After Question Period today, there will be a vote on the Conservatives’ latest Supply Day motion, which is for the House of Commons to pass their blatantly unconstitutional “jail not bail” bill at all stages. This is going to be an increasingly common tactic as they have loaded up the Order Paper with a number of these kinds of private members’ bills, and they are using the rhetoric that the government is somehow “obstructing” their legislation, even though most of those bills would ordinarily never see the light of day because there is a lottery system for private members’ legislation to come up for debate, with no guarantee of passage in either chamber (because the Senate can and will sit on private members’ bills long enough for them to die on the Order Paper if they’re particularly egregious). But most people don’t understand the legislative process, or that opposition MPs can’t just bring stuff up for debate at any point in time, so this is just more rage-baiting over through use of scary crime stories to make the point about how the Liberals are “soft on crime,” and so on. It would be great if legacy media could call out this bullshit, but they won’t.

At the same time, the Conservatives calling it “Liberal bail” is telling on themselves. The law of bail stems from the pre-Charter right to the presumption of innocence, which is a cornerstone of our entire legal system. The specific law of bail has been honed through decades of Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence, and the last time the Liberal government made any major bail reform legislation, it was to codify that Supreme Court jurisprudence, and to actually increase the onus for cases of domestic violence. None of this made things easier for bail, but the Conservatives haven’t stopped demanding that legislation be repealed (and only once in a while will a Liberal minister or parliamentary secretary actually call that out). This is about undermining important Charter rights, but do the Conservatives care? Of course not. They want to look tough and decisive, no matter who gets hurt in the process.

Meanwhile, much to my surprise, Poilievre says he won’t support the (really bad) omnibus border bill, C-2, so long as it contains privacy-violating sections like enhanced lawful access, which is a surprise, because the Conservatives have been champions of it for years (much as the Liberals used to be opposed to it). So, the world really is upside down now. Unless this is some kind of tactic or ploy, which I also would not be surprised by, but at the moment it looks like they’re on a “the Liberals are the real threats to your freedom” kick, which to be fair, this legislation is not helping the Liberals’ case.

Ukraine Dispatch

Russia launched their largest aerial assault against Lviv and surrounding regions early Sunday, killing at least five. Earlier in the weekend, Russia attacked a passenger train at a station in Sumy, killing one and injuring approximately thirty others.

Good reads:

• Mark Carney is headed off to Washington today for more trade talks tomorrow, as though there is a deal to be had. (There isn’t).
• Evan Solomon is rejecting most guardrails or “red lines” for digital asbestos regulation because “innovation.” (Just guzzling all the hype).
• Secretary of State Stephne Fuhr doesn’t believe Carney is planning to get out of the F-35 procurement deal, but we have to wait for his decision.
• Global Affairs says that Israel has detained two Canadians from the Gaza aid flotilla.
• Even former PBO Yves Giroux thinks that his interim replacement went too far in his comments on the deficit and fiscal outlook. Giroux!
• Here’s a look at how those American visa changes could have an impact in Canada, or not, as they may not be sufficient disincentive for certain employers.
• Germany’s armament secretary suggests that if Canada chooses them to for the submarine contract, that several of the ships could be built in Canada.
• Here is a look at why coffee prices are increasing, and contrary to what Poilievre would have you believe, it has nothing to do with the size of the deficit.
• François Legault wants closer trade ties with the US, so long as it doesn’t compromise Supply Management or language rights. Of course.
• Quebec’s “right to repair” legislation has come into force.
• Kevin Carmichael worries about the attention being paid to the debt and deficit in the moment as austerity is the wrong approach at such a delicate time.
• Shannon Proudfoot talks to the head of the Home Builders’ Association about the competing proposals for building more housing, and why there’s no silver bullet.
• Althia Raj surveys the first few weeks of the NDP leadership race.
• My weekend column points out that Carney’s vision of a “grand bargain” of decarbonized oil exports is built on a foundation of lies and grift.

Odds and ends:

When even Yves Giroux says you've gone too far, it's a problem.Giroux!The interim PBO should be cooked. But now Poilievre will insist he be appointed because they'll call him a "truth-teller."

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-10-04T18:19:47.165Z

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