Roundup: Party positions and individual agency

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The weaponization of private members’ business continues unabated in Parliament, as the Conservatives put out an attack yesterday that claims that the Liberals want to “legalize” hard drugs because maverick backbencher Nathaniel Erskine-Smith tabled a private members’ bill that calls on the decriminalization of small personal amounts in order to better treat addiction as a public health issue and to not criminalize people with addictions – something that has worked in some countries. The lie, of course, is both in claiming that this was official government policy, and that it was calling for legalization – because who cares about truth or facts when there is fear to be mongered?

The bigger problem here? What it does to how private members’ business is treated in the House of Commons, and more to the point, there is a very big potential for this to blow up in Scheer’s face because of Cathay Wagantall’s sex-selective abortion bill currently on the Order Paper. And yes, let’s not be obtuse about this – the media feeds this particular weaponization, both in how they made this kind of abortion bill an Issue during the election, and how we both demand that MPs be both independent and yet castigate the leader for “losing control” when any MP shows any glimmer of independence. (And for the record, Scheer has not said anything about Wagantall’s bill, other than to have his spokesperson say that he “discouraged” such bills).

I know that everyone is going to be cute about these bills, and how if they get tabled the party “must” support the position because everything is so centrally controlled, and so on, but this is part of what poisons the system. Insisting that everyone be marching in lockstep from other parties ensures that the same insistence is made about your own party, and it removes any agency from MPs. They’re MPs, not gods damned battle droids. If we want drones to simply read speeches into the record and vote according the leader’s office, then why do we even bother with MPs? Why bother with parliament at all? The Conservatives’ release is embarrassing, and they should be ashamed of themselves for it (which of course would imply that they’re capable of shame, but I have my doubts about that one too).

Good reads:

  • At a youth jobs announcement in Halifax, Justin Trudeau gave assurances that there would be resources if provinces need them to battle COVID-19.
  • Trudeau also counselled further patience in letting the Wet’suwet’en ratify the agreement that was reached last week.
  • Trudeau later dropped by a citizenship ceremony in nearby Wolfville.
  • Marco Mendicino was in Germany last week to offer some of Canada’s best practices when it comes to integrating immigrants.
  • There is some concern from the medical and legal community over the possibility the medical assistance in dying bill will muddy the definitions at play.
  • Decades of underfunding military infrastructure has consequences, as bases, roadways and runways are trying to avoid crumbling.
  • The tourism industry is bracing for the impact of COVID-19, both in a reduction of travellers to Canada, and the possibility of travellers who arrived infected.
  • The next phase of FATCA rules are kicking in, eliminating the grace period, which could see the accounts of Americans in Canada closed if they don’t comply.
  • Jean Chrétien has no time for the current bout of “Canada is broken” talk, citing having lived through the October Crisis.
  • The Alberta government is contemplating “decriminalizing” drunk driving and using administrative penalties to keep these cases out of the overburdened courts.
  • Kady O’Malley’s Process Nerd column looks at the Conservative motion to tack on more Supply days as punishment for one of theirs being moved to a Friday.
  • Kevin Carmichael delves into how the US Federal Reserve’s unexpected rate cut has likely forced the hand of the Bank of Canada when it comes to a rate cut here.
  • Max Fawcett points out the institutional sexism in the oil industry, which is reflected from the board rooms to those vulgar “Greta Thunberg” decals.
  • Paul Wells takes stock of Trudeau’s response to the blockades and the Wet’suwet’en protests, and the history that led to this moment.
  • Susan Delacourt assesses Trudeau’s new message that credible climate policy is the new free trade.
  • My column looks at the Conservatives protecting the nominations of their sitting MPs (as the Liberals did last parliament), and why this is an affront to democracy.

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One thought on “Roundup: Party positions and individual agency”

  1. The only broken thing about Canada is the self-serving nature of the Conservatives, their media acolytes and their dirtbag-left enablers, who weaponize fear and the Big Lie narrative as pincer warfare and Trudeau derangement syndrome. I’m glad he seems to be elevating Freeland’s profile a bit more, next up with the coronavirus file, because she appears to be less of a lightning rod for them to attack. The haters are going to hate no matter what, but what I saw on display at that citizenship ceremony is where he truly shines. Joe Clark is a good and decent man who will be a stellar representative for Canada on the world stage now. The same is true of Justin Trudeau, and will be so in whatever position PM Freeland sends him out to do after she is finished fighting Peter MacKay bare-knuckle UFC style in the next election. Perhaps a President Biden will get along well with a familiar and friendly face as Canada’s Washington ambassador.

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