Roundup: Selling out parliament for a press release

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If there was any more sign of crass politicking than Jagmeet Singh starting the day by declaring that he would only agree to the government’s plans regarding continued special committee hearings in lieu of actual parliamentary sittings if the government ensured there was access to two weeks of paid sick leave available to Canadians, I’m not sure what else it could be. To predicate kneecapping the House of Commons in exchange for something you can count as a win is…quite something. Not quite the petulance of Andrew Scheer’s short-lived declaration that he would only wear a non-medical mask if regular House of Commons sittings resumed, but certainly brash.

To that end, Justin Trudeau held his daily presser and, in reference to the hipster jamboree at Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods park on Saturday that social media spent the rest of the weekend litigating, said that the variety of local rules can be confusing but people should pay attention to what their jurisdiction’s rules are, and to keep physical distancing. Then then announced that the commercial rent assistance programme was now accepting applications, and outlined that half of the provinces would accept applications on that day, listed the provinces that would accept applications Tuesday instead, and that those with ten or more tenants were to apply Wednesday. Trudeau then said that he had spoken to Singh, and assured him that he was in discussions with the provinces to ensure that people got access to those ten paid sick days per year, but in the Q&A, gave the credit to BC premier John Horgan. That didn’t stop Singh from putting out a self-congratulatory press release immediately, as though this were a done deal and not negotiations that were ongoing because it’s mostly provincial jurisdiction. Trudeau also defended his party’s use of the wage subsidy, but because he can’t answer these questions like a real human being, it was mostly a lot of platitudes and verbal pabulum.

In the wake of this, a bunch of my Twitter critics felt like Trudeau’s discussions with the province on this sick day policy was some kind of an own to my constant reminders that this is provincial jurisdiction, which is bizarre because nothing has been agreed to. Trudeau can’t force the provinces to do anything, and even pointed out that the mechanism to make this happen is complicated – particularly if the provinces are going to expect the federal government to pony up for those paid days instead of forcing employers to pay for it themselves. But again, this isn’t something Trudeau himself can do on his own – he can try to get the provinces on board, but that’s not always a winning proposition. Look at the dog’s breakfast that the commercial rent subsidy managed to be, which is because it’s what the provinces could agree to, while Trudeau takes the blame. And even if the provinces get on board with this paid sick leave, it’ll still be months before that comes to fruition, but hey, Singh got a press release out of it, so he can declare victory to his base.

Good reads:

  • Bill Blair spoke to the Star about the upcoming gun control legislation, whenever that happens. (Maybe the fall? Maybe?)
  • It looks like the government is directing civil servants to make it easier for international students and temporary foreign residents to access CERB.
  • Statistics Canada is looking to collect better gun crime data to make it easier to identify causes and possible solutions.
  • Here is some discussion about the idea of a four-day work week that some are floating as part of pandemic recovery, as New Zealand is contemplating.
  • New MPs are realizing that trying to do parliamentary work over Zoom isn’t the same as being in person. You don’t say!
  • All of the Conservative leadership candidates have panned their own party taking the federal wage subsidy.
  • Quebec’s premier wants asylum seekers to have taken jobs in long-term care facilities – many of them Haitians – to be granted faster citizenship.
  • Éric Grenier puts the political party wage subsidy figures in context, and it’s a mere fraction of the other subsidies they already get.
  • Kevin Carmichael parses Stephen Poloz’s last speech as Governor of the Bank of Canada, and why he’s not worried about runaway inflation with monetary stimulus.
  • Carmichael also looks at how the current crisis may force the Bank of Canada to get moving on the contingency plans of developing a digital currency.
  • Susan Delacourt is outraged that parties are taking the wage subsidy when they should have restored the per-vote subsidy.

Odds and ends:

For the CBA’s National Magazine, I talked to some lawyers about their discussions on the long-term implications of the current pandemic crisis.

Royal historian Carolyn Harris recounts the history of Prince Rupert, of Rupert’s Land (which the post-Confederation Canadian government purchased).

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One thought on “Roundup: Selling out parliament for a press release”

  1. And this is why Liberals point out that the NDP have turned into orange conservatives, not necessarily because of policy alternatives but because of Singh and his surrogates’ gaslighting, constitutional ignorance, and firing at the wrong enemy, which overlaps with Scheer. Point any of this reality out to them and they make emotionally-driven accusations that you’re a Liberal shill who prioritizes “policy wonking” over “people dying in the streets.” It’s pincer warfare from northern Bernie bros. Someone please inform them that better is always possible but perfect is the enemy of the good.

    Also, with regards to Trudeau’s communication style, I think he’s falling back on the bullet points and “rehearsed lines” because for the times he did speak off the cuff, he got eviscerated for it with quotes out of context (“basic dictatorship,” “people-kind,” “the budget balances itself,” etc.). It’s not that he doesn’t talk like a “normal human” and I think that’s a hurtful and offensive description. Especially since he does have a bit of a speech stagger in the same way as Biden, in part because he speaks two languages (the “um uh” pauses that he gets ruthlessly teased for). He struggled one day to come up with “disposable water boxes” and Michelle Rempel mocked him mercilessly on the floor of the HoC. I suffer from a speech impediment and was livid. It was vile what she did. It reminded me of Trump making fun of that reporter who had ALS.

    So when put up against the cruelty of the peanut gallery scrutinizing every word he says and every intonation, is it any wonder he falls back to a script instead of ad-lib? Maybe he gets stage fright. Sometimes I wish he would just resort to sign language with these reporters and the playground bully opposition parties, channeling his father by giving them a fuddle-duddle salute. Everyone would get the message and it’d be well deserved.

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