Canadians Interview Trudeau Jnr

[On Guard for Thee]

It might affect the questions that were asked, or the responses given.

Don't worry, there will I suspect be ample time to ask, and respond to, questions regarding the budget once it's tabled.

[Big Guy]

We have gone from one Prime Minister who refused to answer questions from Canadian journalists to a Prime Minister who answers questions from randomly selected citizens. I assume that the critics of this recent JT attempt to explain his position on various issues would rather that he hide from all questions as did the previous PM?

What is it that you folks want?

[waldo]

What it shows me, is that Mr. Trudeau has unresolved psychological issues with his mother's mental illness.

This is not about being PM. This was about his obsessive need to prove he is a nice man and caring by allowing himself to be interrupted rudely and asked questions he didn't dare answer because he's afraid the truth may have upset them.

He's dragging down the PM office to cater to his own insecure neurotic need to be liked.

In the short term he may look human, but in the long term all it showed is what we know, Trudeau is over his head and is riddled with insecurities and doubts.

Let him go to a psychiatrist for therapy to deal with his mother. Enough.

the internet affords an outlet for any unqualified person to make medical based assessments and apply judgement to that end... it also allows an avenue to extend on a lack of medical credentials and qualification to apply partisan vitriol under the guise of a postured medical practitioner.

.

[waldo]

Ok - I appreciate the input but as was pointed out, this is drifting the thread. Please take it to support & questions if you still disagree.

done so - here:

[poochy]

I cant listen to him speak, but his efforts are generally lost on intelligent people unless they have deeply invested themselves in this version of the liberals. Hopefully some of those people will eventually be able to admit how empty he really is, for now im willing to, if not believe, then at least hope that he is only the face of the party, not the leader. To think the later would be a truly scary thing, when i see a doctor i at least expect them to appear to be as smart as i am, and hopefully more than just appear to be, i expect the same from our PM, our leader should be one of our best, nothing he says makes me believe that he is, quite the opposite. A lot of us have probably worked for someone who you knew was inferior to you, him as PM is a lot like that.

[The_Squid]

We have gone from one Prime Minister who refused to answer questions from Canadian journalists to a Prime Minister who answers questions from randomly selected citizens. I assume that the critics of this recent JT attempt to explain his position on various issues would rather that he hide from all questions as did the previous PM?

What is it that you folks want?

I expect him to be available to answer questions as they come up, but not for a gimmicky TV spot.

I think the PM available in QP is a very good start. Also, media scrums that aren't scripted and vetted for softball questions is good too. So far, he has been miles ahead of the previous PM in terms of availability to answer questions. Let's hope it continues.

This "10 minutes with Canadians" was PR. Maybe a good PR move, I don't know... but not my cup 'o' tea...

I cant listen to him speak,...

'Nuff said. Kind of tough to take your criticisms seriously.

Edited February 1, 2016 by The_Squid

[overthere]

I wonder how much an hour or two of CBC TV time costs the PMO, not counting the large percentage of wholly uncritical regular newscasts on CBC devoted to his every word and action- every day since elected?

Free you say? No charge at all?

[WestCoastRunner]

As opposed to the "Economic Action Plan," it's likely a strategy to show openness and accountability. It's pretty tough to complain that the government isn't open or accountable when the Prime Minister himself takes open questions from the public on live television.

Edit to add: And I should note that this is regardless of his answers. He can give the crappiest answers we've ever heard. Fact is they can still point to this as a way the Liberals are more accountable to the "people" than Harper and the Conservatives ever were.

That's right and to further add, this interview was initiated by Peter Mansbridge and not the PMO.

For the past dozen or so years, I've tried hard with the different PMOs to really try to change the format, to break down some of the awkward rules that have governed these sessions for decades.

I couldn't find any interest — until last Nov. 4 when Justin Trudeau was sworn in.

He and his team had campaigned on the promise of openness and accessibility, so we called them on it.

In December, we passed on the idea of doing the Christmas tree year-ender, we passed on the conventional town hall format and, instead, we thought of something completely different, which is what you will see on Sunday night. In prime time. For an hour. With no commercials.

We're calling it "Face to Face" and it's exciting and unpredictable. It's access in a very real and different way.

In a nutshell, here's how it will work. We have selected, and let me underline that, WE have selected, without any consultation with the prime minister's office, 10 Canadians from across the country, all of whom have a particular concern about a specific issue, as the Trudeau government reaches 100 days since the election.

This wasn't a PR stunt initiated by JT, but was in fact JT following through on his promise: "He and his team had campaigned on the promise of openness and accessibility, so we called them on it."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mansbridge-face-to-face-trudeau-1.3424017

[WestCoastRunner]

Hopefully some of those people will eventually be able to admit how empty he really is, for now im willing to, if not believe, then at least hope that he is only the face of the party, not the leader.

.

It's astonishing that you would want our PM of Canada to not be a leader.

[The_Squid]

It was PR for Trudeau whether it was his idea or not... The PM doesn't appear on national broadcasts because he thinks it might be fun. And this certainly wasn't a national broadcast to inform Canadians of anything important. The PM thinks he can make some hay out of his "accessibility factor".

Personally, I think it was a waste of the PM's time, but what do I know...? it may add to his popularity with some folks despite what I think. It's pretty much a non-issue with me though... other than discussing it on this forum, I've never given it a second thought.

Obviously the partisan CPC hacks here on the forum will light their hair on fire about anything he does or says...

[WestCoastRunner]

It was PR for Trudeau whether it was his idea or not... The PM doesn't appear on national broadcasts because he thinks it might be fun. And this certainly wasn't a national broadcast to inform Canadians of anything important. The PM thinks he can make some hay out of his "accessibility factor".

Personally, I think it was a waste of the PM's time, but what do I know...? it may add to his popularity with some folks despite what I think. It's pretty much a non-issue with me though... other than discussing it on this forum, I've never given it a second thought.

Obviously the partisan CPC hacks here on the forum will light their hair on fire about anything he does or says...

Sure it was PR, but it wasn't initiated by him and did make him accessible unlike Harper. Nothing wrong with that.

Why would it be a waste of time if he his listening to Canadians across Canada and answering their concerns.

[The_Squid]

Sure it was PR, but it wasn't initiated by him and did make him accessible unlike Harper. Nothing wrong with that.

Why would it be a waste of time if he his listening to Canadians across Canada and answering their concerns.

Because listening to 10 Canadians picked by the CBC is not the same as listening to Canadians across the country. He has an entire government to do that. PMs don't have the time to ever even attempt to do that. That young lady's concerns weren't my concerns. 10 people don't represent all Canadians. When do I get my own 10 minutes?

It's actually a bit silly to think that this is anything other than PR. There's no substance there.

[WestCoastRunner]

Because listening to 10 Canadians picked by the CBC is not the same as listening to Canadians across the country. He has an entire government to do that. PMs don't have the time to ever even attempt to do that. That young lady's concerns weren't my concerns. 10 people don't represent all Canadians. When do I get my own 10 minutes?

It's actually a bit silly to think that this is anything other than PR. There's no substance there.

Their concerns were picked to reflect concerns of many other Canadians. I didn't have a problem with the format.

[Bob Macadoo]

Because listening to 10 Canadians picked by the CBC is not the same as listening to Canadians across the country. He has an entire government to do that. PMs don't have the time to ever even attempt to do that. That young lady's concerns weren't my concerns. 10 people don't represent all Canadians.

Yet what if her concerns were yours? What if the CBC gathered a representative group.....not just a roundtable of useless media-mouths from Navigator or some other political PR lobbying firm that CBC usually does. I'd rather see this than hearing about what Stock Day or Gilles Duceppe would've done had they had the levers of power.

[Smallc]

It's actually a bit silly to think that this is anything other than PR. There's no substance there.

I actually think it's more a case of CBC trying to be relevant, and failing. Trudeau agreed because of his personality.

[ReeferMadness]

I didn't watch this. Is it available online or something?

I assume this whole exercise probably falls under the heading of Public Relations, as a slick marketing exercise. Like "Canada's Economic Action Plan", but less expensive.

-k

Unlike the Economic Action Plan, this was CBC's idea. Neither the party nor the PMO was able to vet the candidates or know what questions they would ask in advance.

So, it definitely is a marketing exercise but I wouldn't call it slick. It's actually kind of awkward to watch.

I think the Liberals like to demonstrate the huge chasm between how their guy is unafraid to meet people without everything being carefully controlled vs how Harper's every interaction with everyone all the way down to his kids was carefully stage managed.

[The_Squid]

Unlike the Economic Action Plan, this was CBC's idea. Neither the party nor the PMO was able to vet the candidates or know what questions they would ask in advance.

So, it definitely is a marketing exercise but I wouldn't call it slick. It's actually kind of awkward to watch.

I think the Liberals like to demonstrate the huge chasm between how their guy is unafraid to meet people without everything being carefully controlled vs how Harper's every interaction with everyone all the way down to his kids was carefully stage managed.

Well said. The format is certainly odd and a bit awkward, but PM Trudeau's off-the-cuff answers to questions he didn't know were coming weren't that bad.

Q - "why can't the gov't pay back my student loans"?

A - "there are programs to help with student debt"

(paraphrasing there)

Not very satisfactory to the questioner... but what else could he say? "Yes, your tuition will be paid back to you in full and I'll have a job waiting for an English major as soon as you graduate"?

[bush_cheney2004]

I would expect nothing less from Canada's state broadcaster. PM Trudeau can run with it whenever he needs to.

[waldo]

Well said. The format is certainly odd and a bit awkward, but PM Trudeau's off-the-cuff answers to questions he didn't know were coming weren't that bad.

Q - "why can't the gov't pay back my student loans"?

A - "there are programs to help with student debt"

(paraphrasing there)

Not very satisfactory to the questioner... but what else could he say? "Yes, your tuition will be paid back to you in full and I'll have a job waiting for an English major as soon as you graduate"?

no - PM Trudeau did mention the intent to supply relief to (low-income) students through grants and the relaxed repayment of loans. I can't recall if he went into details like re-payment only begins after reaching $25K in salary... and until that point the federal government will cover interest costs. My take on that questioning individual is she was hoping for some grandiose statement/promise that the Canadian government would somehow erase her accumulated student debt outright. Like just what were her realistic expectations?

.

[Hal 9000]

no - PM Trudeau did mention the intent to supply relief to (low-income) students through grants and the relaxed repayment of loans. I can't recall if he went into details like re-payment only begins after reaching $25K in salary... and until that point the federal government will cover interest costs. My take on that questioning individual is she was hoping for some grandiose statement/promise that the Canadian government would somehow erase her accumulated student debt outright. Like just what were her realistic expectations?

.

They want free university tuition. They are having a mini-rally about this in some universities this week. Students are allowed/encouraged to skip classes to attend.

[kimmy]

I wonder how much an hour or two of CBC TV time costs the PMO, not counting the large percentage of wholly uncritical regular newscasts on CBC devoted to his every word and action- every day since elected?

Free you say? No charge at all?

I think it's fairly silly to criticize the CBC for jumping at the opportunity to produce what was probably a widely-watched program (by their standards at the very least) at minimal production cost. It seems like a rational business decision.

Likewise I can't blame the Prime Minister for taking advantage of a PR opportunity like this.

I still haven't had a chance to watch the actual programme, however.

-k

[Big Guy]

Made a copy at the time and just finished viewing it. Nothing special or new. I suggest that it was the process that was focus rather than the results. I do not know what viewers expected that has not been revealed yet as policy.

I did find the idea that I was able to watch the PM of Canada unedited answers to unscripted questions from the "common man" on TV very refreshing.

Perhaps the intent was to emphasize the difference of transparency and accountability between this government and the previous one.

If that was the purpose then it attained that goal.

[Hal 9000]

Made a copy at the time and just finished viewing it. Nothing special or new. I suggest that it was the process that was focus rather than the results. I do not know what viewers expected that has not been revealed yet as policy.

I did find the idea that I was able to watch the PM of Canada unedited answers to unscripted questions from the "common man" on TV very refreshing.

Perhaps the intent was to emphasize the difference of transparency and accountability between this government and the previous one.

If that was the purpose then it attained that goal.

Each segment was about 5 mins. from beginning to end. Between some of these people rambling (like the college student) and Trudeau stuttering, what did we really get out of it? - Not a lot. Most people here, regardless of political leaning could've answered those questions just as well - or as poorly depending on you POV.

It needed to be about a 2hour show.

P.S - If an oil worker who was working 4 days a month asked me what he should do, I would suggest he find where to best transfer his skills or use the time to upgrade or readjust his trade. Literally giving a guy the "hang in there" cliche was shocking...at best.

Edited February 2, 2016 by Hal 9000

[-1=e^ipi]

I think he should do an online chat roulette with random Canadians every week using a random number generator to determine who he talks to. That way it will be more representative and cheaper.

[On Guard for Thee]

I think he should do an online chat roulette with random Canadians every week using a random number generator to determine who he talks to. That way it will be more representative and cheaper.

Each segment was about 5 mins. from beginning to end. Between some of these people rambling (like the college student) and Trudeau stuttering, what did we really get out of it? - Not a lot. Most people here, regardless of political leaning could've answered those questions just as well - or as poorly depending on you POV.

It needed to be about a 2hour show.

P.S - If an oil worker who was working 4 days a month asked me what he should do, I would suggest he find where to best transfer his skills or use the time to upgrade or readjust his trade. Literally giving a guy the "hang in there" cliche was shocking...at best.

I guess you think Trudeau should have just declared a doubling of the price of oil, and then put the guy back to work.