Smooth sailing for Trudeau at Miramichi town hall

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walked into an excited and welcoming crowd of around 250 at
James M. Hill Memorial High School in Miramichi. The January 24th event was put together in a
general assembly area, where no one was more than 10 metres away from Trudeau, likely due
to bad weather that may have affected attendance.

The event was considerably less divisive than Trudeau’s other stops across Canada. Many took
the microphone to thank Trudeau or ask for a picture. These included an LGBTQ person who
thanked Trudeau for inviting them to his apology in the House. Trudeau apologized in
November 2017 for the military’s discrimination and purging of people, based on their
sexuality, in the Cold War era.

There was also a thank you from a woman who lived in St. Margarets, a small community near
Miramichi, that had recently gotten an upgrade and improvement in their water system.
Trudeau, in response, stressed the choice his Liberal Party had made, in contrast to their two
main opponents in the last election, to invest in infrastructure. “The infrastructure deficit we
have is far greater than any concerns about budgetary deficit.”

A young Syrian child near the end of the proceedings spoke shyly and said, “I came all the way
from Syria, and I came here to thank you.” This was met with applause, and Trudeau thanked
her, telling the crowd that while it was his Liberal government that granted asylum to 40,000
Syrian refugees, it was real Canadians who made it a success.

Most strikingly, Trudeau warned that there are people trying to create fear around the country
surrounding immigration, especially with an election impending. “The kind of fear-mongering,
the kind of intolerance, the kind of misinformation that unfortunately is going on across the
country and around the world is something all of us have a responsibility to engage with in a
positive and thoughtful way,” Trudeau said.

As a final thought to the young Syrian girl’s question, he motioned back to her and said, “You
and your family; our country is better that you are now here with all of us.”