Roundup: Musings from a non-committee member

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It was another day of clutched pearls as Liberal MP Francis Drouin, who moved the motion at the stunt committee meeting on Wednesday to adjourn until the planned meeting next week, spoke to CBC about the fact that he thinks that they’ve heard enough and it’s time to move to the next phase of the committee. The problem? That Drouin isn’t actually a member of said committee, so his opinion doesn’t really matter. That he was at the committee on Wednesday is largely because his riding is not far from Ottawa, and that tends to be what happens when emergency meetings get called – most of the regular members don’t end up showing up because of travel times and commitments (or in this case, it’s the middle of March Break, and some of them have families with kids that they don’t see nearly enough). Now, if the Liberals meet on Tuesday, and put a bunch of ringers on the committee when they decide to go in camera to talk next steps for witnesses and timetables, and they decide they’ve had enough, well then, yes, we will have something to complain about. But that hasn’t happened yet, there isn’t any indication about that happening, so let’s all just calm down. Drouin is entitled to his own opinions, but he won’t be making any decisions here.

Should the justice committee opt to end the investigation, here are options that Jody Wilson-Raybould could use to “speak her truth” some more (though given how tactical her silence has been, I wouldn’t hold my breath). I also suspect that after their dire warnings yesterday, the opposition are going to start procedural shenanigans in order to try and force the government to carry on the hearings, but we’ll see how that unfolds.

In related news, it turns out that SNC-Lavalin also tried to recruit the Quebec justice minister to lobby for a DPA on their behalf. As well, a luxury condo in Toronto owned by the Gaddafi family, redecorated at SNC-Lavalin’s expense, has been sitting empty since 2009.

Good reads:

  • Bill Morneau dropped more hints that the budget will have a big focus on skills training. It’s also expected the government will be in a stronger fiscal position.
  • Today’s budget wish list demand is for immediate write-offs for new investments.
  • Amarjeet Sohi is lobbying is American counterpart to get moving on delays to the Keystone XL and Enbridge Line 3 Replacement pipelines.
  • Catherine McKenna is throwing some shade at the Ford government for their inconsistent position on carbon pricing.
  • Memos prepared for Ahmed Hussen in advance of meetings with his American counterpart stress that the Safe Third Country Agreement no longer works properly.
  • Of the 25 F-18s we purchased used from Australia, seven were to be used for parts…and we may not even need those after all.
  • After a journalist asked DND about the off-shore patrol ships, Irving called him back and threatened legal action. There is now a privacy investigation underway.
  • IT fixes mean that CRA can now resume going after people who were overpaid for their CPP as long as a decade ago.
  • Here’s a longread about First Nations looking to invest in resource projects like Trans Mountain, in contravention to other Indigenous communities opposed to it.
  • The Senate starts being televised on Monday, and Senators are being coached as to how to better come across on television.
  • In Alberta, there are all manner of rumours that Brian Jean is plotting some kind of political comeback to counter Jason Kenney. (Jean denies this).
  • Éric Grenier crunches some numbers regarding the NDP’s plan to go after Quebec Solidaire’s votes federally, which could be a smaller pool than they think.
  • Colby Cosh recounts the tales of intra-conservative rivalries and leadership shenanigans in Alberta as they near the provincial election.
  • New economics columnist Heather Scoffield gives her preview of the budget, which she predicts will see more about people over corporations in light of recent drama.

Odds and ends:

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One thought on “Roundup: Musings from a non-committee member”

  1. So, Routine Proceedings sees no irony in the fact that Francis Drouin played Liberal hit-man to prevent discussion at the Justice Committee on whether or not Wilson-Raybould should be recalled, yet pops up on CBC Radio to discuss that very topic?

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