That snowbank at the Trudeaus’ place tells you what it’s like when one parent is under quarantine
Image of the week: Mislaid toys under a skiff of snow remind us of better days—and that some tasks now have to wait
Trudeau takes questions outside Rideau Cottage, flanked by snowbanks where his kids left their toys. (Blair Gable/Reuters)
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Justin Trudeau began one of the most significant press conferences in Canadian history—in which he announced an enormous $82-billion aid package to help struggling Canadians during the economic crisis caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic—by interrupting himself to jog inside and grab his coat. In his absence, reporters were left to glance around the frontage of Rideau Cottage, where the Prime Minister has been self-isolating following his wife’s contraction of the virus, and spotted various kids’ toys, visible in the corners of the photo above, strewn across the snow banks. A basketball, a scooter, a skateboard—forgotten relics of warmer days, emerging in the springtime snowmelt. If one were being generous, they’d read the image as a reality check. Understandably, Trudeau the dad is just too busy to pick up his kids’ stuff. The toys and the coat are useful reminders of a truth underlying Trudeau’s brave face and words of national unity. Behind the press conferences and sweeping announcements, the PM, like all parents, is making this up as he goes, doing what he thinks is best.