[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Barrister]

That does not strike me as very much money

How many of these donations are there? I know foreign agents kiss up to Trump by doing things like stay in his hotels before meeting him. They could just be like 'oh I just donated $1,000 bucks to your foundation...just saying.'

The money in Canadian politics is several orders of magnitude smaller than in the US.

But that's the issue with bribery and corruption.  It's almost impossible to "prove", but politicians strive to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

What we have here is the appearance if impropriety.

[Jacob]

Publicize this information.  Ask Justin (and his brother, Alexandre, who sits on the board) questions about where these donations are coming from.

Does Justin sit on the board?

[Barrister]

Publicize this information.  Ask Justin (and his brother, Alexandre, who sits on the board) questions about where these donations are coming from.

Does Justin sit on the board?

No, but his brother does.  And it is named after his father of course.

[Jacob]

No, but his brother does.  And it is named after his father of course.

I don't think this attempt at importing the Clinton Foundation controversy at a Canadian discount is going to help the Conservatives that much, to be honest.

[Barrister]

So I see you're going with a "pure co-incidence" then on the dramatic increase in donations since 2014.

And it's just as much about the Trump Foundation as the Clinton Foundation.

For the record, of course, there is no Harper Foundation.

[Jacob]

So I see you're going with a "pure co-incidence" then on the dramatic increase in donations since 2014.

And it's just as much about the Trump Foundation as the Clinton Foundation.

For the record, of course, there is no Harper Foundation.

Of course there's no Harper Foundation - who would want to honour his legacy?

Anyhow, like I said, I don't think you'll have much luck importing the US anti-Clinton-foundation strategy unless you bring something a little more substantial than the current insinuations.

[HVC]

As a true conservative Harper keeps it old school... he gets his bribe money in envelopes

[Josephus]

Not the Trudeau Foundation's full name is the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation, and was set up not so much as a tax dodge for a billionaire, but instead as a way of honouring a former PM.  But that still raises the question - why on earth did donations shoot up once Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister.  That surely can not be sheer co-incidence.  And once you accept that there is a correlation, there must be some kind of expected quid-pro-quo in the mind of donors, even if nothing explicit is ever said.

Potentially, yeah.

What do you propose we do?

Publicize this information.  Ask Justin (and his brother, Alexandre, who sits on the board) questions about where these donations are coming from.

Publicize it more other than publishing it in a daily, national, albeit dying, newspaper?

[Valmy]

The money in Canadian politics is several orders of magnitude smaller than in the US.

Then we will take control of Canada by bribing the Prime Minister with...ONE MILLION CANADIAN DOLLARS

[Jacob]

... with the caveat that the million dollars have to be spent on registered charitable activities.

[crazy canuck]

The money in Canadian politics is several orders of magnitude smaller than in the US.

Then we will take control of Canada by bribing the Prime Minister with...ONE MILLION CANADIAN DOLLARS

[crazy canuck]

That does not strike me as very much money

How many of these donations are there? I know foreign agents kiss up to Trump by doing things like stay in his hotels before meeting him. They could just be like 'oh I just donated $1,000 bucks to your foundation...just saying.'

The money in Canadian politics is several orders of magnitude smaller than in the US.

But that's the issue with bribery and corruption.  It's almost impossible to "prove", but politicians strive to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

What we have here is the appearance if impropriety.

I don't think it is a coincidence but I do think that you are drawing an inference that is unlikely.  A much more likely inference to draw from these facts is that before the election Trudeau was virtually unknown on the world stage.  After the election he was wildly popular and he burst onto the world stage.  It is not surprising that name recognition brought donations to a the charitable foundation.
Conservatives in this country would do well not to try to emulate the Trump play book. 

As a prosecutor you should know that you need a lot more evidence to level a serious charge of corruption. 

[Barrister]

As a prosecutor you should know that you need a lot more evidence to level a serious charge of corruption. 

"proof beyond a reasonable doubt" is a great standard for the courtroom.

It's a terrible one for politics.

[viper37]

So I see you're going with a "pure co-incidence" then on the dramatic increase in donations since 2014.

Of course he does.  Justin is a leftwinger.  Leftwinger get a pass at anything in this country.

[viper37]

Of course there's no Harper Foundation - who would want to honour his legacy?

he never sought to destroy Quebec, so of course there is no foundation to honour his legacy, duh!