Guess who said while rejecting offering the same EI changes to oil industry workers in one part of a province, the same help that other workers in the same industry in the same province needed:
“I think that both people in Edmonton and Saskatchewan should be pleased that they are not hit as hard as other parts of the country and indeed the province have been.”
Answer: It wasn’t Steven Harper, a Conservative Prime Minister, although you can bet if it was that quote would have received at least a week’s intense news coverage; instead of appearing in the early news and for the most part only being referenced later.
No, it was our new Liberal Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. It really is a pretty callous comment. For Trudeau one oil industry worker does not equal another if you live a few miles apart. When you translate the political speak, what he said was that workers in Edmonton and parts of Saskatchewan who are out of work, scrambling to pay bills and scrambling to find ways to pay their mortgage and put food on the table are supposed to be thankful that he didn’t include them with workers in the same industry, who are out of work, scrambling to pay bills and scrambling to find ways to pay their mortgage and put food on the table, just like they are. And Trudeau thinks that they should be thankful for this!
Perhaps our “silver spoon” Prime Minister when he is on his next $2500 a night vacation should show a bit more empathy for families who aren’t even thinking about a vacation, but trying to figure out how to save their home.
Does this Prime Minister have any clue as to what it is really like to know that your EI payment is all that stands between you and possibly bankruptcy? From his comment he obviously doesn’t- so much for sunny ways.