Tag Archives: Justin Trudeau

Roundup: Beating the GDP expectations

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The Bank of Canada increased the overnight rate another 75 basis points, to 3.25 percent, which is now about the neutral range and into territory where it is meant to dampen growth—and they say it will likely continue to go up in future decisions. This being said, we should also recognise how strong the Canadian economy is running right now, which is having an effect on things like deficit and debt, which conversely makes the Conservatives’ insistence that government spending is driving this inflation (it’s not), and what they think austerity would accomplish here (nothing good). Anyway, here’s economist Kevin Milligan to break it down:

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/1567532339496108034

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/1567536188680187908

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/1567538208971583489

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 197:

Shelling near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has damaged the last remaining backup power line to the plant, which means that the coolant systems are now fully on back-up generators, and the ongoing shelling makes doing repairs an unlikely possibility. Elsewhere, heavy fighting has been reported in the north near Kharkiv; in the east, in the Donbas region; and in the south, near Kherson, where Ukrainian soldiers are pushing Russian forces in their counter-offensive.

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Roundup: Rage-farming for rural Alberta paranoia

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In Alberta, Danielle Smith has finally unveiled more details for her proposed “Sovereignty Act,” and as you might expect, they’re a lot of bullshit, and most of it predicated on situations that will never, ever actually come to pass, like the federal government invoking the Emergencies Act to impose mask mandates. Of course, that’s not how the Emergencies Actworks, and she’s just rage-farming, ensuring that the rural Alberta party membership that she’s targeting, who are twitchy to begin with and who are consuming vast amounts of American media and conspiracy theories, are just being fed more materials to make them even more paranoid. It’s not surprising, but it’s also alarming that this has somehow become acceptable political discourse. Smith also insists she’s just doing “nation within a nation” assertion, like Quebec, which is not true, and I’m genuinely not sure if she is simply that clueless about how federalism and the constitution works, or if this is pure disinformation for the purposes of rage-farming and motiving the party base through anger and paranoia. Either way, it’s not good, and is a very real problem for the province and the country, because this kind of bullshit is also contagious.

 

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 196:

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant went off the grid yesterday after more Russian shelling in the region, until a fire could be put out. That means that they were relying on backup power to keep cooling systems operational, which gets us closer to a more dangerous place in terms of a potential meltdown that could have catastrophic consequences for that part of the world. The International Atomic Energy Agency continues to call for a demilitarized zone around the plant, but good luck getting Russia to play by the rules. As for the Ukrainian counterattack in the southern part of the country, officials have now confirmed that they have retaken at least two villages, though information remains largely locked down. Apparently, the counterattack is happening slowly in order to save on ammunition and casualties.

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Roundup: Trying to dispel yet another conspiracy theory

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It was Environment Canada’s turn to take to Twitter in a series of plain-language tweets in order to dispel the conspiracy theories that Justin Trudeau is creating “climate cops” that are going to arrest people for…reasons. They’re not climate cops, they’re Environment Canada enforcement officers, they’ve been in existence since 2008 (you know, when Stephen Harper was prime minister), and they enforce environmental regulations. The theory, which seems to have originated from a far-right former Rebel fabulist, has been broadcast by UCP leadership hopeful Danielle Smith and several sitting Conservative MPs, and it’s utterly bonkers. It’s even more concerning that MPs are willingly spreading conspiracy theories in order to keep up the rage-farming that they think will get them votes, and that they have absolutely zero self-awareness that this is utterly corroding democracy. None.

Meanwhile, Conservative has-been and ongoing shitposter Andrew Scheer is trying to discredit the Bank of Canada’s correction about the false narrative of “printing money,” using the same kind of faux-logic that Flat-Earthers use. So yeah, the discourse is going great. They’re really respecting democracy. (We’re doomed).

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 190:

The International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for real this time, and conducted their initial inspection of the facility, with the intention to remain on the site, and yes, they avoided shelling and gunfire to get there. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that independent journalists were prevented from covering the visit, which allows Russia to present a one-sided picture.

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Roundup: A minor Cabinet swap

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As expected, there was a very minor Cabinet shuffle yesterday, and it was less of a shuffle than a two-person swap. Filomena Tassi takes over as minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency of Southern Ontario, while the incumbent, Helena Jaczek, takes over as minister of public services and procurement. The reason? Tassi’s husband suffered two strokes, and has had a difficult recovery, so she requested a lighter workload, and Trudeau obliged. Jaczek, meanwhile, is a former Ontario health minister, so she’s not unaccustomed to big files. What is perhaps most significant is that Trudeau accommodated her in order to ensure that she didn’t have to choose between family and her job, which is a very rare thing, even in this day and age where there remains an expectation that women give up their jobs and careers in order to play caretaker roles. That kind of a signal should count for something.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 189:

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant yesterday, in an attempt to stabilise the situation there. Meanwhile, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that his forces are attacking Russian positions along the entire front line, trying to retake the south as well as going on the offensive in the east. We’ll see in the coming days how effective this has been, but British intelligence suggests that there have been successes in three parts of the southern region, but didn’t give any details.

Good reads:

  • Following the shuffle, Trudeau said that Canadians have lost faith in the leadership of Hockey Canada, as they insist on retaining their CEO for some unknown reason.
  • Trudeau also said the government would look into allegations that a CSIS informant smuggled teenaged girls from the UK into Syria.
  • Chrystia Freeland insists that Albertans are “kind and welcoming” in spite of being accosted last week. (They’re kind and welcoming if you conform, you mean).
  • Pablo Rodriguez has belatedly condemned the antisemitic tweets from the “anti-racism” contractor his department hired.
  • Health Canada is expected to announce the approval of the omicron-specific boosters today (though this was for BA.1, even though BA.4 and .5 are dominant).
  • Fourteen months later, the military won’t say what their investigation into alleged atrocities caught on video involving Iraqi police yielded.
  • The CRTC announced that they will adopt 988 as a national suicide prevention hotline number, but it won’t be in operation until November of next year.
  • 325 First Nations are launching a class action lawsuit to demand reparations from the government for the cultural devastation wrought by residential schools.
  • The so-called “Centre Ice Conservatives” changed their name to “Centre Ice Canadians” to appeal to a broader audience (not that it’ll help).
  • Using their majority to circumvent the process, the Ford government bullied through a bill that can force people in hospitals into long-term care facilities.
  • The UCP leadership candidates had their final debate on Tuesday night, and it was as bankrupt of real ideas as you might expect.
  • Althia Raj talks to Elizabeth May about her decision to run for co-leader of the Green Party, and why that’s different from her time as full-on leader.
  • Paul Wells contemplates the “temperamental centre” of Canadian politics, and what that could mean for the two main federal parties going forward.
  • My column takes note of the fact that the government is experimenting in frank discussion when it comes to the wait times issues, which is a good first step.

Odds and ends:

For Xtra, I delved into the new Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan and got some reaction from stakeholders in the community.

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Roundup: Ford omitting the accountability part

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Justin Trudeau met with Doug Ford at Queen’s Park yesterday, and Ford says that they are on the same page about the urgent need for healthcare reform, and that the status quo isn’t working. But what I find interesting is that Ford didn’t go into any details, the prime minister did put out a readout of the meeting later in the evening, and yes, healthcare was mentioned, but in a somewhat different context than what Ford told reporters after the meeting”

“They also spoke about pressures on the healthcare system and the importance of funding and accountability to deliver for Canadians. The prime minister emphasised that the Government of Canada is committed to continue working with provinces and territories to support public health systems that deliver quality healthcare for all Canadians.”

The use of accountability stood out for me, because this is what the federal government is pushing—ensuring that any future health transfers go to the healthcare system, and not a tax cut or to pad a province’s surplus like they did with the billions of dollars in pandemic aid that provinces were given. The premiers continue to balk at this, but we’re not all blind and dumb, and we can see them rolling around in money (Alberta and BC both announced higher-than-anticipated surpluses), so them not investing in their own healthcare systems when they obviously have the money to do so is not going to endear them to the federal government as these talks continue.

https://twitter.com/EmmMacfarlane/status/1564736954234814466

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 188:

The supposed counter-attack around Kherson has seen explosions of ammo dumps and bridges, but it remains difficult to see what is going on there. Russia claims they repelled the attack and caused hundreds of casualties, but they have lied about absolutely everything in this whole invasion thus far, so they are unlikely to be reliable sources. Russian forces elsewhere continued shelling the port of Kykolaiv, as well as Kharkiv in the north. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will need to cross an active battlefield to reach the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

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Roundup: Getting better at plain-language explainers

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Because this is the age of disinformation, it’s good when institutions start recognising that and offering plain-language explainers to help dispel the falsehoods that are swirling—especially when those falsehoods are being spread by sitting MPs and leadership candidates for political parties. In this case, it’s the Bank of Canada, and the notion of whether they printed money during the pandemic. They didn’t, and they had explainers on their site before, but this is much more accessible, which is really necessary right now—particularly given that the government can’t communicate their way out of a wet paper bag, which makes the job of defending institutions even harder (especially as the media is pretty much useless in this endeavour as well, too content to simply both-sides everything).

Of course, the replies to this thread are an absolute tire fire, so we’re nowhere near out of the woods yet, but it’s a good first step that needs to happen. (And listen to Captain Pike when you get tempted to read the comments).

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 183:

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was knocked off of the Ukrainian power grid after a fire damaged a transmission line, raising fears that we could be headed toward another Chernobyl-like disaster. (Incoming power is needed for the reactors’ cooling systems, but there are some back-up power supplies). It was later re-connected, but this remains a problem, and radiation from such a meltdown could spread across Europe under the right conditions. Meanwhile, Putin is ordering a major troop replenishment after suffering heavy losses in the fighting in Ukraine.

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Roundup: Meet Canada’s newest Supreme Court justice

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Prime minister Justin Trudeau announced yesterday that he will be appointing Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada, making her the first Indigenous justice on the top court. She will be replacing Justice Michael Moldaver, who retires on September 1st, a few months ahead of his mandatory date, and this is for one of the Court’s three Ontario seats. While it was a given that this appointment would be a woman in order to restore gender balance on the court, there has been pressure for an Indigenous justice for a while. This government has also mandated that official bilingualism should also be a requirement for appointment, which shrinks the pool of available Indigenous candidates a whole lot. And it’s not without controversy—it is true that, as many Indigenous activists point out, that kind of linguistic requirement is colonial, but it also has been pointed out that relaxing those kinds of requirements is generally done at the expense of French, which is also a very fraught notion with the insistence that French is “in decline” in the country (which is debatable, because use of French has been up in Quebec, but they are paranoid about the “mother tongue” statistics, which is generally about immigrants for whom French is not their first language).

While you can read O’Bonsawin’s application questionnaire here, it’s worthwhile noting that she comes to the Supreme Court directly from the Superior Court rather than the Court of Appeal. This isn’t a big deal, but it does speak to the pool of available candidates, because there are exceedingly few Indigenous judges at the appeal court level. This being said, it’s perfectly permissible to appoint people to the Supreme Court if they’re law professors, or even lawyers working in a firm—Justice Suzanne Côté was appointed directly from practice. This being said, O’Bonsawin has academic chops to add to her experience, with a PhD in the Gladue sentencing principles, which are about taking proper life circumstances into account during sentencing for Indigenous people. She also has done a lot of work around mental health, which is also important in the current legal environment, so it does look like she will bring a wealth of experience to the bench. The only thing I would say is that with Moldaver’s retirement, there is no longer a criminal justice specialist on the Supreme Court, which may be an issue in the longer-term, but there are enough bright minds on the court that I wouldn’t be too worried about it.

Meanwhile, here is some reaction from the president of the Canadian Bar Association, and several Indigenous leaders.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 177:

Ukraine has been making several drone attacks in the areas of Nova Kakhovka, near the occupied city of Kherson, as well as possibly the Crimean port of Yevpatoriya, which seems to be about Ukrainians showing their capabilities to Russian aggressors. Ukraine is also warning that Russia is planning a “large scale provocation” around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in an attempt to decouple it from the Ukrainian grid and attach it to the Russian grid, which is apparently a complex operation that could cause a disaster. Meanwhile, doctors talk about why they are staying in place in war-hit towns in Ukraine.

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Roundup: Mystified about our “clean” gas

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There has been a pervasive talking point of late, which asserts that Canadian oil and gas is “cleaner” than elsewhere—somehow—and that should be justification enough for us to increase production. There is also a pervasive myth that emission have come down in the oil sands, which is blatantly untrue—in some projects emissions intensity has decreased, meaning there are fewer emission per barrel produced, except that they increased the number of barrels produced, so emissions haven’t actually gone down. And yet Conservatives in particular pat themselves on the back about this, and keep repeating how “clean” our energy products are (when they aren’t making the risible “ethical oil” canard). So imagine my surprise when Toronto Star columnist Heather Scoffield uncritically repeated this assertion that Canadian natural gas is “cleaner” than other countries’ product, which is news to me. I grew up in Alberta—I have seen the literal mountains of sulphur that has been removed from the extracted hydrocarbons. Alberta is replete with sour gas wells, which are dangerous, and I’ve also seen the evacuation plans for areas if such a sour gas well blows. I’m not sure how this is “clean” gas. So, I reached out to an expert about the assertion. He’s mystified too. Perhaps our national columnists shouldn’t just take Conservative and industry talking points at face value.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 177:

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with UN secretary general Antonio Guterres and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Lviv, and they discussed the fighting around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, and the deal around grain shipments. Meanwhile, Russians struck at Kharkiv again, while more explosions were reported at a Russian military airport in Russian-occupied Crimea, with reports that Russian air forces fired at targets near the city of Kerch in Crimea.

https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1560022545356791810

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Roundup: Inviting premiers to shift the blame

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It’s now day one-hundred-and-forty-seven of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and while Russian forces pound cities like Kramatorsk in the east, and targeted Odesa in the south, they are planning to begin annexing Ukrainian territory with installing proxy officials, false referenda, replacing the local currency and forcing people to apply for Russian citizenship. We know this because they did it in 2014 when they annexed Crimea, and they have a familiar MO.

Closer to home, there was a report out from Ontario’s Financial Accountability Officer yesterday that showed how Doug Ford and his merry band of incompetent murderclowns have been under-spending in a number of significant areas like healthcare, education, social supports that include things like autism therapy. Now, put this underspending into the same context of Ford crying poor and insisting that the federal government pony up more cash for healthcare, but he’s not even spending his own current budget allocation, he hasn’t reversed his cuts to nurses’ salaries, and he didn’t do enough when it comes to testing or tracing when it comes to the pandemic. The same report shows he only spent 58 percent of the pandemic funds the federal government sent over, putting the rest directly onto his bottom line to reduce the province’s deficit. And you wonder why the federal government wants strings attached to future funding, to ensure that it actually gets spent on the things it’s supposed to be spent on, and not being used to pad bottom lines.

On a related note, reporters were asking Justin Trudeau yesterday about the strain that emergency rooms are under, and when Trudeau noted the money they’ve sent to the provinces and that those dollars need to come with results, those same reporters frame this as “punting it” back to the provinces.

No.

It’s not punting—it’s the provinces’ gods damned jobs. And while this was justified as Trudeau campaigning on hiring more doctors and nurses, no—the campaign promise was to send $3.2 billion to the provinces to hire doctors and nurses, and it’s not rocket science to understand that this is the kind of thing he’s trying to attach strings to before he sends those cheques to the provinces, so that he knows that they’re going to actually spend it to hire doctors and nurses (and one presumes actually pay them properly) and that it won’t wind up padding their bottom lines like we just watched Doug Ford do. And I’m not trying to insinuate that the reporters are playing gotcha or that they’re being partisan, because they’re not—they’re trying to do their jobs, but they’re doing it with a grave misunderstanding about how jurisdiction works, and this nonsense belief that nobody cares about it. The problem is that they have to care, because that’s how we hold people to account for the work they’re supposed to be doing, which the premiers aren’t. Because media keeps giving them this out and trying to pin things on Trudeau “because nobody cares about jurisdiction,” and the only lever he has is to try and attach strings to funding and nothing else—the federal government cannot hire doctors and nurses because they have no authority to do so—it gives the provinces an out so that they can shift blame when it’s their gods damned responsibility. We need the media to understand this and hold the right people to account for their failures, and right now, that’s the gods damned premiers.

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Roundup: Premiers playing the deflection game

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We’re in day one-hundred-and-forty-five of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Russian forces have been intensifying their shelling of cities in Ukraine, and not just in the Donetsk region (and here is a look at what life is like in that region currently). Meanwhile, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired the head of the country’s security services and the prosecutor general, citing Russian collaborators within their departments.

Closer to home, there was some more discussion/whinging over the weekend about last week’s Council of the Federation meeting, and how it was mostly a gripe-fest directed at Ottawa. CBC’s Janyce McGregor wrote an excellent piece summarising the event and the arguments on both sides, but made a very salient observation in that the premiers were conspicuously silent on agenda items that were solely in their own wheelhouse, over things like harmonising regulations, or regulatory bodies, or interprovincial trade barriers. All of those require zero input from the federal government, and yet the premiers were silent on any progress made on these (intractable) issues in favour of simply a chorus of blame Ottawa. And it’s a very good point, because it points to the absolute deflection of the performance art that John Horgan and the others were engaged in. They’re not doing their own jobs. It was their lack of action during the pandemic that cratered the healthcare systems that they starved beforehand (particularly when they were getting higher federal transfers that they then spent on other things). Now they’re trying to deflect from their culpability by trying to rope in Ottawa, who has been sending them a lot of money, which many of those premiers have either not spent and just applied to their bottom line to pad their surpluses, or if they did spend it, didn’t track it so we know how it was actually spent. That’s on them. Trying to blame Ottawa is their way of avoiding culpability, and the media shouldn’t be simply acting as stenographers for them along the way.

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