Tag Archives: First Nations

Roundup: Neo-Nazi terror charges in Ottawa

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The RCMP arrested two neo-Nazis on terrorism-related charges, which is the first of its kind, and what is particularly interesting is that these relate to the production of propaganda. Why this matters is that these so-called “white power accelerationists”—far-right groups who are wedded to the notion that civilisation is crumbling and they want to accelerate that in order to replace it with something that more fits their fascistic vision—need this propaganda because they operate in these leaderless networks. It’s where terrorism and far-right violence are headed, and it’s good to know the RCMP are on the case, but also a reminder that this kind of thing is also home-grown and isn’t just crossing the border from the US as we would like to believe.

Full thread here, but some context from Jessica Davis.

https://twitter.com/JessMarinDavis/status/1676600596583915522

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1676601800592375808

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1676606665813000195

Meanwhile, here are Leah West and Jessica Davis explaining this in greater detail on Power & Politics last night, and it’s very worth your while.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russian missiles struck an apartment block in Lviv, in the western part of the country that has been largely untouched by fighting. The counter-offensive is going slowly because they can’t make frontal assaults owing to Russian fortifications and mines, combined with their air power, which makes the Ukrainians’ tasks much harder as they slowly regain territory.

https://twitter.com/United24media/status/1676485850064990210

https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1676468871069417473

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Roundup: It’s “grocery rebate” day

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Today is the day that the federal government’s so-called “grocery rebate” gets deposited in Canadians’ accounts, but it’s not really a grocery rebate, and once again, a defensible policy gets given a dumb and confusing label for marketing purposes, because that’s what this government does. This is just another GST rebate top-up like the one that happened last year to help deal with the rising cost of living for those who are on the lower-end of the income scale, but of course the government gave it a new name this year just to try and be cute about it.

https://twitter.com/LindsayTedds/status/1676243078833926145

https://twitter.com/LindsayTedds/status/1676243669685506048

You may also have heard complaints that this particular rebate is going to fuel inflation (which is coming down! It’s nearly at the outside band of where the central bank wants it to be!). This is also nonsense, because of how the programme is targeted, and Jennifer Robson has all of the receipts and data to prove it in the thread below.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russians attacked a military funeral in Pervomaiskyi in the Kharkiv region, wounding 38 including twelve children.  Ukrainian forces targeted a Russian military formation in occupied Makiivka, which Russian officials say killed a civilian and injured others. Previously over the weekend, Russia launched its first overnight drone strike against Kyiv in twelve days, while a drone attack on the city of Sumy killed two and injured 19. Elsewhere, the reports from the counter-offensive are that it has been “particularly fruitful” over the past several days, with yet more gains around Bakhmut. There have been yet more warnings that the Ukrainians believe that the Russians will detonate something at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, while the Russians are also claiming the Ukrainians will do so in order to blame them (as though that makes any sense whatsoever).

https://twitter.com/kyivpost/status/1676258705422053378

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Roundup: No, it’s not another carbon tax

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Pierre Poilievre is currently on a tour of Atlantic Canada, braying about the increase in the carbon price, and the incoming clean fuel standard regulations, which he has mendaciously dubbed “Carbon Tax 2.” Poilievre claims will be a combined hike of 61 cents per litre of gasoline. He’s wrong—the figure comes from future carbon price increases plus a dubious Parliamentary Budget Officer report on the clean fuel standard pricing effects, which were based on a lot of assumptions that may not happen, and the figure from that report that Poilievre is citing was an estimated price effect from 2030, which again, he falsely implies is coming right away.

While I’m not going to say much more, because I will probably write about this later in the week in a more comprehensive way, it was noted that a columnist at our supposed national paper of record not only fully bought into Poilievre’s bullshit, but he couldn’t even be bothered to check his facts on these prices. Here’s energy economist Andrew Leach setting the record straight:

As a bonus, here is Leach throwing some shade at Michael Chong as he tries his own brand of bullshit about what is happening with Norway.

Ukraine Dispatch:

The counteroffensive moves “slowly but surely,” not only in regaining a cluster of villages in the southeast, but also around Bakhmut, while Russians are bringing in their “best reserves.” Ukrainian forces also have to contend with low-cost suicide drones that are difficult to defend against, as these drones target valuable equipment. Meanwhile, in a speech to parliament, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy ruled out any peace plan that would turn the war into a frozen conflict.

https://twitter.com/zelenskyyua/status/1674074924124631041

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Roundup: One last beclowning before summer

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On the final sitting day before summer break, our deeply unserious MPs decided to beclown themselves once again. No, I’m not talking about the absolutely shameful display after Question Period with the litany of points order and unanimous consent motions, but rather the decision by Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux to write to the Speaker to file an “official grievance” that Taylor Swift didn’t announce any Canadian dates on her Eras Tour, and that two other MPs, one Liberal, one Conservative, seconded it.

I wish that this was Beaverton-level satire, but no, it happened—hours after the Beaverton joked about it.

As has been pointed out, this isn’t even original beclownery, because it’s just copying something an Australian MP did. I’m also not sure what they think they’re going to accomplish, other than making themselves look like absolute fools. Do they want the Speaker to write a strongly-worded letter to Swift? Summon her to the bar of the Chamber to explain herself? I’m sure if they had planned a little further in advance, they could have arranged for a unanimous consent motion to express their “profound sadness” in her decision. This used to be a serious institution populated mostly by serious people. It is no longer that, and the denizens of the Chamber should reflect on this over the next couple of months. What a gods damned embarrassment.

Ukraine Dispatch:

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is admitting that the counter-offensive is happening slower than anyone would like, but reminds everyone that this is not a Hollywood movie, and that it takes as long as it does because there are lives on the line. Russia is claiming they shot down two drones near Moscow and are blaming the Ukrainians for it.

https://twitter.com/zelenskyyua/status/1671589133003759628

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QP: The last big Poilievre/Trudeau show of the spring sitting

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The prime minister was present for what we all hoped was the final QP of the sitting. Hopefully. Some of the other leaders were present, but not others, which was very unusual for a Wednesday where they would normally use as many spots as possible for themselves.

Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and worried that some housing costs have doubled in Quebec, and blamed the prime minister and inflation (which is risible). Justin Trudeau said that if Poilievre was serious, he would support their policies like the housing accelerator fund, and working with municipalities to build more. Poilievre switched to English to worry that it would take twenty-years to save up for a down payment in Toronto, and again blamed deficits for this. Trudeau praised their job creation record and investments in growing the economy, before talking about his work with municipalities to build housing. Poilievre trotted out his “he’s telling people they’ve never had it so good” line and railed about housing costs, and again blamed the prime minister. Trudeau worried the Conservatives would cut the programmes that are helping Canadians. Poilievre insisted that the programmes were not working and blamed them for doubling housing prices, which again is laughable. Trudeau said that picking fights with mayors, like Poilievre is trying to do, would not solve the housing crisis. Poilievre worried that Trudeau says all the right things but doesn’t do them, and Trudeau insisted that he would take saying the right things as a vote of confidence.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he worried about small companies suffering from the wildfires, and wanted to meet about implementing solutions, and Trudeau read a script about standing in solidarity with them, and promised to work with provinces through the summer. Blanchet insisted that they needed an immediate answer, and Trudeau insisted that they are working with the affected provinces.

Lori Idlout rose for the NDP, and she blamed the government’s inaction on intergenerational trauma with Indigenous people. Trudeau noted that today was a celebration of Indigneous languages and cultures while also recognise the sins of past and continuing the path of reconciliation. Idlout demanded action and not empathy, particularly with Grassy Narrows, and Trudeau insisted that they are working on that solution. 

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Roundup: A game of chicken over a public inquiry

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A game of chicken is shaping up around the demands for a public inquiry into allegations of foreign interference, that started with Dominic LeBlanc throwing it into the opposition’s lap to come up with a name they could agree to that could head it, along with terms of reference, knowing full well that it is going to be incredibly difficult to do, particularly because they all have competing goals, and some their demands are literally impossible, such as having an incredibly wide-ranging inquiry that could somehow complete its work in but a few months. Not going to happen.

Pierre Poilievre has decided to try and turn the tables and says that he wants the government to commit to said inquiry before he starts sharing names, which risks letting the government sit back and say that they already stated their terms. Committing to a public inquiry is one thing, but drawing up the Order in Council for it is quite another, and that requires having the commissioner(s) and terms of reference already decided.

This being said, the deadline of having this declared before Friday is wholly artificial. The government doesn’t need to table this in the House, and they can draw up the Order in Council at any time. If the aim is for the House of Commons to vote on the proposal, that’s a bad idea because then it launders the accountability for what happens, and lets the government off the hook if things go sideways, and MPs should know this because it’s fundamental to their very jobs, but they have become completely blinkered in this. At this point, I’m not expecting an announcement before Friday, and for this to drag on for several more weeks because there won’t be any agreement on names or the scope of the inquiry. That said, I do fully expect that we’ll have a summer full of “emergency” committee meetings on this and other topics, so I doubt the story will go away—just the daily demands in Question Period.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russians fired another 35 Iranian-made drones into Ukraine, with some 32 being shot down, but a “critically important facility” in Lviv was struck, with no further clues as to what it was. There are also competing narratives at play—president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that they are destroying Russian forces in both the east and south, while the Russians claim that they are repelling the offences. Here is a look at some of the Canadian soldiers training Ukrainian troops at Camp Sapper in Poland.

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1671118296374976513

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QP: Countdown to whether a public inquiry will happen before summer

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The prime minister was away in Halifax, while his deputy was present today, though most of the other leaders weren’t.

Things got off to a late start, but when they did, Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he worried about increasing payments for housing and mortgages, and got onto his bullshit about deficits causing inflation (they’re not). Chrystia Freeland asserted that they found the right balance between fiscal responsibility and compassion, and listed measures like child care and dental care while ensuring the lowest deficit in the G7. Poilievre insisted the government raised taxes on food (false) and decried the clean fuel standard as a second carbon price (it’s not), to which Steven Guilbeault raised the fires and floods we are facing but the Conservatives have no climate plan. Poilievre switched to English to ridicule the notion that carbon prices will stop forest fires (absolutely nobody has said this), and Guilbeault tried to ridicule the Conservatives’ plan for technology and that the minister of national resources does more for climate change before his first coffee any day than the Conservatives did in ten years. Poilievre quoted the Liberal premier of Newfoundland and Labrador on carbon prices, and this time Gudie Hutchings stood up to praise the government for making rural economic development a full department. Poilievre cited the false figures around the clean fuel standard and demanded it be axed, and this time Guilbeault said that they listed to the Atlantic premiers and delayed implementation of that standard by two years, two years ago, and that time is now up.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and demanded a public inquiry before Friday. Marco Mendicino said that Dominic LeBlanc was on the case. Therrien demanded the inquiry be announced immediately, and Mendicino reiterate that LeBlanc was engaging with them.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and he decried that the government did nothing about forest fires by not spending enough on climate action. Steven Guilbeault went on a tangent about the pandemic, and that they managed to do more in spite of it. Taylor Bachrach repeated the accusation in English, and Guilbeault recited praise for the national adaptation strategy.

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Roundup: Poilievre tries out new tough-on-crime disinformation

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As evidenced in Question Period yesterday, the Conservatives have found a new lie to suit their narrative around the transfer of Paul Bernardo, and it’s citing the former Bill C-83, which allegedly eliminated solitary confinement in Canadian prisons on favour of “structured intervention units.” We can pretty much be assured that the legislation did not do what it said it would, and “structured intervention” is largely still solitary confinement, and the actual problems haven’t been solved, but the underlying notion here was that this bill was in response to the finding of the courts and international human rights bodies that solitary confinement is a violation of human rights. Nevertheless, this is being blamed for the conditions that allowed for Bernardo’s transfer, which again, is not true. It’s not the first time they’ve done this tactic—they also did it with the former Bill C-75 on bail reform, which was about codifying Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence around bail, and actually created several more categories where a reverse onus was needed, which made bail tougher to get. That didn’t stop the lies then, and it isn’t around C-83 now.

In the meantime, here is the Alberta Prison Justice Society with some important context around prison transfers and security classifications, which a lot of people should know (and in some cases, do know but are lying about it in order to drum up outrage, because politics is all about rage-farming and shitposting these days).

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russians struck the settlement of Novoberyslav in the Kherson region, killing a married couple when their house was bombed. The Ukrainian advance continues in the south, while Russians are trying to trying to dislodge Ukrainian positions in the east. Meanwhile, a group of African leaders are visiting Kyiv to discuss Ukraine’s “peace formula” to end the war.

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Roundup: Hybrid sittings are now permanent, and Parliament will suffer

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I knew that this was now inevitable, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not infuriating. After invoking closure and ramming it through with little debate, the government has forced through the changes to the Standing Orders that will make hybrid sittings permanent. The government has ignored all criticisms about this move, and blinkered itself to the supposed benefits to this system that are largely a false economy, because it “feels progressive.” They tried to force this before the pandemic, and they certainly didn’t let a good crisis go to waste.

The biggest losers out of this are the interpretation staff. Working by Zoom is an absolute killer for them, both from acoustic injuries because MPs can’t be arsed to use their headsets properly most of the time, or simply ignore those rules when it suits them (as the Conservatives did when they pretended to have issues with their voting apps), and because the cognitive load from interpreting this way burns them out. The Speaker, meanwhile, can’t be bothered to enforce rules or guidelines, and merely gently chides MPs that they should be nice to the interpreters, but with no consequences, these behaviours continue undaunted. We’re now accelerating toward a crisis of bilingualism in Parliament because they can’t just hire more interpreters. They’re not graduating enough at a rate to overcome attrition even before the injuries, and fewer of them are going to stick around in order to expose themselves to injury and the possibility of permanent hearing loss. It’s morally repugnant and unconscionable that MPs behave this way, treating the interpreters like furniture, but they’re still in the fuck around stage. They’re going to find out really soon, and Parliament is going to be in a genuine crisis, because the Liberals and NDP in particular are too self-centred to look at the harm they’re causing.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russian authorities say they’re staging elections in occupied territories as a sign that they’re in control, as the Ukrainian counter-offensive makes progress but faces “tough resistance,” according to president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukrainian officials also say they are still advancing on Bakhmut around the north and northwest.

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1669255405610909698

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QP: Gesturing to an empty chair

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The prime minister was in town but not present, while his deputy and most of the other leaders were also away. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and asserted that Justin Trudeau has not fired his “misleading and incompetent” public safety minister because he also knew about Paul Bernardo’s transfer and did nothing about it, before he pretended that Trudeau was present and afraid to answer. Mark Holland dismissed the notion that anyone would have sympathy for Bernardo, and that Correctional Services were independent. They each went the same around in English, practically verbatim, before Poilievre insisted that the government had the power to block the transfer, somehow. Holland insisted that they should not politicise Corrections. Poilievre tried to call the absent Trudeau out, didn’t really get cautioned by the Speaker, and demanded that the government pass their bill on ensuring all mass murderers stay in maximum security forever. Holland again tried to insist that they not politicise Corrections. Poilievre gave another plea for unanimous support for that bill (which I doubt is even constitutional), and Holland says they are ready to have conversations about not politicising Corrections, and that they wait for the review of the transfer.

Christine Normandin led for the Bloc, and she demanded that they announce a public inquiry before the end of the sitting, to which Marco Mendicino said that he was encouraged by their willingness to work together. Normandin insisted that the Bloc would not let this go, and insisted that a public inquiry commissioner be approved by the House (which is a bad idea) and be completed in a few months (which is literally impossible). Mendicino recited that an option of a public inquiry is on the table.

Peter Julian rose for the NDP, and in French, he listed the number of ministers who are apparently unable to read their emails and worried about re-traumatising Bernardo’s victims. Holland reminded him that it’s important that Correctional Services remain independent. Julian repeated his question in English, and Holland gave him much the same answer.

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