Roundup: A precipitous climbdown

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In an attempt to head off a day full of useless circular discussion around the process of the electoral reform discussion, the Liberals offered an epic climbdown and accepted the NDP’s gamed committee configuration, giving up their perfectly legitimate committee control and then patting themselves on the back for looking reasonable for backing down. Trudeau went so far as to say that they felt like they were looking too much like the previous Conservative government, and decided to take a different tone, with all of the usual platitudes about working together and cooperation and so on. Which is a nice sentiment, and they get all of these plaudits for looking reasonable and like grown-ups, but I wonder if they haven’t given up their ability to put their foot down in the future when they need to, lest the process spin out of control, as these things are wont to do. Nevertheless, I will reiterate that this is not any kind of reasonable compromise. In fact, there are a few reactions that sum up my feelings pretty well.

https://twitter.com/inklesspw/status/738384990463918081

https://twitter.com/robert_hiltz/status/738409956865642496

And Hiltz is bang on. The Liberals have walked into the NDP’s trap, and this whole process, already a gong show, has just become an even bigger one. The Conservatives are completely apoplectic with outrage, claiming that there was a “backroom deal” to get this deal (when that really doesn’t seem to be the case if you look at how it was unveiled and how the NDP were just as surprised by it). So while the howls for a referendum will continue, and the bogus “proportional” arguments will ring through the back-patting on this whole sordid affair, I will just reiterate this particular sentiment.

Good reads:

  • Apparently the Liberals’ new no-applause policy came from caucus rather than the leadership. The NDP and Conservatives petulantly don’t want to play along.
  • Former public safety minister Anne McLellan will head the marijuana legalisation task force.
  • The Information Commissioner has spanked Correctional Services Canada for their Access to Information practices.
  • Conservatives are grousing that the Liberals are ramming Mauril Bélanger’s anthem bill through the process (and they kind of have a point).
  • Ralph Goodale says that a border sharing agreement with the Americans would be torn up if they started abusing the private data they receive.
  • CSE has accidentally been leaking private data to our allies along with metadata, and the agency needs new legislation to modernise their mandate.
  • People think that Stéphane Dion should have said something when the Chinese foreign minister chastised that journalist, and that the relationship is in trouble.
  • Here’s a long read about advance directives and their lack of inclusion in the assisted dying legislation.

Odds and ends:

More stories from former Press Gallery journalist Helen Brimmell (who was a delight to interview – look for that later today).