OTTAWA—On May 24, former NDP MP Charlie Angus said on his Meidas Canada Network YouTube channel: “politicians who gaslight, politicians who misrepresent facts, politicians who use serious issues of public safety and public concerns in order to spin a message, a falsehood and that creates cynicism. When you create cynicism, people stop believing in government.”  

Was Angus speaking about Alberta Premier Danielle Smith? Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston? Ontario Premier Doug Ford? So many options. Smith lied about her duty to consult with Indigenous Peoples in relation to the unhinged demands of separatists, and was challenged by Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew who used evidence and resolute calm to offset the lies. Houston has misrepresented the risks of illegal cannabis sales in Nova Scotia by First Nations, and erroneously connected the sales to deaths in First Nations communities. And Ford has been implying there’s security risks that require him to have his own gravy plane. 

It’s the lack of reasoned policy and transparency plus the gaslighting of journalists or opposition leaders who ask for explanations, cringe-worthy behaviours that are equally called out in children’s books as well as in Indigenous stories. These are warning........

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