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LILLEY: Carney yet to answer real questions on policy or judgment

Carney and the Liberals could government until late 2026 and the man still hasn't answered a serious question

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Mark Carney could soon become prime minister of Canada and rule this country until September 2026, yet he’s barely answered any questions about his views and policies.

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Does it seem right to you that our next PM could be chosen through a process set up by the Liberal Party exclusively and someone never elected to office could rule the country for more than a year?

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Carney, if he is selected by registered Liberals – including 14-year-old non-citizens – could govern for nearly 20 months without ever getting a mandate from the public.

I know the main thinking is that the Liberals will select their leader on March 9, then Parliament will resume on March 24 and an election will happen shortly afterward. But it may not happen this way. And given that our constitution states that “Every House of Commons shall continue for Five Years from the Day of the Return of the Writs for choosing the House,” it doesn’t have to.

Which means, the Liberals could select Carney as leader in March and we are stuck with him as PM until September 2026. There are some Liberals already chomping at the bit for this to be the scenario that plays out.

Our fixed election date law would not get in the way of a government following the constitution.

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It’s true, the Carney Liberals would need the support of one of the opposition parties, but does anyone really believe NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh won’t back this government as Carney declares there is a national emergency, and the country needs to rally to fight Donald Trump?

“We will be voting against the government at the end of March,” Singh said Thursday.

He was speaking in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. surrounded by union workers and calling on Parliament to resume now so that a massive spending bill could be passed to counter Trump’s tariffs, one Singh said he would vote for. Given Singh’s track record of the Liberals walking all over him time and again and him taking it – he voted confidence in the government eight times after ripping up the coalition deal – Singh simply isn’t believable.

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The idea that the Liberals will craft something to ensure Carney, their newly selected leader, survives past the end of March is believable.

So, we face the prospect of Carney being installed and we haven’t heard from Carney on his vision for Canada’s economy, his commitment to net zero, what he will do with the carbon tax. Between his launch in Edmonton and reporters forcing him to answer a few questions outside an event in Ottawa, we’ve heard very little from him.

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What we have heard has been light on detail and substance, which is why people think he’s moved away from the carbon tax, but we don’t really know.

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It’s not for a lack of trying.

I’ve asked Carney’s team for an on-camera interview for the Toronto Sun’s YouTube channel where views now outstrip regular TV. They didn’t say no, but they haven’t said yes either.

If I’ve been asking, you can be sure that the TV networks and establishment journalists have been asking as well, but there are no Carney interviews to be seen.

He needs to be on the record, not only on questions of policy but on issues of judgment.

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When I broke the story that Carney denied having any clue about Ghislaine Maxwell and her crimes, I didn’t speak to him, it was on background with one of his campaign workers. Carney should be on record on that issue, because you can’t be photographed with one of the world’s most well-known sex traffickers and become prime minister without ever being asked about it.

Same with the stories about Prince Andrew – who has his own connection to Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein – throwing parties for Carney in Britain and he’s never faced a question about it in Canada.

Carney and his team might think these issues are below him but welcome to politics. The public has a right to ask questions and demand answers.

While Canada’s media has given Carney a pass, in Britain he earned nicknames like Mark Carnage and the unreliable boyfriend. It’s time Canada’s media started asking tough and serious questions of Carney.

blilley@postmedia.com

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