Its 2015 The Return of Trudeaumania

Picture courtesy cbc.ca

by Lalith Gunaratne - on 11/08/2015

Trudeau mania is back, albeit another kind at this different time. Now it is
Justin Trudeau, son of Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada from 196879 and again 1980-84. Pierre was an icon, a real colourful personality and
great mind and I venture to say, held the dominion of Canada together
through a tumultuous time of the Quebec separatist movement and
provincial discord. For us growing up in Sri Lanka, he was a champion of the
developing world and I remember in 1971, as a Boy Scout, lining up with
Canadian flags to pay tribute to his visit as he passed by our school in
Kandy.
Though we had family here, I know our parents decision to immigrate to
Canada in 1973 was even more inspired by the fact that Trudeau was the
leader of this larger than life nation; a nation which I realized had only 20
million people when I arrived. For a middle power in the world, it certainly

did big things in the world in areas of development and peace. Much of
that got diminished in the Harper years, as he lived up to his promise to
leave behind a Canada that is changed forever.
Not so fast Harper, as the Liberal Party government was sworn in at Rideau
Hall, the Governor Generals residence in Ottawa, to an open public
ceremony, Justin Trudeau lived up to his policy for inclusion and openness.
When asked about his fathers legacy he turned it around to his own legacy
of what he wants to leave behind for his children, all the other children and
theirs. In keeping with his style he appointed a very different and a diverse
cabinet consisting of 50% women and also aboriginal and others to reflect
the multicultural and plural Canada.
This is a stark contrast to Harper, a smart political tactician and strategist,
who ruled the country close to his chest, trying to control everything not a
bad thing in a socially networked complex world yet not at the cost of
paralysing his own ministers and a world class civil service. I often saw the
folly of government representatives at public conferences make their
censored presentations and then actually look foolish as they could not
candidly respond to questions in panel discussions or question time. This
became the public image of the government too.
All seemed to be driven by fear of a leader who was not a man of the world
his neo-liberal ideology calling for less government, free markets and
more individualism. When one is fearful, one can be a fear monger too and
Canada had enough of that. Even the good things he did to steer the
country well during the global financial meltdown in 2008 and initiatives like
establishing the Global Centre for Pluralism with the Aga Khan Foundation
of Canada, got overshadowed.
So refreshing is Justin Trudeau, as his principled fearlessness led him to take

a stand on the niqab (the face covering worn as a part of the hijab), which
the Harper government was bent on banning for the Canadian citizenship
ceremony to begin with. At a time when the polls showed the Harper
conservatives leading, when the security issues were front and centre
driven by extreme Islam of a few and ISIS, Trudeau did what was right in
stating that the government had no right to legislate a dress code and that
it was un-Canadian to do so. Trudeau was bold enough to say the
following, even if it risked losing support of the average Canadian for his
fledgling Liberal party at the time;
You can dislike the niqab. You can hold it up as a symbol of oppression. You
can try to convince your fellow citizens that it is a choice they ought not to
make. This is a free country. Those are your rightsBut those who would
use the states power to restrict womens religious freedom and freedom of
expression indulge the very same repressive impulse that they profess to
condemn. It is a cruel joke to claim you are liberating people from
oppression by dictating in law what they can and cannot wear.
Then he went onto say;
But whats even worse than what theyre saying is what they really mean.
We all know what is going on here. It is nothing less than an attempt to play
on peoples fears and foster prejudice, directly toward the Muslim faith,
This brought Harpers extreme Christian religious beliefs, even showing a
Social Darwinistic approach of manifest destiny and superiority into the
equation, and the dangerous edge he brought the country towards racial
divisiveness. Canadians were more astute and Trudeaus emphatic
response actually put the Harper government on the back foot.
Finding Common Ground

I was not surprised Trudeau did this, after all he stood for what is right. At
a time when the conservative government continued to say, Trudeau is not
ready alluding to his age and inexperience being at the Ottawa Writers
Festival book launch on October 21st, 2014 of his memoir, Common
Ground listening to him, I realized that this young man has substance and
was getting more than ready.
The book is about his childhood and growing up, and the values that were
instilled by his parents, even though he suffered through a difficult family
separation and the death of his little brother Michel in a skiing accident,
which he chronicles in his heartfelt style. He voices his devotion to the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms which his father established in 1982, but
does not get anymore into politics and policy. Instead the book highlights
the old-fashioned sense of noblesse oblige sense of honour that was
instilled in him, so it is not surprising that he stood up for the niqab with all
its risks and rewards.
He was consistent with his response much earlier, as former provincial
Premier of Quebec, Pauline Marois unveiled her governments plan to
legislate cultural and religious symbols. The Charter of Quebec Values was
designed to ban the turban, hijab, head scarf or wearing the cross in the
Quebec public sector. Trudeau kept to his values and spoke out in public
against it, despite much criticism.
On September 12, 2013 Trudeau wrote an article called I have faith in
Quebec. So should you in the Globe & Mail newspaper where he said;

The PQ governments plan is divisive, negative and emotional. It is

designed to be that way. Quebeckers will reject it.

Quebeckers rose to the occasion to oust Maroiss 18 month old provincial

government to even unseat her own riding of Charlevoix-Cte-de-Beaupr.
The Hard Yards and Paying his Dues
Justin also had some hard yards to cover and pay his dues in his rise to
power.
It was around the time he was heading Katimavik Youth Organization (2002
to 2006), when the Liberal Party was in disarray that the idea of him getting
into politics arose.
When he finally decided to run for politics in 2007, his designs on running in
Outremont, a suburb of Montreal was blocked. He then tried for the
neighbouring Papineau riding and even that was not a smooth sail. The
Liberal party hierarchy did not want this upstart with the old name to come
up so easy, so he had to compete for the nomination. He virtually stood on
street corners canvassing for party memberships and winning the hearts
and minds of people. He won their support to beat the two much more
experienced and well known candidates for the riding. Then he went onto
beating a popular incumbent MP from the National Democratic Party, again
through his determination, hard work and a commitment to follow through.
Fighting Spirit
Within a year of us moving back to Canada, in March 2012, I was intrigued
when Justin challenged Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau to a boxing
fight for charity to settle a different of opinion. When I thought it would be a
play fight, it turned out to be an all out bout with a bloodied nose for
Brazeau who seemed a brawler, but did not have the endurance Trudeau
had. That staying power in the ring is symbolic of his endurance in the
political race, like the boxing fight, he was thought to be the under-dog.

The Power of Balance

What impressed me most was his humanity when I saw him at the protest
in front of the parliament for Missing Aboriginal Women in October 2013.
He showed solidarity with the First Peoples of Canada who are looking for
acceptance as partners not wards of Canada, not to be assimilated but to
be accepted as a distinct people. His wife Sophie and his children including
the new born were there with him and when Sophie spoke, I witnessed a
powerhouse behind this man. As Justin stood on the steps, as much as he
was a part of this important event, he also could not take his eyes off his
children I was touched.
I realized something new was brewing for Canada. I call that the Power of
Balance and I realized that Trudeau embodied it. I consider this power of
balance as the yin and the yang of leadership, what business guru Tom
Collins calls The Level 5 Leadership Building enduring greatness through
a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. I interpret
this as being humble, yet tough; being open and flexible to listen and learn,
yet be strategic and pragmatic, make hard decisions and execute; and to
realize the uncertainty and impermanence of everything yet to find anchor
be grounded on a set of Values such as respect and integrity.
Canada rose to the occasion and spoke in spades on October 19th.
However, the hard political realities loom in front of this young and
optimistic leader. The stumbles are inevitable, faux pas natural as they find
their way as a team through the storming process fraught with inevitable
conflict. They should not forget anyone on this journey towards norming
and performing especially the conservative voter base, what Harper may
have alluded to as the old stock Canadians western Canada, the rural
people and the wealthy who want to protect their money.

Here, there are so many parallels with the transformation in Sri Lanka and
many lessons to be learned on how the new coalition is meeting or not of
expectations.
As with Sri Lanka, for us, the civil society in Canada too, must not let go of
our responsibility of holding them to account at every stage, as there is a
real opportunity to bring the proverbial gap between political and social
rights closer. Yet we have be aware and sensitive to the fact that it will take
time and patience (like economist Joseph Stiglitz said, change has to be
sequenced and paced in his book Globalization and its Discontents) to
rebuild Canada to its old glories and new a Canada that can again be the
voice of reason to lead the way as one of the best examples of multicultural
and plural harmony and one look at the diverse cabinet, gives us that
confidence that things will be ok for O Canada.
Posted by Thavam