Roundup: Singh walks back his demands

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Prime minister Justin Trudeau’s daily presser was fairly scattershot – plenty of announcements therein, but most of them fairly small. There was news that the changes to the Canada Emergency Business Account eligibility were coming on Friday, and that the new food surplus rescue programme was now open for applications. Trudeau spoke of a new global AI partnership, which would house a centre of excellence in Montreal, and that Mary Ng was participating in a meeting about World Trade Organization reform. Trudeau mentioned our troops headed back to Ukraine, before citing that he had agreed to a UN request for airlift support to transport medical supplies and humanitarian assistance. And finally, he raised the fact that it was World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, and spoke about its importance.

During the Q&A is where some of the interesting developments for the day happened, because a number of reporters asked if he was going to extend the Canada Emergency Response Benefit for a few more months, and Trudeau kept responding that the programme was about ensuring people could stay home so that we could flatten the curve of infections, and that they would have Canadians’ backs, and that they would have more to say later in the week – not guaranteeing the same programme would carry on longer. Why this was important was because Jagmeet Singh made a big song and dance that his support for the Supply Bill coming up this week – a confidence vote – would be contingent upon the CERB being extended for four more months. And by end of day, Singh was on the political shows, walking back his unequivocal statements, instead insisting that he didn’t want to be prescriptive (when that’s exactly what he was), so it sounds like the Liberals have been hinting at him a little more strongly about what they will have as a transition post-CERB. We’ll see on Wednesday, but it will likely be enough that Singh can pat himself on the back and claim victory like he did on Trudeau’s promise to talk to the provinces about paid sick leave (which they still haven’t agreed to, by the way).

The bulk of the rest of questions for Trudeau were on the two RCMP shootings in New Brunswick last week and the issue of systemic racism and what he was going to do right away about it. Trudeau responded that they were busy looking over previous reports to see what could be done immediately, and that there was more to come in the near future. This was as Progressive Senator Lilian Eva Dyck made a public call for RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki to resign or be fired given that she was unable to comprehend the problem of systemic racism in her own organization, and that it was a sign that they needed different leadership at this time of trying to address said systemic racism. Trudeau says he still has confidence in Lucki, but Dyck has certainly pushed the conversation further.

Good reads:

  • Here’s a look at the ongoing problem of train derailments, because of poor track in section and weak federal enforcement.
  • The Royal Canadian Navy signed a $2.4 billion contract to finish building the two new joint supply ships, bringing the total price tag to over $4.1 billion.
  • It appears that the military is preparing to put the Cyclone helicopters back into service after the crash of one of them off the coast of Greece.
  • The Heritage Minister unveiled the line-up for the virtual Canada Day performance this year, given that there won’t be a live performance.
  • Here’s a look at the state of Black employees in the federal civil service, and the barriers that they continue to face to advancement.
  • The National Post delves into how a sitting MP, Marwan Tabbara, could have been arrested and charged and Parliament not notified.
  • Erin O’Toole was seen on video trying to court social conservatives for their second-place support on the ranked ballot, citing assisted dying and conversion therapy.
  • Alberta’s oil sector is cutting back on their climate initiatives, which isn’t exactly going to endear them with foreign investors.
  • The Alberta government has purged their judicial vetting committee and replaced its members with old Conservative party members and supporters.
  • Marie Henein explains how the criminal justice system has been weaponized against minorities through over-policing and over-incarceration.
  • Susan Delacourt looks at how the Conservatives’ usual positions have made themselves a bit irrelevant in the current pandemic situation.
  • Paul Wells tours the landscape of the Liberals’ failure to get big projects off the ground, as they giddily talk about not letting the current crisis go to waste.
  • Colby Cosh pokes fun at Ontario’s tendency to name streets after people (who turn out to be problematic) instead of using logical cartesian numbering grids.

Odds and ends:

For the CBA’s National Magazine, I talk to a group of lawyers about Charter rights breaches that have been happening as a result of emergency measures.

https://twitter.com/cmathen/status/1272507136577351681

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2 thoughts on “Roundup: Singh walks back his demands”

  1. I can’t afford to subscribe to Loonie Politics to read the whole article, but the gist of your argument as tweeted regarding provincial contracts for the RCMP makes sense. As I recall, Trudeau had floated a proposal during the blockades to work with the B.C. government on pulling the RCMP from the Wet’suwet’en territory and substituting them with an indigenous public safety force. But the chiefs balked, and the B.C. government wouldn’t agree to call back the Mounties either. An end to provincial contracts would pull the feds back and leave the ball in the premiers’ court to take responsibility for good or for bad. The double-edged sword I can see, though (albeit without having read the article), is who watches the watchmen?

    You have someone like Horgan who isn’t perfect on this front either, as the blockade incidents showed, but at least seems to be more ideologically open to listening and taking recommendations under consideration at the very least. I’m sure B.C.’ers would be thrilled about the prospect of having Dr. Henry overseeing a comprehensive apparatus to address mental health and homelessness issues instead of trigger-happy cops.

    Then you have someone like Kenney, who had already floated the idea of having an Alberta provincial police as part of his firewall letter (or was that the Buffalo manifesto?). Yet I can see him weaponizing it for his own purposes, as he is already doing with that bill criminalizing protests at “essential infrastructure” which, because it’s Kenney, means pipelines. Kenney is not going to go after the Yellow Vests. Kenney is going to envelop the Yellow Vests as his personal Praetorian Guard to go after indigenous people and environmentalists. They already have the “safety uniform”. Watch Dr. Hinshaw have her responsibilities “reassigned” and Danielle Smith be appointed as his own personal Nurse Ratched to deal with “junkies” while Brett Wilson is dispatched to oversee calls about “drunk Indians”. Plus, I’m sure Kenney would jump at the opportunity to duck out of the RCMP investigation he’s already under and use “police reform” or “victimless crime” as an excuse. Oh, he doesn’t need to go to prison, he needs “restorative justice” and “rehab”.

    And then there’s Ford, who is already down with O.P.P. and has his own history of meddling in the forces; I’m reminded of that line from Die Hard where Theo the computer programmer says “the police have themselves an R.V.” The only way I could see him reallocating police responsibilities to social services is if they’re private operations and he can make a buck off of it, like Trump. As for Quebec, who polices Legault to ensure that his “public safety” department doesn’t implement its own barbaric hijabs hotline? I wasn’t surprised at all by the Cons this morning, but no one from Blanchet’s party signed onto that anti-racism declaration that the Liberals, Greens, and NDP lent their support to. The BQ is the federal arm of the CAQ and it shows.

    I’m totally open to the whittling down and transformation of “policing” to barebones essentials only (in other words, don’t disband the prime minister’s security detail considering all the psychopaths who want to go full Oswald on him), while leaving the remainder of responsibilities to mental health agencies and other resources in the community for the provinces and municipalities to manage. But there needs to be some sort of accountability backstop from the feds too, lest the worst people appoint the worst people to continue the rot and the systemic abuse all the way down the line.

    The problem is that too many of the people in leadership need to undergo their own intervention and anti-racism or anti-corruption training, and people need to examine their own consciences rather than continue to vote for them if they don’t change. I’m not talking about Trudeau’s dopey yearbook photos being mentioned as a deflection for the zillionth time, or “microaggressions.” I’m talking about real serious problems. I wouldn’t trust Kenney to be dog catcher, let alone be judge, jury and executioner. I just hope there’s some mechanism beyond the ballot box to keep the political pit bulls on a very short leash.

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