Another day, another drip in the ongoing Double-Hyphen Affair fallout. This time, it was a letter from Jody Wilson-Raybould to the chair of the Commons justice committee saying that she plans to forward new evidence to him in the form of emails and text messages – evidence which will be translated, checked over by committee members, and then made public once that’s done. But she also stipulated it was the period within the waiver, so I’m sure this will lead to another round of accusations that she’s not being allowed to tell “her full truth,” and people will believe it. Justin Trudeau, for his part, insisted yet again that he gave her the ability to give a full airing of the issue, reiterated later in a town hall meeting in Thunder Bay, where he also talked about needing to do a better job in how he manages “those conversations” with people with strong ideas in the future. Trudeau also appointed a new caucus-PMO liaison, which may go a ways to soothing caucus tensions, given that there is a lot of grumbling that part of the problem has been that he hasn’t been listening to them and their concerns – but it’s just another staffer and not him personally, inside the caucus room, so we’ll see if it helps.

Re: @Puglaas and @janephilpott conversations, @JustinTrudeau says he/his office are "going to have to manage those conversations a little better in the future" … From his town hall tonight in Thunder Bay: pic.twitter.com/9pxZYb1fay

— Althia Raj (@althiaraj) March 22, 2019

In related news, the past secretary general of the OECD wrote a piece in the Financial Post to explain the whole language around “national economic interest” that so many people (many reporters included) are getting hung up on. The intent of the phrase – and he was at the OECD at the time – was to prevent countries from using the excuse that bribery was necessary to protect their export markets – and it wasn’t about protecting jobs. And hey, he’s even got context about the state of international trade in 1995 when this was an issue. Imagine if we’d had some better reporting about this history weeks ago! (Also, here’s a thread from a former OECD public sector integrity official who also gives context to the rules and why a DPA was not only a valid tool, but so is seeking outside counsel on the suitability of offering one).

Meanwhile, Chantal Hébert is coming to the conclusion that if Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott keep stoking the controversy without adding new facts that their target is the prime minister. Philippe Lagassé gives a more complete recounting of the issue of parliamentary privilege and what Wilson-Raybould and Philpott can avail themselves of in this situation, and the broader moral obligation of the fact that the privilege exists to hold government to account without fear of consequence, and if they feel that there were constitutional violations in the Affair, they have the choice to avail themselves of the opportunity to speak.

https://twitter.com/PhilippeLagasse/status/1109129350866075648

https://twitter.com/PhilippeLagasse/status/1109130053739147264

https://twitter.com/PhilippeLagasse/status/1109131631804084224

https://twitter.com/PhilippeLagasse/status/1109134666890534912

Good reads:

• Justin Trudeau and Bill Morneau are throwing shade at Doug Ford, saying he’s holding up federal infrastructure dollars for the province.
• Government officials have been trying to confirm the rumours that China has halted buying all Canadian canola (and other agricultural products).
• A former ambassador to China is suggesting retaliatory measures for the canola issue, while the agriculture minister says it’s too soon for such actions.
• The Canadian Infrastructure Bank is apparently in talks about a hydro project going from northern Manitoba to two mines in Nunavut.
• Here’s a bit of background on the issue of Métis veterans going unrecognised and being inadequately compensated for their service.
• Colby Cosh looks at the politics of threatening to privatize ATB is rearing its head again in the Alberta election.
• Jen Gerson gives some deserved side-eye to Jason Kenney’s tone of entitled assumption, as though conservatives are the rightful government of Alberta.
• Chris Selley has a conversation with Preston Manning about carbon pricing, and his declining relevance with modern conservatism that shuns the notion.
• Matt Gurney is rightfully alarmed to learn that Boeing sells safety features on its planes as optional upgrades, and two downed planes could be the result.
• Kevin Carmichael writes about the government budget orthodoxy being thrown out the window as research shows that public debt doesn’t always mean higher taxes.
• My weekend column looks at the debate in the Senate on opening their own investigation into the Double-Hyphen Affair, and the games being played on it.

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