Roundup: The emergency measures votes were a test

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I believe we are now in day thirty-three of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and there are fears in the northern city of Chernihiv that they may become the next Mariupol, as the city undergoes shelling from Russian forces. Meanwhile, those Russian forces seem to be shifting away from trying to encircle Kyiv, and are instead moving toward the eastern Donbas region to try and consolidate gains there, leading to fears that Russia may be trying to split the country. Elsewhere, the International Committee of the Red Cross is asking Canada not to lump its humanitarian promises in with sanctions and military aid, as it threatens the neutrality of their organisation. Here is a look at some more actions the West could be taking to help Ukraine that aren’t a no-fly zone. It has also been announced that Justin Trudeau and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will co-host an international pledging event for “Stand Up For Ukraine” on April 9th.

Closer to home, the weekend saw a couple of different versions of the “inside story” of the Liberal and NDP supply and confidence agreement, from both Susan Delacourt and Aaron Wherry. The two recounting largely align, talking about how initial talks post-election quickly ended as everyone was still too raw from the vote, how Trudeau reached out to Singh after the birth of Singh’s daughter, that most of the talks happened virtually and close to the vest to avoid leaks, and that their face-to-face meeting was at Rideau Gate, which usually hosts dignitaries (but was where Julie Payette lived when she was GG rather than in Rideau Hall, along with her Secretary, Assunta DiLorenzo). What was particularly interesting was how the vote on the Emergencies Act became the test for the NDP that they could be trusted in this agreement, and how the Liberals were willing to provide security briefings to secure that support, and that when the NDP proved themselves, the deal could go ahead.

On that note, it’s interesting (but perhaps unsurprising) that Elections Canada said that they got no prior notice about the portions of the agreement that call for the exploration of three days of elections, allowing people to vote at any polling place in the riding, or improving the process of mail-in ballots. Some of those may be unwieldy or impossible, but the agreement’s language does specify that they would “work with Elections Canada to explore ways to expand the ability for people to vote,” so these ideas are not iron-clad. On the reconciliation front, there are hopes that the promise of stability that the agreement provides will help accelerate some timelines toward progress.

Good reads:

  • The federal and Ontario governments will (finally) be signing the $10/day early learning and child care deal for Ontario, just weeks away from the election.
  • Here is more on the background of the design chosen for the LGBTQ2+ National Monument that will be going up in Ottawa.
  • An Indigenous delegation has arrived in Rome ahead of their promised meeting with the Pope about the legacy of residential schools.
  • Unsurprisingly, there are concerns that the tone of Pierre Poilievre’s campaign is exacerbating existing divisions within the Conservative party.
  • The Post has a look at the growing number of also-rans in the Conservative leadership race, who will affect the ranked ballot.
  • Here is a deeper dive in to NDP reactions to the deal, and the pragmatists who think it’s good for them, versus the harder leftists from whom it’s selling out to centrism.
  • Heather Scoffield wonders about the Bank of Canada’s plans to try and keep expectations of inflation in check as they work to counter it.
  • Chantal Hébert suggests that the confidence agreement may be the next-best-thing to electoral reform, and getting things done may lead to a better election next time.
  • Supriya Dwivedi points out that Conservatives calling the confidence agreement “undemocratic” is dangerous in a time of disinformation and conspiracy theories.

Odds and ends:

My Loonie Politics Quick Take talks about the importance of the “no surprises” principle underpinning the confidence agreement.

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