Protesters following Trudeau up ski hill a slippery slope for security

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For the prime minister’s security detail, this was a slippery slope.

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Sure the polls may show the prime minister going downhill, but this was one case where he was doing it with style!

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Yes, that was Justin Trudeau on a snowboard being accosted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators on a skill hill. But the prime minister gave them, and his close protection team, a little demonstration of his own – his wicked snowboarding skills.

Or to use some snowboarding lingo, a little ‘stomp and wash out’ lessons coming from the top.

Trudeau was at the picturesque Loch Lomond ski area near Thunder Bay on Feb. 29 to talk about everything from carbon taxes to housing acceleration but what he really wanted to do was hit the slopes.

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The certified snowboard instructor from his Whistler days took to the hill for some fun with locals but found the war in Gaza followed him and even challenged him during one of his runs.

The video’s sound makes it difficult to hear what they were saying to him but sources say they were expressing frustration over Israel’s continuation of elimination of the terrorist Hamas militia in Gaza and calling for a ceasefire in light of an ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Without his security detail appearing to be able to respond to this madness, Trudeau calmly handled the challenge by saying Canada is “sending” in aid and “getting” people out.

“I called for a ceasefire in December, and I’ll keep calling for a ceasefire,” said the prime minister, who quickly aimed his board south and slid off into the winter day, leaving the protesters on the hill with no comeback. As snowboarders say, it was a ‘slam, eat it’ moment. At 52, Trudeau looked like a snowboard dude teenager!

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Sources who were at the resort tell me it was not staged, as some claim, and these protesters took the prime minister and those skiing with him by surprise.

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Like him or not, Trudeau handled it like a pro. And when it comes to snowboarding, he is a pro. In fact, in a video shot last year in Newfoundland and Labrador with This Hour has 22 Minutes star Mark Critch, in giving the Canadian comic legend a lesson Trudeau said he was a certified Level 2 snowboard instructor and was given an “honorary” Level 4 designation.

These protesters in Thunder Bay didn’t have a chance. And the video shows that as Trudeau left them in the Pow Pow complete with a Face Shot. Actually, thanks to a Thunder Bay News Watch report, we know it was not all protests for the prime minister at Loch Lomond. There were lots of selfies and laughs with regular skiers there too.

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The protesters are taking things too far with the prime minister and his cabinet. In late January, he had to be put into a different car because an angry mob found him and accosted him in Gatineau, he had his event at the Art Gallery of Ontario with the Italian prime minister cancelled because they blocked the entrances, and he’s had restaurants surrounded in the past.

Demonstrating is a Charter right but putting the prime minister in danger is not. In a story just after he became prime minister, Global News journalist Dawna Friesen and Robin Gill did a fun piece about how the RCMP were having a difficult time keeping up with the new prime minister on the skill hill.

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There was lots of laughs about it at the time but it’s not so funny now. It’s just a matter of time before someone is going to be hurt at one of these protests because tempers are flaring at them on all sides. Trudeau can help this himself by addressing it directly and suggesting that all protests about the war in Gaza be limited to the front of Parliament Hill, Queen’s Park or Toronto City Hall and not be intimating regular people, small business or places of worship, schools, comedy clubs or daycares.

It’s lost on no one that never once during the 2022 Freedom Convoy, with its hot tubs and bouncy castles and Emergencies Act declaration, did a trucker ever try to get close to the prime minister or physically assault people trying to get into events or offices.

There’s plenty to legally protest Trudeau for but sneaking up on him on a ski hill and putting him at risk is not cool.

With the help of a chairlift, by going up high these pro-Palestinian protesters went to a new low.

jwarmington@postmedia.com

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