Faint Praise

I don't care very much for this prime minister, Trudeau. I don't care for his double-dealing. I'm fed up with his lying and his rank hypocrisy.

That said I want to commend this Trudeau for doing something un-Harper-like, at least for now, in response to Canada's striking railway workers. Some 3,000 CP Rail engineers and conductors have walked out although the union and management are still negotiating.

In the Harper era the government sprung into action whenever a strike notice was delivered for any industry within federal jurisdiction. The right to strike was neutralized. Collective bargaining was employer dominated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights notwithstanding.

Trudeau has said he won't legislate the CP strikers back to work, not now at least. The measure of his sincerity depends, of course, on how he responds if the strike becomes protracted. That's where you'll see Trudeau's true colours.

Right now it's one step up from the standard Trudeau photo-op. Whether that's all it is - more posing - remains to be seen. Still, credit where credit's due.

UPDATE:

I might have been right. Trudeau's pro-labour stance might have been more of the typical window-dressing. The strike is over. It's highly unlikely Trudeau didn't know that a deal was in the works when he took his noble stance. This is Justin Trudeau after all, a consummate political huckster.