In the literary world there are few tales as timeless as Charles Dickens beloved novella, A Christmas Carol. First published in England in 1843, it has sold millions of copies around the world and is still in print today. Its popularity has only increased over the years as it has been adapted for both the screen and stage for the enjoyment of millions.One of the reasons A Christmas Carol is so enduring is that the themes of greed, injustice, family, death, realisation and redemption are not confined to the gas-lit cobblestone streets of 19th century London. They are as relevant today as they were when Dickens first penned his masterpiece. In fact, if one were so inclined (as I am) the story could be set in any time or any place of one's choosing. How about present-day Ottawa for example...Introduction “Freeland’s (career) was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatsoever about that.The register of her fate was signed by dozens of economists, the Prime Minister's Office and the media. Trudeau signed it. And Trudeau’s name was good for anything he chose to put his hand to. His stalwart ally’s career was as dead as a doornail.”Chapter OneOur story opens on the imposing but bleak Parliament buildings. It is just one day since Chrystia Freeland tabled her fall economic update. Justin Trudeau, a fatigued prime minister, has refused invitations to call an election from the opposition. He’s tried to bribe struggling Canadians with a donation of their own money to ease the cost of food and heating, but it was little more than a cynical ploy to maintain his grip on power.His overdressed and underachieving assistant, Jagmeet Singh, begs for more cuts, but alas, his words fall on deaf ears. So it is we see the man of style, but little substance, leave Ottawa without so much as a morsel of thanks from his crass overseer.That night Trudeau is visited at home by the ghost of Freeland’s career. The spectre appears entangled in the gnarled and twisted guardrails she once set and foolishly ignored. It warns Trudeau that he faces a similar fate and will be visited by three spirits. He must heed their advice, or his legacy will be damned for eternity.Chapter TwoThe first spirit to visit is the Ghost of Governments Past. Trudeau rubs his eyes as the spectre materializes before him. It cannot be, yet it bears an uncanny likeness to his old finance minister Bill Morneau.The ghost takes Trudeau to scenes from the early days of his administration when he was more naïve and less calculating.From the mist a younger Trudeau standing at podium appears and declares that budgets balance themselves. This causes the PM to grimace, but the scene quickly fades and are replaced by another more disturbing vignette.It shows him callously calling an election during a pandemic...Upset by what he sees, and has become, he demands that the apparition take him home.Chapter ThreeA bell tolling across the wintery Laurentian landscape announces that the second spirit to visit Trudeau has arrived — the Ghost of Government Present.Dressed in black robes, a white tab collar, and tricorn hat, the spirit introduces itself as ‘Anthony’ and the embodiment of ineffective Canadian governments.The grinning spectre takes Trudeau by the hand and transports him to a boutique wine shop where a well-off man is buying an extravagantly priced bottle of wine and laughing at his GST savings. Trudeau turns away only to look out the window and across the street where the spirit points to people lined up at the doors of a food bank as Canada Post employees walk around them on a seemingly endless march along the picket line.The spirit informs Trudeau that more people will face food insecurity, and that Canada Post will likely die unless the events of the present are changed.Chapter FourTrudeau suddenly finds himself standing in a void. It is a place which confounds all his senses until the presence of the final spirit is presaged by the sound of someone biting into a crisp apple and chewing it a nonchalant manner.The apprehensive prime minister has feared meeting this ghost more than all the others combined. The silent and imposing ‘Ghost of Governments Yet to Come’ emerges from the darkness to reveal a scene which strikes terror into the beleaguered man.It’s a tv screen, and on it a CBC political panel is lamenting about a recent election where the Liberals were reduced to non-party status resulting in the ignominious death of the leader's political career. The screen and everything in existence goes dark leaving Trudeau standing alone with the ghost who he asks whose electoral defeat it was they witnessed.The ghost says nothing but raises a surprisingly muscled arm and points to a garbage can where the pages of a discarded newspaper flap chaotically in the cold breeze.Trudeau picks up the paper to see the headline, “Trudeau Liberals defeated in landslide” and recoils in horror.Sobbing, Trudeau cannot believe what he has seen and pledges to the ghost that he has listened to warnings, promises to do better and will call an election immediately.Chapter FiveTrudeau awakens the following morning relieved to find it had all just a bad dream. He is entirely unchanged, and unrepentant in the slightest.He starts the day by making a large taxpayer-funded donation to a charity owned by family friends and calls an aide to hand deliver a story to a US media outlet, about what socks he’s going to wear at the next G7 meeting.The following day he announces a few of Jagmeet Singh’s policy proposals as his own and then boards his private jet to head to a tropical destination for a Christmas party where he will be treated with kindness, generosity, and he can forget about the plight of those pesky poltergeists.Author’s Note I hope you have enjoyed this rendering of A Christmas Carol. While the ending is a departure from the original canon in which Scrooge realizes his faults and redeems himself, Trudeau’s ending has yet to be written. As such some creative license was taken based on his past humbuggery, and I think you’ll admit, that it sounds about right.
