Roundup: More Bernier fallout

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Because we can’t stop talking about the Maxime Bernier “ouster,” if it can really be called that since it was more a demotion than anything, but it still got all of the tongues wagging, and all of the reporters cornering every Conservative they could find. And most of those Conservatives downplayed the whole thing, Erin O’Toole going so far as to say that hey, there are other shadow cabinet changes coming so no big deal. The underlying message was that Bernier “broke his word” about the book chapter, which is a semantic game, but given some of the various dynamics in play, it’s hard not to try and find additional drama into the whole affair.

https://twitter.com/InklessPW/status/1006872600994123777

That Rob Silver tweet may be even closer to home than most people want to admit. I have to say that there have been some pretty spectacular expectations heaped on Bernier, particularly because he speaks to a certain slice of the party, but perhaps in a more superficial way than they want to believe. After all, many of the Ayn Rand-readers are desperate to attach themselves to someone in the party who represents them (never mind that this isn’t a party of libertarians or even economic conservatives, but right-flavoured populists), so he was someone that they could pin those hopes to, ignoring a lot of what he actually said and did. His lack of judgment when he was foreign affairs minister under the Harper government was stunning, both in his intemperate comments in Afghanistan, or with the security of documents with his then-girlfriend. During the leadership campaign, he would sign off on social media campaigns that dogwhistling to MRAs before claiming he didn’t know about the connotations of “red pills” and so on (and knowing who was running that campaign, they couldn’t not know what it meant). And his constant self-promotion in opposition to Scheer post-leadership is another sign of poor judgment. And really, we shouldn’t discount this particular bit of reasoning.

In further analysis on the whole brouhaha, John Ivison keeps his ear to the ground in the caucus and wonders if Bernier’s ouster from shadow cabinet may force a rift in the party given how close the leadership vote was. Chantal Hébert notes that it was probably a matter of time before things with Bernier came to a head (as she suggests he’s not too well-liked among his Quebec colleagues) and that the by-election timing made it something Scheer couldn’t ignore. Andrew MacDougall sees this as a failing by Scheer to manage his caucus, not properly communicating with Bernier when necessary, and keeping him outside of the fold at a time when he should have drawn him in to get his cooperation on the issue at a time when it’s under attack by the likes of Trump. Andrew Coyne similarly sees this as a failing by Scheer, but for the fact that he has bought into the line that caucus must sing from a single song sheet, particularly on an indefensible policy like Supply Management. Colby Cosh sees not only political games from Bernier, but explicit quid pro quo from Scheer for his dairy supporters who (allegedly) put him over the top in the race (though I’m not sure we have any actual proof of this), and that those dairy lobbyists have successfully leveraged intra-party dynamics to their advantage.

Good reads:

  • Chrystia Freeland was in Washington to not only meet with congressional stakeholders and give a speech warning about trade wars. (More here).
  • Here’s a look at what a trade war could look like, from the “least bad” to worst-case scenarios. None of it is pretty for anyone’s economy.
  • The government agreed to some of the additional Senate amendments to the cannabis bill, but not all, but they actually gave reasons this time! They’re learning!
  • Lawrence MacAulay says there may yet be “tweaks” to Supply Management, so expect a further meltdown about this in QP for the next few weeks.
  • There is a plausible theory that Trump doesn’t want to dismantle Supply Management, because it would mean greater competition with Europe.
  • The government’s decision to lift the visa requirement for Romanians has seen a rise in organised crime activity from that country. The PM says he’s working on it.
  • Most Canadian dual-citizens affected by the US “repatriation tax” will get some temporary reprieve, and a legislative fix may be on the way.
  • The government says their new food safety regulations could lead to faster recalls in grocery stores.
  • Remember when the Canadian Forces tweeted their commitment to diversity when Trump announced his transgender soldier ban? Here’s the inside story of that tweet.
  • The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the psychological assessment system used by Correctional Services could be biased against Indigenous people.
  • There is all kinds of grousing in the Senate that certain senators are delaying the bill to end captivity of dolphins and whales.
  • Michelle Rempel is pushing for the government to put more resources into LGBT refugee resettlement, which is laudable.
  • With Rachel Notley as the only female premier left standing, here’s a further look at the problems around the longevity of women premiers in Canadian politics.
  • Here’s a look at PEI’s upcoming electoral reform referendum.

Odds and ends:

One company has been offering fraudulent DNA tests to prove Indigenous ancestry, partnering with another group offering fake status cards.

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2 thoughts on “Roundup: More Bernier fallout”

    • I was going by what the senators were telling me. I should have dug deeper. The lack of debate was another issue around the amendments, but I can see that it’s actually happening this time.

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