During his press conference yesterday, prime minister Justin Trudeau said that according to his legal advice, Quebec can unilaterally modify part of the federal Constitution that applies specifically to them – which is either untrue, or appeasement to the Legault government, because every party is trying to suck up to Legault and his overwhelming popularity.
I have heard not a single substantive rebuttal to anything in this piece. Maybe the DOJ can call me. https://t.co/U9ttY8uAqO
— Emmett Macfarlane 🇺🇦 🇨🇦 (@EmmMacfarlane) May 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/EmmMacfarlane/status/1394692818644393991
A plain reading of Section 43 of the Constitution states that where language rights are involved, the federal Parliament needs to have a say in the constitutional amendment, and it’s very much invoked in these proposals from Quebec. That Trudeau – or apparently the lawyers in the Justice Department – can’t see this is a problem, and raises some real questions as to the quality of advice the government is receiving from the department. (Hell, even other Liberal MPs are questioning it).
But section 45 only refers to the 'constitution of the province' (not the "Constitution of Canada").
The "Provincial Constitutions" section of the 1867 Act does not comprise the constitution of the province. Indeed, it establishes only a fragment of it. 2/
— Emmett Macfarlane 🇺🇦 🇨🇦 (@EmmMacfarlane) May 18, 2021
This is why, as I argue in my Policy Options piece, additions to the national constitution would confer *national* recognition of 'Quebeccers as a nation', and why s43, if not s38, is required. 4/4
— Emmett Macfarlane 🇺🇦 🇨🇦 (@EmmMacfarlane) May 18, 2021
If they mean all people, then this is obviously contested. For one thing, the members of the various First Nations in the territory of Quebec already form their own nations. And other non-Indigenous residents don't share a 'nationhood' with francophone Quebecers either. 2/n
— Emmett Macfarlane 🇺🇦 🇨🇦 (@EmmMacfarlane) May 18, 2021
The debate is thus really whether it is s38 or s43 that applies. Regardless, for the many different reasons – none substantively rebutted by a single person since my Policy Options post first went up! – it is certainly not possible unilaterally. 4/4
— Emmett Macfarlane 🇺🇦 🇨🇦 (@EmmMacfarlane) May 18, 2021
By the way, violating the amending formula doesn't become "okay" just because the people who should be objecting are too chickenshit to object. It's the fucking constitution, not a game of Monopoly where the adults let the 4 year-old cheat.
— Emmett Macfarlane 🇺🇦 🇨🇦 (@EmmMacfarlane) May 18, 2021
But what were people riled up over instead of an egregious violation of our constitutional norms? A photo of Trudeau at a laptop which was clearly an HP machine, with the logo covered over with an Apple sticker. The scandal!
https://t.co/kd2pbFglP7 pic.twitter.com/Ncq4jqOtY9
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) May 18, 2021
Good reads:
- Justin Trudeau says that he knew for “weeks” there as an investigation into Major General Dany Fortin, but let the military conduct it on their own terms.
- Trudeau also called for a ceasefire in the current round of hostilities between Israelis and Palestinians to avoid more civilian deaths.
- Trudeau suggested that we would need a 75% vaccination rate to re-open the US border, while some who go to the US for vaccination can avoid quarantine rules.
- David Lametti insists that nothing in Bill C-10 is contrary to the Charter.
- Mary Ng met (virtually) with her American and Mexican counterparts to discuss post-pandemic trade issues, including cross-border supply chains.
- The government is investing $200 million in a Mississauga contract manufacturing facility so that it can produce mRNA vaccines in the future.
- The Information Commissioner is launching a systemic investigation of Library and Archives Canada’s inability to process archival spy files in a timely manner.
- At the Commons defence committee, the Conservatives wanted to also investigate the Fortin allegations, and the Liberals blocked another attempt at calling staffers.
- Here’s a look at the success Nova Scotia has had with rapid testing in its third wave.
- Top officials on Alberta’s Energy and Utilities Board are resigning amid a scandal where private investigators were hired to spy on landowners opposed to projects.
- Kady O’Malley’s Process Nerd column looks at which bills on the Order Paper are likely to be prioritized in the final push before the summer break.
- Kevin Carmichael uses the example of post-Olympic hockey in 1998 to illustrate Canada’s lack of focus when it comes to industrial policy and why it’s hurting us.
Susan Delacourt remarks on the return to “normalcy” in Canada-US relations. - My column looks at how those who personally blame Trudeau for continued sexual misconduct in the military betrays their deep unseriousness.
Odds and ends:
The Kitimat LNG project and Pacific Trails pipeline have had regulatory approval in hand for most of a decade. Pipeline was approved in 2008 and granted a 5 year extension in 2019. LNG project had its export permit doubled in 2019 by the CER https://t.co/mBkEcrWWXz https://t.co/8nkebYnZOS
— Andrew Leach (@andrew_leach) May 18, 2021
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Was it Hunter Biden’s laptop? Was he reading Hillary’s emails? At least he wasn’t wearing a tan suit! OH THE HUMANITY! He ordered elitist locally-sourced doughnuts at the Ping Pong Poutine Pizzeria, and put the fanciest Dijon ketchup on a double-decker Kielburger! Canada is finished under Justin Castreau! The great reset takeover is nearly complete! Vote PPC! Wexit now! /s