Since the sudden resignation of former deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday, 21 Liberal MPs have called for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign. Power & Politics speaks to four MPs who have joined these calls.
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the shuffle has not quied the calls for Trudeau to step aside as liberal leader there are now 19 liberal MPS in that camp and Rob olant is one of the newest members he is the MP for Don Valley West in Toronto and the Parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Rob olifant joins me now thank you sir for coming on thanks JP good to be here nice to have you so you just released a letter today but I want Canadians to here at directly from you do you think Justin Trudeau should resign yes I had a meeting with my writing Association last night we had planned it was a rather urgent meeting and uh there was a unanimous decision there that I would uh issue a statement today and would be calling for the prime minister to uh to leave to take it to take his exit and uh to celebrate the work he’s done but to allow for a new leader to take over it was unanimous that the Prime Minister should resign that was the feedback you heard it was and it was from every part of the writing I have a very diverse writing and I have a very diverse campaign team and uh and writing executive and I really didn’t want to I mean I’ve been thinking about this for some time but the way I work is I want to talk to the people who are around me and the people who have uh eyes and ears on the ground all throughout Don Valley West and so uh we had election by-election results this week from BC and previously from Montreal and and then in our next door riding in the summer in uh in St Paul’s and so this has been on my mind about whether or not our message is able to be heard anymore and we’ve come to the conclusion that uh the message is not being heard and that uh the Prime Minister uh while having done a great job it’s time for him to leave and and give someone else a chance to articulate the the values that we share we know the party’s support is cratered were you though surprised that it was unanimous in your writing quite a liberal writing that everyone wanted to see Justin Trudeau go I think the the UN unanimity came from the fact that uh they they are very concerned about Pierre PV and the possibility of Pier PV being the prime minister of this country and so they want to do everything they can in our own writing to ensure that it stays liberal and that I get reelected but also that uh the Liberals have a chance across this country and uh they see a stark difference between the liberal party and perer pov’s conservatives and so when they look at that and they weigh out all the uh the pros and cons of the leadership of Mr Trudeau they have said very clearly that it is time for him to go you said in your letter you consider Justin Trudeau a friend you were both elected in the small class of 2008 so there’s a lot of history there between you to was it hard for you to come to this decision and call for him to step down given you have that much history between each other I have both fondness and respect for Justin Trudeau uh I do call him a friend and um I have attempted to tell him advice that came from my father actually and my father said that the secret to happiness is knowing when to leave a job or a marriage or um a conversation or a party maybe an interview and uh What uh Justin Trudeau for his happiness for his well-being I think it’s time for him to take a leave and I say that to him as a friend and I also know that he values Canada and the liberal party and so for the sake of the country for the party and his own sake uh I think it’s time for him to step down given that history have you heard from the Prime Minister since you asked him to step down have you heard from anybody in his office to get some feedback as to why you’re calling for him to resign uh no I haven’t I think they’ve had a busy day uh they’ve uh installed what I might call a caretaker cabinet to to get us through this next phase until we can have a robust election uh leadership convention to make sure we get the Right leader for the right time so I think they’ve been busy today so uh I’m not so arrogant to think I’m number one on their minds um I think Canada is on their minds today and so uh I’ll give them a little time to reach out caretaker that’s how you’re describing this cabinet Shuffle some observers have said it’s like rearranging you know the deck chairs on the Titanic is that how you read this Shuffle today um I looked at the the the my colleagues who been uh uh put into cabinet and I wish them well uh I think uh to to to a person uh they’re they’re they’re great people I’ve worked with many of them as colleagues and Friends uh but I think uh the the clock is ticking on this government and so we need to have uh some careful management of uh both our agenda and our program as well as uh making sure we’re in a good position to elect the best leader and there are many good leadership candidates and I I I look forward to a robust conversation with each of them yeah do you have a preference for who could replace the Prime Minister if he does resign I I don’t yet I don’t know who will be in the field I’m uh we have some really strong front bench uh members we have people maybe outside the cabinet um who could uh to could step in and and be a new vision and a new voice for the liberal party uh so I’ll wait and see um what I want is for the prime minister to recognize that he’s done good work and uh to to help have a smooth and and good transition has anyone approached you from any of the leadership camps to this point to ask you to work for or endorse a potential candidate no and I I’m I’m quite close to those who have been speculated as um potential leadership candidates I I’ve been a parliamentary secretary for your your your listeners that’s uh uh the the number two in those jobs and I’ve been at foreign affairs for almost six years and I’ve had great ministers I’ve worked with Melanie Jal is my minister right now she’s a fantastic person Christoph Freeland was my first and Mark garau and Fran Philip champagne in between those two all four four of them Stellar uh politicians uh leaders and and uh any one of them could be a potential candidate and there’s others as well are you still a parliamentary secretary I am um I haven’t I haven’t heard otherwise um and I hope that stays the same I love my job um I I get to I don Valley West is the kind of writing that the world is in the writing it’s a multicultural writing with International uh people with International backgrounds and uh I get to be on the world stage as parliamentary secretary I bring the world to Don valy West and Don valy West reminds me of the importance of being in the world so I hope to continue to do that job is that why it took you some time maybe to go public you said you’ve been thinking about this for some time because you’re not a backbench MP you are a parliamentary secretary there is some weight to that title is that why you took a beat to think about what you were going to say publicly and come out against the Prime Minister well I’m I’m not so arrogant to think that my voice will will make a huge difference it’ll make a small difference um I think it took sometime because I wanted to give him a chance um I uh I’ve spoken to him a few times at caucus we’ve had uh caucus discussions on this I don’t think this is a surprise to him but I’ve always said that I would keep that private until it came to the point this week where I felt uh after a conversation with my writing Association I needed to go public uh and to exert a little bit of pressure perhaps a little bit of influence and maybe give a little bit of uh courage to some of my colleagues to say uh folks this this the party and the country are more important than one person and uh and and we need to have a good conversation about who will be our best leader you mentioned the Toronto St Paul’s byelection that was a neighboring writing as you say another writing that’s not far from yours is Christy of Freeland do you think it was appropriate for the prime minister to try and fire her over a zoom call I I I won’t comment on that part I think it’s it’s the the prime minister’s right and the prime minister’s responsibility to pick his cabinet ministers that’s his job and um cabinet making is a uh a complex Regional gender uh background religious ethnicity kind of process so he has that right I will tell you that I was Disturbed the way it was done um as uh you know we woke up to the news on Monday morning uh that Christian would be replaced in that way uh the day after she presented the fall economic statement uh I was Disturbed um it did it did cause me a certain amount of anxiety um I think uh Christa has been a loyal uh companion colleague friend to the Prime Minister for 10 years more than 10 years and I think um doing that well uh is is part of the art of leadership and uh that disappointed me for sure did that factor into your decision to go public today to say that he should resign it’s a small part of it um I am really looking at what’s best for the country what’s best for my writing and uh how we present the liberal values we’ve had a great run for nine years we’ve done things like the Canada child benefit the dental benefit uh we have attempted to level the playing field and and do good work we’re back on the world stage and I hear this I travel around the world I was in Cairo last week and Canada’s voice is welcome there it wasn’t 10 years ago so we’ve had a good run I wanted to keep that I don’t want Pier PV to be the Prime Minister he doesn’t represent my values nor do I believe the values of most Canadians and so people have kind of stopped listening to our party and uh I want them to listen again with perhaps a fresh voice and a new face the Prime Minister has been essentially silent this week he did speak uh at two private liberal Christmas parties offering some brief remarks cracking a joke about how there’s always kind of family infighting around the holidays but he has not spoken to the Canadian people he has not spoken to the Press do you think that it’s time for him to come out and explain where he is at right now and kind of answer for some of the tumultuous times we’ve been experiencing this week I think just as I would like him to have a gracious leave taking I want to extend Grace to him um this has uh catapulted this week into I think a different level of of uh concern about his leadership so I give I will give him a break and say please take the time be thoughtful do what’s best for yourself and what’s best for the country and the party so I I won’t put a a timeline on that for him that’s up to him he is still my leader he’s my friend uh he’s our prime minister and I I I want him to take the time to do that well and and to leave to leave graciously if he doesn’t leave graciously sir what’s the next move because as we speak literally by the hour there are more and more liberal MPS coming out to say he should go if he doesn’t listen to you and others what is your next move uh I I don’t have a next move I trust his instincts to to listen carefully um he’s got um a good emotional intelligence he he can read the room well and I think he will make the right decision um we don’t have a mechanism in place that uh we could invoke in any way so our our job is to give him the best advice we can give him uh to tell him what we’ve been hearing from our writing associations what we’ve been hearing at the door when we knock on doors what we’ve been hearing uh when we go shopping um what we go what we hear when we’re in the elevator of a of a building as I was today um uh we need to tell him that um yesterday was very important I got out of the Ottawa bubble and I sat down with over 20 people from my writing Association executive um and they come from every walk of life and uh they told me that they love the liberal party they love the values the inclusiveness of our party they want the social justice and they want good fiscal responsibility and they want the party to be able to do that so uh my job is to speak on behalf of my constituents I have now done that and uh I hope he responds in kind all right let’s leave it there Rob olant the Parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs I appreciate you coming on sir thank you after the swearing in today ministers asked why they took new files from a prime minister who’s under Fire we need a team Canada approach not only Visa the United States but in our own country I understand there’s going to be a short Runway I’m not blind to that but if I can make a small difference if I can make a big difference I want to P the biggest difference that I can the important thing is for Canadians to know that there is stability here in our country particularly given that uh President elect Trump will be sworn into office in a few short weeks in January there was a notable absence before and after the ceremony Justin Trudeau only spoke to reporters last hour to say they had an excellent cabinet meeting he didn’t take any questions so how are MPS interpreting his silence on his leadership Ali assassi is a liberal MP from Willow Dale in Ontario he’s called for a secret ballot on Trudeau in the past but hasn’t weighed in on whether he should resign thank you sir for coming on thank you very much for having me JP nice to see you is it time for Justin truo to resign as of the liberal party uh yes I do believe it’s uh time for the prime minister to step down I appreciate full well that it is his decision uh but I think everything that we’ve been hearing uh for the past four or five months and everything that we’ve been seeing indicates that Canadians do like to see change um and I think it’s uh incumbent upon all of us uh to make sure that we put uh country before all else uh to make sure that we’re United uh and that we’re ready to deal with the challenges that lie on the horizon why are you speaking out now I know you voiced some concerns in the past but you never really took kind of a definitive stance on the prime minister’s future until now what’s changed uh no I I’ve been uh outspoken I have uh spoken up uh in the past uh in the confines of uh caucus uh this particular week um it was very disturbing to hear what happened uh on Monday uh but I thought it was only fair to give the Prime Minister the opportunity uh to uh uh to let us know um what happened on Monday to acknowledge uh what had happened and how it had unfolded and also to uh give us a sense as to uh what direction he does want to go in so I’ve been quiet uh all week uh but uh not having heard um either of those things today uh after the cabinet truffle uh I thought it was time to uh uh to make my known public uh my My Views public yeah what do you make of him being essentially silent I mentioned he spoke very briefly to reporters not taking questions he hasn’t really explained where he’s at to the public I understand he told MPS in caucus on Monday that he’s going to take some time to reflect on his position but he hasn’t said anything publicly about his future what do you make of that move well uh as you know there have been many junctures at which uh the Prime Minister has said that he will reflect on things uh but I think um the reality is after what we saw uh this week it was incumbent upon the Prime Minister uh to acknowledge what happened uh and to uh recognize full well that uh many people want to know uh which direction we’re headed in um I’m I’m I regret that that was not uh the case today Yeah you mentioned the events of this week do you think it was appropriate for the prime minister to try and Shuffle Christia Freeland to essentially fire her from Finance over a zoom call does that give you pause I I I think every uh minister does serve at the pleasure uh of the Prime Minister uh but from the details I have heard uh no I don’t think it was done um in an appropriate fashion the number of MPS that are calling on him to go are as I was saying earlier quite literally growing by the hour you’re adding your name now to our list I think that we’re up to 20 or 21 I’ve lost count does that suggest to you it’s untenable for the prime minister to stay on I mean how can you really carry the party into an election if you have so many of your own people saying it’s time to go well well again I would like to emphasize and underscore uh that that is a decision the Prime Minister must make uh but I do know having listened to many colleagues uh over the course of the past uh several months uh that we all need to know as well I think it’s only fair um that uh we need uh a new direction we have to be responsive to our constituents uh who have been clamoring for change for quite some time uh but the reality is that the prime minister is yet to speak uh and it’s important that we speak up uh and let uh the Prime Minister know where things stand uh with our constituents have you been hearing from your constituents about this I mean Rob olant just told me that it was unanimous when he sat down with some of the folks in his writing last night have there been calls loud calls from within your writing to try and replace Trudeau um uh I I’ll tell you once uh once she go out in the writing and you uh attend various events uh this has been a topic of concern uh many people have come up to me uh and said that they’re very very proud of the liberal record they’re very proud of the Prime Minister as well uh but they also recognize that it’s time uh for change uh so uh I did uh have a meeting with uh my executive uh several days ago uh they were all uh very much in favor of seeing some change as well if if you don’t get that change in direction that you’re looking for if you don’t get that change what’s next what can you do uh I I think it’s important that we do have change that’s what we’ve seen uh in the polls over the course of the last year uh we’ve also uh uh We’ve also seen uh four different byelections in uh four different provinces um and I think those were quite telling as well uh and also uh this has been the topic of discussion uh within caucus as well and as you know full well many of my colleagues uh have been speaking up uh we recognize full well that the Prime Minister has done a uh a very impressive job a very Monumental job uh but we also think it’s important uh to uh recognize full well uh that Canadians are looking for change NDP leader jug meet Singh said today he will trigger a non-confidence vote and and kind of definitively pull his support from the government sometime in the new year he wasn’t specific about it but it’s coming um does that concern you and do you think that the government should progue to prevent something like that from happening uh it’s not necessarily what we hear from the various leaders uh that has uh that has affected me has impacted my thinking it’s what I do hear from uh my constituents it’s what I hear from Friends uh it’s what I hear from colleagues uh it’s quite obvious that 9 years is a very very long time um and and uh again I do want to underscore that the Prime Minister uh does have a very very strong record uh but the reality is when uh you are uh in uh elected office uh it is important to listen to people uh you cannot command people to do things uh it’s important to always uh listen uh be open be receptive to what you’re hearing uh and that’s what I’ve been hearing for quite some time if uh Trudeau does resign do you have someone that you favor to take over as leader uh no I I think it’s uh premature at this point uh we’re not quite sure what the process will be uh I think there’s several scenarios that are uh currently being considered uh but again that’s a decision the Prime Minister has to make uh in consultation with the uh party uh executive uh I am confident that a number of very very uh gifted individuals will step forward we all appreciate full well uh that there are a number of challenges that we have to deal with uh and I look very much forward uh to seeing how that unfolds do you think it can be done in a constrained timeline because we don’t have much time right uh you know if NDP wants to bring forth a non-confidence motion it does suggest that time is ticking do you think it can be done relatively quickly yes I think it can be done on an expedited basis uh we’ve seen uh other parties do it on an expedited basis in this particular instance I think time is of the essence uh and we should do it uh as soon as possible all right let’s leave it there thank you so much to Ontario liberal MP Ali assassi I appreciate you coming on sir and sharing your thoughts thank you JP so you’ve been quite uh open obviously about wanting the Pres the president the prime minister to step aside I’m just glad you didn’t say Governor yeah not Governor we’re not there yet we’re still a country we’re not a state um do you feel reassured after today after this Shuffle I was speaking to Stephen McKinnon he said is putting a fresh face on this government do you agree with him I let me put it this way um all of the uh new cabinet ministers I’ve had the honor of getting to know them through their entire Federal political career with the exception of David McGinty who was there a bit before me um and I have a great deal of respect for each and every one of them uh all but a couple of them had previous viously been entrusted with the responsibilities by the Prime Minister they’ve obviously passed the test uh the other two have made uh had made significant contributions on their own initiative which merited them being where they are so I’m really happy for each and every one of them is this going to change the dial in terms of the polling numbers overnight because of the caliber of the people that were appointed I highly doubt it uh I still think uh especially now now that there’s a very significant preoccupation with the Prime Minister most Canadians have tuned him out um it certainly in my writing that has that has been the case I I don’t think this changes anything in the short term um but I’m I I am genuinely excited to have a great deal of respect for everyone who’s there um let’s let’s give them a chance let’s give them a fair shot I’m I’m not about to to sit here and and uh poo poo the the work that they’re about to do and the contribution they’re about to make but it’s it’s hard to imagine that c that another cabinet Shuffle will change the view of my constituents or many Canadians with respect to um the with respect to Justin trudo especially with his track record with cadit shuffles it hasn’t always worked out well for him right they always uh are kind of promoted as this way to shake things up and reinvigorate the government and then it often leads to some troubles I’m thinking of Toronto St Paul’s that byelection in particular which was the result of a cabinet Shuffle right so they don’t have a perfect record when it comes to these things In fairness I think some of the people that he has given additional responsibilities to have absolutely flourished uh so let’s let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water the the fact is the needle hasn’t moved in terms of public support um in terms of the contributions of talented individuals and giving them more responsibility uh Fraser comes to mind um Christ Freeland does as well uh there there have been both have left impressive legacies have uh anybody has anybody approached you about working for a leadership Contender at this point does it seem like there are camps forming and are people reaching out to people like you uh no uh no one has reached out to me and if there are camps forming I’m unaware of them uh I haven’t been contact by any so the the answer is in my world it it doesn’t exist if it does exist I’m not part of it do you think anything changed between Monday and today I mean it did seem like the prime minister’s position was extremely tenuous on Monday I don’t think it’s necessarily changed all that much but he’s still here he has been able to survive the week at least do you think anything has meaningfully changed over the course of the week when it comes to his position at the top of this party I think I think it’s gotten worse and the reason for that is his silence um it everyone was angry when he his last period of reflection was less than 24 hours um but it quelled the The Feeding Frenzy in the media of of this story for a period of time the fact that he hasn’t come out and and he hasn’t uh he hasn’t engaged the media he hasn’t um really indicated anything has caused this massive massive Feeding Frenzy to snowball has be has caused people to become completely preoccupied with this and is destabilized government so I I don’t think things are better by his uh by his decision to reflect and go silent um this cabinet Shuffle is in my view a good thing but it would have been a better thing if had been accompanied by a definitive statement from the prime minister of just exactly what his plans are yeah I mean we’re up to 21 now liberal MPS who are willing to say publicly it’s time to resign that does seem untenable to me like how can you really lead the party into an election when you have so many of your own people saying it’s time to go I just don’t see how that works that is catnip to Pier POV isn’t it well you’d be I’m sure surprised to know that I don’t understand it either and nor did I understand it in October when there was less than 21 of us um but I mean our jobs my job is to speak for my constituents when I knock on doors that’s what I hear my job is to be Charlotte Town’s voice in Ottawa I go to Ottawa and project that voice it seems that since then others have found theirs um it it also seems because of the silence that maybe the message is starting to get through it’s it’s it it it should have happened sooner but I it’s hard to draw any other conclusion from the reaction to this latest round yeah okay let’s leave it there thank you so much Pei liberal MP Sean Casey always good to talk to you sir thanks for coming on oh thank you it’s it’s nice to be with you all right the newest liberal MP to join the calls for Justin Trudeau’s resignation is Ontario liberal MP Chandra arah at 4M Eastern arah posted a letter online saying it’s clear Trudeau no longer has the confidence of the House of Commons or the support of the majority of he joins us now hello sir thanks for coming on thanks for having me so why are you speaking out now why do you think it’s time for the prime minister to go uh the change came when NDP announced that uh they are going to support no confidence motion against uh prime minister Trudeau uh one that it means that is inevitable uh he will have to leave sooner than later uh that was the time I decided it’s time that we need to change the leader so it was jug me Singh coming out saying definitively today that there will be a vote of non-confidence in the new year that’s what changed it for you you just don’t want Justin Trio leading this party into the next election is that right absolutely is it have anything to do with not getting a spot in cabinet certainly not you know few I think uh last month the CBC Radio asked me do you think you’ll win the cabinet I told them absolutely no that absolutely no chance that I will be in the cabinet all right sir that’s good to know um do you think that there is um any change in the prime minister’s position we’ve been talking all show about how now we’re up to 21 liberal MPS that want him to go it does seem untenable to carry on like that do you think that there is a chance that you and others coming out will put enough pressure on him to step down are you confidence he’ll make that decision I think so I think so because uh at the end of the day uh prime minister trudo has got the interest of the party in mind uh and he when he knows that the party cannot be continue continuing the government without the support of one of the opposition parties uh he will know to save the party uh to so that we can go to the elections at the time of our choosing uh he will have to move on and uh some other new leader has to come in and I’m I’m sure now that uh NDP has said I’m sure many more of my colleagues will ask prime minister trudo to step aside you are uh supporting Christia Freeland is that right you think that she would be a better leader than Justin Trudeau you want her to take over because of the time factor I don’t think we have got time to launch a uh a big leadership uh uh selection process which will take months we don’t have the luxury of the time so in the meantime amongst the caucus members who are available experienced Etc Christia Freeland seems to be the right choice uh By Design or by circumstance uh her uh time of resignation has put her into the spotlight and she appears to be the person around whom the caucus members can rally behind I’ve asked some other MPS this what happens if the Prime Minister does not go if he does in on staying he’s already survived the week there’s a possibility he tries to wait it out over the Christmas holidays what are you prepared to do if he does stay is there something else you can do I don’t think we have got anything else that we can do because the Constitution the party’s Constitution uh allows us no other option but to show our uh displeasure at the end of the day it is his call to make but having known him for last 10 years is a decent man is a hardworking man he has got high respect for the caucus and the party uh I think uh if majority of the caucus members say we need a change in leadership you’ll certainly respect that position of the caucus members all right let’s leave it there thank you so much sir for coming on I appreciate it Shonda arah arah I appreciate you making your views known on our program tonight sir thank you thank you
