italian international call to action demanding transparency and data on Covid-19.

We are appealing to all the associations (and citizens) whose Countries have experienced and are still experiencing restrictive measures like Italy. We need to share with you an unacceptable fact and we want to ask other citizens in the world to take action in order to shed light on the many shadows that envelop the emergency situation we are facing.

We are an Italian association 1 fighting for freedom of choice in the vaccination and therapeutical fields since 1993, but we are here today speaking also to those associations that do not totally agree with our way of thinking and living freedom.

Italian people have gone through the Covid-19 pandemic strictly following the rules imposed. Italian people have complied with the Government’s restrictions and provisions but even so, for months we have been watching tv programs showing drones, helicopters and law enforcement vessels chasing and identifying individual citizens walking deserted streets or empty beaches, 2-3-4-5-6-7 and even law enforcement precluding religious services. Media have been pointing the finger at the runners, ordinary citizens going solo for a run, suddenly becoming terrible plague spreaders and primary cause of infection, according to the mainstream media narrative.

We are silently accepting our Country’s economy to fall apart and we should at least expect that our Government, responsible for the imposed restrictive measures, would clarify and be willing to provide evidence and answers to the people.

Every single choice the Italian Government made to manage the Covid-19 emergency, was and will be based on the opinion of the Technical-Scientific Committee (CTS). A small number of people called the shots of the Government Agenda, from the forms and lasting of Lockdown, to the masks, the social distancing, and any regulatory act always issued “having consulted the CTS”.
Recently, three lawyers, being part of a foundation, decided to file a FOIA (request for access to documents) , specifically requesting to view the minutes of the Scientific Technical Committee of February 18th, March 1st, 7th, 30th and April 9th. The data and opinions expressed and collected in these minutes are basically the reason, the drive, the foundation for the Government to have issued every act relating to the Covid-19 emergency management.

After the request has been rejected at first instance, the lawyers have been forced to apply to a Court. On July 23rd, 2020 the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio (TAR) had ruled in favour of the publication of the documents by August 21st at the latest. 8

And here is the shocking and for us unacceptable fact: the Italian Government, through the State’s attorney, on July 31st opposed 9the Court (TAR) ruling, motivating that the publication would have caused “a real damage to public order and security that exposing the CTS minutes, at this stage of the emergency, would cause for both technical assessments and general guidelines of the technical body”. 10

On August, 5th 2020, we learned from journalistic sources 11 and from the same lawyers who had requested access to the documents, 12 that the Italian government will publish these minutes, but the question remains unchanged:

Why did not it make immediately transparent what really happened in the emergency? If the Italian government acted on expert opinions, why did it oppose the publication of the data? What are the contents of these reports that should cause damage? Why would damage to public order and security even be expected?

In the next days we will inform everyone about the content of these minutes, verifying together with many experts who work alongside us, if the emergency policies have been correctly undertaken, if they were fair or exaggerated or disproportionate, up to at least the end of the State of Emergency, but the fact that the Government has opposed the publication of documents that should be public, worries us greatly. We remind that the news of the declassification of the minutes, if analyzed with intellectual honesty, show that it took place solely for political conflicts with the parliamentary opposition, not for true listening and transparency towards citizenship.

All of you reading us, both ordinary citizens and associations, have at your disposal a tool created for this kind of action, the Freedom of Information Act, 13 that is the law granting freedom of information and public access to data held by national governments!

Anyone, by a legal team but also independently, may submit along the same lines a request for access to the documents aimed at verifying what are the conditions, the minutes, the documents that the various Countries have based on to pass decrees and various acts in the context of the Covid-19 emergency, obviously in relation to those acts that brought a counterpart in economic and limitations of personal freedoms terms. In our opinion, this is necessary, not because of a priori mistrust but because of a proper civic sense and supervisory task, democratically exercised with the tools available which exist precisely for these purposes.

If you believe that there are the conditions to raise legitimate doubts in the management of Covid-19 and if your Government has not made public all the data, opinions and “advice” of the experts dedicated to the Covid-19 emergency that have led to pass laws with inevitable strong impact on citizens’ lives in the short and long term, request in first person to make the original data and reports visionable!

Repropose this action in various Countries increases the possibility of shedding light on the management of this emergency situation linked to Covid-19, where the Italian government has instead vetoed this possibility, at least for now.

We are here to support all interested parties, according to our capabilities we will provide further clarification and our help for better understanding how the request has been put forward and how the Government has decided to reply.

A coordinated action is important and useful above all because it gives a clear sign of the people’s need and will to have answers, and it also increases the chances to obtain data and answers in this regard.

Thanks to everybody,
Corvelva Staff
Document undersigned by:

Sara Cunial, Member of Parliament
Ivan Catalano, President of COSMI, former MP and former Vicepresident of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry “Depleted Uranium”
Davide Barillari, Regional councillor of Lazio and President of the Commission Pluralism of Information
ADER
CliVa Toscana
Colibrì Puglia
Cittadini liberi consapevoli Puglia
CReLDiS
GruppiUniti.it
Genitori del No Obbligo Lombardia
VacciPiano Sicilia
… e molti altri
References
Website for International Call

If Bill Gates Was President

Aug 10 2020

China & US War in 3 Months?


Armstrong Economics Blog/War

Re-Posted Aug 10, 2020 by Martin Armstrong

The former Labor Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd has come out in a piece he wrote in Foreign Affairs – Beware the Guns of August—in Asia. Rudd is claiming that the US and China may go to war in three months ahead of the US elections. This is clearly the left trying to claim that Trump will start a war just to win the White House. This seems to be simply part of this entire global quest to usher in socialism and end capitalism. The left simply wants total power. Just look at Melbourne, Australia. This one beautiful city I visited often ios now a prison camp using COVID to strip people of all human rights. The police may now enter anyone’s home without a warrant and they imposed a Curfew 8:00 pm.

This entire issue of rising tensions will not lead to war under Trump. Even if China were to invade Taiwan, the US is not likely to send in ground troops. China is flexing its muscles because the West is committing politic-economic suicide with COVID. China knows the agenda and it is being driven by Bill Gates. Activists have been pushing US institutions to sell all investments in China because they are not yielding to the Climate Change Agenda. This is breaking the economic link that does prevent war.

In addition, China is moving to expand its own domestic consumer economy. It has adopted a different pather than Europe which clings to socialism and Germany is still a mercantilistic economy. China will become the new Financial Capital of the World because it is adopting a domestic view while the Democrats in the USA are trying to follow Europe and subjugate the productive capacity of the nation under Marxist class warfare.

While there is no question that war is coming. However, not simply because Trump needs to win the election. Yes, China has been staging assault practices to invade Taiwan. They have suppressed Hong Kong which was a vital economic link for its economy. The subjugation of Hong Kong shows that China’s economy has matured enough that it no longer needs to funnel business through Hong Kong. Many businesses borrowed in Hong Kong and took the cash directly back to China.

The confrontation cycle between China and Taiwan turned up in 2018 and we should expect this to really escalate into 2023. Nevertheless, underlying models do not look good economically for Taiwan. This entire COVID nonsense has seen as much as a 90% drop in profits for some of the biggest companies in Taiwan.

There is clearly a risk that 2020 could prove to be the major high and a decline into 2024 may unfold. This was a high volatility yearly target and we have witnessed an outside reversal to the upside. This may be the conclusion of this long-standing confrontation. With COVID raging in the West, there will be no economic basis to defend Taiwan from Europe or the USA. China knows the West cannot afford a war after destroying its economy. If I were China, I would wait for these further lockdowns to wipe out the various economics and that will reduce the threat of any retaliation. This will be like Rome expanding after the Greeks fought among themselves dividing their empire.

Macedonia Monetary History | Armstrong Economics

Titus Quinctius Flamininus (c. 228–174BC) was a Roman politician and general who was instrumental in the Roman conquest of Greece. That came 309.6 years from the birth of the Roman Republic. The fall of Greece to Rome came about 224 years from the peak of Greece prior to its conquest by Macedonia. Europe peaked really with the French Revolution. That came 224 years before the peak in government confidence which was 2015.75. From there onward, we have has not just BREXIT, but the election of Trump and the collapse in the basic civility within politics.

The Cycle of War has been edited and is off to the printer. The full scope of what we face has been provided in that book.

Aug 7 2020

Something is Wrong


Blog/Basic Concepts

Posted Aug 7, 2020 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: At the WEC in Orlando, you said something was wrong. Was the computer picking up this event of a crash being contrived?

JF

ANSWER: The computer clearly was picking something beginning in August 2019, which corresponded to the start of the Repo Crisis and the reaction high in the Russel 2000. Yes, I warned that there would be a crash with the turn in the Economic Confidence Model in January 2020. A divergence was clearly unfolding and has been very dramatic. The failure of the Dow and Russel 2000 to rally compared to the NASDAQ reflected a Paradigm Shift, which also took place during the Great Depression.

This is by no means a normal market, which is why the fundamental analysis makes no sense. The stock market rises while the economy declines. However, it is only selected segments of the economy, which is why there is such a disconnect between indexes and reality.

Aug 6 2020

How Many Times? That Is The Question


Finance Committee Hearing or Liberal Campaign Ad?

Ken Grafton image

Re-posted from the Canada Free Press By  —— Bio and Archives—August 4, 2020

How Many Times? That Is The Question

Prime Minister Trudeau testified before the Parliamentary Finance Committee on July 30th in connection with the WE Charity scandal, currently under investigation by Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion.

Canadians can be forgiven for wondering why.

Amping up the Trudeau charm, well lit and smiling directly into a high-resolution camera, coiffed hair blacker than beard; the relaxed PM was clearly focused upon communicating directly with voters, rather than answering questions from committee members.

The Trudeau brand was under attack, and the message for Canadians was that his Liberal government is doing a great job. The narrative ran that they would in fact be doing even more for Canadians, if it weren’t for Conservatives bringing up this nettlesome conflict of interest thing. Sure, he should have recused himself from approving the sole-source WE contract, but that wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for COVID-19…and his long-standing interest in youth-affairs. The Liberals’ commitment to providing financial assistance to students during COVID-19 led to an accelerated implementation of the CSSG Program…which caused the PM to slow down the approval process because of the increased scrutiny and appearance of conflict of interest that his family affiliation with WE would bring…before then failing to recuse himself from the process. The Civil Service made all the decisions anyway, not the PM. If the logic is difficult to grasp here…well….

Although it is impossible to disconnect the damming, feculent bright-red Liberal dots leading from WE to the Prime Minister, distraught Liberal spin doctors had obviously been billing some overtime on damage control.

The central pivot from conflict of interest and Liberal corruption seems to be good intentions and the tremendous benefit to young Canadians that could have been…if only the unfortunate scandal hadn’t blown up (read, if they hadn’t been caught).

Canadians should blame the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecoise, for making a mountain out of a mole-hill, really…when you think about it…from a Liberal prospective…

The questioning began:

MP Pierre Poilievre – “What is the total dollar value of all expenses reimbursed and fees paid and any other consideration provided by the WE group to you, your mother, your spouse, your brother and any other member of your family? Just the total please.”

PM Trudeau – “Uh…I don’t have that exact figure…uh…reimbursing expenses is something done by an organization…uh…for example…so I don’t have…uh…those totals.”

Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz (trying) – “Mister Speaker…uh…Point of Order…Mister Chair, sorry…not Mister Speaker. My Point of Order is what’s the relevance of these questions…uh…of ancillary…uh…fees paid to family members to the official motion…?”

Chairman Wayne Easter – “I don’t think that is a Point of Order Miss Dzerowicz, back to Mister Poilievre.”
Poilievre – “So you are telling me that you don’t know how much immediate family members have been paid in expense reimbursements by this organization.”
Trudeau – “Uh…my mother and my brother are professionals in their own right who…uh…have…uh engagements…uh…and have for many, many years with organizations across the country…”
Poilievre – “Do you know?”
Trudeau – “…uh…and I…uh…don’t have the details of their…uh…work…uh…work experiences of their…uh…expenses.”
Poilievre – “What about your spouse? What is the dollar figure?”
Trudeau – “Uh…WE…uh…I think WE Charity has been able to share those figures with you.”
Poilievre – “When was the last time that she had an expense reimbursed by WE Charity?”
Trudeau – “Uh…I…uh…believe it would have been to uh…”

As one can gather from this short excerpt, the Prime Minister was less than forthcoming. It’s a fine line between pivoting and refusing to answer. In Court, it may well have led to a charge of Contempt. Perhaps a Contempt of Parliament charge would be appropriate here.

Trudeau’s repetitive and vexatious use of the word “uh”

Also telling was Trudeau’s repetitive and vexatious use of the word “uh”. In linguistics, “uh” is known as a “hesitation form”, or “filler word”. Filler words are often a red flag for deception. In Psychology Today, Professor Jack Schafer of Western Illinois University, a behavioral analyst for the FBI, explains. “Little words, often ignored in normal speech, can signal deception. Words such as um and uh indicate cognitive load. Liars experience increased cognitive load. Um and uh signal impending delays is speech. Liars need time to evaluate their answers to ensure their lie will be believed. Liars also need additional time to choose the right words to camouflage the truth. Truthful people do not need extra time to convey information.”

The Prime Minister wouldn’t lie though, would he?

So, what are the issues with WE-Gate exactly?

The growing Hydra-like list may keep Commissioner Dion up at night:

  • Was CSSG designed specifically for WE to administer?
  • Why the Canada Service Corps was not tasked with CSSG?
  • Why a sole-source contract?
  • Details of due diligence done, due to the fact that WE appeared to be in financial trouble and in violation of bank covenants. WE Board Members had resigned and mass layoffs of staff had occurred. WE had also never delivered a similar program previously.
  • Why was WE paid $30M upfront, and how will it repay taxpayers?
  • Why was a WE real estate shell company used, instead of WE Charity?
  • Why was a $30M upfront payment made on contract award?
  • WE claimed initially that the PMO had called, asking if they wanted the CSSG contract.
  • Who authorized WE, and why, to begin spending money on May 5th, prior to June 23rd approval?
  • Failure to recuse/Conflict of Interest –
    • PM has spoken for WE in past
    • WE has paid for Trudeau campaign ads/gave Trudeau a platform to connect with hundreds of thousands of young voters
    • WE has paid Margaret and Alexander Trudeau
    • WE has paid Sophie Trudeau
    • WE relationship with Katie Telford
    • WE paid Bill Morneau $42K expenses
    • WE employs two Morneau daughters.

Beyond the blatant corruption

Beyond the blatant corruption issues however, the CSSG model may have also been fatally flawed from birth. The very real possibility exists that CSSG could violate Minimum Wage laws. CSSG would pay a student up to $10 per hour, which is less than the minimum wages in all of Canada’s provinces and territories. If the concept of paid volunteers seems counter-intuitive, the law actually recognizes two classes of volunteers. According to Labour Law firm Goldblatt Partners, “Volunteers are not covered by the Employment Standards Act in Ontario, and need not be paid the minimum wage. But that does not mean that an employer can evade its obligations under the Act by classifying anyone as a volunteer. Only a ‘true volunteer’ is excluded from the protections of the Act…if a participating student views the program as a means to make a livelihood during a time that fewer summer jobs are available, they may be able to argue that they are not a ‘true volunteer.’” A class action lawsuit waiting to happen then.

But, back to the show.

Poilievre (translation) – “I have a simple question for you. How many times does a Minister in your Government need to break the Ethics Act before being sacked? How many times?”
Trudeau (translation) – “We…uh…take it very seriously, every time there are Ethics issues…
Poilievre – “How many times?”
Trudeau – “…and…”
Poilievre – “How many times?”
Chair – “The Prime Minister has the floor…and he has the right to answer. Mister Prime Minister”

He had the right to answer, but apparently not the ability.

How many times? That is the question…for all Canadians.

Great campaign slogan for Conservatives next election cycle…