So now even the Toronto Star, or one of their columnists, has come out and said Justin Trudeau needs to answer more questions. Since the story of the 18 year-old groping allegation hit the news three weeks ago, Trudeau has relied on a canned statement from his office.
Having never been questioned on the issue in person, Trudeau has been able to get away with his team of communications staffers saying that he doesn’t remember any “negative interactions” when he visited Creston, British Columbia in August of 2000.
After columns by myself and Mark Bonokoski in the Toronto Sun, the daily papers and broadcasters of this country – outside of private talk radio – ignored this story. But suddenly we have Andrew Dreschel at The Spec, Robyn Urback at CBC’s opinion site, Anne Kingston at Macleans, Andrew Coyne at National Post and now…..Tim Harper at the Toronto Star….all saying Trudeau can’t skate past this.
Harper wrote that even if the woman in this case, who spoke out 18 years ago but wants to be silent now, decides to stay silent – Trudeau cannot.
He is the prime minister, a self-styled feminist who has acted decisively and quickly when other such allegations have been raised about caucus and cabinet ministers.
He owes the country more clarity than a statement from his office.
It comes with the job.
If Trudeau were to live up to his own words he would step aside from official duties while an investigation happened. It is what he has put on other MPs and it is his words, not mine, that say he should be held to the same standard. He also said it doesn’t matter how old the allegation is.
That will be up to Trudeau, the Liberal caucus and eventually voters to rule on.
In the meantime the media that covers this guy on a daily basis need to ask the PM some real questions on this issue.
A short statement on the Friday before a long weekend won’t cut it, Trudeau needs to answer real questions, and not just on the allegation.
A friend sent me a note with a very good question that should be put to the PM.
“Are you aware of any settlement, settlement offer, or negotiation with the young woman involved in the incident in Creston, where a non-disclosure agreement was discussed?”
While I’m willing to bet the young woman just wants to move on with her life, this is not out the the realm of possibility.
I think Trudeau should also answer follow-ups on other potential incidents and whether he does actually believe that he should be treated like all MPs as he once proudly boasted.
Let’s see if our media can do their jobs and if Trudeau will heed the call or dodge once again.
Trudeau is slimy!!! He will not hold himself to the standard he has done to others!!!!!
[…] No I say that one of the questions that must be asked, was there an agreement or payoff for silence. […]
Justin was forced to resign from his part time private high school job. There is a real story here, I hope that the facts are allowed to come out.
Ahhhh. That makes sense
YES, YES, YES!!! It’s only a matter of time that this entitled, narcissist trust fund BRAT has his REAL history come out! Man up, Justin! Your endlessly high handed, lecturing moral superiority bs is FINALLY coming under close scrutiny! Even the Liberal propaganda machine cannot stop this!! It’s just TOO TRUE and TOO JUICY! And by the way…how about some much needed scrutiny of his unelected, unaccountable ‘advisors’ ? Truth is…Canada’s future as a nation hangs in the balance.
Your op-ed is totally bogus. The corporate media (including the CBC Broadcast Corp.) cannot find a single thing to criticize about Trudeau except for a ‘she said she didn’t say’ flimsy media report. The reasonable explanation (considering the fact that now the woman who claimed as a girl that she was groped with zero evidence other than her statement, now will not repeat the claim and has zero supporting evidence) is, vacant evidence to the contrary, that as she has no proof and is no longer willing to make the claim of groping because it never happened. Even the Prime Minister of Canada has the right under the law to be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law where he has the right to cross examine the testimony and test its reliability and expose any contradictions, present defense witnesses, and establish his innocence. While the complainant has the very same rights.
Brian Lilly I hope you are getting a big payday from the corporate biggies who troll for, and pay handsomely for mock-truth pablum for the Tories to pretend corroboration of an unsupported 18 year old possible accusation (perhaps she has no comment because she never actually made the claim? except for your accusation – sans proof, none offered then and none offered now – just crass self serving accusations)
When corporate owned Tories come out accusing and insulting their political opponents based on unsupported, unsubstantiated, 18 year old media accusations which were never official complaints to police, who do have the capacity to investigate and to test the veracity of information/accusations, question witnesses, and generally conduct a reliable investigation (your big fat ‘gut’ feeling is irrelevant except for gas pains and flatulence)! None of which happened. As Brick contends in “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” regarding the general level of “mendacity” in the world around him ….. “There ain’t nothin’ more powerful than the odor of mendacity!!!”
I can smell it all the way to Toronto!
Good to see that Liberals want everyone held to account but their own leader.
By the way, I would not consider CBC, Toronto Star, Macleans to be be conservative corporate media. Neither would I describe Andrew Coyne or Andrew Dreschel in such terms but keep at defending your leader for something he would suspend a cabinet minister over.
But they worked on the same standard with Patrick Brown. Two females with flimsy stories that were slowly coming apart. The two who did not want to keep repeating as each time another inconsistency came up. Why is Trudeau not under the same microscope? I would like to know more about this “Grope”, does not sound like an unwanted “Hug” that he is famous for.
Sorry but your huge post was for naught! I smell mendacity all over you!
I can smell mendacity all over you!
mmmmmm much more to this story and you just blew it open…someone pay you for commenting like this. So, how does this work JT actually makes a vain attempt at an apology…had I known you worked for a newspaper, etc. I smell a rat!
He will not answer any questions
So what was Justin Trudeau apologizing for if he was innocent? Think about it. A 28 year old Teacher..”Trudeau apologized a day late “if I had known you were reporting for a national newspaper…”
Anyone for Open Borders is just not good for the Nation Diversity leads to Armagedon