One would have thought that with the Conservatives having rejected the NDP formal request to split the omnibus budget implementation bill that Thomas Mulcair would be on the warpath. But no – he instead started off QP by asking a fairly broad question about the bill and its large environmental component, and Harper answered with a general response about the need to “streamline” review processes. Mulcair then went to the issue of the demise of the Public Appointments Commission in said bill, and he got into a back-and-forth with Harper about the NDP voting to kill it (never mind that it was a non-binding motion rejecting the proposed commissioner). Matthew Kellway then got up to ask about the updated cost figures from the F-35s, and Julian Fantino got up for the first time in ages to assure the House that there is not only a Seven-Point Plan™, but rather a Seven-Point Action Plan™ for the procurement process. Bob Rae rose for the Liberals, and went after the government for their using the CRA to investigate charities they don’t like, never mind that ones they do like get hundreds of thousands of dollars in foreign donations. Harper insisted that the CRA is an arm’s length agency and that charities have to operate within clear limits.
Tag Archives: Environment
Roundup: The Environment Commissioner’s warnings
The Environment Commissioner released his report yesterday, and it’s not good news for the government. It seems that the continued delay in handing down promised regulations to industry means that there won’t be enough time for those affected industries to implement them in time for the 2020 reduction targets to be met. (You would think that industry would start looking for ways to reduce their emissions given that they know regulations will happen eventually, but I digress). He also found that the government hasn’t done any kind of long-term costing to the regulations – or lack thereof – and that they are still underfunding the efforts to clean up contaminated sites around the country. But oh, he’s relying on old data and this government takes the environment seriously, they reply. Only he’s not, and their talking points are going to start sounding pretty hollow.
Critics of the F-35 procurement, including University of Ottawa defence analyst Philippe Lagassé remain unconvinced that the F-35 is the only option for Canada, because DND hasn’t actually made a proper case.
“Pierre Poutine’s” trail has grown cold at a proxy server in Saskatchewan, as the records Elections Canada was looking for were no longer in existence. Not that this means the end of the investigation, but it just takes a different form. Meanwhile, Terry Milewski takes a look at the mounting questions surrounding Elections Canada’s “clerical errors” in the last election that are the subject of those ongoing court challenges.
A Conservative private members’ bill that would ban people from wearing masks during riots went before committee yesterday, and was denounced as being unnecessary. Colin Horgan tried to get answers on the bill from its author, and seemed to be proving the very same points about its futility.
Here is a look at yesterday’s release of the Mental Health Commission’s report.
Vic Toews is lashing out at provinces like Ontario insisting that point-of-sale data on long guns be collected – even though it’s a practice that pre-dates the long-gun registry that has immense value as an investigative tool, and the fact that it falls under provincial jurisdiction.
Thomas Mulcair is bristling at the suggestion that he’s muzzling his Quebec MPs on the tuition question, and says that they have a coherent policy of more federal government support for education. Err, except they also have their Sherbrooke Declaration that says that they shouldn’t tell provinces how to run their affairs. I’m still waiting for that particular reconciliation.
And the Manitoba Conservatives are suggesting that an NDP intern in that province also accessed Vic Toews’ divorce files, for what it’s worth.
QP: Playing coy during negotiations
Despite the fact that negotiations are apparently ongoing, Thomas Mulcair nevertheless opened QP today with a pair of questions about whether the government would split the omnibus budget implementation bill. Harper, however, played coy and spoke instead about the strong mandate that his party received and their desire to move forward. Mulcair then turned to the Environment Commissioner’s report and how the list of failures there would be compounded with the aforementioned budget bill, but Harper rebutted that his government had made record investments in environmental remediation. Megan Leslie picked up the torch and asked about the hidden costs of not having strict environmental legislation, but Peter Kent assured her that when the costing data was available they’d share it. Marc Garneau led off for the Liberals and demanded that Kent account for his “money laundering” accusations, but rather than Kent speaking up, both Harper and Gail Shea got up instead – Harper to tout Responsible Resource Development™ and the responsible use of charitable dollars, and Shea to insist those budget measures were about greater education and transparency for charities. Kirsty Duncan took the last slot to also ask after the Environment Commissioner’s report, and Kent assured her that they would “take note” of the recommendations.
Roundup: Truth and ministerial accountability
As mentioned earlier, the Speaker has ruled that there was no prima facia breach of privilege in the government’s answers on the F-35s in the House. So what does this actually mean. First of all, it should be noted that Speaker Scheer parsed things pretty finely, and in that respect, noted that it was difficult to prove a deliberate misleading, which is why he couldn’t make his ruling. (You can read the text here). Fair enough, one supposes, but there were some additional eyebrow-raising aspects to this, in that he pretty much dismissed the notion of ministerial accountability out of hand. In other words, not his problem. This means that as always, this remains a problem for the Crown, and in that, it means that the only people who can punish the Crown for ministers not taking responsibility would be the Commons, by means of withdrawing their confidence. And of course that would mean in this case that backbenchers would have to be sufficiently exercised to want to punish their own party’s government (which this current lot of spineless louts is highly unlikely to do). Marc Garneau raised the additional point after the ruling that this further insulates a government from the actions of the civil servant because they can henceforth claim ignorance, and ministerial accountability may well be a past concept.
Here is the text of the motion the NDP are proposing for splitting the omnibus budget bill. Elizabeth May blogs about the various changes found within the bill and wonders if government spokespersons haven’t read the bill considering that their talking points don’t match the reality of the text. Maclean’s Aaron Wherry has an extremely trying interview with Peter Van Loan about the bill, and his justifying the omnibus-ness of it all.
The Veterans Ombudsman has released a scathing report about the conduct and performance of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board, saying some 60 percent of cases were handled improperly. The minister’s response? That they’ll soon be launching a new Action Plan™ to deal with it.
The NDP “digital issues” critic wants to investigate if social media sites are doing enough to protect privacy. Fair enough – but I don’t think that labelling them “Big Data” is really helping anyone.
Here’s a look at the number of contaminated sites that need cleaning up across the country.
And a potential Liberal leadership candidate is launching trailers for his “exploratory committee” bid, but there are cautions about what kind of fundraising he can actually do at this stage.
Up today – the Mental Health Commission is releasing their first report, outlining their strategy, priorities and recommendations, which includes the need for $4 billion in new funds over the next ten years.
QP: Look everyone, Rush!
With both Mulcair and Rae out of the House, the question hovered as to whether Stephen Harper would even bother answering a question today, as he often won’t bother unless asked by another party leader. But when Megan Leslie, in her capacity as part of the deputy leader trilogy, stood up to ask about that troubling instance of DND retroactively changing a parliamentary report once it had been tabled, Harper did stand up to answer. Well, to say “answer” is a bit charitable, considering he avoided the question all together and shrugged about contracts not having been signed and no money spent on any acquisitions, but didn’t really talk about the issue at hand. And Leslie, incidentally, performed much better than Mulcair on any given day, with minimal checking of notes and clear delivery rather than reading from a lectern. Snaps for that. Jack Harris was up next, asking about cuts to mental health services for the Canadian Forces, but Peter MacKay told him that he was mistaken and that they were moving a clinic to Petawawa for that very issue. Marc Garneau was up for the Liberals, retuning to the question of the contradiction of the Deputy Minister of Defence not accepting the Auditor General’s report when the government does, to which Harper assured him that it wasn’t what the Deputy Minister said, but that he was disputing a specific item. John McKay finished off the round by wondering why the government authorised the release of low-balled F-35 costs in 2010, but Harper answered (actually quite surprisingly) and assured him that they were taking a careful look at those costs going forward.
QP: The most pressing business of the nation
After a morning of speeches and a whole lot of self-congratulation all around, the NDP decided that the most pressing business of the nation, the one topic to lead off Question Period, for which they are holding the government to account, was that of Conrad Black’s return to Canada. Or rather, as the framing device that they employ says, “notorious British criminal” Conrad Black, or “British citizen Lord Black of Crossharbour” in their subsequent press releases. While this is factually true, it’s still a framing device that they’re employing. And while Mulcair didn’t play the race card today, Harper still called him on yesterday’s usage, and chastised Mulcair for denigrating the work of public servants. Mulcair then moved onto the report about the big bill for the overtime paid to cabinet ministers’ limo drivers, but Harper dodged and touted the country’s economic performance instead. Charlie Angus picked up from here, and yes, Team Decorum still employs the epithets of “Muskoka Minister” when he goes after Tony Clement. Clement, by the way, cited that they were living within the rules and paying out the overtime owed to their drivers per their collective agreement, and hey, these cabinet ministers work long hours. So there. Bob Rae closed off the leaders’ round with a trio of questions about the contradiction in how the Deputy Minister of Defence can dispute the Auditor General’s findings but the government agreeing with the report, but Harper parsed and equivocated, and insisted that Rae was mistaken as to who said what.
QP: Seven minutes of decorum
Seven minutes. Not even. Despite his Monday morning sanctimony press conference in which Nathan Cullen announced that his party was going to be the stewards of decorum in the Chamber, they were heckling the Conservative MP who dutifully read out the Member’s Statement of the day denouncing a member of the Shadow Cabinet – in this case, Peggy Nash, because she voted against the budget. OH NOES! Immediately thereafter, Cullen stood up to announce their glorious plans for restoring decorum. And a few minutes later, QP began. While Thomas Mulcair kicked things off asking about the two sets of books on the F-35 that the Parliamentary Budget Officer and Auditor General have alluded to – for which Baird, in his capacity as back-up PM du jour stood up and read off talking points about having a credible process and avoiding another “Decade of Darkness” for the military – it was Charlie Angus that immediately broke his party’s pledge. As he is wont to do, Angus stood up to gleefully denounce the government for having received the Canadian Association of Journalists’ secrecy award, and he began throwing around some of his favourite pejoratives, like the “Muskoka Minister,” and so on. Peter Van Loan immediately stood up to announce that the NDP’s commitment to decorum in the House had lasted a full seven minutes, and they can’t even refer to ministers by their proper titles. Bravo. Slow clapping all around. Angus shrugged it off, indicated he’d done nothing wrong, and carried on. To his supplemental, Tony Clement rose to tout the government passing the Accountability Act as their first piece of legislation, which apparently absolves everything. Ralph Goodale was up first for the Liberals, also asking about the two sets of books, and which minister knew this fact when. Baird ranted about the “Decade of Darkness” in reply. Marc Garneau demanded an open and transparent bidding process to replace the CF-18s, but Baird accused the Liberals of starting the F-35 process (which they didn’t, as it was a separate process entirely). Goodale was back up for the final question of the round, and brought up the Liberals’ opposition day motion – that in light of the Walkerton crisis brought about by government cuts, why was this government – with some of the very same ministers – going down the same path. Baird didn’t provide a coherent answer, but rather a thirty-five second rant about how Bob Rae once led the provincial NDP and how two of his former cabinet ministers, currently in the NDP benches, disavowed his leadership. No, seriously, it didn’t make any sense.
Roundup: Begin the retrospectives
As we come up on the one year anniversary of the “strong, stable, national Conservative majority government,” the pundits are starting to weigh in – Den Tandt looks at the missing “hidden agenda” one year later, Tim Harper looks at the transformation that has happened, noting that none of it is hard-right stuff and hey, look at all the scandals, and John Ibbitson takes a rather in-depth look at the past year (and the five that preceded it), but I’m not quite sure that one can really consider the Conservative a “values-based” party any longer, considering their abandonment of so much of what they once held dear.
Parents who were promised enhanced EI benefits to deal with gravely ill children are feeling betrayed that the campaign pledge was not in the budget.
Here’s a great look at “Responsible Resource Development” – the somewhat Orwellian name being given to the Conservative rewriting of the country’s environmental laws.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer says the government kept two sets of books on the F-35 procurement process – the real set, and one full of low-balls to sell to the public.
The third wave of public sector layoff notices go out this week.
Seven officials from CRA’s Montreal office have been dismissed in connection with a corruption and fraud investigation, however charges have still not been laid.
Thomas Mulcair vowed to the annual convention of the Canadian Association of Journalists that he’d lift the veil of secrecy if he forms government. I seem to recall a certain other current Prime Minister who once vowed the very same thing.
All of those young NDP MPs who were students prior to the last election are being forced to stay out of the student protests in Quebec, as it could quickly become a provincial election issue and their support could benefit the Parti Québécois.
Oh, look – Peter Penashue is in the news. Who? Exactly.
Here’s a look at how Quebec used to be loyal to the Crown, but one incident of police overreaction turned them against it.
And Scott Feschuk writes possibly the most note-perfect recap of the Bev Oda affair, striking the balance between humour and insight.
Roundup: Splitting up the omnibus bill
It’s no real surprise, but it is important to note that the opposition wants the government to hive off the environmental portions of the omnibus budget implementation bill into its own separate piece of legislation so that it can be properly studied and debated. Which is more than reasonable, and considering that even young Stephen Harper railed about how undemocratic omnibus bills are, then it only stands to make sense. After all, there are a lot of significant changes being rammed though – which is the point, but that doesn’t make it right. Oh, and when the government crows about keeping greenhouse gasses down in a period of economic growth – it was due to provincial efforts, like shutting down coal-fired electricity plants, and not federal efforts.
The budget implementation bill also includes a section on scrapping the Inspector General’s office at CSIS. Apparently the logic is the duplication with the Security and Intelligence Review Committee – which currently doesn’t have a chair, and which doesn’t really have the capability to produce the same kinds of annual reports that the Inspector General did. Because hey, apparently we don’t really care who’s watching the watchers.
Other cost savings measures the government are considering are the elimination of providing the cost gender reassignment surgery for trans military personnel. Because apparently they want to use the money instead on years of legal challenges instead.
While We The Media obsess about Bev Oda’s orange juice and limousine rides, there are real concerns about the changes being made to CIDA’s funding priorities.
Part three of Huffington Post Canada’s look at reshaping electoral boundaries takes a look at Saanich-Gulf Islands, and what Elizabeth May calls a transparent attempt at Conservative gerrymandering in the riding.
The mayor of Ottawa thinks that if the National Portrait Gallery idea is dead that the government should instead turn the old American Embassy on Wellington into a museum of Canadian accomplishments.
And Tabatha Southey imagines an apology form letter for Conservative cabinet ministers.
Roundup: The budget omnibus bill lands
The government tabled their first budget implementation bill yesterday – a 431-page omnibus bill that amends over 50 Acts, and a huge chunk of that being environmental legislation, like major changes to the Fisheries Act, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, and repealing the Kyoto implementation law. Oh, and they’ve indicated that they want to put the rush on this one too. Because there’s nothing like actual scrutiny for bills that this government wants passed.
Stephen Woodworth’s motion to have a debate saw its first hour of debate, and was smacked down from all sides – even his own, when Conservative whip Gordon O’Connor savaged it and encouraged his own party to vote against it. (Niki Ashton then followed up by accusing the government of “Trojan Horse legislation,” obviously tone-deaf and unable to think on her feet considering the speech that immediately preceded hers). The chance that this non-binding motion will go anywhere are increasingly remote.
Bev Oda has repaid the cost of her limousine rides. Now we can sleep again at night. (Incidentally, Paul Wells looks at the two incidents together and sees the signs of Harper’s loosening discipline, and what it all means).
The Auditor General appeared at the Public Accounts committee yesterday, and lo and behold, there is a reason why he focused on the 36-year lifecycle costs of the F-35s, and that the department and government tried to sell 20-year costs is a problem. Meanwhile back in the House, Bob Rae continued to argue his point of privilege that the government not telling the truth with regards to these costs – in the face of all evidence – is a contempt of parliament. And he’s got a very good point.
And here is part two of the Huffington Post Canada’s excellent series on redrawing the electoral boundaries in this country, with the challenges faced by the “rurban” ridings in Saskatchewan, where in the previous exercise the commissions were told there was no such thing as an “urban interest” in the province (though the distortionary effect is also quite pronounced in Alberta as well), and the battles that went on in New Brunswick during the last redistribution.