Author Archives: Dale

About Dale

Journalist in the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery

Roundup: An inexplicable failure of police

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Amidst all of the finger-pointing and blame-shifting, as everyone tries to pin the current occupations and blockades on the prime ministers, those of us who pay attention know that the real problem here is policing, and ultimately the rule of law. Bill Blair has rightly called it “inexplicable” why the Ottawa Police have not done their jobs to uphold and enforce the law, particularly when they have plenty of resources and added authority under the state of emergencies that have been declared municipally and provincially. Still no dice. And while the city says they’re waiting for reinforcements, we also find that there is actually no plan for what to do with them when they do arrive (and they have been trickling in), which inspires no confidence at all that this is going to be resolved anytime soon.

At the same time, the drumbeat for federal emergency powers is getting louder, and while ministers are saying it’s under consideration, there was also a Cabinet meeting last night, which is very unusual and could signal preparations for it. That said, it’s unlikely that they will without the invitation from Ontario to do so, and even if they do, it’s still a trap because they want Trudeau to wear this (more than he already is), and any action would ensure that he’s the one to do so.

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In the meantime, we’re seeing gutless municipal politicians do their own blame-shifting and ass-covering and try to put this on Trudeau. No. The city’s Police Services Board is the civilian authority for the police and the body which holds them to account. They are the ones who have the power here. They should be calling the chief to the carpet and telling him that if he and his people don’t do their jobs and start enforcing the law, then he can find a new one, and keep going down the line until it starts to happen. But when it all comes down to it, these last almost-three weeks have clearly demonstrated that the Ottawa Police Service, which was already putrid with corruption, is irredeemable and needs to be disbanded entirely in order to start over from the ground up.

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Roundup: Ford wakes up after letting Ottawa suffer

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After being content to let Ottawa suffer under occupation by grifters, extremists and conspiracy theorists for the past two weeks, Doug Ford woke up and got serious now that the Ambassador Bridge is threatened. He declared a state of emergency and promised permanent legislation about blocking critical infrastructure, with fines of up to $100,000 and up to a year imprisonment, but that didn’t seem to help motivate police any. It was an injunction in Windsor that seems to have had more of an impact (and I find the notion that police will enforce an injunction but not uphold the laws on the statute books to be a concerning development with the rule of law). They were promising enforcement, but we’ll see, given that the crowd only grew once the injunction came into effect.

Meanwhile, I find myself a bit at a loss about the demands that Justin Trudeau “show leadership” in this situation. Every time I ask someone just which federal levers he should be deploying, I get static in reply. When pressed on the topic on Power & Politics the other day, Jagmeet Singh flailed and handwaved before resorting to a Jaida Essence Hall and trying to make a bunch of erroneous statements about healthcare funding. Trudeau cannot simply assert authority in this situation—it frankly does not meet the test for the Emergencies Act, and I’m not convinced this is a situation that requires it. I fail to see the utility of trying to get the RCMP to bigfoot the Ottawa Police as a) they don’t have the expertise in this situation, and b) they don’t have the numbers, particularly in the area. He’s not going to call in the military, because that is a very, very bad idea and more to the point, it’s the premier or his attorney general who needs to make the request for the aid to civil power under the National Defence Act. What else should Trudeau be doing? He told the convoy to go home on the first Monday (meaning, day four) during Question Period and elsewhere (you know, when members of the media accused him of being “in hiding” when he was in COVID isolation and still attending the House of Commons virtually). He’s been making calls the whole time, though not necessarily as performatively as is being demanded. So how else should he be “showing leadership”? What other powers should he be deploying? And even more to the point, why should he be playing into the trap that Ford and the extremist organizers themselves are laying out for him that is trying to put him at the centre of this?

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Roundup: From one rebel to another

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With all of the tongue-wagging in Parliament over Joël Lightbound going rogue in his dissent on vaccine mandates, there have been a lot of questions about his place in caucus, and what the other caucus “rebels” think of the situation. So, the most famous of said rebels, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, tweeted a thoughtful thread on the subject.

Meanwhile, a third Liberal was thought to be joining Lightbound and Yves Robillard in their dissent, but it turns out that no, that they merely misrepresented Anthony Housefather’s position. So there’s that.

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QP: The trauma of vaccine mandates

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It was unusual but happened nevertheless—that Justin Trudeau was present for a third QP in a row. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen this, and one is forced to wonder if this is to put down the notion that he has been absent or in hiding because of the grifter occupation outside. Candice Bergen led off with her script in front of her, lamenting that the occupation has been there for two weeks, and requested a meeting with Trudeau to “end the impasse.” Trudeau called her out for encouraging the blockades and their fundraising, and said that they will see an end to the blockades, and called on the Conservatives to get on side. Bergen blamed the prime minister for the situation, and demanded their support for their Supply Day motion to capitulate to the occupiers and end all vaccine mandates, to which Trudeau expounded on the virtues of vaccines. Bergen gave some wounded faux confusion, and wondered if the prime minster wouldn’t lift mandates until there was 100 percent vaccination. Trudeau reminded her that vaccines are the way out of the pandemic. Luc Berthold took over in French to ask again if the prime minister wanted 100 percent vaccination rates, and Trudeau repeated his lines about the Conservatives going to bat for the occupiers. Berthold demanded a re-opening plan by all levels of government, and Trudeau said he was happy to hear the Conservatives calling for the occupiers to go home, and he hoped that the Conservatives would stop encouraging the other blockades.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he too demanded a meeting with the prime minster and all party leaders, for which Trudeau reminded him that he is in contact with all levels of government but he could arrange a briefing if Blanchet wanted. Blanchet said he wanted to hear from all of the leaders, before raising the other tactics the occupiers were engaged in, and Trudeau said they were working with other governments to minimise the impact of the illegal blockades. 

Jagmeet Singh appeared by video, and whinged that the prime minister was “hiding behind jurisdiction” and demanded he fix the mess—for which the Conservatives applauded. Trudeau noted that they have been furnishing resources to the municipalities affected, which is why they called on the Conservatives to call for the blockades to end instead of cheering them on. Singh repeated his question in French, and got the same answer.

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Roundup: Proposing to ignore the virus

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In the wake of the demands by extremist-led “protests” to lift all vaccine mandates around the country, nowhere as this demand been capitulated to as fast as in Saskatchewan and Alberta, where both provinces are pretty much eliminating their mandates as soon as possible, with no consultation, and while their hospitals are still full. Federally, the Conservatives are making the same demand for this capitulation, and they’re using a bunch of specious arguments, like listing countries that are lifting their restrictions already, never mind that in most of those countries, they have better healthcare capacity than we do, and they are further along in their omicron waves than we are. Fortunately, Ontario is not rushing to join them for a change, so that’s one small favour.

What is more concerning, however, is this talking point about “learning to live with COVID,” but in abandoning all public health measures, including mask mandates, they’re not actually planning to live with COVID—they’re planning to ignore it, to let it rip, to capitulate to the virus as much as they are eager to capitulate to the extremists claiming to protest. Learning to live with the virus would mean adequate and sustainable precautions, better focus on indoor ventilation, ongoing mask mandates in indoor spaces, and so on—and the ongoing insistence on vaccination, because that’s what will save us in the long run. But that’s not what they’re proposing, because they are so keen to return to the old normal, never mind that said world no longer exists by any measure. And it’s not “following the science” to take the notion that we need to just let the virus rip at this point—it’s being intellectually dishonest and pandering to selfish instincts.

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QP: Demands to capitulate to the occupiers

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While the grifter occupation carries on in a somewhat quieter way outside of Parliament Hill, MPs inside the West Block settled into their usual Wednesday pattern of proto-PMQs. Candice Bergen led off, script in front of her, and she praised other countries and jurisdictions who are lifting mandates, claiming they are “following the science,” and selectively quoted public health officers and raised yesterday’s presser by Joël Lightbound. Justin Trudeau reminded her that vaccinations were the way through the pandemic, and wondered why the Conservatives were against vaccinations. Bergen claimed that continuing federal mandates were because of Trudeau’s ego, and Trudeau took a solemn tone to praise Canadians for stepping up while the government had their backs. Bergen accused Trudeau of politicising the pandemic, and raised the farce of the country being “more divided than every before,” and painted a dystopian vision of the country under the Liberals. Trudeau reminded her that they did have an election on vaccinations and that it was what won the day. Bergen insistence that Trudeau was strategically trying to “divide and stigmatise” Canadians, and Trudeau insisted that they provided responsible leadership in getting the Canadians through the pandemic, before he accused the Conservatives of supporting the blockades at the border. Luc Berthold took over in French to raise Lightbound’s concerns, repeating the “divide and stigmatise” line. Trudeau repeated that they united Canadians around vaccine mandates in the election, before repeating that the Conservative refuse to condemn the blockades.

Yves-François Blanchet rose for the Bloc, and he demanded better communicate from the government on clearing the occupation outside, and Trudeau reiterate that the siege and the blockades need to end, and it would be great if the Conservatives could tell their followers that message. Blanchet insisted that the government wasn’t showing leadership, and Trudeau reminded him that in Quebec City, the municipal and provincial governments handled their protests well, and in Ottawa, they were offering what help they could to the city and province.

Jagmeet Singh appeared by video, and he demanded that they engage with the Americans to choke off foreign funds to this occupation. Trudeau assured him they were engaged, before raising how ironic it was that the protest that claimed to be about truckers was blocking real truckers at the borders. Singh repeated the question in French, and go the same answer.

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Roundup: Lightbound goes rogue

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It was something of a spectacle yesterday to watch Liberal backbencher Joël Lightbound call a press conference to denounce his party’s handling of the pandemic, and to call for a roadmap to end public health measures—never mind that the vast majority of those measures are provincial in nature—and to deploy the farcical Conservative talking points about how “divisive” the prime minister has been about vaccine mandates. (Full transcript here). Some of it made little sense—this virus doesn’t operate on timetables, mandates were deemed necessary because carrots weren’t working anymore and governments needed to employ more sticks to drive up vaccination rates because we still need more people to get fully vaccinated if we want to have any hope of achieving some level of herd immunity, and yes, there are some deeply selfish people who refuse to get vaccinated, and we should absolutely call them out on that fact. (And to the point about complaints of the prime minister’s alleged name-calling around the grifter convoy, he clocked them for what they were, and if a few credulous numpties attaching themselves to this band of grifters, extremists and conspiracy theorists gets offended, they should take a hard look at the company they keep).

This being said, we need to ensure that there is room for MPs to dissent, and the Liberals have been better than most about that in their current incarnation. They have a handful of MPs who routinely go rogue, though generally in not so spectacular a fashion as Lightbound did yesterday. This being said, the comparisons to Jane Philpott and Jody Wilson-Raybould have been circulating, but I don’t find the circumstances remotely similar. Wilson-Raybould had begun a media campaign against the prime minister, and the revelation of the recordings she made of private phone calls was a signal that she was unlikely to be trusted again, which is a huge problem. Philpott, on the other hand, was naively trying to run her own media campaign, cleverly trying to dole out tidbits to various outlets in a coordinated strategy, while she was also found to be taking notes in caucus (which is forbidden—they take away your phones and materials because caucus confidentially needs to be enforced), and again, that led to issues of trust because her media strategy was in the open. That is not the case here, and Lightbound says he continues to have confidence in the government, but felt the need to speak out. While he resigned his position as the party’s Quebec caucus chair, we’ll see if he retains his post as industry committee chair, or if he gets sent off to scrutiny of regulations to cool his heels for a while.

Meanwhile, Althia Raj wishes that we saw more MPs going rogue like Lightbound, while Paul Wells delves deeper into Lightbound, the dynamics at play, and the problem that this government has in its inability to communicate or manage issues.

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QP: Quoting Joël Lightbound

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It was an unusual morning, where one of the Liberal backbenchers, Joël Lightbound, decided to torpedo his status as rising star and held a press conference to slam the government’s handling of vaccine mandates, and mouthing a bunch of the same talking points about “divisiveness” that Candice Bergen has been spouting of late. Naturally, every one of the opposition parties was bound to pick up on this and hit the government with it as hard as they possibly could. In the Chamber, most of the leaders were present in person, Jagmeet Singh excepted. Candice Bergen led off, script in front of her, and she raised Lightbound’s concerns and selectively quoted Dr. Theresa Tam, and demanded and end to public health measures (never mind that most of them are provincial). Justin Trudeau acknowledged that people are tired of lockdowns, but Canadians were united in doing what needed to be done to beat the pandemic by following the science. Bergen listed countries with fewer restrictions and demanded an end to them in Canada, and Trudeau repeated that they follow science and that there was a less severe impact than in most of those other countries because we did the right thing. Bergen pandemic one final plea for freedom, and Trudeau doubled down on following science and note their work with premiers to bring in the measures that saved lives, before needling the Conservatives about their support for the occupiers outside. Luc Berthold took over in French to again quote Lightbound to decry “divisiveness,” and Trudeau repeated his points about following science and not politicising it. Berthold screamed that Trudeau was not answering the question, and Trudeau made a pitch for vaccination to end the pandemic.

Yves-François Blanchet rose for the Bloc, praised the injunction that silenced the occupation, and praised Quebec City’s handling of their protesters, but seemed to ignore that the Ontario government should have a role here. Trudeau said that he would speak with the mayor later in the day, and that they need to show solidarity in getting through the challenge. Blanchet then raised Lightbound before demanding more health transfers for the provinces, and Trudeau reminded him that summits with premiers are not held with the Bloc, before listing investments over the past two years.

Jagmeet Singh appeared by video to raise the blockades at two other border crossings, and Trudeau insisted that they were in touch and supplying resources, before calling out the Conservatives for their inconsistent messages on the occupation. Singh repeated the question in French, and Trudeau repeated his response. 

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Roundup: The “missing” PM reappears

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While things quieted down with the grifter occupation, a new cry went up on all sides, who were trying to draw Justin Trudeau out and into the fray. A narrative, fed by journalists who clearly still don’t understand what this occupation is all about, was that Trudeau was somehow “in hiding” and needed to engage with these extremists, grifters, and conspiracy theorists to end the current situation. Worse, every opposition party was adding their voice to this nonsense, insisting that “federal leadership” would resolve a situation that is clearly and explicitly that of the city’s civilian police force. Trudeau did show up in the House of Commons in the evening, during the emergency debate on the occupation, and pushed back at the Conservative narratives that the country is “divided” over this, and quite rightly repeated that Canadians stood together in the pandemic and that vaccination remains the way out, not these protests.

Meanwhile, I am growing very disturbed by the fact that my media colleagues are agitating for the prime minister to call in the military to resolve the situation, never mind that a) the power to call on the military to aid in civil powers is up to the provinces to use, not the federal government; b) the Canadian Forces are not a police force and should not be used as such, because we are not a police state, and I swear to gods I will keep posting this Battlestar Galactica clip until people get it through their heads that calling in the military is not a solution to anything. It will only feed the narrative that Trudeau is a mad dictator, which accomplishes these extremists’ goals for them. I also cannot believe that the media keeps normalizing this line of thinking, like their continued insistence that the federal government invoke the Emergencies Act, and the repeated refrain that “people don’t care about jurisdiction in a pandemic.” Jurisdiction is literally part of the rule of law. It matters. People should care. We need to stop treating this like it’s some stupid game, or that Trudeau is the premiers’ father who can just take over at any point. That’s not how laws work, and agitating otherwise because you think it’ll make a better story is really, really dangerous.

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QP: Won’t somebody do the Ottawa Police’s job for them?

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As the occupation outside was quieter today the prime minister was absent, as were most other leaders, save Candice Bergen. Bergen led off, with her script in front of her, and she blamed the various demonstrations around the country on the “division” caused by the prime minster, and she demanded “leadership” in fixing a mess that she blamed on him. Mark Holland rose in reply, and he recited that the best way to end the pandemic was to get vaccinated. Bergen selectively quoted Dr. Theresa Tam musing about lifting restrictions, and Bergen demanded they all be lifted—never mind that most of those are provincial in nature. Holland reminded her of such, and even the trucker mandate existed on the other side of the border so it wouldn’t matter. Bergen accused Holland of mansplaining to her, and Holland insisted that they try not to inflame the situation. Luc Berthold took over in French and demanded that the restrictions on truckers be removed because science, to which Dominic LeBlanc reminded him that they already follow the science, and that they opposition should not put words in Dr. Tam’s mouth. Berthold then demanded more unconditional healthcare transfers to the provinces, and LeBlanc stated that they have been in constant discussion to find the best way to support the system.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and he repeated the Bloc’s demand for a “crisis unit” to deal with the occupation outside, and Marco Mendicino reminded him that operational decisions are made by police independent of government. Therrien complained that they were unable to be proactive, and Mendicino repeated his answer.

Alexandre Boulerice appeared by video for the NDP, demanded “leadership” on clearing the occupation, and Mendicino repeated yet again that the RCMP provided additional resources, but they don’t direct police. Rachel Blaney took over in English to repeat the same question, and Mendicino repeated his response a fourth time.

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