Where I stand, and why.
If you’ve been a long-time reader of my work, both on this website and on social media, you may have noticed some recent changes in my rhetoric and perspectives. And I feel it is important that I explain those changes and explain where I stand.
Rhetoric
First of all, you’ve likely noted that I have toned down my rhetoric as of late, and this has been a deliberate decision. While many of our political leaders have acted in deeply unacceptable ways, and while I still see much of the media as untrustworthy, I have decided to shift away from using rhetoric like ‘enemies’ and ‘traitors’.
The key reason for this is that I believe such language contributes to internal divisions within our country at a time when we cannot afford to be so deeply divided.
Free countries like Canada, the United States, and our other democratic allies face an increasingly existential threat from a new Authoritarian Axis comprising Communist China, Fascist Russia, the Islamic Regime in Iran, North Korea, and their various proxy terror groups.
The Authoritarian Axis is banking on the free world to be divided and distracted, thus giving the Axis free reign to invade other nations and commit horrendous crimes against humanity.
We also see the danger of divisive rhetoric in the surge of antisemitism since October 7th, 2023 – the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. When I was in high school, I had the honour of being part of the Asper Foundation’s Human Rights & Holocaust Studies program. The program featured weeks of studying history – including how violent rhetoric leads to violence and ultimately genocide – and culminated in a trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. In University, I was welcomed into the Hillel Winnipeg community despite not being Jewish and learned much about the Jewish community and the importance of supporting Israel.
This has informed my ongoing support for the Jewish community and support for Israel in the wave of surging antisemitism.
Watching as hateful rhetoric has surged – particularly dehumanizing rhetoric that often presages the worst crimes against human beings – I have also reflected on my use of negative rhetoric.
In large part, this is also why – while continuing to push for lower immigration levels (something the government is finally doing), I am being very careful to avoid demonizing immigrants themselves. After all, my Father is an immigrant to this country, and we mustn’t let legitimate concerns over the mismanagement of the immigration system turn into outright hatred. For example, the current surge in hate towards Indo-Canadians is something I refuse to be a part of, and something I will actively oppose.
Amid all of this reflection, I have concluded that using extremely divisive rhetoric here at home tacitly aids our external foes and could contribute to a broader shift towards dehumanizing others – something that never ends well, even if that isn’t the initial intention.
That is something I will no longer participate in.
Ukraine
Second, you have likely noticed that I often write about and Tweet about the need to support Ukraine.
The way I see it, this is a ‘dealbreaker’ issue. There are many issues where disagreement is relatively consequence-free. For example, a disagreement over a specific tax rate or investment in a government program may be important, but it is not always a defining statement about who someone is or what kind of world someone wants to live in. Errors in tax policy and government investment can also be corrected with relative speed.
By contrast, whether or not the free world stands with Ukraine is an issue of the highest importance, because it speaks to who we are as human beings and because the consequences of either success or failure are immense.
The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation all guaranteed Ukraine’s territorial integrity in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear arsenal.
Russia violated that agreement beginning in 2014 when they initially invaded Ukraine and escalated that invasion in 2022 with a full-blown assault on the Ukrainian People.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Russian state propagandists openly discuss their desire to wipe out Ukraine as a unique nation, and a Russian victory in Ukraine would expand Russia’s military-industrial base and manpower, thus strengthening them for an invasion of further European nations.
North Korea is now aiding Russia’s invasion by sending troops, and China has provided economic, military, and technological assistance to Russia as well.
Thus, Ukraine is now single-handedly fighting against many of the free world’s enemies all on their own.
As Ukraine bears the horrendous burden of fighting such a brutal war to survive against Russia, all they ask for are weapons.
Not boots on the ground.
Not direct intervention.
The fact that we haven’t done more is quite frankly disgraceful. Canada and other allied nations could easily be spinning up the production of artillery and drones to help Ukraine survive, but we continue to bury our heads in the sand and hope the danger of Russia just magically goes away.
Now, I have certainly seen the critiques of those who say we can’t afford to help Ukraine since people are struggling here at home. Those critiques are understandable but misguided. Our choice isn’t between spending now to help Ukraine and not spending at all.
Our choice is between spending now to help Ukraine or spending way more to resist a more powerful and dangerous Russia later.
If you think times are tough now, imagine what prices will be like if a full-blown war occurs in Europe between NATO and a Russia that has incorporated Ukrainian industrial capacity and manpower.
If you are worried about loved ones being sent to war, understand that is much more likely if we fail to help Ukraine now and are forced to face down a more dangerous Russia later.
There is also the ethical aspect to consider here. Do you want to live in a world where authoritarian states can freely butcher hundreds of thousands of people because those people ‘dare’ to escape the prison of the Soviet legacy and wish to be free and open nations?
Do you think we can sit by and let Ukraine get decimated by an expansionist Russia allied with China, Iran, and North Korea and that it will somehow not impact us down the road?
Wake up. The world may be a big place, but it’s not big enough to escape the consequences if authoritarian dictatorships prevail.
There is also a personal aspect to this for me when it comes to Ukraine.
My wife Stephanie is of Ukrainian descent, and the story of her family – as with many Ukrainian families – is a testament to Ukraine’s perseverance and determination to survive even in the face of horrendous violence and hardship. All Ukraine is asking for now is to be a free and normal country like Canada and our allies by escaping Russia’s orbit. That is something we must help Ukraine achieve. If we don’t, if we stand by and let Russia win, we will pay a serious price.
Trump
And this brings us to Donald Trump.
Following the 2016 election and in the run-up to the 2020 election, a somewhat decent case could be made that Donald Trump governed like a relatively normal Republican, even as his statements were far more ‘outlandish’ than his Republican and Democratic predecessors.
That case was demolished on January 6th, 2021.
Having decisively lost the 2020 election – Trump lost the popular vote by over 7 million votes and all his election challenges were thrown out of court (often by Republican judges including some appointed by Trump himself), he spread lies about the electoral process and claimed the election was rigged against him – even as those close to him admitted that he knew he had lost.
This was in large part because Trump’s entire worldview is centred around him being a ‘winner,’ and unable to cope with the humiliation of being decisively rejected by the voters, Trump decided to lie instead and craft a fantasy world in which he had somehow won.
Trump incited his followers to assault the U.S. Capitol to disrupt the election certification process. As that took place, he waged a brutal pressure campaign against Vice President Mike Pence. Trump wanted Pence to block the certification of the election and then wanted the election results thrown out so that ‘alternate’ (AKA illegitimate) slates of Electors could be sent to ‘give’ Trump the win in states he had lost. Trump is on tape calling for officials in Georgia to ‘find’ just enough voters for him to overturn his loss in the state.
Essentially, Donald Trump wanted to remain in power despite losing the election, incited violence to block the certification of his defeat, and pressured the Vice President of the United States to violate his oath to the Constitution of the United States.
Thankfully, Mike Pence – after years of total loyalty to Donald Trump – found his courage in the moment it mattered most and did the right thing by certifying the election.
For that, Pence was ‘excommunicated’ from the Trump Republican Party.
Trump has since replaced Pence with JD Vance, someone who once called Donald Trump ‘America’s Hitler’ and denounced the former President vehemently, before flipping once he realized that flattering Trump was his path to power.
Vance has chosen to embrace Trump’s Big Lie about the election and has even said he would have done what Pence did not: Refuse to certify the election.
In my mind, that alone disqualifies both Trump and Vance.
But it goes further.
I simply cannot shake the feeling deep in the pit of my stomach that something has gone seriously wrong in the Republican Party of the United States in its current form.
And yes, it does come down to Russia.
Trump has flip-flopped on almost every issue, aside from his praise of Russia and Vladimir Putin.
Vance is the most anti-Ukraine & pro-Russia Senator in the United States.
The two ‘Democrats’ Trump brought on board – Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr. – just so happen to be among the most anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia political figures in the United States.
Donald Trump Jr. regularly exhibits barely concealed hatred for Ukraine.
Trump-aligned Republicans blocked aid for Ukraine for many months, during which Russia made advances on the battlefield.
Trump has allied with Elon Musk – who has often repeated Russian propaganda near-verbatim and is now alleged by the Wall Street Journal to have had multiple secret conversations with the Russian dictator. Further, Musk has regularly amplified Russian propaganda through ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter.
The right-wing media figures who wittingly or unwittingly took massive payments from Russia, just so happen to be the most pro-Trump, pro-Russia, and anti-Ukraine media figures in the United States.
There are simply too many connections here to ignore.
The one common denominator between people in Trump’s orbit is a disturbing affinity for Russia and a willingness to demonize the United States.
It should also come as no surprise that Trump, Vance, Gabbard, and RFK are all hostile to NATO – the world’s greatest defensive alliance.
What a coincidence that destroying NATO happens to be Putin’s long-term dream because it would enable him to overrun free nations that were once locked in the prison of the Soviet Union.
As much as I wish this wasn’t the case, I simply cannot shake the sense that Donald Trump and those around him represent what would in many ways be a takeover of the United States by a Russia-aligned faction.
And I have little doubt that that faction would ultimately turn on Taiwan and Israel down the road to appease Russia and other members of the Authoritarian Axis.
After all, Donald Trump’s invocation of the ‘enemy within,’ and his repeated statements that his domestic political opponents are enemies while claiming that Xi, Putin, Kim, and other dictators are not enemies is exactly how a leader would prime their populace for internal violence and external submission.
I simply cannot look the other away and pretend this is something I am alright with.
That’s why, if I was an American voter, I would vote for Kamala Harris for President of the United States. Harris may not be the ideal choice, but the U.S. election is not normal. And compared to Donald Trump, Harris is the far superior candidate.
What about Canada?
Reading this you may be wondering my thoughts on Canada.
And here, there is actually little change.
I continue to enthusiastically support Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and believe it is essential for Justin Trudeau to be defeated.
And I see no contradiction here.
Ask yourself this question:
Do you ever wake up in the morning worried that Pierre Poilievre is facing criticism for threatening to use the military to kill his political opponents?
Do you ever wake up in the morning worried that Pierre Poilievre is calling for the termination of Canada’s constitution?
Do you ever wake up in the morning worried that another dozen women have accused the Conservative leader of crimes against them?
Do you ever wake up in the morning worried that Poilievre has praised the world’s most evil dictators while calling for violence against those who disagree with him?
Do you ever wake up in the morning worried that scores of former Poilievre staffers warn he is a fascist, wannabe dictator, and praised Hitler?
Of course not, because Poilievre doesn’t do any of those things.
And he doesn’t do any of those things because he is a normal political leader who believes in limited government and chooses to be a decent human being, rather than an authoritarian wannabe dictator who wants to rule with an iron fist through a disturbing personality cult.
People can agree or disagree with him on the issues, but supporting Pierre Poilievre doesn’t require sacrificing one’s sense of personal ethics, whereas Trump regularly demands that his supporters defend the indefensible.
Poilievre has also been consistent in defending individual freedom, whether that’s through pushing for lower taxes, expanding freedom of expression, supporting democratic nations like Ukraine and Taiwan and pro-democracy movements in places like Venezuela and Iran, and defending a Woman’s Right to Choose.
The Conservative Party as it exists today under Pierre Poilievre is very different from the Republican Party under Donald Trump.
So long as it stays that way, I will gladly support it.
And – though I don’t see it as likely – if that were to change in the future and the party/movement ever went in the pro-authoritarian, post-truth, pro-Russia direction we see among elements of the right in the United States, I would simply not be a part of that movement any longer. No party or ideological label should ever trap us into going in a direction that conflicts with our sense of right and wrong.
Closing thoughts
I recognize that many of you reading this will deeply disagree with much of what I have said here. Ultimately, I felt I owed it to you to speak the truth as I see it. After all, how could you trust the things I say that you do agree with if I just pandered all the time and told you what you want to hear?
For those who will say ‘they got to you’ or ‘who is paying you’, I can simply say that the only thing that ‘got to me’ was my conscience, and sense of regret that while I played a role in helping to build up the independent media in Canada (something our nation certainly needs), I also at times played a role in increasing division and weakening trust in a way that now makes it more difficult for our nation to be united on anything, at a time when we face external threats that we must be united to overcome. Since nobody has a time machine, all I can do is try and be the best version of myself going forward.
As for the ‘who is paying you’ question, nobody is paying me to say this. The fact is that it would be much more lucrative for me to jump on the ‘Trump Train’ and get the endless views and Retweets that come along with that. Shifting in a less divisive direction has left me financially worse off. But, while it is nice to have money, no amount of money can make up for selling your soul and saying things you don’t believe in.
I would rather fail while standing up for my sense of the truth than succeed in selling lies.
Spencer Fernando