Ottawa Ontario – Keeping a government off-guard and on the defensive is one of the primary functions of an opposition party’s attack team. We usually see this take place in the daily Question Period.
The questions that need to be asked can most often be boiled down to three simple ones.
1. What did they know?
2. When did they know?
3. What did they do about it?
At both the provincial and federal level it is something for the Conservatives to keep in mind as we get closer to an election date.
If we look at the federal level, the Conservatives are still trying to keep the Atwal Affair alive. At this point in time not too many everyday Canadians care anymore, they made up their mind that Trudeau’s India trip was a disaster a long time ago, but inside the Queensway it’s still interesting stuff).
The questions boil down to- What was Trudeau told? When did Trudeau know? What did Trudeau do about it?
On how much will the Trudeau-McKenna carbon tax cost the Canadian economy?
What was Trudeau told? When did Trudeau know? What did Trudeau do about it?
On the summer job funding for anti-pipeline groups:
What was Trudeau told? When did Trudeau know? What did Trudeau do about it?
You can hammer a Prime Minister pretty good with those three simple questions. If Trudeau ducks and runs as one would expect him to do, you simply switch your target to the minister concerned.
Experience says that they can only run and hide for so long, before the Prime Minister or the minister loses their cool and says something they shouldn’t. That in turn will open up new possibilities and an opportunity to return to the issue once more.
Keep it simple.