Do you remember when the Liberals considered themselves the party of open nominations? And how they were always going to uphold the democratic right of riding associations to run fair, open and transparent processes to select the candidates that would appear on the ballot for them? Because apparently the party has put this particular bit of democracy, openness and transparency down the memory hole as they continue to acclaim candidates from across the country. In two of these cases, the acclamations came a mere day after the incumbents announced that they weren’t running again, and in one of those ridings – Kanata-Carleton – there was the making of a contested nomination as rumours swirled that Karen McCrimmon wasn’t going to run again, and the riding association was frustrated that they couldn’t get any kind of answer from the party on how and when to run said contested nomination.

Now, the party is going to defend its honour by pointing out that their rules state that they can declare a state of “electoral urgency” to bypass the nomination process, but this is more of the Liberals’ penchant of letting the ends justify the means. They created the rules that were easily gamed, and frankly, the “electoral urgency” clause is a load of bullshit because they were using it in 2019 in the months before the election when they knew they had four years to have this process ongoing because there was a fixed election date under a majority parliament, so there were no surprises. Yes, the pandemic has made nomination races tougher because of public health restrictions, and the party has come under fire for using a verification system that includes facial recognition technology (which BC’s privacy commissioner is investigating, per that province’s laws), but again, these were things that the party should have been cognisant of and dealing with rather than simply wringing their hands and pulling the “electoral urgency” alarm to fast-track their hand-picked candidates, thwarting local democracy, and accountability.

Open nominations are one of the most important and fundamental building blocks of our democratic system. When parties flout those rules, it hurts the entire system – especially as it cements even more power in the leaders’ offices. That the Liberals are so blatantly ignoring their own supposed values in this crucial stage of the democratic process is a sign that the way the party rewrote their constitution to fit the Trudeau era is a very real problem that they are going to have to do a lot of soul-searching to address, especially when that age comes to its inevitable end.

Good reads:

• The IPCC report on climate change has a dire warning (especially for Canada), and points to the need to end fossil fuels – which Jason Kenney is balking at.
• China has upheld the death penalty for a Canadian convicted of drug smuggling, and will release their results from Michael Spavor’s trial today.
• Ahmed Hussen has now signed an early learning and child care agreement with Manitoba (which had a system in place and this enhances it).
• There are calls from civilian circles for the government to not reinstate Admiral Art McDonald as Chief of Defence Staff following his inconclusive investigation.
• The Information Commissioner outlines why Access to Information requests ground to a halt during the pandemic, and how the government needs to improve.
• Here is a deeper look into speculation as to whether two of our bachelor prime ministers – Bennett and Mackenzie King – were secretly gay.
• Karen McCrimmon reflects on her political careers, and the hope that culture change is finally coming to the Canadian Forces.
• While outlining promises for rural Canadians, Erin O’Toole decried the possibility of an election if there is a fourth wave.
• Michelle Rempel Garner wants Health Canada to look into the use of “poppers,” saying their effective ban in Canada creates further stigmatization of MSM.
• Jagmeet Singh is challenging Trudeau to recall Parliament instead of calling an election, but also denies any part in the toxic environment.
• Annamie Paul’s chief of staff has been fired and the president of the Green Party Fund stepped down, as the legal battle within the party is moving ahead.
• Heather Scoffield wonders who will take up the charge for housing policy once Adam Vaughan retires in the next election.
• Paul Wells ponders whether Justin Trudeau’s rhetoric on the world stage is being matched by his actions, particularly with the Biden administration.

Odds and ends:

My latest Loonie Politics Quick Take looks at how Jason Kenney is trying to pick a fight with the federal government over childcare.

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