What Brexit? Why Andrew Scheer seems reluctant to talk about the project he once called 'cool'
1269 Comments
David Raymond Amos Methinks this is a hugely comical part of the Circus. Trust that Harper 2.0 and everybody else knows that Boris and I have been dicing for years because I sued our Queen when Harper was Scheer's boss Anyone can Google the following N'esy Pas?
Boris Johnson David Raymond Amos
The comment above got buried quickly so I reposted it in the ?Most liked" thread
Gorden Feist And y thinks Brexit (an excuse for the UK to leave the EU so billionaires can avoid taxes) is cool. He's buddies with Kenney (who uses taxpayer dollars to fib to the public via his "war-room") He's the only federal leader unconcerned about climate. The warning signs are there. Andy would be a disaster for this country. The middle class would suffer along with the environment while the billionaires laugh all the way to climate extinction.
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Gorden Feist: Methinks this is a hugely comical part of the Circus. Trust that Harper 2.0 and everybody else knows that Boris and I have been dicing for years because I sued our Queen when Harper was Scheer's boss Anyone can Google the following N'esy Pas?
Boris Johnson David Raymond Amos
Chas Stuart Scheer is a naive fool when it comes to foreign affairs why listen to him at all.
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Chas Stuart: Methinks it good for a lot laughs to listen one of the most important clowns performing at the circus N'esy Pas?
April Wong Seriously CBC? This is important Canadian news during an election? Trudeau doesn’t answer any questions...please Enough bias
David Raymond Amos Reply to @april wong: Methinks its rather obvious that many of peoplekind strongly disagree with you N'esy Pas?
James Holden Scheer supports the disaster that is Brexit. He doesn't care about the deleterious effects it will have on their general population. Brexit is at it's core a tax dodging scheme for the rich, to keep their tax havens that EU legislation will clamp down on. Harp/Scheer is just fine with that.
David Raymond Amos Reply to @James Holden: Methinks to be fair you should admit that Harp/Scheer doesn't care what you think N'esy Pas?
Kimmy Smith Conservatives hate all global organizations because they have no historical awareness of their importance.
Kimmy Smith
Reply to @Mayna Rose Rose Westcott: All they do is whine about "globalists" and spew nonsense though.
Mo Bennett
Reply to @Kimmy Smith: mostly because they don't know what they are. and can't be bothered to find out.
David Raymond Amos Reply to @mo bennett: YO MO Methinks its obvious that some of peoplekind agree that you made a profound observation N'esy Pas?
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Kimmy Smith: Where did the lady of two Roses go?
MASSEY JONES We can't blame Andrew Scheer for not wanting to touch the subject with a 10-foot pole. Mainly, because the press will press the fact that he's now meddling in another nation's problem.
One more factor, could be that in vote-rich 905 Ontario (the Golden Triangle region), there is a lot of "blue money", from people with roots to Great Britain in particular and Europe, in general.
So, he's letting Boris Johnson, work his local version of MAGA. And we're about to find out that Andrew Scheer is not as flashy as Justin Trudeau, when it comes to marching in public events, such as parades of every description.
I dare opine that he's even more private by nature, than Stephen Harper. Right now, we find him in front of crowds, because "it's necessary to be there".
David Raymond AmosReply to @MASSEY JONES: Methinks Harper 2.0 brought it up in the first place when it behoved him to do so N'esy Pas?
Myles Grant It is now three years since the Brexit vote....Many young Brits, Who tend to support the EU, can now vote. Many older people, who supported Brexit 3 years ago, have since died. So if the Brexit vote were held today, The result would probably be completely different. And as it is the young people who will have to live their whole life with the results of the Brexit vote, then they should have a chance to have their opinion heard. No wonder Scheer is backing away from his earlier support of this disastrous brexit vote.
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Myles Grant: Yea Right
Brad Arvisais This is a tough and cruel world, I think we're all stronger together. I don't quite understand this go it alone mentality that some conservatives are in love with.
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Brad Arvisais: Methinks at least the conservative love the circus just like everybody else does. In a dog eat dog world we should be grateful that the clowns can put on quite a comical tragedy even if it at the expense of our rights and interests N'esy Pas?
What Brexit? Why Andrew Scheer seems reluctant to talk about the project he once called 'cool'
Once Canada’s keenest Brexiteer, Scheer now avoids the topic
Federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer was once Canada's most prominent fan of Brexit. These days, he seems reluctant to discuss the project. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)
Andrew Scheer once thought it wise to throw his wholehearted support behind the project to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union. But the Conservative Leader who once called Brexit "cool" may be regretting his choice of words now.
It's safe to say Brexit hasn't gone as planned. The project has devolved into an all-consuming constitutional crisis in the U.K. — polarizing the nation, endangering its economy and holding it up to worldwide scorn.
The damage sustained by Brand Britain has cut deep. The referendum that was supposed to cleanly separate the U.K. from the EU now risks causing the break-up of the United Kingdom itself and undoing a fragile peace in Ireland.
They're not exaggerating the potential for violence in the Brexit debate. One anti-Brexit MP, Jo Cox, was murdered by a right-wing extremist days before the EU referendum in 2016.
The toxic imbroglio of the current Brexit debate appears to be distant from the "new, confident future" Scheer predicted inan article he wrote for the National Post in the days before the referendum.
Less than a year ago, AndrewScheer was stillpublicly backing Brexit. He even went out of his way to flag his enthusiasm for the project on social media.
These days, Scheer seems reluctant to touch the topic. But the fact that he stood almost alone among prominent Canadian federal politicians in his early and enthusiastic embrace of Brexit means he still faces questions about it on the federal election campaign trail from time to time.
To his credit, Scheer has not hidden from reporters' questions during this campaign. He has made himself more available to the media than Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, whose tightly controlled campaign appearances and tightly scripted answers have frustrated reporters trying to cover him.
But Scheer tends to answer Brexit questions with anodyne statements about respecting the will of U.K. voters. Asked about his early support of Brexit during a media event in Thorold, Ont., on Sept. 24, Scheer quickly pivoted to attacking Trudeau's approach to foreign policy.
"Well, I will always support the ability for people to have their expressions on the democratic process within their country and will always support the country's ability to have control and autonomy over various various levels of policy," he said. "The British people had their say. It's up to British lawmakers now to navigate through that.
"If we want to look at foreign affairs positions, though, I continue to ask Justin Trudeau exactly what is it about China's basic dictatorship that he admires so much. What was he thinking during his trip to India? Why did he put out that eulogy for Fidel Castro?"
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says Canadians would get stronger international representation with him as prime minister. He spoke to reporters on the campaign trail in Thorold, Ont. 0:58
Two days later, in Montreal, Scheer gave roughly the same answer to a similar question.
"I've always supported the rights of nations to be able to chart their own course and have autonomy over their own systems," he said.
"I always support the rights of nations," Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said when asked about his position on Brexit in Montreal. 0:56
Hindsight is 20-20, of course. Still, that National Post piece from June 2016 includes a few passages that point to the problems politicians can make for themselves when they dive into another nation's domestic politics.
This one, for example, hasn't aged well: "The Remain side tells Britons that a vote for exiting the EU is akin to choosing economic and political uncertainty ... It's a profoundly negative and simplistic vision that just happens to be wrong."
Foreign affairs is always a minefield for the unwary politician. A government led by NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh probably could expect to spend its first 13 months in office dealing with a United States still led by President Donald Trump — and might bitterly regret Singh's decision to sayhe hopes Trump "gets impeached."
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh joked that he hopes Donald Trump "gets impeached." 1:08
The Trudeau government might argue that the over-the-top reaction from the Saudis was impossible to predict, that the same issue had been raised many times by both Trudeau and Harper governments,and that it was a matter of principle anyway.
But the Trudeau government was still blindsided — a reminder that when leaders' opinions venture offshore, they're swimming in deep waters.
If Scheer is elected, of course, he might find himself dealing with Britain's pro-Brexit Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who might appreciate the stance Scheer once took.
Or he might find himself dealing with a very different government — one that would take a dim view of a foreign leader who once cheered from the sidelines while Britain's domestic rivals helped to plunge the country into crisis.
People make mistakes. Some politicians have turned past errors in judgment into advantages by addressing them head-on and convincing voters that they've learned from them. Maybe Scheer the Brexiteer has learned something and is simply calculating that the heat of an election campaign is not the best time for mea culpas.
It remains to be seen whether Scheer's embrace of Brexit matters to Canadian voters. But Canada's election day comes just 10 days before the deadline for Britain to finally leave the European Union.
So Scheer knows he'll have to fight this campaign against a backdrop of intense public interest in a political project he endorsed wholeheartedly — before it became an infamous debacle.
Evan Dyer has been a journalist with CBC for 18 years, after an early career as a freelancer in Argentina. He works in the Parliamentary Bureau and can be reached at evan.dyer@cbc.ca
http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-scheer-a-strong-britain-is-an-independent-britain …
