Roundup: A rare apology

Posted on by

A trio of Justin Trudeau-related items in the news today, which makes me want to look at them together. The first incident of note was actually last in chronological order, but to me it seemed most significant, which is the fact that during Question Period yesterday, Trudeau stood up and apologised for having told reporters on Wednesday that opposition party obstruction was to blame for why a committee on electoral reform was not yet up and running, and pledged that he was still serious about the topic. I’m not sure that we ever saw Stephen Harper apologise, nor would we ever see it because that was a man who was not only determined to always be seen to be right, but he also had a particularly obstinate streak that made him dig his heels in rather than be proven to be wrong. Most often this was around the inappropriate behaviours of cabinet ministers, and rather than have them step down over wrongdoing, Harper would keep them in position well past the time that the heat was on them, and only shuffle them once the attention was elsewhere so it didn’t look like he was capitulating to demands of the reporters. Trudeau on the other hand owned up to what he had said, apologised, promised to do better, and even applauded when the MP who called him out made a slightly clever dig about it in his follow-up question. It was a show of humility and accountability that we are unused to seeing here. The second incident of note was after his speech on Fort McMurray at the start of the day, during Statements by Ministers (a practice in Routine Proceedings that the Conservatives had virtually allowed to fall into complete disuse). Rona Ambrose rose to give remarks in reply, and got emotional during it, and once she finished speaking, Trudeau was quick to cross the aisle to give her a quick hug – again, something that cold fish Harper was loathe to do, and only once gave awkward hugs around speeches related to either an MP’s passing or the attack on Parliament Hill (I forget which and tried to find a reference but couldn’t – forgive me). Trudeau remains a master of the humanizing gesture that helps to civilise politics in a way that we have become unused to after a decade of angry sound and fury. The third item of note had to do with a point of order raised after QP, when Blake Richards accused Trudeau of sticking his tongue out during a question raised by Diane Watts about P3 projects. Nobody but Richards seems to have witnessed this, but we do know that Trudeau does occasionally possess an irreverent side. Did he stick his tongue out? Maybe. Is it the end of the world if he did? Hardly, and in the theatrics of QP, it’s a bit tiresome but does raise the spectre of the “fuddle duddle” incident, if only less profane.

Good reads:

  • Senator Duffy spoke his first words since returning at committee on the assisted dying bill pre-study. Perhaps this time around he will take his duties more seriously.
  • One of the lawyers at the centre of the assisted dying decision says the bill before parliament does not meet the Supreme Court’s Charter requirements.
  • The Liberals announced their first stage of changes to Access to Information laws, as well as consultations around Canada Post service levels.
  • Justin Trudeau has chosen a new National Security Advisor, and it’s a former deputy minister with a foreign affairs and not a security services background.
  • The Senate’s proactive disclosure requirements are getting even more stringent.
  • Mauril Bélanger’s bill on gender neutral lyrics to O Canada comes up for debate today, and his supporters are trying to get enough votes to pass it.
  • A pair of cases before the Supreme Court of Canada could undo the entire military justice system in this country.
  • CRA officials were testifying in committee about the KPMG deal.
  • NDP fundraising numbers are plunging, and former Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton is also reportedly considering a leadership bid.
  • Kady O’Malley delves further into the time allocation issue on the doctor-assisted dying bill.
  • Suzanne Legault talks about the importance of Access to Information, and how the previous government tried to create memory holes in legislation.
  • Jen Gerson unpacks the notion of “karma” being the cause of the wildfire threatening Fort McMurray.

Odds and ends:

Cheryl Gallant continues to Cheryl Gallant… In so many ways.

The Senate’s social media site profiles another of its procedural clerks.

Over in the UK, here are some of Speaker Bercow’s greatest hits.