Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau

[BC_chick]

Did anyone complain about Mrs. Mulroney's household staff? This whole "fiasco" seems rather petty.

I was too young to worry about Mulroney's staff but att this point in life I don't think I'm going to agree with something I find fundamentally wrong just because 30 years ago another PM did the same thing.

I can see why a PM is offered a cook, cleaner and chauffeur, but can you please give me one good reason why their spouse should get two nannies and two assistants?

[Argus]

And only a few months ago we were saying the same things about the Conservatives under Harper's leadership.

We were? Who was?

[Argus]

Or, for the Government of Canada.

No. PR work for the government, as in advertising, is supposed to be to explain programs and policies. That is not what she's doing. She's doing PR for the Trudeau brand.

[Smallc]

It's almost as if he lived there, or something.

[Smallc]

No. PR work for the government, as in advertising, is supposed to be to explain programs and policies. That is not what she's doing.

PR and advertising are not the same things.

[bush_cheney2004]

Sophies' mortal sin in Canada....trying to be too "Murican....including this American Idol appearance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEt74HBHSLA

[DogOnPorch]

Sophies' mortal sin in Canada....trying to be too "Murican....including this American Idol appearance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEt74HBHSLA

Qu'ils mangent du gâteau!

The lady is going to do exactly as she damn please for the next 4-10 years. If the peasants don't like it, there are always alternatives to royalty.

[poochy]

Neil Macdonald:

Yes they brought out one of the heavy hitters to defend poor Sophie. She has so many requests to appear you see, and while she truly hates to be seen, (i mean it's obvious...), she just can't deny her public the opportunity to hear her sing or say some empty platitudes about some thing or another, the poor dear is just a 'tall poppy', though im not sure what exactly of substance she's done to deserve that moniker, but im not a liberal, im not impressed by the empty vacuity of the Trudeau ruling family. In any case, she clearly has important things to add to our society, things to give and enlighten us with that i can't appreciate.

But I don't understand how this is about us meanies trying to keep a woman in her place, or how clearly over worked she must be, while having no actual job that she must attend, I mean, some parents make 'choices' that involve going to work because they have to, while not having free nannies, chef, driver, and whatever else comes with the free house, the 300k salary her husband brings home, not even to mention access to their significant personal wealth. Some women in fact manage to have a busy life filled with volunteer work, while having a family of their own and none of those enormous, paid for by someone else advantages. They must be the true super women.

I honestly don't much care if she had more 'help', but to frame this argument as though she is somehow indispensable to the nation, that she is doing work that must be done, that she herself would obviously rather be home raising her family, but she just can't deny us her wisdom, well it's difficult no to laugh, or cry, and how ludicrous it all is. Yes, maybe it's hard to attack them with substance, but that would be because neither of them seems to have any.

Edited May 14, 2016 by poochy

[Smallc]

Yes they brought out one of the heavy hitters to defend poor Sophie.

It must be hard when you feel that everything is a liberal (or in this case, Liberal) conspiracy.

She has so many requests to appear you see, and while she truly hates to be seen, (i mean it's obvious...), she just can't deny her public the opportunity to hear her sing or say some empty platitudes about some thing or another, the poor dear is just a 'tall poppy', though im not sure what exactly of substance she's done to deserve that moniker, but im not a liberal, im not impressed by the empty vacuity of the Trudeau ruling family. In any case, she clearly has important things to add to our society, things to give and enlighten us with that i can't appreciate.

Of course, I mean, she's clearly pure evil.

But I don't understand how this is about us meanies trying to keep a woman in her place, or how clearly over worked she must be, while having no actual job that she must attend, I mean, some parents make 'choices' that involve going to work because they have to, while not having free nannies, chef, driver, and whatever else comes with the free house, the 300k salary her husband brings home, not even to mention access to their significant personal wealth. Some women in fact manage to have a busy life filled with volunteer work, while having a family of their own and none of those enormous, paid for by someone else advantages. They must be the true super women.

And some women, aren't even married to the head of government, and don't get 50 - 60 requests a week for appearances. Can you imagine how those women survive?

Pretending that her position is the same as that of a normal stay at home mom is nothing but partisan nonsense.

I honestly don't much care if she had more 'help', but to frame this argument as though she is somehow indispensable to the nation, that she is doing work that must be done, that she herself would obviously rather be home raising her family, but she just can't deny us her wisdom, well it's difficult no to laugh, or cry, and how ludicrous it all is. Yes, maybe it's hard to attack them with substance, but that would be because neither of them seems to have any.

No one said it was indispensable. Except you.

[WestCanMan]

She wants to do her part to make this country a better place. I don't see the harm in another staff member given that.

"Her part" is to be a wife and mother until she gets a paying gig. If people want to pay her for her services that's between them and her, but it's not up to the taxpayers to pay her to do anything, or to pay for her to have extra staff so that she can "volunteer".

Tens of thousands of Canadians do volunteer work. Almost everyone I know does a bit of something. It comes at personal costs. I don't get the gov't to pay people to do my work for me so that I can go do some shameless self-promotion.

[Smallc]

"Her part" is to be a wife and mother until she gets a paying gig.

The amount of sexism in this thread is amazing.

I can't imagine these complaints if we were talking about a man.

[WestCanMan]

The amount of sexism in this thread is amazing.

I can't imagine these complaints if we were talking about a man.

That's just another example of liberals crying wolf. If she was a he then the sentence would read "his part is to be a husband and father until he gets a paying gig". Pretty simple imo.

[Smallc]

That's just another example of liberals crying wolf. If she was a he then the sentence would read "his part is to be a husband and father until he gets a paying gig". Pretty simple imo.

Pretty easy to pretend, IMO.

We obviously expect more, given that we already provide her with one assistant (as every other spouse has had) and the fact that she gets 50-60 requests a week.

[BC_chick]

The amount of sexism in this thread is amazing.I can't imagine these complaints if we were talking about a man.

I think it'd be worse. Imagine Elizabeth May as PM and her husband (if she has one, I don't know) needing two assistants.

[Smallc]

I think it'd be worse. Imagine Elizabeth May as PM and her husband (if she has one, I don't know) needing two assistants.

I can't imagine anyone caring. Then again, I can't imagine anyone caring about this.

People certainly wouldn't be saying he should stay home and look after his kids - I know that much.

[capricorn]

...she gets 50-60 requests a week.

This here is very a very interesting item. IMO there will come a time when the "Sophie-factor" will wind down due to over exposure and growing public disinterest. I expect those 50-odd requests will dwindle significantly. If my prediction is correct then I would think whatever help she gets with the mounds of correspondence should be temporary in nature and paid for by the Liberal Party. If an additional assistant is added to the one she has now, it will become a permanent arrangement and this is a situation that should be avoided.

[BC_chick]

I can't imagine anyone caring. Then again, I can't imagine anyone caring about this.People certainly wouldn't be saying he should stay home and look after his kids - I know that much.

The nannies are comprehensible and I didn't complain when that 'scandal' broke out but why does any PM spouse need a personal assistant?

Yet alone two?!

[Smallc]

This here is very a very interesting item. IMO there will come a time when the "Sophie-factor" will wind down due to over exposure and growing public disinterest. I expect those 50-odd requests will dwindle significantly.

I think that's a pretty baseless statement. There's no evidence that either Trudeau is suffering from waning popularity. To use a reference that is sure to draw in the usual diversion, Michelle Obama is as sought after as she always was. Mila Mulroney never saw her schedule relax either.

If my prediction is correct then I would think whatever help she gets with the mounds of correspondence should be temporary in nature and paid for by the Liberal Party. If an additional assistant is added to the one she has now, it will become a permanent arrangement and this is a situation that should be avoided.

She's not doing work on behalf of the Liberal party.

[Hal 9000]

I think it'd be worse. Imagine Elizabeth May as PM and her husband (if she has one, I don't know) needing two assistants.

All of these things seem pretty far fetched.

[Smallc]

but why does any PM spouse need a personal assistant?

Yet alone two?!

1. She gets 50 - 60 requests for appearances a week. She goes where she can, and answers every singe request.

2. She doesn't believe in canned responses or speeches. Writing speeches and correspondence of that magnitude takes time.

3. Every PMs spouse has had one assistant going back to Chretien. Mulroney had 3.

4. She's doing volunteer work on behalf of Canadians. People high up in volunteer organizations often have a great deal of administrative help.

[BC_chick]

1. She gets 50 - 60 requests for appearances a week. She goes where she can, and answers every singe request.2. She doesn't believe in canned responses or speeches. Writing speeches and correspondence of that magnitude takes time.3. Every PMs spouse has had one assistant going back to Chretien. Mulroney had 3.4. She's doing volunteer work on behalf of Canadians. People high up in volunteer organizations often have a great deal of administrative help.

None of this is required of her, she chooses it. Let her pay for it if she wants more than offered to any of her contemporaries.

Just because people didn't have the good sense to complain about Mulroney doesn't mean we should allow it now.

[capricorn]

1. She gets 50 - 60 requests for appearances a week.

Whoa. Are those strictly requests to speak or does that number include general "I love you" letters. And come to think of it, where did you get that number from?

[Hal 9000]

I don't really care that much about the issue, but lets not pretend that it's a requirement of her position or anything more than her (them) wanting to be fabulous - they reckon themselves the new Kennedy's. It's embarrassing to me.

[Smallc]

Whoa. Are those strictly requests to speak or does that number include general "I love you" letters. And come to think of it, where did you get that number from?

The CBC analysis piece by Neil Macdonald - and those are not the I love you letters.

[Smallc]

I don't really care that much about the issue, but lets not pretend that it's a requirement of her position or anything more than her (them) wanting to be fabulous - they reckon themselves the new Kennedy's. It's embarrassing to me.

That it's embarrassing to you probably says that you were embarrassed of them to start with. That she receives requests and answers them is not embarrassing to me.