Dalton McGuinty or idiots who shouldn't make historical allusions

Those who don't know history are doomed to mangle it.

Premier Dalton McGuinty stared down critics in his own Liberal caucus over his government’s actions during the recent G20 summit in Toronto by invoking the spectre of both Pierre Trudeau and Richard Nixon.

In a closed-door meeting with MPPs on Wednesday, McGuinty deflected questions from members unhappy at the heavy-handedness of police in dealing with protesters—and the government’s complicity in failing to correct the mistaken impression officers had been given more powers.

“He told us, ‘Just remember, the same guy who gave us the Charter also gave us the War Measures Act,’” said one startled MPP, noting the premier also refuted calls from several members to strike a public inquiry into the G20 debacle.

McGuinty’s contrasting of Trudeau’s 1982 entrenchment of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution to the former prime minister’s use of the War Measures Act during the 1970 October Crisis in Quebec was “bizarre,” said another member.

“Then things got even weirder—he said: ‘Don’t forget about the silent majority.’”

So, let me see if I get this. A large meeting, imposed upon a city like a military campaign, is like martial law enacted to stop the suspected armed overthrow of a government. In the first case, the martial law as imposed against terrorists, in the second against the people of Toronto.

I get it now.

And the "silent majority" refers to Canadians who are just fine with this kind of abuse of power, as long as they aren't personally affected.

Yes, I get it now.

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