A former PQ minister wants to run for leadership of the Bloc, and I just cannot. Can. Not. The challenger this time is Yves-François Blanchet, who served in Pauline Marois’ short-lived Cabinet, and has since taken on a political pundit career since being defeated in 2014. He apparently met with the caucus yesterday, and the majority of them – including their past and current interim leaders – all seem to like him, but I keep having to circle back to this simple question: did you learn nothing from your last disastrous leader?

I can’t emphasise this enough. Since their demise in 2011, the Bloc have had a succession of seatless leaders, including Mario Beaulieu (who now has a seat, incidentally, and is the current interim leader), and while he stepped aside so that Gilles Duceppe could return (unsuccessfully), they keep going for leaders who aren’t in caucus, and time after time, it goes poorly for them. Every single time, I have to wonder why they don’t simply do as our system was built to do, and select a member from caucus. Constantly bringing in an outsider does nothing for their profile (ask Jagmeet Singh how that’s going), and their leaders keep being divorced from the realities of parliament. And time and again, they keep choosing another outsider. Why do you keep doing this to yourselves? Why do you refuse to learn the lessons that experience has to teach you?

There is one current MP who is considering a run, Michel Boudrias, and if the Bloc was smart, they would choose him by virtue of the fact that he’s in the caucus, he’s in the Commons, and he knows how Parliament works. Of course, if they interested in ensuring he’s accountable (especially given just how big of a gong show their last leader was), then it would be the caucus that selects him so that the caucus can then fire him if he becomes a problem (again, if history is anything to go by). But that would take some actual political courage by the party, and given their apparent reluctance to learn the lessons from their mistakes, that may be too much to ask for.

Good reads:

• With the announced GM plant closure in Ottawa, the PM is promising help to get the workers on their feet; the closures raise questions of the 2009 bailout.
• The Senate passed the back-to-work legislation for Canada Post, meaning the rotating strikes are to end while contract talks will continue with a new mediator.
• The government looks to be backing off of their plans for a housing watchdog under fear they’d create another bureaucracy.
• There has been an increase in the number of CRA employees caught snooping in private information (likely because of new software that can detect it).
• Facebook and Google want Canada to maintain status quo on copyright legislation, saying European-style laws will stifle innovation.
• Here’s an explanation of the current situation with Russia seizing Ukrainian ships.
• Parliamentarians are feeling nostalgic about the Centre Block as they prepare to move out. (The piece also gives some more details on the planned moves).
• Andrew Scheer held an event with Kevin O’Leary, and promises more in the future.
• The NDP are raising Liberal MP Nicola Di Iorio’s prolonged resignation as a matter of privilege.
• Alberta wants to have a beer fight with Ontario, but never mind that their craft beer protectionism was already declared unconstitutional.
• Defence lawyer Michael Spratt explains how Andrew Scheer’s plan to fight gang violence is based on lies, straw men, and unconstitutional proposals.
• Kady O’Malley’s Process Nerd column explains the procedural reasons why the Senate delayed passage of the back-to-work legislation for a couple of days.
• Chantal Hébert writes that Doug Ford’s desire to play federal kingmaker is becoming toxic for Andrew Scheer as Quebec re-engages with the federation.
• Martin Patriquin writes about the conflicting feelings of tax credits for the journalism industry.

Odds and ends:

Elizabeth May has gotten engaged to Margot Kidder’s brother.

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