Roundup: A dubiously predicted rejection

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There are days when the Senate bat-signal shines in the sky, and I’m likely to sigh and say “Oh, you again.” And it’s one of those times, wherein the Hill Times writes a screaming headline about Liberal senators saying they’ll oppose an appointed Government Leader, only for the story to be about one unnamed Senate Liberal source (not even necessarily a senator) saying that they might objet to an appointment, but no one really knows because it’s all up in the air. So, chalk another one up for hyperbole without any real basis for it. Now, it does seem like there are some issues that need to be sorted, such as whether they count as a Recognized Party for budget reasons when it comes to leadership, but that would seem to me to be an issue that they could solve internally as the Senate is self-governing. And for sure, the sense of uncertainty amongst Senate Liberals is likely getting frustrating because I’m sure they’d like to know if there will be things like Senate Question Period still carrying on without a member of the government to hold to account, or how they will shepherd government bills through the Chamber, or even how they will organise seating (as there really isn’t a government and opposition side any longer), but again, it’s all up in the air. One does hope that the Liberals on the Commons side will start getting more communicative about what’s going on, seeing as having a functioning Parliament would be a good thing to get sorted, but it seems that we have to remain patient a little longer. Hyperbolic headlines don’t help.

Good reads:

  • At the COP21 Summit in Paris, Trudeau not only gave the “Canada’s Back™” speech, he reiterated his commitment to a clean tech fund, while Brad Wall dissents.
  • Stéphane Dion is off to Brussels to meet with NATO officials over the mission in Iraq, the situation in Libya, and the proxy war in Ukraine.
  • Jordan has offered to lease jets to help transport refugees to Canada; they could start arriving as early as next week.
  • Here are the four candidates for Speaker, to be voted in on Thursday.
  • The Davie Shipyard contract for refitting a temporary supply ship for the Royal Canadian Navy is going ahead.
  • The niqab ban court challenges cost the government $420,000.
  • The changes to Access to Information laws the Liberals are promising won’t happen until next year.
  • Some of Hillary Clinton’s emails show that she could see the animosity that public servants had for the Harper government.
  • Hiring ministerial staff is taking a while (not unreasonably), while the Liberals bring in a code of conduct for ministerial staff.
  • Jennifer Robson looks at the political economy of the staffer labour market.
  • Stephen Gordon tries to come to grips on what a “modest” deficit is, and whether the Liberals are still headed for one.

Odds and ends:

Mauril Bélanger has withdrawn from the Speaker’s race after being diagnosed with ALS. He will continue as an MP.

Newfoundland and Labrador has a new Liberal government.

Here’s an interesting look at how Birks botched the Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau brooch loan, and how brands have to navigate the rules with political outfits.