Roundup: More questions about the WE contract

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It was another campaign stop – err, media availability field trip for prime minister Justin Trudeau, where he headed to a local brewery that has converted part of their production line to produce hand sanitizer to both highlight that the country is now nearly self-sufficient in the production of personal protective equipment, but also to once again highlight how great the wage subsidy is, and please, for the love of the gods, would employers take advantage of it (and get people off of CERB). He mentioned Thursday’s teleconference with the premiers and the $14 billion that the federal government has put on the table, but the fact that they haven’t apparently taken him up on it would seem to me that this is a bit of public diplomacy on Trudeau’s part to try to get the premiers to take it with the strings attached. From there, he said that the Canadian Forces personnel would start withdrawing from some of the long-term care facilities in Quebec where the Red Cross could step in, but also that the Forces were going to stabilize four more residences. And finally, he gave a shout out to Pride, which is no longer happening in Toronto this weekend because of the pandemic, but it is still nice to have a prime minister that acknowledges it.

During the Q&A, Trudeau said that changes to the wage subsidy were on the way so as not to be a disincentive for companies growing beyond the qualifying criteria – but we’ll see what “soon” means. He stated that they did have a plan in the works to help the Royal Canadian Legion branches that are in danger of closing because of the pandemic, and when asked about the anti-racism statement that all of the First Ministers put out earlier in the week, Trudeau said that they didn’t come to an agreement on systemic racism, but that reporters would have to ask the premiers which ones they were. (Spoiler: It’s Quebec). And then there were the questions about the service grant contract being given to WE Charities. Trudeau said that it was about creating opportunities, and that they needed to have a partner with established networks, and very clearly annunciated that it was the civil service that recommended WE as the only organization capable of delivering those networks on the scale being asked. He also said that while they were covering WE’s costs, the organization wouldn’t be profiting. It’s still pretty dubious, and here’s Alex Usher laying out some of the questions that remain outstanding on this whole affair.

Good reads:

  • David Lametti continues to assert that he’s not going to interfere in Meng Wanzhou’s extradition case, and yet reporters keep asking over and over again.
  • Patty Hajdu told a Senate committee that our relative lack of political animosity (compared to the US) helped us to more effectively fight the pandemic.
  • As many as 40 percent of the military personnel who were infected with COVID-19 working in long-term care facilities were asymptomatic, caught with proactive tests.
  • Maclean’s profiles the work of contact tracers as they deal with the pandemic.
  • The allocation of tariff-rate quotas on imported dairy has American political leaders – including Democrats – accusing us of evading our New NAFTA commitments.
  • The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the arbitration clause in Uber contracts is so unfair as to be invalid, opening them up to a lawsuit in Canada.
  • The Alberta NDP have been delving further into Kenney’s speechwriter’s publication history, and it’s a litany of racist, misogynistic and homophobic views.
  • Kevin Carmichael explores how the economic recovery will be affected by the choices that people make, both as consumers and as entrepreneurs.
  • Heather Scoffield walks through the Fitch credit downgrade, as well as some of the alternative scenarios if the government wasn’t spending like it is.
  • Susan Delacourt makes note of the generational divide in the Liberal ranks when it comes to those who are advocating pulling the plug on Meng Wanzhou’s extradition.
  • Colby Cosh utterly lambastes the argument of those 19 prominent Canadians who are arguing for Wanzhou’s release, given their lack of any logical consistency.
  • My weekend column looks at how Jason Kenney’s “Fair Deal” panel report has nothing to do with fairness, and everything to do with consolidating power.

Odds and ends:

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One thought on “Roundup: More questions about the WE contract”

  1. Frankly on the matter of the Premiers and their position on racism, systemic or not. There is a lot of confusion on the word systemic, it has become a word used in every sauce, everything is systemic. Really? Quebec Premier Legault was clear there is racism but there is no system built in to exclude based on race. Legault also reflects the political reality of Quebec. For Anglo-Canada and media outlets to constantly bash French Quebec has become a national sport. So easy to pick on Quebec, one could say its systemic racism. Look how that CBC Producer I. Walker had Wendy M. almost fired because she spoke about the Pierre Vallières book Nègres Blanc d’Amérique. Walker has no idea what this book represents in the historical context of the time nor the expression Nègres blanc. All this systemic talk its Anglo speak. You may disagree with me and I do not expect you to agree given that you may not understand fully how racism is viewed when as a French speaking person in Canada you have to put up with the put downs since 1763. I won’t mention the Acadian ethnic cleansing in the Maritimes of 1755-58. Did you know that this year is the 300th Anniversary of Acadian presence in the Maritimes and how Anglo Media is going out of its way to ignore that fact. So please let’s look at racism in Canada in general and not start singling out one province over another.

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