Roundup: Hung legislatures vs basic civics

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New Brunswick had an election on Monday night, and it resulted in a 22-21-3-3 hung legislature, and wouldn’t you just know it, there’s been some really awful reporting about it, because apparently people who report on politics in this country can’t be arsed to learn the basics of how Responsible Government works. Hence, we got reporters saying that people “don’t know who the premier is” – which is wrong, because it remains Brian Gallant as he hasn’t resigned – or that he would “get first crack to try and form a government” – he already has a government, but rather he will try to test the confidence of the Chamber – or another heinous offender was framing his meeting with the lieutenant governor as getting “permission” to test confidence, which is again wrong because the LG doesn’t grant permission. I’m also not crazy about framing the election as “inefficient votes” for the provincial Liberals because that implies that the popular vote is a real thing, when it’s a logical fallacy – it was not one election, but rather 49 separate elections that happened at the same time. This is basic civics, and yet our media is failing Canadians, so well done everyone.

https://twitter.com/PhilippeLagasse/status/1044537682427170817

https://twitter.com/PhilippeLagasse/status/1044539629687328768

What makes this particular election result interesting is the fact that there are two “third-parties,” each with three seats – the Green Party, and an anti-bilingualism populist party – that will have to prop up either the incumbent Liberals or the PCs, who won one more seat (so far as we know – there are several recounts now underway). That means that the election of a Speaker will be crucial, and word has it that the government is making offers to PC winners to try and get one of them to take up the post. Of course, one particular quirk of New Brunswick is that, well, their Speakers tend to be fairly partisan. So that could make things doubly interesting for the way things will play out in the weeks and months to come.

https://twitter.com/SkinnerLyle/status/1044762695554269184

Meanwhile, Paul Wells accurately describes the dynamics of the post-election period and how the LG will discharge her role, which is not to give permission. Susan Delacourt tries to tease out the effect of populism on this election, but along the way grossly mischaracterises the LG as having “waded into” the results and giving Gallant “the right” to stay on as premier, when that’s not how it works, and it’s disappointing that these myths keep getting traction.

Good reads:

  • While at the UN, Chrystia Freeland says she’ll meet with her Saudi counterpart to help resolve the ongoing diplomatic spat.
  • The US Trade Representative says that talks with Canada will continue even if we don’t reach a deal by this weekend’s deadline.
  • John Geddes has compiled a possible scenario about how NAFTA talks may play out over the next few months.
  • The government released its blueprint to help reinforce the WTO against Trump’s attacks against the organisation.
  • Jonathan Wilkinson says that the Southern resident killer whales will be a challenge for Trans Mountain approval, but points to measures they are already taking.
  • While Veterans Affairs changes its policy about providing benefits to incarcerated family members, there is a question as to whether that applies to Chris Garnier.
  • Transport Canada is contemplating buying used German drones to patrol the Arctic, but some observers say these drones are worthless.
  • Here’s some background as to why Wendy Mesley was so curious about whether Maxime Bernier has ties to the Koch brothers.
  • Rachel Notley is dispatching two ministers to demand amendments to the new environmental assessment bill, currently at the Senate.
  • Terry Glavin has a longread about how Canada helped get the White Helmets out of Syria ahead of their being wiped out by Assad’s forces.
  • David Reevely walks us through that Ernst & Young report on Ontario’s finances, and how it shows the Ford government will have a tough time finding cuts.
  • Colby Cosh looks at how Brad Trost’s losing battle to fight the party-imposed fine on his leadership campaign clarifies the law around the status of political parties.

Odds and ends:

The Canadian Space Agency issued a tender for companies to contribute to projects that could lead to future moon missions.

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One thought on “Roundup: Hung legislatures vs basic civics”

  1. Good point about how responsible government works and the 49 elections that are held, but I’d also point out that constitutional conventions are what people think they are…and most people tend to vote for parties and party leaders, not local candidates. Hence we get things like the 2008 prorogation crisis, wherein many Canadians were furious at Stéphane Dion’s possibly forming a minority government, since he didn’t “win” the election.

    That’s what leads to situations like King-Byng, wherein the letter of the constitution permits something, but the conventions that have emerged are something else entirely.

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