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'I need help': Sophie Grégoire Trudeau's plea sparks anger in Canada

The role of the prime minister’s spouse has no real formal status in the Canadian system,
'I need help': Sophie Grégoire Trudeau's plea sparks anger in Canada

The wife of Canada’s prime minister has sparked a fierce national debate after saying she needs more help to expand her official role and take on more public duties.

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau last week told a French-language newspaper that she wanted to do more, but struggled with just one staff member.

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Grégoire Trudeau, a former TV presenter married to Justin Trudeau, has no office and reportedly answers official correspondence f-rom her dining table.

“I’d love to be everywhe-re but I can’t,” she told Le Soleil. “I have three children and a husband who is prime minister. I need help. I need a team to help me serve the people.”

Grégoire Trudeau said she received regular requests f-rom c-harities to promote their causes, but she could not respond to them all without an extra hand.

“It’s hard to choose, because it’s touching when people ask for your help. People really lay out their suffering in some of the letters I receive.”

The statement prompted howls of outrage f-rom opposition politicians, who accused her of being out of touch and noted that the wife of the previous prime minister coped with just one aide.

“Hearing statements like that certainly does not speak to the reality that Canadian women face and the kind of struggles that, you know, that they’re undertaking day in, day out,” opposition MP Niki Ashton said.

“Certainly the kind of statements we heard f-rom the prime minister’s wife, you know, speak to that disconnect with the reality that Canadian women face.”

The prime minister’s office said it was looking in to hiring a second staffer for Grégoire Trudeau.

Meanwhile, Twitter users likened her to Kim Kardashian and started the hashtag #prayforSophie.


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Author: The Guardian

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