We are now on or about day fifty-eight of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Russia has declared victory when it comes to their siege of the strategic city of Mariupol, and has ordered its troops not to storm the last pocket of resistance there. But hey, they’ve “liberated” the city by shelling it to rubble, so good job there. It is estimated that some 2000 Ukrainian troops remain on site, spread out in a network of tunnels and bunkers, along with several thousand civilians. Of course, this also means that Russian forces are likely going to simply try and wait out those remaining troops and civilians as they run out of food and supplies, and trap them inside.

The prime ministers of Spain and Denmark have arrived in Kyiv to meet with President Zelensky.

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) April 21, 2022

Volodymyr Zelensky on heavy weapons:

“Without additional weaponry, this war will become an endless bloodbath, spreading misery, suffering, and destruction. Mariupol, Bucha, Kramatorsk – the list will be continued. Nobody will stop Russia except Ukraine with Heavy Weapons.”

— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) April 21, 2022

Closer to home, Pierre Poilievre has been unveiling more of his housing platform, but…it’s pretty incoherent, in a lot of ways. There isn’t that much financial leverage that the federal government can wield when it comes to ending NIMBYism and seven decades of market incentives for single-family homes that are unsustainable and which only continue to exacerbate the affordability crisis (not to mention the climate crisis). Oh, and Poilievre is defending his own rental property portfolio, citing that he’s providing affordable rental accommodations to two “deserving families.”

1) I don't know why we would exempt cities under 500,000 people like Markham and Burnaby and, er, Westmount. Lots of municipal population counts are due to pretty arbitrary border-drawing.

Unless we're talking about all local governments in CMAs, but that's not what it says.

— David Reevely (@davidreevely) April 22, 2022

3) I'm not sure this plan is based on a correct understanding of what a building permit is.

— David Reevely (@davidreevely) April 22, 2022

5) The last point isn't really about housing, or really clear, but would probably mean a pretty fundamental remaking of the Bank of Canada and I'd like to hear more about that, too.

-end

— David Reevely (@davidreevely) April 22, 2022

The last point on that list is pretty critical—it would undermine central bank independence, and one imagines could actually create a deflationary spiral in the right circumstances that would create a depression, which is precisely what they were avoiding when they engaged in quantitative easing during the pandemic recession. Jennifer Robson has even more concerns about the incoherence of the plan in this thread. Meanwhile, I would also recommend checking out this thread by Mike Moffatt about just how complex the drivers of the housing situation in Ontario is. It’s not just one thing—it’s a lot of moving parts that got us to where we are now.

I can’t find this on PP’s site.
This is a very good thread.
But there’s more.
Maybe PP hasn’t talked to a city with a major transit system.
Cities, w/ provinces, come to feds for big transit spend as phased projects. https://t.co/qRe67poBFV

— Dr. J Robson (@JenniferRobson8) April 22, 2022

https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt/status/1517214855572320256

Good reads:

• Justin Trudeau announced a new policy that recognises Inuit Nunagat—Inuit homelands—as a distinct political region that requires government cooperation.
• Trudeau also said that he is “very supportive” of Sweden and Finland joining NATO.
• Teachers and farmers’ tax returns are being delayed because the bill to authorise certain tax credits for them is being held up by procedural warfare. Again.
• As expected, the government’s plans to deny EI benefits for those who lost their jobs for refusing to get vaccinated was not as easy as they had hoped.
• Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem declares that nothing is off the table for rate hikes, which could mean a rate increase of more than fifty basis points by June.
• The veterans ombudsman says that female veterans faced more barriers in getting treatment for sexual dysfunction than male veterans.
• New commanders for the Army, the Royal Canadian Navy, and the Royal Canadian Air Force were all announced yesterday. The new Army head is Indigenous.
• A senior military member retired and then headed to Ukraine to volunteer to fight while he was under investigation for sexual misconduct.
• The NCC has drawn up a fairly grandiose list of requirements for a prime minister’s official residence to possibly replace 24 Sussex, but most needs seem extraneous.
• Visitors will be allowed back into Parliament buildings again as of this week.
• Jean Charest is pitching greater private participation in healthcare, that the public would pay for…which makes one wonder what the point is.
• The Bay du Nord project would likely trigger international royalties under UNCLOS, and the provinces wants the federal government to pay them (of course).
• Jason Kenney says he’s been “too tolerant” of open dissent in his party.
• Rahim Mohamed finds a cautionary tale for Pierre Poilievre in the rise and downfall of former New York mayoral candidate Andrew Yang.
• Paul Wells interviews former Quebec finance minister Carlos Leitao about his career and the rise of identity politics in Quebec politics.

Odds and ends:

The Queen had a quiet celebration for her 96th birthday. Her official birthday is celebrated in Canada on Victoria Day, and Platinum Jubilee celebrations are in June.

Here is the PM’s statement on Her Majesty’s 96th birthday. #MapleCrown pic.twitter.com/VHCI56d3qC

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) April 21, 2022

This is…pretty much the exasperation of observing politics on a daily basis. https://t.co/eR2VFQpOAd

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) April 21, 2022

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