Roundup: An insubstantial gong show of a French debate

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So, that was the French “Commission Debate.” Honestly, they should just burn this whole format down. The questions from “ordinary Canadians” are the kind of bullshit that TV executives think that people will spoon up (in spite of the stone-faced eleven-year-old unimpressed with the leaders pandering to him). Getting talent from each of the participating partners to ask questions is branding nonsense that adds little, especially when these same journalists can ask questions of the leaders in media availabilities daily. Packing in a list of topics that needs to be choreographed to the second means that the moment a leader started to get on the ropes about something, oops, time was up, next topic. Ridiculous.

With this in mind, it was another night of no real winners or losers, because it was just so insubstantial. Sure, Erin O’Toole choked on the child care question, but will it matter? Who knows? Same with Singh getting hit with the assertion that Jeff Bezos is in the United States and not Canada, or Annamie Paul getting a stake through the heart with the Greens having lost their raison d’être. They were good lines for the journalists who asked them, but will that actually have an effect? Doubtful. I can’t believe that they’re still trying to make “why are we having an election?” an issue in week four, and I still can’t believe that Justin Trudeau refuses to point out that Parliament was toxic and dysfunctional and couldn’t pass legislation for five months. And that he hasn’t called out the disingenuous “we need to work together” entreaties when these were the same leaders whose MPs were engaged in procedural warfare. But hey, “happy warrior” and all of that. And now we get to do it all again in English tonight.

Meanwhile, here were some of my reactions watching it all unfold.

On the campaign trail:

  • Justin Trudeau and Erin O’Toole spent the day in debate prep, but O’Toole did expound on his dine-in restaurant plan, which was a super-spreader in the UK.
  • Jagmeet Singh was in Sudbury to present the party’s northern strategy.
  • The Conservatives released their platform costing just before the debate, and it shows that their promised healthcare spending is really, really backloaded.
  • The Greens also released their platform, which as no costing, and lots of expensive social programmes with few implementation details.
  • The Conservatives and NDP are continuing to try and make an issue of Raj Saini’s (former) candidacy.
  • The CBC has a dubious “fact check” on Singh’s swipes about GHG emissions.
  • The Star dives into the issue of telecom affordability and promises parties make.
  • Here’s a look at some former MPs who are vying to make a comeback this election.
  • Security experts say that Trudeau needs to take his security more seriously in the face of the escalating mobs.
  • Justin Ling notes the ways in which the costed vs uncosted platforms played into the debate, and the big problems with the costing that O’Toole presented.
  • Althia Raj declares that Trudeau failed to turn people against O’Toole in the French debate.

Good reads:

  • Doug Ford has decided that the new National Day for Truth and Reconciliation won’t be a statutory holiday in Ontario.
  • Kevin Carmichael parses the Bank of Canada’s latest statement, and how they still see recovery even if slowed by the fourth wave and supply bottlenecks.
  • Colby Cosh (rightfully) remains unconvinced by the whole notion of televised leaders’ debates, and why they’re not a terribly useful exercise.

Odds and ends:

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