Poilievre should draw up list of taxpayer-funded comedians to axe | Only Sports And Health

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The CBC may have learned, if they are going to troll Pierre Poilievre, they might want to send their A-list talent.

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A This Hour Has 22 Minutes comedian not only crashed an event featuring the front-runner to become Canada’s next prime minister, but crashed and burned with his comedy, too. It turns out Poilievre not only can “axe the tax” but cut government-funded comedians down to size, as well.

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No kidding.

Sometimes the heckling back to a comedian in the middle of his act is more on target than the original joke.

This time the joke was on This Hour has 22 Minutes which ended up getting the butt-end of the gag.

Maybe the next time they try an on-air ambush of Poilievre — as they did at the Spike the Hike rally in Halifax on St. Patrick’s Day — they should send Marg Delahunty. It seems the man, who the polls indicate could end up prime minister, does not know who correspondent Dan Dillabough is.

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But what the public do now know is the Conservative Opposition leader does not find the Toronto comic funny or offering value to Canadian taxpayers.

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“Canada’s next prime minister and laser eye surgery success story. Congratulations,” said Dillabough, as he made his way to the front of a meet-and-greet line. “I think you are doing an amazing job. If it was up to me, you would be the leader of the Opposition for the rest of your life.”

Even though CBC inserted a laugh track, Poilievre wasted no time with his counterpunch.

“Well, I won’t be sadly for you,” said the caught-by-surprise Poilievre. “You will have to earn a living rather than getting it from taxpayer’s money.”

There was no laugh track there. Actually, Poilievre wasn’t joking.

One of his pledges is to cut the CBC budget, and he didn’t hold back during this ambush attempt.

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“What is your least favourite province?” asked Dillabough, adding, “could we save money by sinking P.E.I. into the sea?”

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He walked right into that one.

“We could save money by spending a billion less on terrible comedians and propagandists from the PMO,” said Poilievre.

Is there such a thing as a cry track?

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Even though security was trying to stop the harassment, Dillabough was persistent and got a second encounter with Poilievre before finally being removed. But he did manage to deliver some good lines of his own – one in which he teased, “one thing for sure is Canada is broken, but that guy in there, that guy is going to finish the job.”

The approach is such a contrast to how 22 Minutes star Mark Critch did his benign snowboarding lesson with Trudeau on the slopes of Newfoundland and Labrador. The show is basically an arm of the Prime Minister’s Office.

For now. If Poilievre becomes prime minister, it’s doubtful it will stay like that.

On a serious note: If there is an election — as Poilievre is hoping to achieve with a non-confidence vote over the carbon tax — a legitimate question is why should taxpayers pay for media companies, including the CBC, which receives more than $1 billion of our taxes, helping to weaponize shows like This Hour Has 22 Minutes, so it can skewer the Conservatives.

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Just a year ago, the Delahunty character — played by Canadian comic legend Mary Walsh — was used to help Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dodge questions in the halls of Parliament about Chinese election interference. Certainly, many recall the time she approached embattled Toronto mayor of the day Rob Ford on his driveway. Ford said her performance scared his kids.

Sometimes Liberal government comics will do anything for a laugh, but they usually do it with more zeal when their target is a conservative.

Sometimes they get laughed out of the room. They may not be laughing as hard should Poilievre become prime minister, though.

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