Tag Archives: Environment

Roundup: Another day of Guilbeault-baiting

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It’s becoming a little too predictable, and yet here we are again. Steven Guilbeault said something not even that controversial—that we have enough roads to suit our needs so the government isn’t going to spend more infrastructure dollars on major projects to grow them, while they focus on other things like transit and active transport. He’s not even terribly wrong for the most part—there is reams of evidence to show that expanding roads and highways doesn’t cure congestion but merely causes more, so the focus should be on other priorities.

Predictably, everyone freaked out—Conservatives went into full meltdown, and the premiers all lined up to howl about this, when again, they know he’s not wrong, and oh, by the way, there isn’t any money left in the infrastructure fund anyway, so why does it matter? Guilbeault was trotted out to say that he should have been more specific in his comments, and he was mostly referring to the Third Link proposal in Quebec City, which they have no intention of funding, but of course, by that point, the narrative is set as chuds across the Internet have been memeing this for all it’s worth.

Dunking on Guilbeault has become something of a national preoccupation, and news media likes nothing more than to both-sides this sort of thing, taking the bait to continue to give uncharitable readings and framing this as he and the government being “out of touch.” If there’s one thing that makes everyone angry, it’s the whole “war on the car” bullshit that keeps incredibly bad city councillors and mayors in power across this country. And we wonder why we are incapable of serious discourse in this country?

https://twitter.com/s_guilbeault/status/1757961974137168362

Ukraine Dispatch:

Ukrainian forces say that they used naval drones to sink a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea. Here is an explainer of the security assurances that Ukraine is signing with a number of countries including Canada.

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QP: Protesters and stunts for clips

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The prime minister was present today, while his deputy was not, and all of the other leaders were present, and ready to take full advantage of proto-PMQ day. Pierre Poilievre led off in French and worried that one of the companies involved in the ArriveCan debacle has won $250 million in government contracts since 2015. Justin Trudeau noted that in spite of the pandemic, rules needed to be followed, which is why he welcomes the Auditor General’s report. Poilievre quoted from that company’s website, and wondered what was up. Trudeau said that it as up to authorities to investigation any misconduct. Poilievre switched to English to repeat his first question with a “W. T. F?” at the end. After being warned by the Speaker, Poilievre clarified he meant “Where’s the Funds,” and the Speaker warned him again. As Trudeau gave his same response, there a disruption in the gallery of “Free Palestine” protesters, and then some shouting on the floor between MPs, at which point the Speaker called for a two minute break.

When things resumed, Poilievre got back up and wondered about this company further, calling them “suspicious.” Trudeau repeated that relevant authorities are investigating what went on. Poilievre got back up one more time, and recited his slogans before casting aspersions on this company for a fifth time. Trudeau repeated his answer yet again, before pointing out what they are doing to help Canadians.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he took his own kick at the ArriveCan question, and Trudeau repeated his same lines about needing to investigate. Blanchet wondered what is happening with this company’s other contracts, to which Trudeau went on about internal processes in the civil service that were triggered and that the RCMP are involved, and he awaited the results.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and lo, asked the very same question, asserting that that $60 million could have done things like hire nurses…which the federal government doesn’t do. Trudeau repeated his response again. Singh repeated the question in French, and got the same answer. Again.

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Roundup: A dubious Federal Court decision, but right about judicial appointments

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The Federal Court ruled yesterday that the federal government must start filling judicial vacancies faster because, which is true, but the judgment itself is something of a mess. It’s hard to see how the Court has jurisdiction here, and the judge seems to have invented a bunch of justification and has handwaved around constitutional conventions, and in the end, declared that the government must fill most of those vacancies “in a reasonable period of time,” which is vague and of little value other than the declaration. Emmett Macfarlane has promised a post on this soon, and Leonid Sirota has a thread here taking issue with the reasoning (though not the underlying issue of not making sufficient appointments—everyone is agreed on that point).

I have been writing on this government’s problems with appointments since probably their second year in office, possibly even sooner than that. While you can look up the myriad of columns I have written, the short version is this: The government wants to make diverse appointments (which is good! This is a good thing!) but they insisted on a system of self-nominations rather than going out and nominating people. We know that women, people of colour, and LGBTQ+ people routinely don’t apply for positions like this because society has drilled into them the message that only straight, old white men get positions like this. Even the Liberal Party itself gets this in their candidate selection process, where they set up systems to be persistent in getting women and diverse people to seek nominations. And even with that, the federal government has utterly dropped that ball and thinks that they can simply say “We’re accepting diverse applications!” and expecting those applications to flood in. They seem to act like the Sesame Street sketch where Ernie simply goes “Here, fishy, fishy, fishy!” and the fish leap into the boat. That’s not how this works, and when they don’t get enough applications, it slows down the process tremendously. And after seven years, they have absolutely refused to learn this lesson. Refused! It’s some kind of giant ideological blinder that they cannot get their collective heads around, no matter how many times the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court warns them, or the Auditor General sounds the alarm about vacancies on port authorities or the boards of Crown corporations, or even their process for appointing senators. They absolutely refuse to learn the lessons of their failures.

It does bear mentioning that there has been an uptick in the pace of appointments in the past few months, and filling vacancies for provincial chief justices and associate chief justices has also picked up speed (and yes, I have been keeping an eye out for this). That said, making federal judicial appointments faster won’t solve the problems with our justice system because a lot more of them involve provinces not properly resourcing provincial courts or superior courts, where you have a lot of cases where there are no court rooms or court staff available, and that causes as many if not more problems. The issue of federal appointments, however, is low-hanging fruit so it’s taking a lot more attention than it should, and once again, premiers are being allowed to skate because of it.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russians have struck a hospital and apartments in Selydove in eastern Ukraine, killing three people. Here’s a look at how Ukrainians are decoding Russian battle communications to save lives on the front lines. Russia is pulling old tanks out of storage and refurbishing them after having lost more than 3000 in the fighting in Ukraine over the past two years. Ukraine’s military intelligence is now saying that Russia has been buying Starlink terminals by way of “Arab countries.”

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QP: Call in the RCMP…that we don’t direct

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Both the prime minister and his deputy were present today, as were all of the other leaders, so that was nice to see. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and after reciting some slogans, he mischaracterized the Auditor General’s report into ArriveCan and boasted that he wrote to the RCMP to call on them to expand their investigation into wrongdoing and demanded that the prime minister not block their efforts. Justin Trudeau stated that the pandemic was a once-in-a-century event and that they expected rules to be followed in spite of this, and that the RCMP will do their job, but that this government is for border security, which the Conservatives vote against. Poilievre listed some revelations in the report and demanded that the prime minister respect the independence of a criminal investigation. Trudeau assured him that they would, and that there would be consequences for any civil servants that broke rules. Poilievre switched to English to repeat his boast that he wrote the RCMP to expand their investigation, and Trudeau repeated that the pandemic was once-in-a-generation event, and that they expected civil servants to follow the rules, but they don’t need to tell the RCMP to do their jobs. Poilievre howled that Trudeau keeps blocking investigations and accused him of filling the pockets of friends, all of which is specious on its face. Trudeau said that this was an example of Poilievre reverting to type and playing partisan games. Poilievre tried to spin this as Trudeau calling the Auditor General the conspiracy theorist, which was bizarre. Trudeau said that Poilievre needs to work on his listening skills, and that they await the results of the investigation so that those who broke the rules will be held to account.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and wanted the government to adopt the motion to allow for advanced directives on assisted dying. Trudeau recited that this is a very personal decision, and that they responsible for ensuring that vulnerable people are protected. Blanchet insisted that they move ahead with their motion, and Trudeau insisted that these are the kinds of conversations they need to be having.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP and quoted the National Housing Advocate and demanded that he follow her recommendations. Trudeau said that he welcomed the NDP’s support in their housing measures. Singh repeated his demand in French, and Trudeau said that they will continue to listen to community organisations and municipal partners. 

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QP: Getting partisan about gendered violence

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The prime minister was off attending the big auto theft summit several blocks away from the West Block, while his deputy was similarly absent, as were all other leaders. Andrew Scheer led off in English, read some specious statistics about auto theft, and demanded more tough policies. Jennifer O’Connell countered with the fact that five years under the Harper government saw even higher auto theft rates than now. Scheer volleyed that those were the first five years with the problem they inherited, before giving a misleading statement about carbon prices and grocery prices. François-Philippe Champagne deployed his “take no lessons” line and gave a swipe about Jenni Byrne. Scheer returned with the number of former Liberal staffers who lobby for Loblaws, and gave an “it’s the carbon tax, stupid.” The Speaker warned him, before Champagne extolled his efforts to get new grocers into Canada. Gérard Deltell took over in French, and accused the government of prioritising photo ops over building housing. Champagne said that the only thing the Conservatives are good at is insulting  mayors. Deltell noted the decrease in housing stocks under the Liberals and demanded action. Champagne said that he has nothing to learn about videos and photo ops from the Conservatives, as they don’t solve problems.

Claude DeBellefeuille led for the Bloc, and she wanted the government to let Quebec proceed with advanced request for MAiD, to which Jean-Yves Duclos noted that as the former minster of health, he wanted to recognise Quebec’s movement and said that they would work together. DeBellefeuille repeated the demand for the Criminal Code changes, and Duclos said that they need to protect the most vulnerable, and promised to look closely at this.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the Bloc, and demanded support for their “grocery prices” bill, and in response, Champagne stated that they have moved forward with competition reform and took most of the NDP’s recommendations. Lindsay Mathyssen repeated the demand in English, to which Champagne repeated the same response in English.

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QP: Keeping up the focus on auto thefts

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Both the prime minister and his deputy were present today, as were all other leaders, and it wasn’t even a Wednesday. Pierre Poilievre led off in French and complained that CBSA was only inspecting one percent of containers, and demanded that the government do more about it. Justin Trudeau responded that organised crime is largely responsible for car thefts, which is why they sent $121 million to Ontario, which the Conservatives voted against. Poilievre complained that the money was just going to managers, and demanded the government agree to his “plan” of buying new container scanners. Trudeau noted that they had to rehire the border officers that the Conservatives fired when they cut their budget. Poilievre switched to English, and claimed that the Conservatives cut car thefts and Trudeau saw them explode, which is a bit of specious reasoning. Trudeau noted that this would be more credible if the Conservatives didn’t vote against their plans to invest in the border. Poilievre insisted that his plan would scan every single container in the four major ports, to which Trudeau again reminded him that the previous government which Poilievre was part of fires the very boots on the ground he touts. Poilievre then pivoted to the invitation to Yaroslav Hunka to a Toronto event for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and demanded Trudeau resign like the previous Speaker did. Trudeau said that this was a slam against the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, and that it shows the Conservatives no longer support Ukraine.

Yves-François Blanchet led off for the Bloc, and demanded support for a Bloc bill to remove the religious exemption for hate speech. Trudeau said that he agrees that there was no place for hatred and that Canadians need to stand against it no matter how it manifests. Blanchet insisted that law enforcement needs the ability to make those arrests. Trudeau said that they know it’s important to defend the Charter while standing against hate speech and glorification of violence.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and demanded the government impose new taxes on grocery giants, and accused them of not being tough because the housing minister got donations from the Sobey’s family. Trudeau read a script about the changes to the Competition Act they have made. Singh repeated his demand and insinuation in French, and got the same scripted response in French.

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Roundup: The King’s cancer diagnosis

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There were some shockwaves as news was released that King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer that was found while he was undergoing his treatment for a benign enlarged prostate. The palace insists that it’s not prostate cancer, but have been extremely vague otherwise, and the King will withdraw from public-facing duties over the course of his treatment, though he will still keep up his state duties such as dealing with the Red Boxes daily, and signing things that need to be signed in them.

https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/1754565735655887066

In terms of Canadian reaction, we saw messages from the Governor General and Justin Trudeau, along with a cursory if casual statement from Pierre Poilievre, but nothing from Jagmeet Singh or from Yves-François Blanchet, though that was to be expected. Still, poor form from Singh on this silence for the sovereign of the country he insists he wants to lead.

Meanwhile, Patricia Treble has some added context to this announcement both in terms of the history of the royal family disclosing medical information, and what it is likely to mean for things like the planned upcoming royal tour of Canada, which was supposed to take place in May, but is now likely to be postponed again. Here is some added detail about the Counsellors of State which could act in his stead if he becomes incapacitated due to his illness.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Some of the soldiers fighting near Bakhmut fear that they will be there until the war is over, as mobilization legislation continues to be debated including provisions that would allow those who have been fighting over three years to de-mobilise. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that he is considering a high-level military shake-up, which has some soldiers concerned. Journalists in Ukraine say that the country’s domestic security service has put them under illegal surveillance; president Zelenskyy has ordered an investigation.

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QP: Quoting the Criminal Code to one another

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Neither the prime minister nor his deputy were present today, in spite of both being in Ottawa, though most of the other leaders were present. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, fresh from his press conference earlier this morning in Brampton, and he tied the Bloc to government legislation around bail conditions and conditional sentencing, blaming them for the rise in auto thefts (which is pretty specious at best), before asking the government to reverse those positions. Steven MacKinnon says that the Conservatives were pretending to care about auto theft like they pretended to care about grocery prices, and tried to connect Poilievre’s campaign chair, Jenni Byrne, with lobbying Loblaws. (She wasn’t the lobbyist, and they were only lobbying about beer and wine sales, for the record). Poilievre declared that he announced “common sense” solutions for ending auto thefts, most of which are unconstitutional. MacKinnon repeated the insinuations that Poilievre had made promises to Byrne, who is advising the caucus. Poilievre switched to English to again claim that “catch and release” bail was to blame for the rise in car thefts, and MacKinnon repeated his claim that the Conservatives were only pretending to care, and made the insinuations about Byrne in English. Poilievre insisted that Byrne’s advise was the slogan he repeated, and once again blamed the government for increasing car thefts and touted his “common sense” plan. Arif Virani reminded him that mandatory minimums for auto theft are already on the books, so he’s demanding a policy that already exists. Poilievre insisted that bail reform didn’t apply to auto theft so he should have read his own legation. Virani responded that he listens to police and noted that this isn’t an issue of individual crime but organised crime, and that the Conservatives are blocking measures to combat money laundering.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and railed that Quebec is owed $470 million for asylum seekers, no less. Marc Miller said the money they have sent is not nothing and that they are working with the province. Therrien listed grievances related to immigration and asylum seekers, to which Miller accused them of being “armchair managers,” and cherry-picking statistics.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and took credit for Manulife walking back their decision to only fill certain prescriptions at Loblaws, and demanded the government stop working for Big Pharma. Mark Holland pointed to actions they have taken to lower drug prices across the board. Singh switched to French to complain that the government met with Loblaws lobbyists 60 times—which means nothing—and Holland repeated his response in French.

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Roundup: The muted federal response to Danielle Smith’s latest policy

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As expected, there was a federal response to Danielle Smith’s draconian anti-queer/trans policy video, but it was mostly just words of condemnation. Marci Ien and Randy Boissonnault had a scrum about it, but basically said that because they don’t have any document from Smith—the legislature isn’t sitting, and Smith herself said later in the day that nothing would be formally in writing until autumn—they don’t know how best to respond to this, so in the meantime, they’re going to consult and come up with ideas at the Cabinet table as to what the federal government can do, but one supposes that something like a reference to the Supreme Court of Canada of this policy, along with those of Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, may be in the works. We’ll have to see, but it’ll take time, so for the moment, it’s a lot of words of affirmation.

Smith did hold a press conference, nearly twenty-four hours after her video was released, and in it, she kept repeating that she was trying to protect youth from “irreversible medical decisions,” which both conflates the purpose of any social transitioning that they may do beforehand, and buys holus-bolus into the moral panic that kids are being indoctrinated into being trans and then “mutilating and sterilizing” themselves, even though there are vanishingly few “top” surgeries for minors, and no “bottom” surgeries at all. But dubious and discredited reporting that echoes through the right-wing media ecosystem has convinced parents that it’s happening (thus the outsized concern for their “right” to know), along with the pre-existing notion that if they’re told, they can stop their kids from being queer or trans (in other words, de facto conversion therapy). But nobody wants to talk about this moral panic. (More analysis about Smith’s move here).

Meanwhile, Pierre Poilievre’s office has instructed his MPs to say nothing, especially to the media, and to report all requests to his office, and if they are to say something, it’s to emphasise “parental rights over decisions related to their children,” which a) is not actually a legal right in Canada, and b) has been the dog whistle for anti-queer and anti-trans rhetoric for a long time now. And of course, he wants them to stay quiet, but not because he’s worried about another homophobic eruption from someone like Cheryl Gallant, but rather he doesn’t want anyone coming across as too sympathetic because he needs to keep demonstrating to the far-right, reactionary crowd that he thinks is going to win him the election that he’s not too “woke” or small-l liberal, because that would doom their support. It’s little different than Smith keeping this up because she doesn’t want the leopards in her party (like the “Take Back Alberta” crowd) to eat her face like they did Jason Kenney. When you let your party get taken over or be entirely beholden to the crazies, you lose control, and that’s exactly what is happening here.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Ukrainian forces say that seas drones were used to sink a small Russian warship in the Black Sea, while Russia claims that Patriot missiles fired from Ukraine brought down the plane that was totally carrying POWs and wasn’t a psy op (really). Ukraine’s army chief published a series of priorities and challenges are rumours of his rift with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy continue to circulate.

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QP: Calling out Poilievre’s chief advisor

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The prime minister and his deputy were both in Toronto and surroundings, while most of the other leaders were also absent. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and worried about the number of Mexicans claiming asylum with a low acceptance rate, and demanded the government do something about it. Marc Miller said that there were diplomatic discussions happening, and he wouldn’t pre-empt those with a statement in the House. Poilievre then pivoted to auto thefts, and blamed the federal government for the rise. Dominic LeBlanc said that while Poilievre likes to invent blame, they are working with provincial partners and there is a summit next week on the subject. Poilievre repeated the accusation in English, and LeBlanc repeated that they did strengthen bail conditions to close the “loophole” he was concerned about. Poilievre again insisted that this was all about “catch-and-release” bail, and this time, Arif Virani said that the Conservatives are voting against measures to combat organised crime. Poilievre then went on a misleading tear about the Bank of Canada, and Anita Anand gave a canned line about the lowest debt in the G7 and the programmes they rolled out to help Canadians.

Christine Normdin led for the Bloc, and she cited a CMHC report about housing in Quebec because the population is growing too fast, and blamed the government for letting in too many immigrants. Marc Miller found it curious that they say they didn’t want to blame immigrants but still were anyway. Normandin repeated her same question, and Miller said that they can’t treat asylum seekers like cattle and just ship them around at whim.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and he blamed the government for high grocery prices because he alleges they are too close to grocery giants. Sean Fraser listed measures the government has taken to increase competition in the marketplace. Don Davies asked about the Manulife deal with Loblaws, which is not federal jurisdiction. Mark Holland patted himself on the back for helping to achieve savings with prescriptions through things like bulk purchasing.

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