One of the cheapest attacks in Question Period on any given day is the rhetorical device where an opposition member laments that no member of the government benches from any given province will stand up to defend their province from whichever government programme they’re feeling aggrieved about. It’s one of those questions that seems largely directed to the backbenches, as if they were actually permitted to respond to questions (they can’t), but the questioner will always claim that it’s directed to members of cabinet from that province. And sometimes members of cabinet from that province will respond – witness Ralph Goodale taking Conservatives from Saskatchewan to school over carbon pricing denunciations, and yesterday, it was the NDP trying to needle Liberal MPs from BC over the approval of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline despite the fact that there was some vocal disagreement from Liberal MPs. And of course, in true partisan fashion, NDP MPs started tweeting out nonsense like this:

https://twitter.com/r_garrison/status/804054400926892033

Liberal MPs have been public in their disappointment. Public dissent from other parties is exceedingly rare. https://t.co/7dnsrBD1Zj

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) November 30, 2016

But what’s throwing them for a loop is the fact that Trudeau is letting these MPs go public with their disappointment. There were no gag orders, they put out statements on their websites and Facebook pages, and they didn’t shy away from the press during caucus ins and outs yesterday, and even went on the political shows to express said disappointment. And it bears repeating that this is actually a shocking development because the PM is allowing members of his own party to have some public dissent rather than demand absolute lockstep agreement in public or so-so-solidarity on all things. *cough*NDP*cough* We haven’t seen this in Canadian politics in a long while. Usually when disagreements over regional issues get bad, we see things like Bill Casey leaving the Conservatives in protest (and eventually, a couple of election cycles later, crossing to the Liberals and getting re-elected under that banner). Rather, Trudeau is openly acknowledging the dissent and making moves to placate them in public and not behind the caucus room door. While one may criticise him for a great many things in the way that he has managed his caucus since becoming leader (including a great deal of centralization of power), I will give him points for the way this is being handled. I sincerely doubt that if this were happening under any other party that they would broker for any public dissent on the file.

Good reads:

• The electoral reform committee report is due today, and Kady O’Malley gives us a look at what the next steps for that report will likely be.
• Committee deliberations on the national-security-committee-of-parliamentarians legislation are getting heated.
• Senator Runciman’s bill on bail reform is getting the cold shoulder from the government (which is becoming a demonstrable pattern).
• The CBC tries to stir up some really petty cheap outrage on Senate expenses, but can’t even get some basic facts like Art Bank rentals right.
• The Canadian Judicial Council recommended that Justice Robin Camp (of “knees together” infamy) be relieved as a judge.
• Here’s an interesting (and disturbing) read about the economics of superbugs and developing new antibiotics.
• Some of Kellie Leitch’s constituents are turning against her because of her leadership campaign tactics.
• Kevin O’Leary continues to talk to Conservative organizers in a potential run-up to a leadership bid.
• Stephen Saideman digs a little deeper into the “interim” Super Hornet issue and why the number of needed fighters has been on the rise.
• Colby Cosh calls out the naked self-interest in Ed Broadbent’s claim that only PR can prevent a Canadian Donald Trump.

Odds and ends:

It turns out that the new polymer banknotes contain tallow, which has British vegetarians up in arms (and may soon migrate to Canada).

Over at iPolitics, I attended the announcement of a $1.5 million donation to the Ottawa Art Gallery, and the Consumer Technology Association’s Hill showcase.