Conservative backbench MP Mike Dawon put on a big media show yesterday by declaring that he will be refusing his scheduled pay raise in April, which is something that the party itself is not actually doing a big song and dance about (at least not yet). In his stated reasons for doing so, he says that “the working man (and woman) in this country hasn’t seen a decent raise in decades,” which is not in fact true. Statistics Canada tracks these things, and average hourly wages in this country have been outpacing inflation going on three years now, and while that’s not everyone because this is an average measure, wages are not stagnant.

This being said, I really dislike these particular kinds of populist performances because they are largely designed to denigrate the role of elected officials in public life, and winds up leading to problems in the long term. Poor pay for MPs means it’s harder to attract talent who have professional careers, meaning doctors and lawyers for example, who frequently need to take a pay cut to serve. And frankly, the other side of ensuring that we have adequate compensation for elected officials is that it discourages corruption, so that they don’t feel the need to take bribes to maintain their lifestyle.

Ontario’s MPPs did away with their pensions and scheduled raises for years, and it created problems with MPPs who would ultimately refuse to retire because they couldn’t afford to, and had few options in the private sector, and there was one story about a former MPP whose financial troubles after leaving office left him destitute, which is not something we should want to expose anyone running for office to. Frankly we don’t want a system where only people with previous wealth get into politics because they can afford to, and these kinds of populist attitudes wind up reinforcing that kind of behaviour.

— Effin' Birds (@effinbirds.com) 2026-02-10T15:08:05.641Z

Ukraine Dispatch

Russia struck energy facilities on Odesa overnight, meaning more power cuts in the region. There was also an airstrike on Sloviansk the Ukrainian-controlled portion of Donetsk, killing two. President Zelenskyy says that major changes are coming in the way that Ukraine handles its air defences.

Good reads:

• Mark Carney made a call to Trump after the bridge threat to explain the issue to him, and of course, it turns out the Mouroun family is behind Trump’s outburst.
• Carney has delayed his trip to the Munich Security Conference and stop in Halifax to announce his new military industrial strategy because of the shooting in BC.
• Here is a look at Carney’s travel and accommodation expenses from the last year.
• Part of the government’s auto strategy is to spend $84 million on more charging infrastructure around the country.
• Joël Lightbound says that loans to Canada Post are only a stopgap and not intended to be how the service sustains itself.
• Stephen Fuhr says a decision on the submarines will probably be made before the end of the year, with a 2032 delivery date for the first ones.
• The government made another payment toward another 14 F-35 fighters, in order to keep our options open.
• The federal government recorded 2600 cases of employee misconduct in the civil service, with 145 terminations and 783 cases of suspension without pay.
• The military ombudsman says that almost no work has gone into fixing the long-broke military reservist compensation system.
• Benjamin Netanyahu flew through Canadian airspace, apparently not concerned about the threat of arrest and being sent to the ICC.
• Advocates for more owner-operated companies want the government to extend tax measures to assist with the transition to employee ownership trusts.
• Ukrainians in Canada on temporary visas are looking for a pathway to permanent residency as the war continues to drag on in their country.
• The Conservatives spent yesterday debating a Supply Day motion targeting accused criminals who try to access the asylum system (which they can’t do already).
• The previous Conservative candidate from Ottawa South, who lost to David McGuinty, plans to contest the nomination in Carleton, instead of Poilievre.
• Danielle Smith says that the province can expect more deficits thanks to low oil prices, but she still won’t implement a sales tax to stabilise revenues.

Odds and ends:

Does Greer think *all* of Canada’s GDP relies on exports? Does he know how to calculate GDP? Historically, 75% of our *exports* have gone to the U.S. but that only ever translated into 17% of GDP. And Canadian businesses are actively pursuing other markets. www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28…

— Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 (@jrobson.bsky.social) 2026-02-10T14:03:27.796Z

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