Dear Justin Trudeau

author: annie trussler | op-ed editor

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

There is nothing I hate more than attractive politics.

We told you so. We fucking told you so. We protested; Indigenous people were hosed, brutalized by dogs, and starved. I screamed in your smug face to stop the pipeline. This week, it leaked all over the Indigenous land we all fought to protect. We told you. We fucking told you.

There is nothing I hate more than attractive politics. Why are we letting beautiful men commit the same atrocities old, cranky men do? Justin Trudeau, ruggedly handsome as he may be, is a racist, hypocritical sack of centrist garbage, and we all told you so.

I don’t think many of us consider what exactly treaty land means – treaty land is what our genocidal ancestors “granted” when stealing land from the abused Indigenous locals. I won’t go deeply into the history, but this was important to mention.

This spill proves that our government does not speak for our people. Our people spoke out all across the nation, and our government did not heed our words. Our government is one that speaks for the government. This is a government who picks their prettiest candidate, listens to the loudest wallets, and plays house for a campaign or two.

I once bought a sticker that said “Angry Liberal Lesbian” – I was cowardly, then. Liberalism is Conservatism in a finely polished, Quebecois mask. Centrism just won’t cut it anymore. If you are aligning with the middle, you are aligning with the right. You are aligning with oil spills and broken treaty promises. I can’t align with that any longer.

Mr. Trudeau, I genuinely, and sincerely hope you know what you’ve done. I hope you see your campaign promises are empty and your lies are cheap. I was overwhelmed with joy when I saw you had won. I teared up and thought to myself, “Maybe, just maybe, this country will turn around.” It has, somewhat. It hasn’t rotated a full 180 degrees, but enough for it to be noticeable.

But, this spill, Mr. Trudeau? This is inexcusable. This erases every last campaign promise you made to everyone who believed in you. I should know by now that politicians are ultimately empty, but I thought I might give you a good old college try.

This is not to say I want to return to the way things were. If I ever have to see Stephen Harper again, I’m personally going to gouge my eyes out. The reign of the Conservative party is finally at an end, I hope, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world. The way things are, however, is just simply not enough.

Mr. Trudeau, I eagerly await to see how you respond to this disaster. I am curious as to how you are going to look your Indigenous citizens in the eyes with the same confidence and charm. Charisma won’t save you this time. Best of luck, el Capitano.

To Indigenous readers: we have to do better for you, for your land, for what our ancestors promise. You deserve better than this.