The government is launching a new cyberbullying awareness campaign, which includes TV commercials. You know, for the “cyberbullying” law that a) has little to do with cyberbullying and more to do with lawful access, and b) still hasn’t passed. One has to wonder, however, how effective it’ll be since many teenagers don’t see it as “bullying” but just “drama,” and may not relate to it in the way that the government intends. Let’s also not forget that this is the same government that put out some of the lamest and most ineffective anti-drug ads aimed at families, so we’ll see just how effective these cyberbullying ads will be. Michael Den Tandt says that the Conservatives need to address the bullying culture and lack of decorum in their own ranks first.
Tag Archives: Canadian History
Roundup: Unimpressed with transformation plans
Kevin Page is none too pleased with what he hears about the “Blueprint 2020” plan to reform the public service, saying it’s a lot of nothing, and that change needs to come from the bottom up rather than being imposed top-down. He’s also critical of the public service for remaining silent in the face of these changes being imposed on them, and that their expert financial and policy advice will suffer as a result.
When she was Minsiter of Public Works, Rona Ambrose approved a list of 29 historical Canadian women to be used when naming future federal buildings. Of course that list has been redacted, so we don’t know exactly which names have been approved.
QP: False accusations abound
With the by-elections on, and Harper out of the House, it looked like it was going to be Thomas Mulcair versus Paul Calandra — a particularly debased bit of political theatre that serves nobody’s interests. As well, it was Deputy Speaker Comartin in the chair today and not Scheer, so it would remain to be seen if anything would be different. Mulcair led off by reading a question around the admission by the PM’s communications director that there was a cover-up in the PMO and likely criminality that took place. Paul Calandra rejected the premise of the question, and insisted that the PM had nothing to do with it. Mulcair demanded that everyone who had a hand in the event be fired, but Calandra insisted that they were cooperating with authorities. Mulcair wondered why Gerstein remained in caucus if he was involved in improperly attempting to influence the audit — but Calandra reminded him that the RCMP were only investigating Duffy and Wright. Mulcair closed the round by wondering about the “good to go” order being after he told Duffy to repay, but Clanadra insisted that Duffy was still trying to justify his inappropriate expenses in the interim. David McGuinty led off for the Liberals, wondering how long Harper put up with the cover-up in his office, but Calandra assured him that the Prime Minister immediately ordered cooperation with investigators. McGuinty also tried to ask about the “good to go” discrepancy, not that Calandra’s answer changed. For the final question of the round, McGuinty wondered when the government would share all of the documents in its possession, but Calandra simply repeated that the PM ordered cooperation with investigators.
Roundup: Gerstein’s contradictions
The big incident from the end of the Conservative convention was in the closing, when Senator Irving Gerstein took to the stage to boast about the party’s fiscal position, but in the process, revealed that he told Nigel Wright that he refused to allow the party fund – which he controls – to pay for Duffy’s expenses. This contradicts the Wright affidavit that said that they initially offered to pay the bill when they thought it was a mere $30,000 but balked when the bill was $92,000. Wright’s lawyer responded that they had nothing to say about “the latest characterisation of events” at this time – which has us all wondering which version of events is the truth. And more to the point, that if Gerstein was involved in the repayment scheme, even by refusing it, it begs the question as to why he’s not being hung out to dry like the others are. On Global’s The West Block on Sunday morning, Jason Kenney hinted that at some point, Wright will reveal what he knows, which could be very interesting if and when that happens – and if that timetable moves up should the PM continue to demonise him for the whole affair. As well, a PMO staffer says that the legal fees the party covered for Duffy were related to his audit.
“Tecumseh’s Ghost” and Gregg’s reading of history
Allan Gregg’s essay on “Tecumseh’s Ghost” has been making the rounds over the various social media and traditional media platforms today to mark the 200th anniversary of Tecumseh’s death during the War of 1812. It’s a worthwhile project, and an interesting read that I would heartily encourage everyone to do. But in the end, I found it to be rather unsatisfying for a number of reasons.
Roundup: So long, Mac Harb
It appears that Mac Harb has a sense of shame after all, and has not only tendered his resignation to the Senate, but repaid the full amount that the Senate has determined that he owed, and dropped his legal challenge. Of that challenge, he said it wasn’t about the money, but about the lack of due process within the Senate itself, which seems fair enough. And he does make the point that the ongoing cloud and investigations made his work there impossible, and that he thinks the Auditor General’s audit will turn up a trove of other Senators who interpreted the rules as he did. Um, okay. You know it won’t be a forensic audit, right? Just checking. With Harb’s departure, that still leaves the three embattled Harper-appointed Senators under a cloud of suspicion, and the Conservatives without a convenient whipping boy for the Liberals when it comes to saying that they don’t support the seal hunt (which Harb alone opposed when he was in their caucus).
Roundup: Keystone XL angst and job numbers
President Obama told the New York Times that the job numbers for Keystone XL were greatly exaggerated and that Canada needs to do more about its carbon emissions. In response, both TransCanada Pipelines and our ambassador in the US are disputing the job numbers – both of which are correct if you look at how each measures different things – and want to remind him that our environmental performance really isn’t all that bad overall (not mentioning anybody’s reliance on carbon-intensive coal-fired electricity). Of course, it’s all about playing politics, so facts may be a casualty of any of those kinds of debates.
Roundup: The Shufflenado arrives
So, it’s confirmed – the cabinet shuffle takes place today between 10 and 11 AM at Rideau Hall. Who will be shuffled? Who’s in, who’s out? Well, at last the wait – and the breathless speculation – will be over. It’s expected to be “substantial,” and Canadian Press sources say that Peter Kent and Stephen Fletcher are out, and the fact that Gerry Ritz cancelled a function scheduled for today could mean that he’s out as agriculture minister – though not necessarily out of cabinet. And Shelly Glover has come to town, so she’ll likely be getting a portfolio, though nobody knows just what that might be.
Roundup: The AG and the power of compliance
While Transport Canada went on record stating that three of the deficient areas found by previous audits were going to be rectified within a specified timeframe that had to do with an “extension” granted by the Auditor General’s office, the AG’s office said that they’re not in any position to grant any extensions because they don’t have enforcement mechanisms – it’s all Transport Canada’s responsibility to ensure compliance. So, yeah. Well done Transport. Elsewhere, Maclean’s has breakfast with the president of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, where he sort of clarifies some of his comments from the previous day.
Roundup: The RCMP’s ClusterDuff revelations
The ClusterDuff detonated yet again yesterday with the revelation of RCMP documents related to their ongoing investigation into his expense claims, and it looks like Mike Duffy is headed toward charges of fraud and breach of trust. In particular, the revelations include word that the party was prepared to pay off his housing expenses when they believed it was $30,000 worth, but it was at the point of $90,000 that the party backed away and Nigel Wright stepped in, in a move he believed was “ethical” because it would protect taxpayers. Oops. Wright’s lawyers also say that Wright knew Duffy, but they weren’t friends – contrary to one of the versions of the story that was being circulated at the time, and that the conditions attached were that the expenses be repaid immediately and that Duffy stop talking to the media. And yes, it looks like the RCMP have seen the bank draft from Wright to Duffy’s lawyer. Oh, and three people in the PMO appear to have known what was going on – remember that Wright took sole responsibility – and they still insist that the PM was out of the loop. The RCMP also believe that Duffy has a demonstrated pattern of filing false expense claims and double-dipping, so really, it’s not looking very good for the Ol’ Duff at this point.