Freeland accused of being ‘smug’, ‘clueless’ after Disney+ comment – National
Once upon a time, Christia Freeland tried to relate to Canadians’ cost-of-living concerns with a personal anecdote, but it didn’t end up like a fairy tale.
“Personally, as a mother and wife, I take a careful look at my credit card bills once a month and tell my kids last Sunday, ‘You’re old now. You don’t watch Disney anymore.’ Let’s cut that Disney Plus subscription,” Freeland said in an interview aired on Global News. west block With Mercedes Stephenson on November 6th.
She continues:
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Freeland admits Disney+ cancellation comments are ‘privileged’
Perhaps Freeland was meant to show that managing a $430 billion budget isn’t all that different from managing a household budget.
But when word of the clip spread across the country, garnering nearly a million views in just a few days, outrage grew.
Emails sent to her office and obtained by the Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act show that Freeland’s attempts to connect with Canadians turned her into a rogue of thousands. increase.
“This advice is as wise as baby boomers telling young people they can afford a house if they skip the avocado toast,” said one person. edited within.
Some commenters felt that the minister’s attempts to blend in felt way off target, like when Princess Jasmine visited the market in ‘Aladdin’ and encountered a less-than-royal way of life. .
The message accused Freeland of being “smug,” “elitist,” “ignorant,” and “entitled.”
One accused her of underestimating the platform’s offerings. I am stealing from
The person added that Freeland does.
Federal Cabinet members will earn just over $289,000 this year. According to Statistics Canada, median household income in Ontario was $79,500 in 2020.
Someone wrote that they had already cut Disney Plus and wanted to know how to “cancel my portion of the CBC grant.” His $1.2 billion in 2022 government funding for the CBC equates to about $30 per Canadian per year.
Others were less ironic, pointing out that “poverty is no choice.”
One email urged the government to better manage inflation.
“If you have no idea how I would do this, I humbly ask your office to consider a more proactive approach to regulating the booming profits in the grocery industry. Can you make a suggestion?”
Another author, who describes herself as a disabled single mother, said she sometimes fasts to keep her 10-year-old son from eating.
“It was an absolute slap in the face to those who are truly suffering,” she wrote.
“As I tell my son, you should think before you speak.”
One of the knights in shining armor came to Freeland’s defense and emailed him that they had also shut down the TV channel.
They argued that “inflation means you have to change your lifestyle!”
Treasury staff scanned social media on Nov. 7, a day after Freeland’s series of interviews about the fall economic statement.
In two days, there were 13,000 mentions of Freeland and Disney Plus, and “coverage was largely negative,” an official in charge of media surveillance wrote in an email.
A word cloud graphic attached to the email prominently displayed the phrases “tone deaf” and “high inflation.”
Freeland retracted her statement the next day, telling reporters:
Her office did not respond to questions about the feedback she received this week, instead pointing to her comments at a Nov. 7 press conference.
© 2023 The Canadian Press
