Roundup: Yes, governing is political

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Your best political read of the weekend was a Twitter essay from Philippe Lagassé, so I’ll leave you to it.

https://twitter.com/pmlagasse/status/569515068326457344

https://twitter.com/pmlagasse/status/569515450780020736

https://twitter.com/pmlagasse/status/569515909972434945

https://twitter.com/pmlagasse/status/569516334192701440

https://twitter.com/pmlagasse/status/569516761273532418

https://twitter.com/pmlagasse/status/569517336677507073

https://twitter.com/pmlagasse/status/569517603938369536

https://twitter.com/pmlagasse/status/569517862274142209

https://twitter.com/pmlagasse/status/569518893456171008

https://twitter.com/pmlagasse/status/569530939325296641

https://twitter.com/pmlagasse/status/569531442990088193

https://twitter.com/pmlagasse/status/569532019685908480

https://twitter.com/pmlagasse/status/569532280991055872

Lagassé, who was part of the fighter jet replacement options analysis task force, reminded us then as reminds us now that we need to stop behaving like we should be in a technocracy, that there are political considerations and debates that need to be had, and that ministers decide things for which there is always a political calculation. This is not a bad thing, though we may disagree with the final decision. The great thing is that we can hold those who made the decisions to account – something you can’t really do in a technocracy, so can we please stop pretending that it’s the way our system is supposed to operate?

Good reads:

  • A former premier of Newfoundland and Labrador is upset that the Senate’s plans to memorialise the site of the “Kitchen Accord” is lending credence to constitutional mythology.
  • Michael Chong’s amended Reform Act is set to pass, despite the fact that it’s a frighteningly terrible bill. (I’ll write more about that in tomorrow’s column).
  • Public service executives are going to be included in the same short-term disability plans as the rest of the public service in sick day reform plans.
  • PEI has a new Liberal leader who will likely soon become premier (despite not having a seat), and hey, he’s openly gay!
  • The National Research Council was aware that they were hacked at least three weeks before the informed stakeholders, in part to get their communications plan right.
  • The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is still trying to get MPs to accept stricter disclosure limits, but they’re not jumping at it.
  • The Liberals want a special committee to start studying a law on doctor-assisted dying, and for them to have results by mid-summer so that the next parliament can begin work on the law after the election.

Odds and ends:

The government’s plan to fast-track veterans into the civil service has hit another snag, this time around pensions.

Former Prime Minister John Turner once romanced Princess Margaret, and apparently nearly married her.

Patricia Treble has the story of how RCMP Musical Ride horses wound up at the opening of Canada House in London.