Rona Ambrose held a press conference yesterday to say that the government would be closing the “loopholes” in the Special Access Programme so that illicit drugs can no longer be prescribed for clinical purposes – never mind that the whole point of the programme that the injectable heroin was being prescribed in was because none of the other replacements worked, and that it was the safest and most effective way to preserve the health of the patient while getting them off the drug in a controlled manner. But hey, when did science matter over the ideological concerns that “drugs are bad”? Aaron Wherry talks to BC’s provincial health officer about the scientifically proven heroin-assisted treatment.
Tag Archives: Trade
Roundup: A refresher course in open nominations
Nomination races are the backbone of our democratic system, yet are probably the least understood component – thanks of course to a pretty shite job of civic education in this country that does little to teach people about it. And as Alice Funke of Pundit’s Guide points out, we’ve been out of the habit of proper open nomination races in this country since about 2004 (blame the period of minority governments and the need to be “election ready” that protected incumbents), which means that these particular democratic muscles in the Canadian electorate have become pretty flabby. Fortunately, she’s penned a fantastic guide about getting back into shape, which everyone needs to read. And no, I’m not kidding – everyone needs to read this. Okay? Good.
Roundup: The Cult of the Auditor
In the wake of the audits of Senators Wallin, Duffy, Harb and Brazeau, and with much of the business in Ottawa in general, there has developed a Cult of the Auditor, be it the Auditor General, or the outside Deloitte auditors in the more recent examples. And why not? They’re not partisan, and they call it like it is. But as much as people decry the lack of accountability in politics these days, be it in the Senate or ministerial accountability, or whatever, they are immediately quick to rush to the say-so of auditors, who themselves are completely unaccountable. It’s a curious thing, but it’s one of the biggest problems that is infecting Canadian politics these days, which is reflected in the controversy around the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Rather than MPs doing their own work of scrutiny, they fob it off to the PBO now because they’re non-partisan and “credible,” and parties can hide their attacks behind those reports. It now becomes a game of “See! Even the AG/PBO/etc. says that these guys are terrible! Let us beat them with the sticks that others have provided for us without any means of accountability, because they are credible and non-partisan!” It’s an awful game, and it has utterly degraded our political discourse and capacity in this country. Auditors, or the PBO, are no longer seen to be doing the jobs that they were supposed to, but are becoming proxy ammunition in political games because the partisans can’t be bothered to do the heavy lifting themselves. And that is a problem, most especially if we are demanding accountability.
QP: Thanking the RCMP
The day after a major terror bust in Canada, it was a question as to how this would play out in the Grand Inquest of the Nation. And so, when QP got underway, Thomas Mulcair began by reading off a congratulations to the RCMP and the members of the Muslim community who tipped them off. Harper got up to similarly offer his thanks and congratulations for those who helped to foil the plot. Mulcair then moved onto the testimony of the Bank of Canada at committee, where they were told that there was little else they could do to stimulate the economy, and the warnings about household debt. Harper responded by saying that they have been urging caution on debt levels and to try take what measures they can. Peggy Nash was up next, and asked a rambling question that ended up on the topic of the possible border fee the Americans are considering charging, to which Maxime Bernier assured her that they were going to vigorously oppose it. Nash was back up and returned to another rambling question that ended up on the increases in tariffs. Jim Flaherty was up to respond, and while he got sidetracked by heckles a couple of times, and pointed to the many tax hikes the NDP supported. Justin Trudeau was up next for the Liberals, and asked about the decline in youth summer employment. Harper responded that the Liberals voted against their plans to help them. And yes, Trudeau was still half-reading his questions, but could ad lib a little.
Roundup: Bring on the updated elections rules
The government announced yesterday that it will unveil its “comprehensive” election rules reform bill on Thursday to deal with things like misleading robocalls, and possibly the utter dogs breakfast that are the rules around leadership race financing. That said, the Chief Electoral Officer has not yet been consulted on said legislation, which you might think is a big deal (not that this government is big on consulting, as much as they might claim that they are). And before anyone says it, no, I don’t actually think that the Conservatives are trying to cover up activity in the last election done under their name. I’ve heard enough from the Conservatives that they are just as concerned about the issue as anyone else – despite some of their workers or volunteers feeling otherwise – and this will likely be a genuine attempt to crack down on the problem.
QP: The Bob Rae farewell tour
It was Bob Rae’s last QP as interim leader, while news of some kind of Conservative backbench revolt had fizzled out. With Thomas Mulcair still off in Labrador, it was up to Megan Leslie to lead off QP, asking about the tax increases in the budget. In response, Stephen Harper insisted that the NDP would raise taxes even more — apparently implicitly saying that the increases in the budget are okay in comparison. Charlie Angus was up next, bringing up the finding of the Ethics Commissioner with regard to the finding of Jay Hill. Tony Clement explained that they referred the matter to the Ethics Commissioner in the first place, and they strengthened the law in the first place. And then it was Bob Rae’s turn, for which he got an ovation by the entire House to mark the occasion. Rae hit out at the NDP and their disapproval of Keystone XL, and wondered why Harper wouldn’t lead a “Team Canada” delegation of supportive MPs and premiers to Washington in order to advocate for the pipeline. Harper said that they were already working hard, and that he wished he had such good ideas earlier.
Roundup: On being anti-trade and avoiding another round of austerity
Economist Stephen Gordon has taken a second look at the budget, and declares that with higher tariffs on more countries, and tighter restrictions on foreign investment in Canada, the government is really more anti-trade than it lets on. He also calls out the logic about how the “preferential tariff” was some kind of a subsidy if its elimination means Canadian taxpayers end up paying more. Over in Hong Kong, Jim Flaherty says that the issue of the increased tariffs have not yet been raised, but closer to home, his plan to return to the issue of a single national securities regulator is still not getting a lot of traction from the more recalcitrant provinces. The NDP, meanwhile, have decided to call in the RCMP about the budget “leaks” that appeared in the media in the lead-up as part of the government communications strategy.
Roundup: Exit Garneau
In a surprising move, Marc Garneau decided to up sticks and pull out of the Liberal leadership race. The assumptive number two challenger who was providing a lot of the heft in the race did the math and figured that he wasn’t going to be able to win, so it was time to be a loyal soldier and support Justin Trudeau – never mind the number of attacks he launched at him in the past few weeks, and his comments about his lack of depth. Mind you, he probably did Trudeau a lot of good by giving him some good practice for the kinds of attacks that will be launched at him should he win the race and have to face the Commons daily. Oh, but wait, the other challengers said – a preferential ballot where all of the ridings are weighted equally may mean that a sheer numerical advantage may be blunted. Well, maybe. I’m also sure that David Bertschi, who should have sashayed away a long time ago, is overjoyed that he’s no longer in eight place, and that he’s now gaining momentum. Chantal Hébert notes that this exit may have saved Garneau from a humiliating defeat where Joyce Murray might have overtaken him as she has a kind of “ballot box” issue to run on, where Garneau didn’t really. Paul Wells looks to the coming Trudeau Years, and what will likely be two years of people complaining about what a disappointment he’s been as leader. Andrew Coyne looks at how actual party memberships seem to have evaporated under the new “supporter” category, making the party little more than a personality cult that exists more in theory than in practice. Oh, and the party brass acceded to Trudeau’s request to extend the deadline by an extra week in order to work out all of the “technical glitches” with getting all of their supporters registered to vote.
Roundup: No end in sight to protests
While Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence continues to insist that the GG and PM meet with all of the chiefs, here is a reminder of the role that the GG played at the last Crown-First Nations gathering – basically the introductory speech, and then left. In other words, not at the table for the working portion, nor should he ever be. Meanwhile, the PMO says that they’ll be following up with National Chief Shawn Atleo on a follow-up meeting in the coming weeks, and have no intention of calling another big meeting with the GG. Apparently this means that the protests will continue. And the fact that NDP MP Charlie Angus is buying into Spence’s constitutional relativism and encouraging the GG’s participation in order to “draw down the rhetoric” is not only disheartening, it’s constitutionally irresponsible. I guess the “democratic” in New Democratic Party means that Responsible Government can be tossed away on a whim, and that we are subject to the whims of an activist monarch. Because that’s what he’s encouraging.
QP: New MP, same questions
The calendar running out, and so many things left to bat the government with, it was going to be another fairly testy QP, but before things could get underway, the business or the House paused so that newly elected NDP MP Murray Rankin could be brought into the a chamber to take his seat. When QP got underway, Thomas Mulcair read off a trio of questions about when the government would be clarifying the Investment Canada Act, per the NDP opposition day motion yesterday which the Conservatives agreed to. Harper responded that they already clarified the rules last Friday when they drew the line in the sand around state-owned enterprises — hence why they voted for said motion. Mulcair carried on, asking a pair of questions on the F-35s, and why there were no regional industrial benefits. Harper assured him of the Seven-Point Plan™, and named several companies in Montreal that are benefitting from subcontracts for the plane’s construction. Bob Rae was up next, and pressed about the cost figures for the F-35 purchase. Harper went back to the Seven-Point Plan™, and reminded Rae that when you keep lengthening the service lifetime that the costs will also keep rising.