The Conservatives’ abortion legislation problem has come home to roost early in the new parliament as MP Cathay Wagantall tabled a bill to ban sex-selective abortions, under the (bullshit) excuse that it reflects Canada’s commitment to gender equality. And because she’s 31 on the order of precedence for private members’ business, this will come up likely late spring or early fall. (Private members’ business is determined by lottery, and arrives on the Order Paper in batches of 30). And all eyes are on Andrew Scheer, who stated during the election that he would vote against any measures to attempt to re-open the abortion debate.

Why does this matter? Because the list of approved candidates for the Conservative leadership closed last night, and social conservatives have played kingmaker in both the last federal leadership contest, as well as the last Ontario one, which was done under the same rules. Already we’re seeing positioning among candidates, such as Erin O’Toole criticizing Peter MacKay for saying he would whip his Cabinet to vote against such a bill, saying that he would never whip anyone, Cabinet or backbench, on “moral issues.” It’s a completely transparent ploy – O’Toole is trying to ensure that he gets second-ballot support from the social conservatives when their preferred no-hope candidates get dropped off of the ranked preferential ballot. That’s how Andrew Scheer won, and it’s how Doug Ford won.

Meanwhile, it looks like it’ll be seven entrants in the race, though some approvals may yet be pending. Of those seven, three qualify as social conservatives, so the “frontrunners” like MacKay, O’Toole and maybe Marilyn Gladu will want the second and third votes from those no-hopers in the hopes of pushing them over the top. So this dynamic is very present in the leadership race, as Wagantall has put it on the table for them to debate around her.

Good reads:

• Justin Trudeau announced a meeting with provincial and territorial leaders for March 13^th, which will also include Indigenous leadership.
• Carolyn Bennett and her provincial counterpart concluded a day of meetings with the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, and more talks are planned today.
• Seamus O’Regan is making the case for small modular reactors to help Canada reach its climate targets.
• Bill Blair is pushing back against the Conservatives’ attempted narrative that the rail blockades (and fires on the tracks) somehow constitute “terrorism.”
• The government announced even more measures designed to help the North Atlantic right whale population.
• The RCMP admitted to using the Clearview AI facial recognition software without privacy safeguards, and claim it helped solve child exploitation cases.
• It also turns out that Clearview AI has been used more widely in Canada than previously believed.
• Here’s a look at what the future of the oilsands may be given the number of stalled projects thanks to low oil prices.
• The interim Auditor General says he needs more funds to upgrade their obsolete computer systems (which I feel is an issue his predecessor should have tackled).
• The Parliamentary Budget Officer says that the federal government is on a sustainable path and has room to spend more – but most provinces do not.
• Senator Lynn Beyak has been suspended for a second time, but some senators have concerns about the clarity of terms, and procedural fairness.
• Jason Kenney unveiled a budget yesterday featuring more cuts, fee increases, and very optimistic projections for economic growh.
• Jason Markusoff looks at how Kenney’s budget is selling its cuts to public services to Albertans.
• Susan Delacourt pays tribute to Senator David Smith, who passed away this week.

Odds and ends:

Canada has been paying some of Harry and Meghan’s security costs since November, but will end when their internationally protected persons status changes in March.

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