Roundup: Cynical procedural gamesmanship

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Thursday night’s tantrum vote-a-thon ended mid-morning on Friday, long before it was supposed to have run its course, and no, the government didn’t capitulate and turn over that report that the Conservatives have been portraying as some kind of smoking gun for months now. No, after hours of high-minded exhortations that this, on the anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, was about no taxation without information, or that this was some kind of cover-up by the government intent on raising the cost of living for everyone, they decided to pull the plug as soon as the clock struck ten. Why? Because at that point, it would be too late to start Friday sitting hours in the Commons, and thus cancelling the day’s planned debates around the cannabis bill (where they would have finalized debate on the Senate amendments and send it back to the Upper Chamber). It is probably one of the most cynical procedural stunts that I have seen in all of my time on the Hill, dressed up as bringing attention to the so-called “carbon tax cover-up,” which is itself a cynical disinformation campaign.

Worst of all was the hours of sanctimonious social media warfare that was sustained throughout it, whether it was the Conservatives dressing this up as some righteous fight over the refusal to release the information (which, let’s be clear, was apparently a projection based on the campaign platform that would mean nothing given that the carbon pricing plans will be implemented by provinces, and where the revenues will be recycled by those provinces and is largely irrelevant to the discussion), or the Liberals crying that the Conservatives were keeping them away from Eid celebrations in their ridings (so much so that Omar Alghabra accused the Conservatives of Islamophobia, and then the real wailing and gnashing of teeth started). It was so much self-righteous bullshit, and it made everyone look bad.

The Trinity Western decision

Yesterday the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the law societies of BC and Ontario could decide not to accredit the graduates of evangelical Trinity Western University’s proposed law school on the grounds that the mandatory covenant that students are expected to sign infringes on the rights of LGBT students, particularly because it mandates that any sexual activity they engage in must only be within the confines of a heterosexual marriage. Of course, it’s more technical than that, because it boils down to standards of reasonableness with the decision that the Law Societies as accrediting bodies can engage in, and I can’t pretend to understand the nuances of it all – but the very smart legal minds that I follow had some trouble wrapping their minds around it all as well, because the balancing of rights is a difficult issue. Some of the legal minds I follow felt this was one of the worst decisions in years, but I’m not sure how much of that is ideological either. It’s also worth noting that this was the last decision that former Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin participated in.

In reaction, here are three legal reactions to the decision, while Chris Selley worries about what it means for religious freedom, and Colby Cosh looks at what the decision means for the Supreme Court, paying particular attention to Justice Rowe’s concurring decision on the meaning of freedom of religion.

Good reads:

  • The US agriculture secretary is visiting Lawrence MacAulay’s family farm, and he assures us that the US doesn’t want to dismantle Supply Management. Really!
  • It looks like we will be acquiring 25 used F-18s from Australia, not 18, but the additional 7 will be used for parts (if we can get American approval).
  • It looks like General Vance tried to set up a “discreet” meeting with VADM Mark Norman shortly before the RCMP laid charges against Norman.
  • Justin Trudeau named Halifax businessman Colin Deacon to the Senate.
  • No, the government can’t kick Lynn Beyak out of the Senate. Stop asking them to.
  • Senators are recommending mandatory harassment training for all senators and staff.
  • Doug Ford says he’ll scrap Ontario’s cap-and-trade system (affecting carbon prices in California and Quebec). That just means that the federal carbon tax will apply.
  • Andrew Scheer penned a letter to Trudeau demanding a plan to stop irregular border crossers. Hussen responded that Scheer is peddling misinformation.
  • Conservatives are hoping that Quebec nationalists will help them win the Saguenay byelection on Monday.
  • The Mexican embassy is outraged that Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu linked Mexican visitors to Canada with members of drug cartels.
  • Conservative MP Tom Kmiec keeps trying to demand a study on the new mortgage stress tests, but the Liberals say it’s too early to have adequate data to study.
  • Following his ouster from shadow cabinet, Maxime Bernier made a fundraising plea and netted $30,000. So, victory?
  • Susan Delacourt ponders Donald Trump’s screen addiction, and how that may affect how we conduct relations with him.
  • Andrew Coyne tries to chart a middle path in dealing with the Trumpocalypse to get a NAFTA deal signed (if such a thing is even possible).
  • Martin Patriquin notes the addiction to outrage coming from both Trump and Andrew Scheer.
  • My weekend column looks at Maxime Bernier, party discipline, and Canada not doing shadow cabinets very well.

Odds and ends:

Given the state of diplomacy, Tristin Hopper explores whether Canada could get nuclear capabilities. Just in case.

Here’s an expanded look at the renovations to the West Block and the new, temporary House of Commons.

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