Roundup: Decrying unfairness while ignoring logic

Posted on by

As the countdown to Kinder Morgan’s deadline for some kind of reassurance around the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion draws near, we’re starting to see a lot of angry commentary from Western conservatives, and not all of it is very well thought out. Yesterday, former Wildrose leader Brian Jean took to the Financial Postto say that Alberta needs to demand a “fairer deal” from Canada…but made a litany of errors and misrepresentations, and gaps in the logic of his own conclusions. Andrew Leach laid out many of them here:

I would add that Jean also disingenuously ignored the fact that the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the Northern Gateway process didn’t adequately consult the First Nations to a constitutional standard, which was entirely the fault of the Harper government and not Trudeau. And for his complaints around Energy East, he also ignored the fact that while the NEB said that they would look at downstream emissions as part of their analysis, Cabinet broadcast that their criteria for approval had not changed, and it did not include those emissions profiles. It also ignores the economics of the situation, that Energy East was the most expensive option now that Trans Mountain and Keystone XL had been approved. It also gives the false notion that it would allow Alberta oil to flow to Eastern refineries for the sake of “energy security” when those refineries are not built to handle the kind of heavy crude that Alberta exports, and thus the majority of it would not wind up in Canadian gas tanks. But hey, why do facts matter when you’re trying to stir up anger?

And anger over equalization is so easy to stir up when you constantly misrepresent the issue. It’s not a cheque that the province hands over – it comes mostly out of personal income taxes. It’s a federal programme, and the reason Alberta pays more into it and doesn’t get it is because Albertans have the highest incomes in the country, and the fiscal capacity that their government can offer the same level of services as other provinces without crippling taxes. And when Premier Moe starts tweeting about “shipping out” equalization dollars, I think it’s fair to ask if he thinks that his province wants either the lower incomes or the reduced fiscal capacity that it would take for them to be a net receiver of equalization. (Note: He does have a point about the rail backlogs, and the federal government could have taken measures to deal with that months ago if they so chose). But seriously – these equalization/fair deal gripes are not grounded in fact or logic, and we need to remind people of that.

Good reads:

  • While in Calgary, Justin Trudeau defending the handling of the Trans Mountain issue, citing that he knows there’s no magic phrase that will mollify his critics.
  • A “major update” on the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is due for this morning.
  • Trudeau allegedly told Donald Trump that they could have a NAFTA deal right away if they set aside some of their demands; Mexico doubts it will happen this week.
  • Measures tucked into the budget implementation bill would reduce some criminal sanctions on certain white-collar crimes in the interests of more self-reporting.
  • Chrystia Freeland says she’s personally committed to restoring Canada’s capacity with monitoring foreign elections after this government let that capacity atrophy.
  • Some 1500 applications for Canada Summer Jobs grants were declined as a result of the attestation issue. (Note: the program was also expanded this year).
  • The government won’t say why they rejected a marine safety concern raised by the BC government in 2016 around the Trans Mountain pipeline.
  • The issue of solitary confinement continues to dog the government, as they face the courts on one side and prison guard unions on the other.
  • After one professor took ten years to get an Access to Information complaint resolved, the new Information Commissioner reiterates her need for resources.
  • Here’s a look at an RCMP officer who is claiming that the Force was spying on him, which may have meant they were also spying on journalists and lawyers.
  • A number of high-profile Canadians, many of them Conservatives, have contributed to VADM Mark Norman’s defence fund.
  • Here’s more about that fired Senate staffer who was trying to get independent senators to delay the marijuana legalization bill.
  • Here’s a look at the sudden re-emergence of Stephen Harper, both in public utterances and as a bogeyman for the Liberals.
  • The NDP wants to haul the National Gallery before committee to answer about the aborted Chagall sale, never mind that they’re arm’s length from government.
  • Susan Delacourt wonders whether Bill Morneau is more thin-skinned than Harper was given his threatening insurance groups and freezing out the CFIB.
  • My column tries to hold back the despair as people are looking to vote on an attitude rather than a plan in Ontario (but also elsewhere in Canadian politics).

Help Routine Proceedings expand. Support my Patreon.