Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau
c/o High Commissioner Emina Tudakovic
Canadian High Commission
3 West Kings House Road
Kingston 10, Jamaica
My Dear Prime Minister,
Knowing how eagerly you have been waiting for my annual New Year’s letter with its sage advice on ways to duck the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that will be flung at you when you return, I asked that it be rushed to you. I hope that Emina Tudakovic, will brief you and your family on the risks you may encounter during your holiday in Jamaica.
Risks? I am not referring to the possibility of bumping into your old family friend, the Aga Khan. That tempest in a teapot was six years ago. That was in the Bahamas. The Aga Khan does not have a private island in Jamaica, so far as I know.
The risks I refer to are itemized in a travel advisory issued by your government, Prime Minister. Posted on the high commission’s website, it declares: “Exercise a high degree of caution in Jamaica due to the high level of violent crime.” The advisory pulls no punches: “Violent crime, including armed robbery and murder, is a problem in large cities and tourist areas … The availability of firearms is widespread … There is a risk of becoming the victim of crossfire … avoid visiting or travelling at night … avoid walking alone …avoid visiting isolated areas and beaches … reports of sexual assaults at tourist resorts … Women travelling alone are often harassed … Avoid taking unmarked taxis due to the risk of robbery and sexual assault.”
Did you know, Sir, that the Jamaican government has declared a state of emergency giving security services enhanced powers to search, seize and arrest until Jan. 11 in eight parishes (communities)? It sounds rather like our own Emergencies Act. But we won’t go there today. Not while you are on vacation.
The advisory lists 51 neighbourhoods in Kingston, Montego Bay, St. Catherine and South Coast to avoid because of gang violence.
But you’ll want to know what’s been going on in Canada. As I write this, the Walmart campers have decamped, the folks who slept in their cars in ditches and snowbanks got dug out, those stranded without food in the Via train near Kingston (Ont.) have been fed, and all the people who slept on the floor at Pearson and other airports, unable to get home for Christmas, were pleased, I am sure, that you managed to get away to the Caribbean on Boxing Day. I am equally sure that Pierre Poilievre, being the gentleman he is, will convey his personal pleasure when next you meet in Question Period.
Speaking of the leader of the opposition, he is like a terrier who won’t let go of a new bone. For Poilievre, it’s the cost of living. He is promising to eliminate inflation, more or less forever, in his first term as prime minister. He is very good at selling the notion, not so good at explaining how he could do it.
You can tell Poilievre that Tiff Macklem, the Bank of Canada governor he wants to fire, has inflation on a leash. The bank wrestled it down from 6.9 per cent in October to 6.8 in November. If they continue at same heady pace of 0.1 per cent per month, they’ll have the annual rate of inflation on the mat, down to the bank’s target of 2 per cent no later than November 2026.
Rest assured, Prime Minister, if that dazzling news doesn’t make the terrier drop his bone, nothing will.
Your faithful admirer,
etc, etc.
Cambridge resident Geoffrey Stevens is an author and former Ottawa columnist and managing editor of the Globe and Mail. He welcomes comments at geoffstevens40@gmail.com