SEND IN THE CLOWNS: Ministers cover for Prime Minister-in-hiding Trudeau

Federal ministers Bill Blair, Dominic LeBlanc, Mona Fortier, Marco Mendicino, and Omar Alghabra took questions on Monday to provide Canadians with an update on the federal response to the freedom convoy. One notable absentee, however, was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose itinerary states is in "private meetings."

The prime minister has been in virtual hiding since he announced that he was exposed to COVID-19 on the same day that the trucker convoy rolled in to Ottawa. He then had to go to a secret location "security concern."

He has since tested positive for COVID-19, after exposure from one of his children.

As previously seen, it's in the prime minister's nature to go into hiding when things get rough. During the peak of the WE Charity scandal, Trudeau took a week off of work for no clear reason.

The ministers' press conference was one that provided few answers for a confused public with one question in mind: Where is the prime minister? Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc provided some insight into that on Monday, saying that while the PM is in hiding, he's still "engaged."

"The prime minister has been actively engaged every day in briefings and in updates from senior officials in the national security and intelligence community, in terms of what's happening... In Ottawa and across the country," said LeBlanc.

"I've had the opportunity to speak and work with him in meetings right through this past weekend and the prime minister has been very much involved and continues to be involved in the operations of the government of Canada, and the government of Canada has continued to function as it must in a very important public health context, and we have every reason to think that the important work will continue over the next number of days.

The press conference, above all, showed just how out of touch Canada's ministers are with the public. Many of the points that Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair made could be thrown right back at the Trudeau Liberals.

Blair said on Monday that Canada was not a country that "threatens or intimidate our fellow citizens." But where was that advice when Trudeau imposed the vaccine mandate on federal employees?

Blair acknowledged the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, saying that Canadians have the right to engage in lawful assembly. So why didn't he show that same concern when Trudeau impeded on the ability of Canadians to live and work where they so choose, as is guaranteed by the charter?

"We've all made sacrifices, and we want to return to normal as soon as possible, and we will get there," said Blair. "But the way forward is not by infringing upon the freedoms and rights of your fellow Canadians." I agree, but does Trudeau?

Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi also appeared at the tone-deaf presser, calling the protestors unpeaceful and unlawful, as well as racists.

"Members of my community have been harassed because of their skin colour," he said. "Yelled at for wearing masks, subjected to hurtful and racist symbols, torturous honking, and there are accounts of assaults," he said.

If Trudeau is slaving away in private meetings, then it's almost certain that he can meet with the convoy, or at the very least, appoint a mediator to help end the convoy, as Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson called on the Trudeau government to do.