Monday, April 27, 2020

Commentary

5 comments
2023-09-14 16:59:17

Vassy, Ask a Hard Question. Will the Grocery Giants be forced to roll back food prices to PRE-PANDEMIC Prices. Force Trudeau's Government to "Make Up The Difference. Any Chance? Moe. They are All "CROOKS", including Trudeau and His Crew>

2020-04-27 11:38:49

Grant,

I think you left out what can sometimes be an even better answer to the very first question. In this case it could have been as simple as "I don't know". If he/they didn't have a definitive answer, the correct response to the first question should have been "I believe there have been others including some from jurisdictions other than China but we haven't been able to quantify those totals yet. Once we do I would happy to share that information with you." To me that's way better than having a "back pocket response" that so transparently says "damn, I didn't get away with that one, let me try this one instead".

Ken Cantor

2020-04-27 11:42:01

That's a good point Ken, but that's assuming he didn't know. What if he did, or what if he had a pretty good idea? If he took your approach and the following day the media found out some numbers then the Minister would look pretty silly.

I respect your point though for sure Ken.

-Grant

2020-04-27 09:52:03

Great article Grant. It's absolutely shocking to see this interview take place. As you say, people can watch this interview over, over, and over again. His answers make him appear incredibly weak. Let's be honest too: people are just getting disgusted with these talking points, regardless of which party deploys them.

I don't understand why they don't just say the truth: "we ordered a million, and they sent us bad ones. They lied to us and put our front-line workers at risk (great point btw). We likely won't do business with them again." Seems to me like the communication folks could use some business experience.

What makes this whole thing even more weird is that the feds are starting to give grants to media outlets. Will this put pressure on less-sustainable news outlets from asking tough questions? Here is the journalism grant: https://albertabusinessgrants.ca/grants/local-journalism-initiative/

Grant, thanks for writing these insightful pieces every week!

2020-04-27 10:16:41

Thank you for your kind words and great insight.

The point you make about the government handouts is a very good one, especially since the government decides who gets the cash and who doesn't. It's one of the worst policies around.

-Grant