Yesterday morning, Erin O’Toole declared that he would seek intervenor status at the Federal Court in the dispute between the House of Commons and the Public Health Agency of Canada over the disclosure of classified documents. Apparently, he believes that he has a “distinct perspective” on the underlying issues raised by the case, which is…a bit novel considering that his press release was a partisan document that was not about legal arguments but rather about political calculus.

As a reminder, the process was triggered because under the Canada Evidence Act – which Parliament passed – says that when requests for secret or confidential documents are made to a government entity like PHAC, they must notify the Attorney General, and that triggered a process by which said Attorney General sought clarity from the Federal Court – does the Canada Evidence Act and its limitations supersede or otherwise restrict Parliament’s privileges in demanding documents and the production of papers as they see fit, given that they are ostensibly the highest court in the land. Plenty of people have tried to make this a partisan issue – O’Toole most especially among them – rather than a process where everyone is following the law, and the law conflicts with Parliamentary privilege.

Not sure why the Federal Court would want to be used as a platform for electoral grandstanding when the Speaker is doing his job of defending Parliament’s privileges. pic.twitter.com/K2O7uwWXvy

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) August 13, 2021

I half-suspect that in this case, the Federal Court may not grant O’Toole standing, given that he has pretty much stated that this is going to be an attempt at electoral grandstanding inside of a court room, which the Court would be hesitant to do. Beyond that, his statement in the press release doesn’t actually make sense – the request to present the documents will die when Parliament is dissolved, and the special committee that demanded the documents ceases to exist. Beyond that, if he forms government, he won’t need to release the documents because he’d be able to read them in secret, thus eliminating the possibility that releasing them might compromise our Five Eyes obligations, or inadvertently compromise a foreign intelligence source (though I am not convinced this is a national security or intelligence issue, but rather more likely one of an RCMP investigation into policy breaches). Not to mention, the documents were released, both in a redacted form to the committee, and in an unredacted form to NSICOP, and the Conservatives want someone else to do the redacting who doesn’t have national security experience. I have a hard time discerning just what “distinct perspective” he has other than scoring points, given that the Speaker will be exercising his role in protecting the privileges of the Commons, and he doesn’t need O’Toole’s help for that.

Good reads:

• The government announced that they are making vaccines mandatory for federal civil servants, as well as passengers on airlines, interprovincial rail, and cruise ships.
• Marco Mendicino announced that they are expanding their special resettlement programme for Afghan refugees (but the process appears to remain murky).
• The federal government has signed a child care agreement with Saskatchewan, making them the seventh province to join the national programme.
• Seniors minister Deb Schulte says her cancer has returned, but she will still be able to fulfill her roles.
• The acting Chief of Defence Staff was given a promotion to full general, which is a pretty loud signal that he’s about to drop the “Acting” designation.
• Recordings have emerged about General Jonathan Vance, where he is heard demanding that the woman who accused him of misconduct “square” her story.
• Here’s a look at the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and why it’s not the same force Canadians faced twenty years ago.
• Here’s an analysis of the flurry of announcements over the past few days as the government clears the decks in advance of the election call.
• The Conservatives have dropped their Yukon candidate because of his opposition to public health guidelines in the face of the pandemic.
• The NDP are the only major federal party to have not submitted their 2020 financial statement to Elections Canada (which is very odd).
• The Greens are debating whether to postpone their national convention until after the election, which could be a reprieve for Annamie Paul.
• Ontario’s refusal to come to an agreement on federal funds for long-term care means that millions of dollars are left on the table as the fourth wave starts.
• Ontario is now making it mandatory for hospital and long-term care workers to be vaccinated.
• Paul Wells delves into some regional polling data to show that the Liberals may have some strength that the topline numbers may not reflect.
• My Xtra column looks at how Michelle Rempel Garner’s call for Health Canada to reconsider their policy on poppers may actually be an example of uncynical politics.
• My weekend column reads through the NDP’s campaign platform document, and finds it to be as substantive as a fantasy novella.

Odds and ends:

The National Capital Commission confirms they’re in favour of running the tramway to Gatineau along Wellington Street (so can we hurry up and build it already?)

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