Gerald Butts and his resignation from PMO Chief of Staff March 6, 2019

Shortly after Ms. Jody Wilson-Raybould resigned from her Cabinet position as the Attorney General for Canada, Gerald Butts followed with his letter of resignation as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Most of Canada wondered when the next shoe would fall. All of this took centre stage in Canada's media. We now had are own issues to rile the hackles of those who revelled in the blood sport of politics. Canada didn't need Donald J. Trump and his bluster during our political wizards calling for a lynching of Mr. Trudeau. All the while Trudeau stood his ground and admitted that he would always stand up for Canadian Jobs and the working people of Canada, and yes, in his own riding of Papineau, Quebec.

Mr. Butts - after Ms. Wilson-Raybould testified to her reasons for resigning - soon asked for and received approval to speak to the same parliamentary committee. When he spoke, his words were measured, confidant, humble and delivered with deep respect for his audience. I'm suggesting a similarity to Mark Antony in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar wherein he honoured his listeners as he verbalized his understanding of the events that brought all us to this day, a day that might have brought the government to its knees if his testimony lacked credibility. I believed him; not that the events where different, but that they were identical while being perceived differently by the former Attorney General. Beyond the facts there may be a tinge of feminism underlining a reasonable level of discussion in Canada. Trudeau's statements that he is a feminist and has demonstrated those views by appointing cabinet positions to several women, and then see it crumble (with no fault of his) was disheartening. The committee will provide their findings after listening to a few more players who were active on this file that had started in September 2018 and will continue for some time to come.
Meanwhile, an apology from the Prime Minister may be in order. He has apologized for several previous governments' egregious errors such as turning away the ship of Jews fleeing the Nazis during WW11 and a few other long gone government poorer judgements. Trudeau is accustomed to this and I'm sure would do a reasonable job. This apology - if he does it -- would need to be a barnburner if he goes that route. I think he should, and I also think that should be the end of it. But will Canadians except that and move on - the Conservatives and NDP won't. It has been said that, "Apologies are like any other currency; they can decline in value if there's an oversupply." [Author unknown]