We are coming out of the first week of the campaign, and we still see a bunch of pundits and talking heads questioning why the Liberals called it in the first place, and I have to wonder just how much they paid attention to what went on during the last session of Parliament. It was a toxic environment – the most toxic I have seen in over a decade. Non-money bills didn’t advance for months because of procedural warfare, and at least one pandemic support bill was months late in being able to deliver for people who needed it. Committees were holding witch-hunts and the civil service was busy sending millions of pages to committees on wild goose chases. But did anyone bother to explain this? Not really, because then it would become a “process story,” which we are supposed to be allergic to. Putting the events of the spring into context, along with some of the considerations about timing (there are municipal elections in Quebec and Alberta in October) should be part of the media’s job, so that we’re not just being stenographers to what the parties are telling us (so we can then both-sides it). But that might be too much effort.

Of course, this is Justin Trudeau, and while he was perfectly happy to point out the obstruction on the days leading up to dissolution, once the campaign started, he was all about his upbeat, positive narratives, and talking about people being given a say in the “most important election since 1945,” because that’s his campaign persona and style – upbeat, upbeat, upbeat. Happy-clappy at all times. That doesn’t mean that those of us who follow Parliament can’t look past it and point out what was going on.

On the campaign trail:

• Justin Trudeau took Saturday off, but environment minister Jonathan Wilkinson made an announcement on preserving old growth forests in BC.
• In spite of their rocky start, the Liberals insist they’re on the right path, and that they spent the week “contrasting” with the Conservatives.
• The Liberals also say they are following public health guidelines “as much as possible” as masked crowds show up at their stops.
• Erin O’Toole outlined his plan regarding disability supports, the bulk of which are largely contingent on provincial cooperation.
• Jagmeet Singh promised legislation against renovictions (which is provincial jurisdiction) and providing new subsidies for renters (which will drive prices up).
• Yves-François Blanchet is agitating for the Moderna plant to be located in Quebec.
• Maxime Bernier did not meet the threshold to join the leaders’ debate.
• Chantal Hébert explains how the Liberals and Conservatives are both attempting to curry favour with François Legault as their hope for Quebec votes.

Good reads:

• Another flight departed Kandahar with 106 Afghan refugees aboard.
• Gay men in Afghanistan are afraid that they will be “weeded out” by the Taliban; Canada has pledged to prioritize their refugee claims (but will it happen in time?)
• Here’s a recounting for the first week under the Taliban in Kabul.
• Mélanie Joly is speaking openly about her fertility challenges, and her fifth invitro fertilisation attempt.
• The Conservatives are demanding an investigation into a trip Liberal MP Judy Sgro took in 2017, that she says she paid for herself.

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