Good-bye Justin.

I know we aren't supposed to talk politics. I'm not supposed to mention that I was a card carrying Liberal. Or that the first time I participated in an election; it was for Justin's father. The thing is, in 1980, I read the Northern Magus by Richard Gwyn, and was enamored. 

I defended Justin and his government for their naivete through the Jodi Wilson-Raybould/SNC-Lavalin debacle – though I was firmly on her team. I suggested to myself (and others) that Trudeau and his team were still on a learning curve. Wilson-Raybould’ s “mistake” was to be smarter, driven by values and integrity, deeply committed to justice. A tough position for a politician. There were other Liberal missteps. Then some bonus points for the early handling of the COVID-19 crisis. The overall balance was in Justin’s favour. No more.

The announcement that WE charity would receive $912 M for a poorly conceived program, when my beloved social profit sector, and much of the economy, is struggling for survival, was the last straw.  The subsequent retraction, not up front with both backbone and contrition, from Justin, but through his Diversity, Inclusion & Youth Minister Bardish Chagger, confirmed my decision. And today's story about the relationship between WE Charity and the Trudeau family was the final nail in the coffin. Or maybe it was the deficit announcement. Either way, a lifetime of Liberal support destroyed.

That Justin Trudeau and Sophie Gregoire Trudeau used the WE Charity platform to put themselves in front of young people across the country is no surprise. It is the perfect stage for youthful political leaders to impress the next generation of voters, educators, and their parents. It didn’t impress me. It reminded me of the grandstanding we see south of the border. It is reminiscent of old-world revival meetings.

Our sector is complex.  It represents 170,000 organizations 86,000 of them charitable. Revenue of $ 152B. 2 million employees. (At least pre-pandemic.) 14B in annual donations from Canadians. 2B volunteer hours. And most importantly, 4 out of 5 Canadians say they trust the sector. 

Maybe we should run the country? Minimally, I expect the Prime Minister to understand there is more than one possible organization to deliver a youth employment, I mean volunteer, no I mean employed volunteer (?) program in this country.

So I'm handing in my membership card. Justin, if you want me back, give me a call. I have a few ideas. Alternately, give Senator Ratna Omidvar a shout. Perhaps review the Senate report from last year where it was suggested that:

“TO CONTINUE ITS GOOD WORK, the sector needs meaningful law and policy reform, as well as a renewed relationship with the federal government. This report is a roadmap to ensure that genuine change is delivered so that the sector can reach from great to exceptional. The committee trusts that the federal government, together with the Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector, will work swiftly to implement its recommendations.” 

Further,

“This relationship cannot be limited to one between the regulator (the Canada Revenue Agency) and the sector. To support the development of A RENEWED RELATIONSHIP with the sector, the committee recommends that the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology be tasked with creating a regular venue for the facets of the federal government to interact and collaborate with this diverse sector.”

Enough said.