People are ‘hurting,’ Poilievre says as O’Toole slams ‘F Trudeau’ flags – National | 24CA News
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre doesn’t like “rage,” and he doesn’t like profanity-laden flags about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he informed reporters on Friday.
But that anger is as a result of individuals are “hurting,” he added, because of cost-of-living struggles and leaders that “talk down to them.”
His remark comes on the heels of a Substack put up his predecessor, former Conservative chief Erin O’Toole, printed Friday morning. In the piece, O’Toole slammed what he referred to as “political stunts” and “aggressive rhetoric” that he stated are proliferating in politics at the moment.
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O’Toole pointed to the broadly used “F— Trudeau” flags that had been a mainstay on the “Freedom Convoy” protests earlier this yr as proof of the difficulty.
“I say this as the person who ran against Justin Trudeau in the last general election and someone who remains very critical of his record in government. But as I told my kids during that national campaign, Mr. Trudeau was my political opponent not my enemy,” O’Toole wrote.
“These flags and the hyper-aggressive rhetoric that often accompanies them are slowly normalizing rage and damaging our democracy.”
Many of the folks flying these flags, he stated, “claim to be conservative.”
“This might also be an appropriate time to tell them that these flags are the very antithesis of what it means to be conservative,” O’Toole wrote.
When a reporter pressed Poilievre on his predecessor’s feedback, the Conservative chief stated he has “never seen so much hurt and so much pain and suffering in our population in (his) nearly two decades in politics.”
“I don’t like the flags, and I don’t like rage,” Poilievre stated.
“But I think we have to ask ourselves: why are people so angry? Like, why are people so angry? And the answer is that they’re hurting.”
Poilievre agreed folks could be informed to “be more civil,” however stated it’s the duty of politicians to “actually try to solve the problems that have upset and angered and hurt people so badly.”
“It is our job to turn that hurt into hope, to transform it into something better,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Canada’s Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino warned over the summer season that the rising frequency of harassment in opposition to Canadian public figures poses a “threat to democracy” that must be taken significantly.
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His remark got here shortly after Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was verbally attacked in Alberta. In June, Mendicino additionally revealed that Canadian members of Parliament will probably be getting panic buttons amid an increase in demise threats, intimidation and verbal harassment.
When requested to replicate on this rising pattern in a year-end interview with Global National‘s Dawna Friesen, Trudeau stated there are “going to be people who disagree with any position that we take.”
“You can’t govern for eight years, now, and do significant things, as we have, and keep everybody onside all the time,” he stated.
The pushback, Trudeau added, tells him Canada wants “more good people” to get entangled in politics — however the rising anger is making that more and more tough.
“It’s hard to convince people to get involved in politics now,” Trudeau stated. “It’s harder to find good candidates. It is harder to convince people to step forward and represent their communities.”
Both Poilievre and Trudeau have taken turns alluding to the opposite’s position in fuelling Canadians’ anger.
Poilievre stated on Friday that the profanity-laden flags are a manifestation of Canadians’ frustrations — together with with political management — and that Canada wants “a prime minister that actually brings people together.”
Speaking to a room of Liberal Party members in mid-December, Trudeau additionally pulled no punches as he criticized the Conservative chief.
“Mr. Poilievre might choose to undermine our democracy by amplifying conspiracy theories … that’s his choice,” Trudeau stated.
“But when he says Canada is broken, that’s where we draw the line.”
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In his personal latest critique, O’Toole prompt the causes of polarization are “many” and “most are likely not going to change.”
“But the real risk to our democracy stems from the growing complacency of the majority. Canadians seem to be getting used to this high level of polarization in our country,” O’Toole stated.
“Too many people just shrug and ignore the rise in aggressive language, the social media pile-ons and the elimination of informed debate. This tone of division and mistrust is slowly becoming the new normal in politics.”
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
