The Commons Board of Internal Economy met yesterday, briefly, but came to no resolutions about NDP satellite offices because an hour before the meeting, the NDP delivered more documents that the committee didn’t have time to consider. And meanwhile, Peter Julian put on a big dog and pony show about the “Kangaroo Court” that is the Board, and how they want it opened up, and so on. And that’s really where the whole narrative falls apart. This tactic of releasing more documents just before the meeting smacks to me of the same thing they tried when Mulcair was called before committee, where they produced untranslated documents – something they know won’t be distributed (and usually they are the first to complain, given their Quebec-heavy caucus). And then they want the doors thrown open, so that they can put on the same demonstration of obfuscation and bafflegab that Mulcair did at committee, where he not only talked around his answers, but made untrue allegations under the protection of parliamentary privilege (lest we forget the falsehoods about Conservatives co-locating party and MP offices), all the while every NDP staffer was on Twitter proclaiming that “this is what transparency looks like.” Indeed it was. That they rather transparently want to do the very same thing at Internal Economy makes it seem all the more reasonable for the other parties to say no. Thrown into this are their demands that the Auditor General audit everybody – in order to spread blame around – and demands that Internal Economy be blown up and replaced with a more open body (thus providing yet another ground for partisan showmanship, and depriving MPs and administration a place for full and frank discussion about administrative matters) all smacks of one thing – distraction sauce. Delicious, delicious distraction sauce. You’ll pardon me if I prefer my sauce on the side.
Oh, and while we’re on the subject, the NDP want the Commons to help them with their legal fees – as they sue the Board of Internal Economy after they were ordered to repay thousands of dollars for those improper mailings. Slow clap, everyone.
There are complaints by some media outlets that the Senate won’t publicly release the 13 claims made by Mike Duffy that are now before the courts (though one wonders if it needs authorization for those to be released and, well, the committee that could authorize it is not exactly in Ottawa right now). Rosemary Barton digs into the contract that Duffy made with an old friend, where money was further funnelled to other individuals, and has led to eight of the charges he now faces. Stephen Harper says that he likely won’t testify as he “doesn’t have any useful information to offer.” Um, okay.
Speaking of Duffy, it sounds like he has been in touch with the woman in Peru who claims to be his daughter, but they aren’t saying much more than that. Her lawyer previously said that Duffy should show a “clear example of morals and ethics” by either acknowledging her, or providing a DNA sample to disprove her claims.
Lobster processors are having a difficult time filling vacancies in peak season, seeing as it’s a seasonal industry when people are largely employed doing the fishing. Funny that. As well, the population is aging, making finding new workers more difficult, and with the government capping Temporary Foreign Worker levels, despite the peak season shortages, it’s going to cause major problems within the industry, and they will be replacing more workers with machines. But remember – a one-size-fits-all approach is needed!
At the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia, one of the conclusions is that legalizing prostitution would curb HIV transmission, since sex workers would be less marginalized, more readily seek treatment, and be more empowered to insist on condom usage. Not that this government believes in any form of harm reduction.
Leona Aglukkaq took potshots at Greenpeace during her speech to the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s general assembly.
The four by-elections at the end of last year provided some pretty big financial boosts for the ridings in question, which shouldn’t really be a surprise, but the NDP made big financial gains in Toronto Centre, just as the Liberals did in Brandon–Souris.
In tracking the recent spate of Conservative MPs’ Wikipedia pages being scrubbed, we find that Shelly Glover’s staff deleted references to her dispute with Elections Canada, and then owned up to it saying that the information was inaccurate and improperly sourced. Not that this looks any better for Glover.
And as it’s now summer, columnists like Michael Den Tandt can idly speculate about a future Conservative leadership race. Because summer.