GUTLESS LIBERALS

   With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yet again on the defensive dealing with the fallout from the We Charity controversy, some Liberal MPs are “upset,” “outraged,” and “disappointed,” describing the scandal a “systemic error” where it appears no cabinet minister was willing to take the risk of telling the prime minister that he should recuse himself from the contract discussion because of his family ties.
   “So essentially what it is, is that nobody calls out the prime minister,” said a Liberal MP who spoke to The Hill Times on a not-for-attribution basis in order to offer his candid opinion. “Because everybody in that [cabinet] room is dependent on him for their job. So is it a system issue? It is truly a systemic error. In other eras, we’ve had three or four or five people who didn’t give a rat’s ass whether they were a cabinet minister, [or in other positions], who called things the way they saw, you know. [Late] John Crosbie [in Brian Mulroney’s cabinet], kind of a classic example, Don Macdonald [Pierre Trudeau cabinet] would be another example. These are the kind of people who gave you their unvarnished advice.”
    The MP said he does not know anyone in the current cabinet who would offer his or her blunt advice and call out Mr. Trudeau when they saw anything inappropriate at the cabinet table. Other MPs and senior Liberals interviewed said that, over the years and because of the ever-increasing tight control from “The Centre,” cabinet ministers and MPs, with some rare exceptions, have become afraid of calling out the leader as this is seen as a “career limiting move.”