It is truly shocking that it took this long but slowly, Canada’s establishment media is starting to admit they must ask questions about Justin Trudeau and those groping allegations.
Belatedly we have seen columns from, in order, the Hamilton Spectator, CBC Opinion, Macleans and National Post.
I have yet to see the Toronto Star publish on this. The Globe and Mail, currently busy taking down a winemaker on similar claims has yet to publish on this front as well. As for broadcasters like CTV, Global and CBC – nothing.
Well actually, to be fair, the issue was discussed briefly on CTV’s Power Play with host Don Martin.
Yet why did it take 21 days after the original post was made to reach what could almost be described as critical mass?
Groping from a whisper to a scream.
The original article, published in August of 2000, surfaced earlier this year in Frank Magazine. None paid much heed to that. Then on June 6, 2018, just as Trudeau was releasing his findings about former cabinet minister Kent Hehr and groping allegations, Warren Kinsella posted on the matter.
Kinsella, a Liberal but not necessarily in love with Trudeau Jr., simply posted an image of the original editorial in the Creston Valley Advance with the lines, “UM, WHAT?” and “Handled”?
From there my friend and Sun colleague of days gone by Mark Bonokoski picked up the story with his own column.
The NY Times made mention of the matter, Buzzfeed, Daily Caller, Daily Beast, Sun UK and others all wrote about this seemingly feminist prime minister groping a female reporter and then offering the oddest of apologies.
“I’m sorry. If I had known you were reporting for a national newspaper, I would never have been so forward,” Trudeau was quoted as saying 18 years ago.
I posted my own column on the issue on June 11, 2018 where I pointed out that Trudeau, by his own standard, had to be held to account on this.
Using the words that Trudeau himself had spoken to CBC, I pointed out that this was a PM that had set a standard that was quite high. Yet Trudeau himself said that he should be held to the same standard as all MPs. He also said it doesn’t matter how old the allegations are.
Trudeau is still getting a pass.
So why were the media not holding Trudeau to the same standard he set for his own MPs?
Outside of the Sun newspapers and some talk radio hosts, this story was almost entirely online. If I posted on it, traffic was through the roof.
Canadians wanted to know why Trudeau was being cut slack when Patrick Brown, Rick Dykstra and so many others were not. Why was Trudeau allowed to remain Liberal leader and PM when he himself had removed Liberal MPs over flimsier allegations?
So while it is good that folks like Andrew Coyne at National Post and Anne Kingston at Macleans have joined in writing about this issue, I need to point out that not a single person that is able to ask Trudeau questions in media scrums on Parliament Hill has done so.
Media in this country is going through massive changes and struggling to keep an audience. Refusing to report on a story that gets a strong airing online but is ignored in mainstream outlets won’t help with media survival.
Report on the allegations, ask questions, hold Trudeau to the same standard he has set for everyone else.
Simple.
[…] They may not like to write about it, they may reluctantly do it, but slowly more outlets are covering the Trudeau groping story. Finally. […]
This story does serious damage to the ” at least he’s not like Trump” narrative.
Our little potatoe is becoming more like a dick tater.
The smallest door opens, ever so slowly to reveal an opinion page at the CBC… https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/trudeau-zero-tolerance-1.4723664
The Lie brals need PM Trudeau to step down as PM. He did what others did in his party and they were admonished to the back bench…so should he!! VOTE OUT THE LIE BRALS IN 2019…VOTE OUT THE LIE BRALS IN 2019!!!
He needs to be held to the same standards as everyone else ! What puts him above anyone else ?
He is a liberal and Canada loves them.
Scott Andrews should be parading outside Truedough’s office every day with a very large sign saying, “QUIT, HYPOCRITE” until he resigns – or, is pushed.
[…] That article opened the taps and now (late June 2018) the Canadian media is reporting on it: Maclean’s, CBC, Ottawa Citizen, Brian Lilley. […]
He is a trudeau
They think they are better than you and I
He will never answer the questionsbb
What bothers me is that he chooses to maintain his line of, “I don’t remember any negative interactions that day at all.”(cbc), as opposed to the emphatic and unequivocal rejection of the allegation which one should expect if the accusation was false. His response is deceptive and, in effect, it attempts to put the onus and pressure on the victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, to expose herself. I believe that Trudeau knows exactly who she is and I suspect that he has a perfectly vivid memory of the incident. Frankly, his response doesn’t pass the smell test.
yes When he did comment he said I remember the day clearly and he said I don’t remember anything negative happening.So is he saying she lied or he lied? He called the reporter back the next day and apologized that’s admission and said if he knew she was a reporter which implies he has done this to others that weren’t reporters. If he called her the next day he is lying that he doesn’t remember anything negative happening. Then why did he called to apologize. Then he is lying. Or he believes that making a sexual advance without consent is not negative . Well maybe to him it is not negative but I bet it was frightening to her. Apologizing for an unwanted sexual act doesn’t wipe the slate clean it is a confirmation that he did commit this crime. And by admission of this makes him a sexual predator.