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A tweet from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Mother’s Day, offering Canadian kids homework help, has churned out thousands of partisan replies.
“Hey kids, I know we’re going through a difficult time right now and it’s not made any easier by the fact that you have to do your homework around the kitchen table,” Trudeau said in a video tweeted Sunday. “I think parents across the country are discovering a new appreciation for the incredible work that teachers do. Well, as a teacher I want to help.”
He invited parents and kids to share with him “really tough” questions.
“My friends and I will be happy to try and help you out because, after all, the way we’re going to get through this is by pulling together.”
Hey parents! If your kids are stuck on a homework question, feel free to pass this message along. Because as a teacher, I want to help out. Let me know what the difficult question is by replying to this tweet or using the hashtag #CanadaHomeworkHelp - and I’ll see what I can do. pic.twitter.com/MivkOaE8KM
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 10, 2020
Some Twitter users managed to connect the prime minister’s offer of homework help during the COVID-19 crisis to wild, false conspiracy theories related to pedophilia.
Others claimed Trudeau’s offer was reminiscent of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, or chose to attack his past career as a drama teacher, and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau.
Twitter users raised divisive issues such as the SNC-Lavalin scandal, gun control, carbon tax, budget deficit and photos of him wearing blackface that surfaced during the 2019 federal election.
Parent here. We’re working on a tough math / social studies question. Why would anyone spend $12.6 billion on a pipeline in the middle of climate emergency? #cdnpoli #CanadaHomeworkHelp https://t.co/aGE9vFG7iW
— Derrick O'Keefe (@derrickokeefe) May 10, 2020
Sen. Denise Batters tweeted a reference to Trudeau’s 2016 trip to billionaire Aga Khan’s island.
When you’re Prime Minister, but you REALLY want a vacay on #BillionaireIsland, is it ok to take a private helicopter? #CanadaHomeworkHelp https://t.co/5rZLN7ayAi
— Sen. Denise Batters (@denisebatters) May 10, 2020
Not all the tweets were critical, though. Some users came to Trudeau’s defence, calling the negative responses “sickening,” “despicable” and full of “hate and vitriol.”
Many parents, who are overseeing their kids’ French, math and science classes during the coronavirus lockdown — topics they admittedly know very little about — thought #CanadaHomeworkHelp was a good idea.
Some Canadians even seemed genuinely grateful for the offer in the midst of a pandemic.
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