Mark his words

I didn’t cotton to Mark Carney from the first moment I saw him on television. For a long time I couldn’t explain why that was the case, not even to myself.
Looking back, now that he’s our prime minister, I think I’ve figured out why. It’s because he can play fast and loose with the truth.
First, there were the allegations of plagiarism. His 300-page 1995 doctoral thesis at Oxford was completed in less than two years, a process that can normally take up to a decade.
His thesis revealed ten instances of plagiarism where, according to experts who read it at the request of National Post, there are lengthy sentences that appear almost exactly as they were written by others in other documents, with just two or three words changed.
Second, a different issue involving his former employer, Brookfield Asset Management Ltd., is equally troubling. In 2024 Brookfield announced that it had moved its headquarters from Toronto to New York. The foofarah launched by President Donald Trump about tariffs that in turn caused some Canadians to boycott U.S. goods and services, brought closer inspection of Brookfield’s move.
For his part, Carney claimed he was no longer on the board when the move to New York happened. But the head office shift took place on October 31 and Carney was still in a position of power when he wrote to shareholders on December 1, asking them to vote yes to a corporate reorganization that was planned by Brookfield.
Third, most Canadians felt proud with how well Carney fared in his meeting with the president in the Oval Office. But nothing was decided, nor did we win anything worth mentioning. We’re still stuck with tariffs on autos, steel, and aluminium. “Just the way it is,” says Trump.
But what did Carney talk about on the phone with Trump during their earlier conversation in March?  When Carney was initially asked by journalists about the content of the phone call he somehow managed to forget that Trump used his favourite phrase, “51st state”, and how from the U.S. point of view that would be the best outcome for Canada.
Only when other sources confirmed that Trump had indeed mentioned the 51st state did Carney admit those sources had it right.
Adding up my three examples, I think it’s safe to say that Carney can be slippery in his recollections and his choice of words.
As the future unfolds, let’s keep an ear out.