In Justin Trudeau’s Canada, every announcement seems to be a virtue-signal to voters.
It’s also been Trudeau’s go-to response for almost every issue, because symbolic pronouncements before a fawning media consortium always trumps boots-on-the-ground action.
Trudeau’s military aid announcements for Ukraine are no exception.
The National Post headline reporting on Canada’s tiny contribution of arms and ammunition to Ukraine said, “Their real value is symbolic.”[i]
The cynical might ask why Trudeau made the announcement at all, but they would not be shocked to hear the answer.
“Because… politics.”
When we saw the headline, “Their real value is symbolic,” we were taken aback until we realized this was, like almost every other government press conference, entirely symbolic.
Trudeau’s announcements – on Ukraine or anything else – are aimed squarely at Canadian voters.[ii]
Ordinary Canadians’ public outcry over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine merely gave the pandering Prime Minister the excuse to play his favourite role, that of The Magnanimous Benefactor.
It was an opportunity Justin Trudeau refused to miss.
For Trudeau, sending automatic weapons to Ukraine is “symbolic.” It’s also meant entirely for a domestic Canadian audience – to sell the message to Canadian voters that Justin Trudeau cares.
Trudeau’s steadfast refusal to fund our own military to the level required to meet our NATO obligations is also symbolic, as is Trudeau’s neglect of the brave men and women who serve in our armed forces.
Trudeau’s promise to deliver clean drinking water to our First Nations communities by the end of his first year in office was symbolic.
Justin Trudeau’s staged photo with a teddy bear at residential school sites was also symbolic.
Despite Canada being a net exporter of oil, the lack of inexpensive gas and oil in all ten provinces and three territories is far from symbolic for ordinary Canadians;[iii] but it’s entirely symbolic to Justin Trudeau, who doesn’t pay to fill the gas tank of his limousine. (We do.)
Justin Trudeau sending automatic weapons to Ukraine is predictably symbolic.
So is confiscating legally-owned semi-automatic firearms from licensed Canadian firearm owners.
But these gun confiscations are not just symbolic to Justin Trudeau’s federal government.
These confiscations of legally and privately owned property are highly symbolic to hundreds of thousands of ordinary Canadians from coast to coast to coast, all of whom took the time, effort and expense to become licensed firearm owners, jumped through all the hoops, and yet were betrayed by their own government.
Canadian firearm licence holders – the only identifiable group having their legally-owned property stolen by Justin Trudeau’s government – clearly see the hypocrisy of Trudeau’s government sending automatic rifles and handguns to the good citizens of Ukraine while confiscating semi-automatic rifles from hard-working Canadians here at home.
Sources:
[i] https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/their-real-value-is-symbolic-why-canada-shares-details-about-weapons-for-ukraine
[ii] ibid
[iii] https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/energy-sources-distribution/clean-fossil-fuels/oil-supply-demand/18086
Despite a correction, Canada’s gun control debate is still tainted by bad information