News came down yesterday that Liberal MP Bob Bratina announced, in a bit of a huff, that he wasn’t going to run again in the next election because the government decided to fund an LRT project in Hamilton – where his riding is, and where he used to be mayor – because he’s personally opposed to the project. A certain Postmedia columnist picked up on this and insisted this was dire news for the Liberals, because they’re not even listening to their own MPs. There are counterpoints to this argument.

https://twitter.com/robert_hiltz/status/1394439822748659719

https://twitter.com/robert_hiltz/status/1394441891937140741

This having been said, yes, we know that sometimes Trudeau and Cabinet can be deaf to caucus concerns, but in this case, Bratina is throwing a tantrum, insisting that they didn’t consult “the Hamilton guy” when the Labour minister’s riding is also in Hamilton, and the infrastructure minister, Catherine McKenna, grew up there. In other words, the voices at the Cabinet table are just as qualified to talk about Hamilton issues than the “Hamilton guy,” especially because he’s personally opposed to a project that is basically what his own party is standing up for right now – mass transit options as part of the oncoming rapid decarbonization we need to engage in if we’re going to get our GHG emissions below catastrophic levels. He should be well aware of this given it’s the party he ran for two elections in a row. If he wants to run for mayor again to oppose the project, he’s within his rights to do so.

As for said the aforementioned columnist’s coded language around “common sense” and “silent majorities,” it’s hard to square that with the current incarnation of the Liberals. In other words, it’s probably pretty safe to consider his dire warning about this as an example of concern trolling, for what it’s worth.

Good reads:

• Justin Trudeau announced the government is looking to train some 2,000 energy auditors in order to get home retrofits off the ground.
• The Public Health Agency announced that Brigadier-General Krista Brodie will replace Major-General Dany Fortin heading the vaccine distribution effort.
• Unsurprisingly, the Liberals are now making hay of the contradictions in the Conservative accounts of the 2015 investigation into General Jonathan Vance.
• Mary Ng met virtually with her American counterpart to air grievances about the New NAFTA ahead of trilateral talks on the trade pact.
• Academics supporting Bill C-10 argued that discoverability is not a freedom of expression issue, especially as web giants’ algorithms are not neutral or agnostic.
• The backlog of citizenship tests for permanent residents is now over 100,000, thanks to the pandemic, with the government promising digital tests “soon.”
• Here is a look at the history and role of NACI, and why it’s been thrust into a role that they are not meant for thanks to the pandemic.
• The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency has found inconsistencies in methods to ensure Canada doesn’t share information with agencies that torture.
• The LGBT Purge Fund released their report yesterday, showing that there isn’t a clear strategy for the government to be more inclusive to LGBT voices.
• Doug Ford’s government is planning to fine people $25,000 if they record Landlord and Tenant Board hearings, which protects landlords’ interests.
• Former Liberal Cabinet minister Amarjeet Sohi is running for mayor of Edmonton.

Odds and ends:

My latest Loonie Politics Quick Take video tries to dispel some of the deliberate confusion being sown around the federal government’s role around vaccines.

WATCH: Our BRAND-NEW #HeritageMinute follows scientists Banting, Best, Collip and Macleod as they race for a treatment to cure 13-year-old Leonard Thompson of his life-threatening diabetes. 100 years ago today, their research began at the University of Toronto. #Insulin100 pic.twitter.com/ZE52qlVS6N

— Historica Canada (@HistoricaCanada) May 17, 2021

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