Roundup: Sticking with the date

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You may recall that last week, the Federal Court granted judicial review to the Conservative candidate looking to change the election date because it clashes with a particular orthodox Jewish holiday, and lo, the Chief Electoral Officer set about to review his decision. Yesterday he announced that he’d reviewed it, and he was still confident that there wasn’t sufficient reason to change it – moving it back a week would put it in conflict with a bunch of PD days in schools that they needed to use for polling stations, and it would collide with municipal elections in Nunavut, and there were still plenty of options, be they advance polls or special ballots, for those affected by the orthodox Jewish holidays. That decision goes to Cabinet, who will make the final call later this week.

But then something curious happened – a couple of Liberal MPs tweet their dismay at the CEO’s decision, which is a little odd because, well, it’s not really his call. He’s making a recommendation, and Cabinet makes the final decision because the dissolution of Parliament for an election is a Crown prerogative, meaning that it depends on the Governor-in-Counsel (i.e. Cabinet advising the governor general) that makes the decision, regardless of our garbage fixed election date legislation. So if they’re tweeting dismay, they should direct their pleas to their own government rather than to harass the CEO.

This having been said, I am forced to wonder if this isn’t part of the fallout from the aforementioned garbage fixed election date. One of the justifications for said garbage legislation is that it’s supposed to help Elections Canada plan, rather than scramble in the event of a snap election call – but it’s starting to feel like perhaps those plans are also getting a bit precious, which is a bad sign for an institution that is supposed to be adaptable in order to accommodate the election call, whenever it may be.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau was in Vancouver to re-open the renovated Kitsilano Coast Guard station and thank them for their work in responding to a crashed plane.
  • Trudeau said that with the US Congress going on its summer break, that the New NAFTA wouldn’t be ratified until the fall.
  • Trudeau also said that neither he nor PMO directed anyone to tell the former ambassadors to China to clear their messages with the department first.
  • The Federal Court ruled that wines from the West Bank shouldn’t be labelled products of Israel – but that may contravene the Canada-Israel trade agreement.
  • The Canadian embassy in Cuba is reinstating some of its visa and biometrics services.
  • More allegations of racism at CFB Halifax with Black employees.
  • An Ottawa lawyer is looking to get the government to repay the mandatory victim surcharges that the Supreme Court of Canada declared unconstitutional.
  • Elections Canada filings show that some twenty people in the country donated the max (or nearly so) to both the Liberals and Conservatives last year, which is legal.
  • Briefing notes to the prime minister point to the fact that there has been controversy over the spending of former GGs for two decades.
  • The Senate’s ethics committee released a report on the Don Meredith report, and noted the Ethics Officer’s delays were caused by uncooperative senators.
  • The Chief of Grassy Narrows First Nation announced that he plans to run for the NDP this fall.
  • Provincial legal teams from provinces opposing the federal carbon price are meeting in Saskatchewan to plot strategy for their Supreme Court of Canada hearing.
  • Economist Andrew Leach takes a closer look at the Green Party’s environmental plan, and finds a number of places where it’s lacking.
  • Paul Wells looks at the inability of some of our allies’ inabilities to fix their own official residences – like the UK and Australia – and the broader message it sends.
  • Chris Selley contemplates the need for better fact-checking by reporters, even among the possibilities of backlash.

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