Actually Not

"There is a level of admiration I actually have for China. Their basic dictatorship is allowing them to actually turn their economy around on a dime and say we need to go green ... we need to start investing in solar."
"Canada is the best country in the world. I would never trade our freedoms. But countries we compete with play by different rules. That's why we need to work together to address big issues and that's why I'm focused on the (real priorities) of Canadians."
Justin Trudeau, leader of the federal Liberal Party of Canada

Tyler Anderson / National Post   Federal liberal leader Justin Trudeau speaks to an audience of mostly women at an event called 'Justin. Unplugged.' in Toronto, Ontario, November 7, 2013.

 

'Actually', China, while avidly searching for new, reliable sources of energy abroad to augment its current 70% use of coal to the point of 'actually' banishing sun and light and clean air from the atmosphere in China, has few thoughts that it might 'need to go green'. And 'actually', it seems from Justin Trudeau's musings that appear to pop into the vacancy of his head, making speed to emerge from his unwary mouth, he has given little thought to what he utters.

In speaking of the difference of governance and economic progress and energy use between Canada and China, the vacuous Justin Trudeau cannot overlook the urge to take a stab at his political nemesis in this country, the Prime Minister, commenting that Mr. Harper "must dream about having a dictatorship where you can do whatever you wanted". Scurrilous, and in fact, absent reason and reasonableness.

Despite which he had this also to say during the Toronto conference, a $250-a-head women's convention geared to raising funds to aid and assist women political candidates to run for public office: "I think there's a lot to be said for people pulling together to try and solve issues rather than to score points off of each other. And I think we need a little more of that", without ever feeling that his own comments might be where such a conversion might begin.

Canadians of a certain vintage may recall Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau took his family to Cuba to meet with Castro, speaking of a special bond of comradeship with a Communist leader who almost brought the world to the brink of nuclear war through his invitation to Russia to set up a nuclear installation in his country, leaving our next-door neighbour to mount a serious response that could have ignited the world.

Realpolitik means that certain things are accepted and others are not. In the world of today, trade and economic cooperation between countries that don't share political ideologies is common. While Trudeau the elder helped to open Canada's ties with China, as one of the first countries of the west to recognize the Communist government, and first to open an embassy in Beijing, it is the current Conservative-led government that seeks to enlarge trade prospects following on its predecessor's inroads.

In that regard there isn't that much separating the two parties. But admiration for a giant of commercial entrepreneurship isn't misplaced; it is misunderstanding the very real cost in quality of life for the people of China who benefit from their new economic model while trading it for increased risk of lung diseases and killing cancers that labels Justin Trudeau as severely lacking common sense and the ability to discern truth from legend.