Roundup: Political theatre over terrorist listings

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After Question Period yesterday, Jagmeet Singh rose to propose a motion that the government get serious about tackling white supremacy, which included listing the Proud Boys as a terrorist organization. After a brief interruption where Elizabeth May wanted the Soldiers of Odin added to that list – which was ruled procedurally out of order – Singh’s motion passed, and it was a big social media coup for him, which was also turned into a fundraising pitch so that they could “keep the pressure up” on the Liberals to actually go through with it.

The problem? This is all political theatre – and dangerous political theatre at that. The motion was non-binding, and does not automatically list the Proud Boys, but serves as political direction for the relevant national security agencies to do so, but they can’t actually do that, because there are clear processes set out in law to do so. The Conservatives tried this a few years ago with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and to have them listed – which still hasn’t been done, because there’s a process, and established criteria that it appears they don’t meet the threshold of under existing Canadian law.

To add to that, this kind of precedent should be absolutely alarming because it was a year ago that there were people demanding that Indigenous protesters blockading railways be declared “terrorists,” and if this were up to votes in the Commons (though, granted, this was a motion that required unanimous consent), that could turn bad very, very fast. There are established processes for terrorist listings for a reason, and they should be respected – not being used so that MPs can pat themselves on the back and virtue-signal that they oppose white supremacy. That doesn’t solve problems and can make the jobs of legitimate national security agencies more difficult, but hey, MPs get to make some hay over Twitter, so that’s what counts, right?

Good reads:

  • Chrystia Freeland says Canada knows how to deal with American protectionism, as Joe Biden signed a new Buy American executive order that has 180 days to finalise.
  • Freeland also says the government is considering mandating hotel quarantines for international travellers, which could act as further deterrence.
  • Seamus O’Regan has poured cold water over the idea of sanctions against the Americans over the cancellation of Keystone XL.
  • MPs have agreed to resume hybrid sittings with very limited attendance, and that will include rolling out the Abomination of a voting app.
  • An internal review of the Public Health Agency showed that it was under-resourced and under-staffed, which led to problems early in the pandemic.
  • It turns out that CSE revised their damage assessment from the alleged RCMP spy’s leaks from “high” to “severe.”
  • Senator Lynn Beyak is resigning from the Senate, citing that the eight years she promised Stephen Harper are now up. (Expulsion would threaten her pension).
  • The Liberals have booted MP Ramesh Sangha from caucus after he was found repeating conspiracy theories in Punjabi against Nabveep Bains and Harjit Sajjan.
  • Both Erin O’Toole and Jagmeet Singh seem keen to launder the PM’s accountability for appointing the next GG, as they want a say in who it should be. (Sigh)
  • Erin O’Toole says he doesn’t support harsh sentences for drug possession, but won’t support legalization and remained silent on decriminalization.
  • Susan Delacourt sends off those MPs and senators on their way out – Derek Sloan, Ramesh Sangha, and Lynn Beyak, all of whom deemed to have Trumpian qualities.
  • Colby Cosh looks over the announcement of a possible Canadian-led treatment for COVID symptoms, and finds reason for hesitation.

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