Over the past couple of weeks, Conservative MP Michael Chong has been trying to make “Fetch” happen – or rather, trying to make his Reform Act relevant again, first by taking to the Twitter Machine to outline the process outlined in the Act for ousting a party leader (as though the Liberals were seriously considering dumping Justin Trudeau), and later to insist that it laid out a process for expelling MPs from caucus. The problem? Well, there are several, but the most immediate one is that the Act requires each party to vote at the beginning of each parliament whether they will adhere to the provisions or not – and lo, none of the parties voted to. Not even Chong’s. It was always a garbage bill – I wrote a stack of columns on that very point at the time it was being debated – and it made things worse for parties, not better, and ironically would have made it even harder to remove a party leader by setting a public high bar that the pressure created by a handful of vocal dissidents or resignations would have done on its own. It also has no enforcement mechanisms, which the Speaker confirmed when Erin Weir tried to complain that it wasn’t being adhered to. But why did this garbage bill pass? Because it gave MPs a warm feeling that they were doing something to “fix” Parliament (and in the context of doing something about the “dictatorial” style of Stephen Harper under the mistaken belief that his caucus was searching for some way to get rid of him, which was never the case).  It had so neutered it in order to be palatable enough to vote on that it was a sham bill at best, but really it did actual harm to the system, but Chong was stubborn in determining that it should pass in its bastardized form rather than abandoning it for the steaming hot garbage bill that it was.

Mr. Speaker just ruled he has no role in enforcing Parliament of Canada Act rules for expelling MPs from caucus, which are also “not subject to judicial review.”

If neither the Speaker nor the courts will uphold the law, #NDP Singh & #LPC Trudeau are free to ignore it. #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/8rhIWHZcjM

— Erin Weir (@Erin_Weir) April 8, 2019

And now, with Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott’s ouster from caucus, Chong has been trying to make the rounds to claim that the move was illegal without a vote – err, except no party voted to adopt the provisions, which is pretty embarrassing. And yet he keeps trying to sell it to the public as though this were a done deal.

Good reads:

• An internal report shows that Justin Trudeau wasn’t aware that the settlement with Omar Khadr had been finalized when it was leaked to the media.
• The budget implementation bill has been tabled, and contains provisions to tighten the Safe Third Country Agreement regarding irregular border crossers.
• CSE’s report on election interference names upcoming threats, some of which have already targeted Canada.
• Karina Gould says that because social media companies aren’t taking these threats seriously, they are looking at regulatory compliance options.
• The government announced their new corporate social responsibility ombudsman, but her powers haven’t yet been defined yet, and is already facing backlash.
• The first public report of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians is released this week, and military intelligence will feature.
• The Coast Guard fleet is aging out, and is in need of renewal but the current shipbuilding plan will leave capability gaps.
• Former Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin is set to start hearing cases in Hong Kong in her part-time role there, some of which are politically fraught.
• The Commons national defence committee says that if the Mali mission isn’t going to be extended, we should help Romania get a head start with its helicopters.
• Conservatives and two Independent senators voted to gut the gun control bill at committee, which could set up for a report stage battle.
• It seems that the expulsion of two former Cabinet ministers from caucus is unprecedented in Canadian political history.
• Liberal MP Rob Oliphant is calling out the government for not doing enough with the Mali mission, as Canada prepares to pull its helicopters with no backstop.
• Rachel Notley says the Trans Mountain pipeline approval is coming “soon,” but Jason Kenney says her fight for pipelines is “phoney.”
• Kenney, meanwhile, is promising unconstitutional legislation to “turn off the taps” to BC.
• There is some confusion about why Kenney is picking fights with oil company CEOs as part of his strategy (given that they support carbon taxes).
• Andrew Leach points out the political realities that will confront Andrew Scheer and Jason Kenney regarding their pipeline rhetoric.
• Colby Cosh explains Calgary’s particular financial vulnerability, which could prove to be a major factor in the provincial election.
• Kady O’Malley’s Process Nerd column looks at how parliamentarians should ideally deal with libel accusations, rather than lawsuits.
• Matt Gurney thinks that Trudeau’s libel suit is yet another dumb strategic move, while Andrew Coyne posits it as a ploy for sympathy, with Trudeau as the victim.
• Kevin Carmichael looks at how all the time spent on negotiating the New NAFTA has really been a net loss overall.
• Heather Scoffield notes that the current trade disputes and need for compensation or bailouts means that it may be time to start rethinking how our economy works.
• Chantal Hébert evaluates some possible future options for Wilson-Raybould and Philpott.

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