DOBBIE: They don’t take pot shots at dead ducks

The heated commentary about Pierre Poilievre has become incendiary. He criticizes too much.

The heated commentary about Pierre Poilievre has become incendiary. He criticizes too much. He is too negative.

He should focus on policy alternatives. . . these are just a few of the common criticisms we hear. Others, however, are very personal.

They attempt to diminish his stature by using juvenile nicknames such as PP or Pee Pee. Or they sling old tropes such as “Why doesn’t he have security clearance?” (As a former minister, he did have clearance. Trudeau created another level that demanded absolute secrecy from those who took his test and Pierre, rightfully in an open democracy, refused it.

Nor has Carney signed it.) They used to accuse Poilievre of being like Donald Trump, but that has worn thin, especially since he has largely abandoned his former apt-slogans, leaving those to Mark Carney, who is now Canada’s master sloganeer.