Roundup: A “grand coalition” is a terrible idea

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Over in New Brunswick, where there has been no movement on whether or not there will be a new government, we are being treated to such views as the suggestion that there should be a “grand coalition” between the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives in the province to…rise above partisan interests? Erm, well, leaving aside the fact that there is a lot of bad blood between the leaders and it’s never going to happen, I find the suggestion in and of itself utterly offensive. Why? Because our system depends on there being an opposition to hold the government to account. That’s the whole point of parliament after all – to hold government to account, and while backbenchers are supposed to play that role as well as the opposition, in practice it often doesn’t work that well because the incentives are rarely there when there are Cabinet posts to distribute and the fact that we’ve bastardized our leadership system so as to neuter caucus’ ability to hold their leaders to account. Such a “grand coalition” would mean that the province has an opposition comprised of two three-member parties, which would have to fight over who gets to be the Official Opposition, and would have a hard time doing the job of holding a massive coalition government to account.

Now, I will add that New Brunswick and its peculiar political culture once returned a legislature that was 100 percent Liberal and had zero opposition members, and they managed to make it work. Sort of. But it’s not a situation that anyone should want to repeat, because it’s a Very Bad Thing for democracy and the practice of Responsible Government. Opposition plays an important role, and I know that people don’t like it because the adversarial nature can become both theatrical (witness Question Period), but if members don’t take that theatricality to heart, it can become embittering – especially if there are few avenues for cross-partisan bonding. I don’t know enough about how that part of the political culture works in New Brunswick, but the diminishing avenues for such bonding in Ottawa has created a less collegial parliament than it used to be in years past, and that’s a problem.

https://twitter.com/SkinnerLyle/status/1052295726477312000

Meanwhile, the lieutenant governor is straying dangerously out of her lane in issuing statements warning the parties to come to a solution because she doesn’t think the province wants a new election, and that means also finding a Speaker. This shouldn’t be public, and I get that some people want transparency, but she shouldn’t be doing this – especially because it gives people the idea that she can boss around the premier, which she can’t actually do unless we want to undo 170 years of Responsible Government in this country. It’s especially bad if the parties are trying to play the LG and trying to force her hand in some way – which is the kind of gutless manoeuvre that we should expect from Canadian politicians who don’t like to be seen to be making unpopular decisions and will try to foist the blame onto someone else. This whole situation is distasteful, and everyone needs to grow up and behave like adults.

https://twitter.com/PhilippeLagasse/status/1052316915140423680

https://twitter.com/PhilippeLagasse/status/1052317982884425729

https://twitter.com/SkinnerLyle/status/1052335901366476800

Good reads:

  • First thing today, the federal government plans to announce their plans for pardons for those Canadians convicted of simple possession of cannabis.
  • The government tabled a bill yesterday to end solitary confinement in prisons in favour of “structured integration units” that will signal a culture shift in Corrections.
  • Chrystia Freeland admits that once the New NAFTA deal was reached, she laid down on the floor of the prime minister’s office out of exhaustion.
  • Bill Morneau insists that the government is acting in the face of criticisms over the tariff relief programme for businesses affected by steel and aluminium tariffs.
  • Scott Brison is defending himself against accusations of lobbying on behalf of the Irvings in VADM Mark Norman’s case, and Treasury Board officials back him up.
  • Canada Post is threatening a strike action to start Monday, which would have a big impact on all of those online cannabis orders.
  • The government could be picking its favoured design for the new surface combatants by the end of the month, at long last.
  • The Senate’s banking and trade committee is recommending immediate corporate tax cuts and broad-based tax reform to maintain competitiveness.
  • The NCC says it needs $83 million over ten years to fix up not only 24 Sussex, but also Harrington Lake and the Farm at Kingsmere (aka the Speaker’s residence).
  • Here’s a look at five upcoming Supreme Court of Canada cases to keep an eye on.
  • The former ambassador to Saudi Arabia is vigorously defending the sale of those LAVs to the kingdom.
  • Here is more context to that “Jihadi Jack” accusation Scheer made in QP, plus news of other Canadian foreign fighters being held, and the challenge of charging them.
  • Ontario’s Financial Accountability Officer says that killing cap and trade will cost the province some $3 billion in revenues.
  • Cannabis New Brunswick may already be violating federal advertising laws.
  • Susan Delacourt touches base with the woman who helped change Justin Trudeau’s mind about cannabis legalization six years ago.
  • Colby Cosh looks at the history of how Toronto got its name.
  • My column points to the parts of the Supreme Court of Canada’s Mikisew decision that all of the talking heads in the media keep overlooking but shouldn’t.

Odds and ends:

Mark Garneau says last week’s Soyuz launch failure won’t jeopardize the next Canadian astronaut’s mission to the International Space Station.

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