Roundup: Not the right by-election

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Justin Trudeau called a by-election yesterday – but only in the riding of Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands, and not Burnaby South, where Jagmeet Singh has declared that he wants to run – and now the NDP are sniping about it, calling it “petty and manipulative,” and even more curiously, griping that Canadians from that riding are being deprived of representation.

A couple of things: First of all, Singh has had several opportunities to run for a seat before now, and has turned them all down. The fact that he has suddenly realised that his being “comfortable” with not having a seat until his poll numbers started plunging doesn’t mean that the Liberals have an obligation to get him in the House as soon as possible – he already made it clear it wasn’t a priority. As well, it they were so concerned about a lack of representation, they should have said something to their MP who vacated the seat in the first place – and not only that, who waited until the last minute to vacate it after spending the summer campaigning for another job. Likewise with Thomas Mulcair in Outremont and now Sheila Malcolmson in Nanaimo – they chose to leave before the current parliament expired.

Add to that, the time to call this particular by-election was running out, and with the other current openings, Trudeau may be waiting on Malcolmson to give a date as to when she officially plans to leave her seat, and for Liberal MP Nicola Di Iorio to officially vacate his own seat in Montreal (given that he suddenly started having second thoughts after declaring he was going to resign) before Trudeau calls the other by-elections, so that they can “cluster” the by-elections in those regions. I’m not convinced that there’s a crisis here. Singh made his bed, and now he gets to lay in it.

Good reads:

  • In advance of the fall economic update, Bill Morneau insists that our fiscal situation is able to handle a recession, even if we have a deficit.
  • Morneau’s office looked into why their personal corporation changes landed with a thud, and they found their messaging was a problem. Gosh, you think?
  • The government is pointing out that we can’t leave our foreign fighters for others to handle, and we will have to repatriate them eventually.
  • Polling data from BC suggests that carbon rebates may not increase public support for carbon pricing.
  • Here’s a look at the effect climate change is having on Canada currently, and how that will get worse in the future.
  • While he was in town for WTO meetings, New Zealand’s trade minister pitched the benefits of dismantling Supply Management.
  • Here’s the tale of 117 Syrian “White Helmets” and their families who are now being resettled in Canada.
  • Conservative former minister Ed Fast grumbles about the government blaming them for the Saudi LAV contract (but doesn’t think they should cancel the deal).
  • Drama in Alberta as the federal government’s $1.75 billion pledge for Olympics funds are contingent on matching by the province and Calgary, which they won’t do.
  • The Alberta NDP had a policy convention over the weekend as a step toward their own election next year.

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