Will he or won’t he? .Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been making so much news at the G-20 summit in Bali this week it’s easy to forget he's scheduled to appear at the Emergencies [War Measures] Act Inquiry. Will he actually appear or will he decide there's no political capital in doing so?.Consider for a moment Trudeau is the ultimate narcissistic politician who craves the attention of the national media. And it will be there in force if he testifies. But remember also Trudeau is a poor speaker when he's forced to react extemporaneously. He often loses his train of thought or becomes rattled. After all, it was another bad week for the government. RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki testified Trudeau knew the national police force did not need the Emergencies [War Measures] Act to clear the Freedom Convoy out of Ottawa. Amazingly, no police force urged Trudeau to invoke the act and it has remained clear this authoritarian measure was entirely Trudeau’s idea. It can only be surmised he did so not because of any concern for national security, but because he desired to punish his political enemies and make a statement that conservative, populist dissent is neither welcome nor tolerated by this Liberal government. . Trudeau and Lucki March 9 2018Happier times for both Prime Minister Trudeau and Brenda Lucki... March 9, 2018, the day he announced her appointment as RCMP Commissioner. The first woman to permanently hold the post, Lucki announced her resignation February 15, 2023. .Lucki steadfastly denied the Trudeau government has ever leveraged the RCMP for political support. She said Trudeau did not pressure the force to push his government’s gun control policies. So why did she argue it was now necessary to define the parameters of how the federal government communicates its desires to the RCMP?Clearly she was saying when assessing a police matter, she has felt pressured by the Trudeau government to take politics into account. ."I think it's time we put something to writing that outlines what you can and cannot do from both the commissioner's perspective and the politicians', especially from a rotational point of view," Lucki said. "Politicians change… So I think it's time to clarify it, because it's been a topic of conversation,” she said. .In the language of government, Lucki was throwing Trudeau under the bus with this line. Her job is now reportedly on the line amidst “cabinet discontent” Lucki has not been an enthusiastic team player. .The inquiry has been well attended by both media and the public. This week I spoke briefly with Tamara Lich, the Freedom Convoy organizer who was treated as political prisoner for her role in the protest. She's been faithfully attending the inquiry every day. .Many thought this was going to be a whitewash or an inquiry with presiding judge Justice Paul Rouleau siding with the government. This has not been the case and Rouleau has been the consummate professional throughout this inquiry.Of course, this is not a trial and even if the inquiry continues to demonstrate Trudeau only invoked the Emergencies [War Measures] Act out of anger and spite, there will be no legal ramifications for the prime minister or any cabinet ministers also implicated in this dereliction of government authority. .However, Trudeau is always subject to the court of public opinion. Quite frankly, he cannot emerge from this inquiry looking as anything but a vindictive and authoritarian leader who treated the Freedom Convoy protesters as unworthy, working class malcontents who didn’t deserve an audience with him. That will be the lesson of this inquiry, no matter how Trudeau and his ineffective flacks try to spin this saga. .It’s another nail in the Trudeau government’s coffin.
