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    • Trudeau's call-out yields questions on everything from mermaid sex to dog pants

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    OTTAWA -

    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may not have started the day thinking about whether mermaids reproduce like fish or like humans, but that's what one person is asking him to consider.

    In a tweet, Trudeau invited people to ask him any question they want, and the denizens of Twitter immediately granted that request with a variety of queries on everything from affordable housing to shoe polish.

    He said that anyone who had a question should post it in the replies to his tweet and "stay tuned."

    There were more than 6,000 replies a little over an hour later, including one that challenged the prime minister to a mixed martial arts fight and another that simply asked: "Why are you?"

    There were many serious policy questions on issues such as electoral reform, climate change, health care and electric vehicles, and lots of angry replies calling for Trudeau to resign.

    But Trudeau has also created for himself an opportunity to respond to whether dogs would wear pants covering just their hind legs or all four, and whether grated cheese belongs on curry -- "yes or no."

    The call-out came a day after the House of Commons adjourned for a holiday break.

    Trudeau's post included a close-up video that, while shot in a candid style, included a row of Canadian flags just visible in the background.

    "Hey, everyone. As we approach the end of the year, I've been doing a lot of interviews with TV stations, with newspapers, with radio stations," he said in the video.

    "And they've had a lot of great questions. But I know you do too. So, let's hear them."

    Some questions, such as one from former CBC meteorologist Claire Martin, who wanted to know about the prime minister's morning routine, were perhaps predictable.

    So were sarcastic remarks calling back to photos of Trudeau wearing blackface that emerged in 2019, or questions about how the head of government spends his time after cancelling a Disney Plus subscription -- referring to comments his deputy, Chrystia Freeland, made earlier this fall.

    And queries about the World Economic Forum. And about whether he can "come be the U.S. president."

    In the less-predictable category: "Could Jesus microwave a burrito so hot that he himself could not eat it?"

    Or: "Do you remember skiing in Whistler in 1988 and arriving at the Delta Mountain Inn? You (sic) dad only tipped me $5 for a lot of bags, but I suppose I was just happy for bragging rights that I met him."

    Many of the responses simply boiled down to this: "Since when do you answer questions?"

    This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2022.

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