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Eep. The R-word.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer nodded to the court’s decision in a statement condemning Trudeau’s support for Payette’s speech, putting Indigenous Canadians at the front of the line: “It is extremely disappointing that the Prime Minister will not support Indigenous peoples, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Christians and other faith groups who believe there is truth in their religion,” he said. “Respect for diversity includes respect for the diversity of religious beliefs, and Justin Trudeau has offended millions of Canadians with his comments‎.”

Of course Payette would never roll her eyes at the Grizzly Bear Spirit the Ktunaxa believe inhabits the Jumbo Valley, where white settler colonialists want to build a ski resort. Had she riffed on Indigenous religious beliefs specifically on Wednesday, it would have been a full-blown crisis. But there’s no reason someone who believes in Indigenous creation myths couldn’t be just as offended as anyone else by her eye-roll, especially given the Supreme Court’s smackdown. If anything I’m surprised there hasn’t been more backlash from First Nations. It would certainly wipe the smirk off Liberal ministers’ faces on the double.

As I watched the chattering classes and prominent Liberal politicians storm to Payette’s defence, it occurred to me how indistinguishable the latter group is from the former. Many Liberal partisans would have seen the criticism as God-bothering nonsense from a bunch of conservative dinosaurs. But as the Bill Morneau debacle continues to drag on, the Liberals seem ever more desperate to hang on to “middle class” support. To the extent “middle class” means anything, in an electoral sense, it means a large group of people who aren’t rich, who don’t have three university degrees, who have never even visited France let alone failed to properly disclose a chateau they own there, and who are more likely than not to believe in God.

The chattering classes might be just fine with an anti-religious Governor General. The folks who put Julie Payette in Rideau Hall certainly shouldn’t be — if not for principled reasons, then for selfish ones.

• Email: cselley@nationalpost.com | Twitter: cselley