The question of seat redistribution and the allocation – and subtraction – of seats has been simmering, and the premier of Quebec is demanding that the prime minister step in and guarantee that Quebec not only retain the seat it is slated to lose, but also to guarantee that because of the notion that Quebec constitutes a nation within Canada, that they must be guaranteed that their share of seats never drops even if their population grows at a much slower pace than other provinces. The problem with that? It would require a constitutional amendment to do, using the 7/50 formula (seven provinces representing 50 percent of the population). And that could be the tricky part.

Of course, the obvious solution is to tinker with the seat distribution formula, which the Conservatives introduced (fully intending to screw over Ontario for new seats along the way). But as I stated in my column a couple of weeks ago, we would probably be better served adding far more than just four seats – something more like 40 would be better for everyone, especially because it would mean better populating committees and keeping parliamentary secretaries from voting positions on them. Mike Moffatt and I discussed this over Twitter:

https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt/status/1456558821942431744

https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt/status/1456560023383969796

I made the point in a column a couple of weeks ago that we would be better served adding something like 40 new seats rather than just four: https://t.co/S8DB5c7qkj https://t.co/hxOEgL9Ezt

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) November 5, 2021

https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt/status/1456590475985571840

Furthermore, if we stay at the current redistribution formula, that sole new seat in Ontario is going to cause a lot of problems with redrawing boundaries (which will then have provincial reverberations, because Ontario provincial ridings mirror their federal counterparts, with the exception of an additional seat in Northern Ontario for better representation. Once this reality starts to sink in, perhaps the government would start considering boosting that formula to avoid these kinds of headaches.

https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt/status/1456593608648298498

Good reads:

• Flags on government buildings will be raised on Sunday, as the government agreed to most of the recommendations from the Assembly of First Nations.
• Dr. Theresa Tam released new modelling numbers that showed the pace of COVID slowing, but not as quickly as before, and some provinces starting to tick upward.
• The federal government is procuring 20,000 Johnson & Johnson doses, as some conspiracy-minded vaccine hesitants claim that they would take this vaccine.
• Some 90,000 seniors could face GIS clawbacks because they accessed other pandemic income benefits.
• Here is a look at the veterans’ disability backlog, which is very slow to clear, along with an explainer as to the dispute over the size of said backlog.
• A statement from the Provost Marshal and the head of military prosecutions acknowledged the lack of public confidence in the military justice system.
• Civilian prosecutors are discussing possible sexual assault charges against the military’s former head of personnel.
• Erin O’Toole is asking his MPs to keep quiet on hot-button topics and have the referred to his office instead – and that email immediately got leaked.
• Alberta’s agriculture minister has resigned after media reports of his drinking heavily in the office and harassing staffers.
• Kevin Carmichael puts yesterday’s job numbers from StatsCan into context.
• Jason Markusoff notes that for Shelly Glover’s version of events to have happened, a vast conspiracy against her would have needed to play out.
• Althia Raj makes the case that it’s former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour who is leading the change in the military and that it’s Anita Anand that’s following.
• My weekend column looks at Anita Anand making immediate steps around combatting sexual misconduct in the military, unlike her predecessor.

Odds and ends:

Rideau Hall just introduced more confusion into Mary Simon/Mary May Simon attributions. pic.twitter.com/iwKWGglX2w

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) November 5, 2021

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