The Senate’s transport committee voted last night to not proceed with Bill C-48, which bans tankers on BC’s northwest coast, but before anyone gets too excited, I would caution that it’s not the bill’s end. We just saw the Senate’s national security committee recommend changes to the gun control bill that would gut it, and those got overturned by the Senate as a whole, and I suspect we’ll see a repeat performance of that with this bill – but the Conservatives will put up a fight, and because this was one of the bills that they did not offer a final vote timeline in their agreement with the Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Peter Harder, they will dare him to invoke time allocation on this. (I plan to write more about this in column form later).

In the meantime, Independent Senator Paula Simons was one of the deciding votes on this, and she explains it all over Twitter.

I came to this meeting in the hopes that we could pass reasonable amendments that made the bill less divisive, more fair to Albertans, and more respectful of the rights of the Nisga’a Nation. I was looking for a constructive compromise.

— Paula Simons (@Paulatics) May 16, 2019

I abstained on some clauses, as I didn’t want to preclude or short circuit debate on amendments. As the “swing” voter, I was conscious that I had the deciding vote, and I wanted to take that responsibility seriously. So yes. On certain clauses I did abstain.

— Paula Simons (@Paulatics) May 16, 2019

That doesn’t mean I “killed” the bill. C-48 isn’t dead. As a Monty Python pet shop owner might say, it’s resting. Our committee will now make its report to the Senate, recommending that we not pass the bill. The Senate could accept our recommendation- but that’s unlikely.

— Paula Simons (@Paulatics) May 16, 2019

And then, the bill will go back to the House, where they might decide to accept all or some of the amendments, or not. And then C-48 would come back to the Senate.

— Paula Simons (@Paulatics) May 16, 2019

So you could see my vote as symbolic. Or you could see it as a wake up call to the government that this is not a great bill, and that it needs reconsideration.

— Paula Simons (@Paulatics) May 16, 2019

I looked at the facts and the evidence. I weighed all the passionate and knowledgeable witness testimony. I agonized for days. And finally, I voted my conscience, knowing I wouldn’t please my critics, on either end of the debate.

— Paula Simons (@Paulatics) May 16, 2019

Good reads:

• In Paris, Justin Trudeau signed the Christchurch call to help fight online extremism. He also offered Canadian steel and lumber to help rebuild the Notre Dame cathedral.
• Chrystia Freeland isn’t giving any indications that the steel and aluminium tariffs are soon to be lifted, despite the Mexicans saying that they’re close to a deal.
• Freeland is now off to Havana to deal with rising tensions over Venezuela and Trump’s increasingly anti-Cuban rhetoric.
• Ralph Goodale has condemned the RCMP’s interrogation of an Indigenous sexual assault victim that surfaced on a video obtained by APTN.
• Bill Morneau is promising a “measured approach” to any decisions about the future of Huawei in Canada.
• During Committee of the Whole testimony, Harjit Sajjan said he supported General Vance’s decision to suspend VADM Mark Norman during the investigation.
• The panel to pick the next Supreme Court of Canada justice has been announced, and it gives greater input from the Quebec Bar, as it’s for a Quebec seat.
• The Office of the Auditor General says they have a funding shortfall and had to cancel five performance audits as a result.
• CBSA has been given enhanced powers to seize chemicals used in the production of opioids.
• The costs to stabilize the Phoenix pay system keep increasing, and if anyone is surprised they need to review IBM’s testimony before the Senate.
• Veterinarians were on the Hill yesterday to lobby to amend cannabis laws so as to extend the ability to prescribe its derivatives to pets.
• A new survey finds that half of Canadians are open to populist messaging, which not only contradicts the Samara study, but also showcases our polarization.
• Here’s an interesting look at why Canada will have a harder time meeting emissions reductions than the US, given our current emissions profile.
• Senators have decided to amend the fisheries bill to include prohibitions against shark finning and the captivity of marine mammals, and the government is on board.
• The NDP had a meltdown at justice committee because the Conservatives want to invite Jordan Peterson to their hearings on online hate.
• Here’s a look at the dismal state of the Newfoundland and Labrador election, where there are apparently no good choices with a struggling economy.
• Kathryn May looks into whatever happened to “Deliverology,” and whether its principles were really baked into the civil service or if it failed outright.
• Susan Delacourt determines that those Doug Ford ads criticizing the federal carbon price won’t fall under Elections Canada advertising restrictions in the election.

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