Rex Murphy: Canada's two most powerful men, blinded by their entitlement

Both Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau have already acknowledged they should have removed themselves from the process because of family connections to WE and the perception of conflict of interest. DAVID KAWAI/BLOOMBERG

It is worth mentioning that at this stage of the WE scandal it might be useful to go in a negative direction. Thus, it could be said that perhaps it would be more efficient if we asked which key members of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet are not in any relationship with the Kielburgers, have not been speakers at WE events, did not receive a courtesy vacation in WE’s horribly expensive luxury complex ($ 4,000 per night) in Kenya, have no family members who work for WE, or who have equally not forgotten that they owe a regrettable share of change to some arm of the always numerous companies in WE.

However, it is known who, in fact, if they are involved in it, down to their conflict of interest necks, are simply the most powerful number 1 and number 2 people in Canada, no less than the Prime Minister himself and his Minister of Finance. And while these are not elements of conflict of interest from their bizarre and ever-evolving history, the most curious part is how these two leaders, in particular, could so carelessly and casually entangle the government they lead to dole out a billion dollars of the town’s money to two of his friends.

Questions that don’t stop

Certainly, whatever the public shocks have been about the Prime Minister’s complex involvement, Finance Minister Bill Morneau launched into the story with great enthusiasm and launched a new series, the most prominent one, to use a phrase from the deputy prime minister. It appears that the minister forgot to pay WE $ 41,000 for a family vacation.

Undoubtedly, considerable questions arise, such as, What were you thinking? How could they be so obtuse, so blind and so careless?

It is clear that the rich and powerful reside on a different plane, or to add a single letter, a different planet. Those with long fortunes have long lived a different life, one that has absolved them of the messy imperatives and daily humiliations faced by the increasingly numerous people who are simply surviving.

Real people worry about the end of the month. There are still people in this country who care about the electricity bill, the heating bill, the phone bill which could be thought of as monthly reminders of living near the edge.

So when people ask how our prime minister and his finance minister could have been so careless, the answer is simple, they had no idea that they were being careless.

Source: Rex Murphy | National Post