‘Another bad decision by Justin Trudeau.’ Readers react as Chrystia Freeland in, Bill Morneau out as Canada’s Finance Minister

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Readers respond: Trudeau prorogues Parliament until Sept. 23 after appointing Freeland Finance Minister

Do the Liberals have to rely on this one person for absolutely everything? Are they really so shallow in the talent pool? (Don’t answer that.) –kai2.0

What a weak Liberal bench. Chrystia Freeland apparently is the only one qualified (and I use that term very loosely) to assume any position that comes available. I wonder if she can moonlight as Governor-General as well? –Puma2

She is not qualified to be Finance Minister. Why her, with no financial background? Another bad decision by Justin Trudeau. –Imagine70

Jim Flaherty was a sociologist and a lawyer in a motor-vehicle accident and personal-injury litigation practice. Your sexism is showing. –FDionne

I miss Stephen Harper. –Bv2477

Interesting – I liked her in Foreign Affairs, but she’s good at everything so will do fine.

This is certainly just temporary anyway – this time next year, a more permanent finance minister will likely be in place. Good interim move. –Richard Wright

Excellent, an extremely competent person and a future prime minister of Canada. –TorontoGooner

Finance Minister Bill Morneau resigns, insists he was not pushed by Trudeau

So the real question that has to be asked is: Does Bill Morneau’s resignation change the channel and take the focus off the WE Charity scandal? Far from it. In fact, it probably leaves many in the financial sector wondering exactly what lies ahead for Canada. It is extremely rare for a finance minister to resign in the middle of a crisis. -HeavyJetCaptain

I watched the press conference. He took it like a man, I respect that.

Having said that, I believe he was one Canada’s weakest finance ministers in recent history, he was certainly no Jim Flaherty or Paul Martin.

However, he was by far the best Justin Trudeau had for the position. With such a thin bench, I cannot see how this will work well for Canadians. –Uncle Fester

Nice. In other news: “Captain Edward Smith has announced that the White Star Line vessel RMS Titanic will be returning to Southampton – its port of origin – after striking an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland late last night. Captain Smith expects that the return to port will be ‘uneventful.‘ ” –Calgary Republican

While he’s obviously made some mistakes, Bill Morneau is at least a serious person with real experience. I’d rather those people remain in cabinet than out. I’d prefer if it was the Prime Minister who resigned instead. –POPDAD19

The Liberal vessel of governance is ablaze and Canada’s future is burning with it.

Bill Morneau is headed for a Liberal Party lifeboat while Justin Trudeau remains on the bridge with his dedicated crew of progressive activists, steering a course toward a fiscal reef that is about to tear the bottom out of Canada’s economy.

It is unlikely this crew is about to go down with the ship, but there will be precious little succour for Canadians left to founder in the cold sea of financial disaster awaiting them. –sanctimonious

I supported the CERB – even the very weak eligibility controls. It was necessary in a crisis and cost a lot of money. Since then, the government has shown a desire to slosh money around without restraint. The payment to seniors – generally people with fixed incomes unchanged by COVID-19 – was unneeded and inexplicable. The whole WE Charity mess was worse.

I am not concerned about the apparent connections between Justin Trudeau and WE so much as the apparent lack of understanding that the money can run out. Canada is not Greece, and we have a manageable debt-to-GDP ratio. Even with a $343-billion deficit, we are not in bad shape. However, adding in provincial debts does make for a scarier scenario. Our government should understand that there is an eventual wall and stop sloshing money around to non-crisis recipients.

Also, all of this debt needs to be repaid – either through future taxes or the destructive effects of inflation. I am not sure Mr. Trudeau understands this. –michaelgreason

The political crisis of Bill Morneau’s resignation shows the Liberals at their worst

From my position, it appears Justin Trudeau’s vision of the future involves spending more money – lots more money, and Bill Morneau was reluctant to go along. Looks like the big spenders won the day. So I wonder: What does Mr. Trudeau want to spend more money on? How will the NDP view his vision? I think it’s time to be afraid. Very, very afraid. –BMracek

“Which leaves it up to the NDP. The party isn’t ready for an election. But how could Leader Jagmeet Singh prop up a government in such turmoil?”

Mr. Singh wields a lot of power in this minority government. He will likely prop up Justin Trudeau in exchange for even more deficit spending and higher taxes (the kind that will discourage investment and innovation needed for economic recovery).

Mr. Trudeau will likely get another free pass from voters and from the NDP, and this pattern will continue until the Conservatives can connect with younger voters. –billy112

This is par for the course for the Liberals. The voters sent them out to the wilderness for three straight election cycles because they couldn’t stop generating problems. It took them embracing Justin Trudeau to get back in the game.

Now it’s the Conservatives’ turn in the wilderness because of pretty much the same problem. Stephen Harper started thinking he was infallible, then the voters turfed him.

This is politics. It’s a vipers pit, and most voters learn quickly to cast a jaundiced eye to the whole process. –Since When

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