Roundup: Scheer’s milquetoast response

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While Maxime Bernier’s Twitter missives continue to roll along, accusing Indigenous communities of playing the victim card and making some pointed remarks about the dedication of a Winnipeg park to the founder of Pakistan (on the date of Pakistan’s national independence), the calls for his ouster have started to mount, particularly from the Liberal side of the aisle – which won’t do much. Within the Conservative ranks, Senator Salma Ataullahjan is calling Bernier out for his divisive rhetoric, and said she planned to talk to Andrew Scheer about how poorly this is playing within the Pakistani-Canadian community that she has been reaching out to for the party. Scheer finally did issue a statement on Wednesday evening, and it was about as milquetoast as you can imagine.

The fact that Scheer didn’t actually condemn Bernier’s statement, and the fact that he immediately engaged in both-sidesism to condemn identity politics “on the left and the right” seems to fit with the fact that this particular kind of shitposting by members of his party is not only tolerated, but is the modus operandi of their current communications strategy. The fact that Scheer is using the same language about identity politics that Bernier is using certainly makes it sound like he’s more than just winking to them about the kind of dog-whistling that they’re engaging in. Whether this is because Scheer is afraid of alienating Bernier’s base within the party, or because Scheer himself sees this kind of footsie with xenophobes as a way of trying to keep the more intolerant section of the base mollified remains to be seen. Still – his choice of language, and his refusal to actually deal with the substance of Bernier’s comments is deliberate and simply raises far more questions than it answers.

https://twitter.com/robert_hiltz/status/1029871106507898881

https://twitter.com/robert_hiltz/status/1029890459089416192

https://twitter.com/InklessPW/status/1029868048440643584

https://twitter.com/InklessPW/status/1029887527245701120

Meanwhile, Chantal Hébert wonders why Bernier is bringing up this fight when it’s even gone dormant in the Quebec provincial election, and wonders if it’s a dare to Scheer to discipline him when he may be the more popular figure in the party. It’s a good question, and Bernier certainly seems to be aiming for a fight at the upcoming convention.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau says he’s “listening” about a handgun ban. Ralph Goodale says they’re considering banning assault rifles and handguns “in certain locations.”
  • The federal government is floating the idea of making a statutory holiday to mark the Residential Schools tragedy as part of ongoing reconciliation efforts.
  • In light of accusations that the Liberals only engaged in Twitter diplomacy with Saudi Arabia, CBC got the receipts that they’ve been doing real diplomacy all along.
  • Catherine McKenna (who is responsible for Parks Canada and national monuments) says tearing down statues isn’t the answer, but better telling of history is the key.
  • McKenna also warns that climate change will mean more sewage leaks into waterways because of flash storms.
  • Bill Blair says the government will consider restricting pill presses to help combat the opioid epidemic.
  • The government will appeal the court decision that allows charities to do unlimited political activity (this may be for case law reasons), while new legislation is pending.
  • The Liberals are talking about doing a “refresh” of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, and that has Irving Shipyards nervous.
  • A Winnipeg company will be supplying sniper rifles to Ukraine.
  • PCO won’t release diversity statistics on senior public servants because fewer than 10 of 85 top positions are visible minorities (thus triggering privacy concerns).
  • All of the major federal parties insist they’re boosting their cyber-security, but federal legislation is still needed.
  • Here’s a deeper dive into the policy resolutions for the upcoming Conservative convention.
  • Jagmeet Singh has been touring Quebec to try and bolster party fortunes there.
  • James Bowden takes us through the history of “snap elections” in Canada (since the pundit class seems all hot and bothered about one).
  • Lawyer Solomon Friedman takes Shannon Stubbs to task for her tweets about Justice John Norris’ appointment to the bench.

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