It seems that Bill C-5 did not emerge from committee unscathed, as the opposition forced a number of amendments to the bill through, most of them creating an added list of laws that the government cannot opt itself out of using the giant Henry VIII clause that is the second half of said bill. The issue here? That aside from the Indian Act being one of those laws, the remainder are mostly done for the theatre of the Conservatives (and Bloc to a lesser extent) putting on a show about trying to keep said Henry VIII clause being used in a corrupt manner. To that end, the laws protected from opt-outs include:

• Access to Information Act,
• Lobbying Act,
• Canada Elections Act,
• Criminal Code,
• Conflict of Interest Act,
• Investment Canada Act,
• Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act,
• Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act,
• Railway Safety Act,
• Trade Unions Act,
• Explosives Act,
• Hazardous Products Act,
• Indian Act,
• Auditor General Act, or
• Official Languages Act

Do you notice what’s missing? Any kind of environmental laws, which the Conservatives continue to demand be repealed, or any kind of UNDRIP legislation, which would ensure free, prior and informed consent from Indigenous people when it comes to these projects.

The government says they are considering the amendments and whether to support their adoption or not (but given that every opposition party has lined up behind them, they may not have a choice), but the fact remains that they have refused adequate consultation with Indigenous people in developing and passing this legislation (they could barely be arsed to hear from one Indigenous witness at committee, let along several rights-holders), or that they are damaging the trust the government spent the past decade trying to rebuild. Just amateur galaxy-brained antics that you would think a government that is ten years into their time in office would actually have learned a lesson or two by this point.

Meanwhile, you have some Indigenous voices calling on the Governor General to delay or to deny royal assent for Bill C-5, which is not going to happen. If it did, it would cause a constitutional crisis, and I can’t believe we need to keep saying this every time someone makes the suggestion because they don’t understand how Responsible Government works. This is a political problem, and it demands a political solution, not one where you pull out the constitutional fire extinguisher and try to wield it. That’s not how this works, and people need to both stop suggesting it, and journalists need to stop taking this kind of talk seriously. Just stop it.

Ukraine Dispatch

President Zelenskyy says that the increasing attacks demonstrate why more pressure needs to be applied to Russia to force a ceasefire. There was another POW swap yesterday, but no word on how many were exchanged on either side.

Good reads:

• Mark Carney announced that there will be more steel and aluminium counter-tariffs in a month if there is no agreement with the US; the steel industry is unhappy.
• Anita Anand says that the government is facilitating more flights home for Canadians in the Middle East, as the Israel-Iran conflict continues.
• François-Philippe Champagne says that Digital Services Tax is moving ahead regardless of how much those web giants complain.
• Sean Fraser talks to the National Post about the “soft on crime” accusations the government is facing.
• The PBO says that he expects the increased defence spending will also increase the size of the deficit. (You think?)
• The Competition Bureau is recommending foreign ownership be allowed for domestic-only airlines (where they’re not cherry-picking international routes).
• Civil liberties groups are unimpressed with the government’s defence of their border bill and its unconstitutional “lawful access” provisions.
• It looks like those Black Hawk helicopters the RCMP are leasing to patrol the border don’t meet safety requirements (but remember, they’re really there for theatre).
• Canada Post has reached an agreement with its second-largest union, which covers rural post offices.
• Here’s a look at how the cleantech sector is in trouble as the end of the consumer carbon price and the tech sector shifting to the right has blunted investment.
• The Federal Court of Appeal has overturned a dubious decision calling on the government to speed up judicial appointments (which they did anyway).
• There are more details about the kind of RCMP protection that Jagmeet Singh needed as he was being targeted by agents connected to the Indian government.
• Doug Ford apologised for his racist comments about First Nations being “cap in hand,” claiming he was “passionate” about their prosperity. (Not everyone buys it).
• The chair of the BC NDP caucus has asked the RCMP to look into the allegations that the breakaway BC Conservative MLAs were blackmailing John Rustad.
• Keldon Bester points to the danger that monopolies, particularly digital ones, pose to our sovereignty as much as the American threats are.
• Jennifer Robson suggests that we temper the “build, baby, build!” mentality by reminding ourselves of whose land we are building on.

Odds and ends:

Keep re-electing Ford majorities and keep getting this, people.

— Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦 (@emmettmacfarlane.com) 2025-06-19T14:11:52.183Z

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