Roundup: Awaiting the (garbage) Reform Act votes

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Today is the Conservatives’ first caucus meeting of the new parliament – in person, no less – and everyone is anxiously awaiting news of whether they plan to vote on the (garbage) Reform Act provisions that would give caucus the ability to call for a leadership review. While I wrote about this for my column, coming out later today, I will make a few additional notes here.

As the column spells out, these provisions don’t actually provide an accountability mechanism, and they will wind up protecting O’Toole more than they will threaten him. So when I see MPs like Tom Kmiec saying that he wants MPs to accept the (garbage) Reform Act powers on a leadership review, citing that it provides a clear process, what he omits is that the 20 percent threshold insulates O’Toole, because those 24 MPs would need to openly sign their names to a letter to the caucus chair, meaning they will be easily identifiable for retribution if O’Toole survives the subsequent vote and/or leadership review, and that retribution can include not signing their nomination papers. That’s not an insignificant threat against them.

Meanwhile, Senator Michael MacDonald, a former Harper-era organizer, is urging a vote on a leadership review, citing O’Toole’s decision to say anything to whoever was in the room as being a threat to the party’s future chances.

Good reads:

  • Canada is officially invoking its 1977 pipeline treaty with the US over the threats by the Michigan governor to shutter Enbridge’s Line 5 (which she can’t actually do).
  • The major-general suspended for writing a glowing letter for someone convicted of sexual assault is back on the job…reviewing sexual misconduct policies. Seriously.
  • It looks like people who refused hotel quarantines in Calgary didn’t get hit with the $5000 fine that people who refused in Toronto or Montreal did, raising questions.
  • Senator Salma Ataullahjan says that women ministers in Afghanistan were warning the Canadian government about the Taliban two months before the fall of Kabul.
  • Here is a look at some of the complaints about O’Toole in the Conservative caucus, including that power brokers in the party are members of the Albany Club.
  • The Conservatives’ campaign post-mortem is showing how they lost ground in all but one riding where the majority are visible minorities.
  • There was a Speech from the Throne in Ontario yesterday, and it did not mention signing onto the federal childcare plan.
  • Brian Pallister has now resigned his seat (and one presumes is taking off for Costa Rica as soon as possible).
  • Kady O’Malley’s Process Nerd column ponders what may happen with some of the bills that died on the Order Paper during dissolution.
  • Colby Cosh offers a sardonic wish that Justin Trudeau could have simply been bluntly honest about his trip to Tofino.

Odds and ends:

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One thought on “Roundup: Awaiting the (garbage) Reform Act votes”

  1. The irony. The party that rails against Liberals supposedly representing the interests of amorphous “Laurentian elites” has its own problem with string-pulling wizards behind the curtain. Obviously, of course, they’ll never acknowledge that the real dark wizard power broker behind the curtain is big daddy Harper who they’ve been begging to come back.

    Maybe Viktor Orban can take a run at the next leadership race.

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