NDP REALITY CHECK: Justin Trudeau believes in liberty, just not standing up for it

“I believe that one of the highest aims of Canadian political leadership is to protect and expand freedom for Canadians.”

• Justin Trudeau, McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, March 9, 2015

Justin Trudeau’s speech was billed by the Liberal brain trust as “momentous” – but in reality Trudeau failed to deliver on the one tangible way he could have shown his commitment to defending Canadians’ freedoms: reversing the Liberal Party’s support for Stephen Harper’s dangerous and regressive bill C-51.

If you want to see Justin Trudeau’s real record on defending liberty, inclusion and the Charter of Rights, you can find the results right here. All New Democrats opposed, and all Liberals supported, a bill that experts have called:

• “…a dangerous piece of legislation in terms of its potential impacts on the rule of law, on constitutionally and internationally protected rights, and on the health of Canada’s democracy” – Open letter signed by more than 100 academics, February 27, 2015
• “unprecedented” and “excessive”, with “seriously deficient” privacy safeguards – Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien, Submission to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, March 5, 2015)

Why would Justin Trudeau support legislation that clearly threatens the freedom of Canadians?

“This conversation might be different if we weren’t months from an election campaign, but we are.”

• Justin Trudeau, University of British Columbia, March 4, 2015

While Justin Trudeau continues to show his lack of judgment, NDP leader Tom Mulcair continues to demonstrate what a principled leader looks like.