Roundup: A summer stunt

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With the new Cabinet in place and a new trade minister now in the portfolio, Andrew Scheer decided that yesterday was the day to engage in a political stunt and demand that Parliament be recalled in the middle of summer in order to pass the enabling legislation for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Astute observers may recall that the Conservatives made a couple of attempts before the Commons rose for the summer to pass the bill at all stages with zero debate or committee study, but were rebuffed both times. Now they want Parliament to sit over the summer in order to pass it expeditiously.

There are, of course, a few problems with this demand. First of all, Ottawa is a virtual ghost town at this time of year, as a sizeable portion of the population (and most especially the civil service) is off at some cottage somewhere, and very little is getting done. You want to ensure there’s a revolt, then cancel everyone’s vacations. A number of workers on Parliament Hill, such as those who work in the Parliamentary Restaurant, get laid off over the summer, so rehiring them for a few days or a week would be a giant logistical nightmare. Not to mention, you’re going to have a tonne of cranky MPs who are hot and sticky in humid Ottawa, who are will spend the time grousing that they have work to do in their consitutencies (especially with an election a little over a year away). This especially includes Scheer’s own MPs. Add to that, Scheer says that the Commons needs to move now because there’s no guarantee how long the Senate will take with this – err, except if his own senators offer to play ball with the other senators and come to an agreement on a timeline for the bill, then it’s more of an empty threat.

The government, mind you, shot down this proposal because it’s a blatant stunt, but that left the Conservatives the day to start tweeting sanctimoniously over Twitter about how they’re willing to get to work but the Liberals aren’t. (Seriously guys, this game will bite you in the ass before you know it). And then there’s the kicker – Scheer made this demand, then rebuffed the media requests and said he’s off for holidays for the next two weeks, thus cementing the fact that this was all a stunt. Slow clap, guys. But I guess it’s a way to try and capture the news cycle for the day.

Meanwhile, here’s Philippe Lagassé to school you on how most people don’t it right when they talk about treaty ratification in our parliamentary system.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau has called for a First Ministers’ meeting in the fall to talk internal trade (but you can bet carbon taxes will be on the table).
  • Stephen Harper was caught on tape saying that he thinks the Trudeau government is preventing a NAFTA deal to score political points off of Trump.
  • Doug Ford says his government will be an intervenor in Saskatchewan’s court reference against a federal carbon tax. Good luck with that losing battle.
  • CBSA is set to unveil new measures that will serve as alternatives to immigration detention, much of it includes community monitoring and GPS devices.
  • Amarjeet Sohi says the government hasn’t found a buyer for Trans Mountain yet, but the government doesn’t plan to own it for very long.
  • An auto industry thinktank gave a look at what Trump tariffs on autos would do to jobs and the economy on both sides of the border.
  • The Senate social affairs committee released a report on forced adoptions of “illegitimate” children post-World War II in Canada.
  • A former public servant involved in a “spy scandal” is trying to sue the government for allegedly breaching her confidentiality and revoking her security clearance.
  • The independent investigator cleared NDP MP Christine Moore of “sexual harassment or abuse of authority.” Her accuser stands by his story.
  • Colby Cosh looks at the problem that the Ontario Superior Court handed the government with their ruling over charities engaging in political activity.
  • While Andrew MacDougall whines that Conservative rhetoric is being branded alt-right, Andray Domise wonders what else to call it given our country’s history.
  • Robert Hiltz notes the xenophobic rhetoric the Conservatives federally and provincially are turning to, and why that’s a sign of dark times ahead.

Programming Note: I’m taking the next week off (more or less), while I have the chance. Be excellent to each other while I’m offline.

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One thought on “Roundup: A summer stunt”

  1. Harper….great name eh! continues his agenda. Remember, this is the fellow that said that Canada would never be the same after him. I am not sorry to name him a backstabber.
    As for his successor Scheer, instead of being disingenuous ,a little policy once in a while would be nice. That would be better than a grin. Hope he has a good vacation and he stays away from a mike for a while.

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