Roundup: Clarity on “partisan” ads

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That report that climate change advocacy could be considered “partisan” during the writ period had a lot of people talking yesterday – but the problem is that it seems to have been a bit overblown, which I’m chalking up to Environmental Defence overplaying the advice from Elections Canada, and The Canadian Press reporter not getting enough context around that advice. In any case, Elections Canada was playing some damage control, specifying that it had to do with paid advertising and not advocacy writ-large, while various party leaders took shots at the absurdity of it all. And to walk through some of it, here’s Jennifer Robson to allay some of your fears.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau addressed a convention of Unifor members yesterday, while Andrew Scheer sent a performative letter to the RCMP demanding an investigation.
  • Trudeau would not say if he would let “Jihadi” Jack Letts back into the country, as Scheer says he “wouldn’t lift a finger” to help Letts. (Real mature, guys).
  • Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland will meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday in advance of the G7 meeting in France.
  • The government said it will continue to recognize expired Venezuelan passports as people from that country flee the Maduro regime.
  • Here is a look at how other countries are doing a better job than Canada when it comes to repatriating and reintegrating foreign fighters.
  • The Federal Court approved a settlement for the class-action lawsuit for survivors of federally-operated Indian day schools (which operated like residential schools).
  • The expected spike in drug-impaired driving charges post-cannabis legalisation hasn’t yet happened.
  • Unifor says that they’re going to keep on with anti-Conservative election ads, even if it makes the 12,000 journalists they represent uncomfortable.
  • The Conservatives are planning to charge journalists about a fifth of what they normally do for a seat on the election plane/bus, which raises questions.
  • Pierre Nantel officially confirmed he’s running for the Green Party in the election, but will sit as an independent until then.
  • Here’s a look at how the Ethics Commissioner’s report is playing out in Quebec (complete with obligatory quotes from other parties clutching their pearls).
  • When the association representing gas stations proposed their own sticker which had a pie chart explaining gas prices, the Ford government balked. Imagine that.
  • Kady O’Malley’s Process Nerd column suggests that the Liberals could use the ethics committee meeting to parade those who disagree with Mario Dion’s report.
  • Chantal Hébert details the slap-and-hairpull fight between Jason Kenney and François Legault over pipelines that lack an economic case.
  • Both Chris Selley and Colby Cosh takes turns at poking into the problems with the UK revoking the citizenship of “Jihadi” Jack Letts and making him our problem.
  • Paul Wells delves into the McLellan Report, finds its recommendations would have avoided the whole Double-Hyphen Affair, and wonders if it will be implemented.

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One thought on “Roundup: Clarity on “partisan” ads”

  1. “Justin Trudeau addressed a convention of Unifor members yesterday, while Andrew Scheer sent a performative letter to the RCMP demanding an investigation.”

    Kady O’Malley says the Liberals should let the hearing go through and call rebuttal witnesses. Yeah, that worked out great last time when Gerry’s counter-argument fell on deaf ears to the already biased media. My guess is that they just want to get it out of the news once and for all. Especially with new polls coming out (even Con house-effect Ipsos) indicating that no one cared about the report in the first place, why keep giving oxygen to the story? Let it die before Labor Day and get on with actual policies. If the bleater of the opposition keeps whining about it and obsessing over his Javert-like persecution of Trudeau, it’ll just reveal him to be a man with no plan fanatically fixated on “Justin’s Emails™,” while Trudeau actually wants to talk about things that matter, like jobs.

    But of course, if they do shut down the committee, Scheer will call for another committee to investigate the “cover-up.” Maybe he’ll dog-whistle to the pro-life contingent by complaining that Trudeau “aborted” it. Maybe he’ll call for an inquiry and demand an RCMP investigation of the inquiry. Followed by a committee hearing to study the results of the RCMP investigation of the inquiry into the committee hearing about the report that followed the committee hearing. Or maybe he’ll ride backwards on a jackass like Snidely Whiplash in the guise of Dudley Do-Wrong. He really wants Trudeau to have an 11-hour Hillary Clinton star chamber trial, doesn’t he? No one expects the Hamish inquisition!

    Forget Jihadi Jack. I’ve got a finger I’d like to lift at Andrew Scheer.

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