Today, we got an answer to that question, courtesy of Fundy Royal Conservative MP Rob Moore, who has been spearheading his party's attack on Trudeau: Grace Foundation board member Judith Baxter, whose husband, Glen, is on the executive of Moore's riding association.
In an interview on Sunday, Moore confirmed it was Baxter who gave him a copy of the letter last week. He, in turn, obligingly passed it onto the PM's communications team, who lost no time putting it into heavy circulation among Hill journalists, even going so far as to hand it out in the Foyer after Question Period last week.
That revelation confirmed a theory that had been trending on twitter since the weekend -- or, more precisely, from the moment that this photo of Judith Baxter and her daughter posing for pictures in the PM's office, surfaced.
The unusual backdrop was sufficient to trigger more than a few twitterversians -- and, it's worth noting, weekend shift journalists -- to search for other potential ties between Baxter and the current government.
A cursory web search turned up the fact that she had been been honoured earlier this spring at a gala ceremony at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, where she was given a Diamond Jubilee medal in recognition of her "dedication and advocacy for the importance of small community museums."
What the release doesn't mention, however, is that Baxter is on the Museum's board of trustees, to which she was appointed in 2007 by then Canadian Heritage Minister Josee Verner, and renewed by the current minister, James Moore, in 2011 - a part-time gig for which she nevertheless collects $4,000-$4,700 per year, plus a per diem rate from $310-375 plus travel and living expenses set by the minister.
Interestingly, although it was the museum that gave her the medal, it was presented to Baxter, as well as several other New Brunswick recipients, by none other than Rob Moore, the very same person to whom she would later pass on the Trudeau letter.
Now, it's worth noting that Baxter is, in fact, an enthusiastic and active local historian -- she sits on the board of the New Brunswick Museum, and has penned several books on life in 19th century New Brunswick.
In fact, last spring, she appeared before the Commons heritage committee in her capacity as 'volunteer director' of the John Fisher Memorial Museum, where she had the following exchange with none other than Justin Trudeau:
Mr. Justin Trudeau:
Thank you very much, Chair.
One of the things we heard in the previous hour was an emphasis on youth and Canada 150. I know the youth issue came back a little bit from you, Judith, but also from the others, and there are concerns about the aging volunteer workforce.
When we talk about museums in particular, it sometimes becomes difficult to get young people interested or excited about engaging with our history. What kinds of things do you think the federal government could do to encourage young people to connect with museums around Canada 150?
Mrs. Judith Baxter:
I really liked your representative for tourism, who I thought had a perfectly good idea.
I would go back to Katimavik. I have some experience on the ground with Katimavik. It's a super program and a really good idea.
The only thing with the Katimavik program was that you were bringing kids from across the nation and these kids were dumped into communities that weren't prepared for them. Although we could make out the application beautifully and say we wanted six barns in our community painted, these kids didn't want to paint barns. It was hard for a community like ours to really take hold of that program.
However, there are programs for moving kids around the country that are very good. The Terry Fox program right now works beautifully. It brings kids from all across the country and they get the experience of Ottawa and learning about government.
I think the social media is certainly going to be a big hook in whatever kids do today. I really like our little idea of our six degrees of separation from the Fathers of Confederation. I'm sure every Newfoundlander would love it; they all have a Joey story. I'm sure we could bring the history forward.
Justin, all you have to do is to get dressed up in a top hat and you're going to fit the part with that hairdo.
Voices: Oh, oh!.
And they seemed to be getting along so well.
Who would have thought that a little over a year later, she would be providing the government with fodder to launch its most successful sustained attack on Trudeau since his leadership saga began?
In any case, it appears that Baxter's fellow Foundation members may be reeling over their sudden emergence into the spotlight, albeit behind closed doors. A spokesperson told CBC News they plan to hold a special meeting this week to discuss the issue, but will not comment publicly until that takes place.
Original Article
Source: CBC
Author: Kady O'Malley
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