We are on day one-hundred-and-twelve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and it’s estimated that Russians now control some 80 percent of Severodonetsk, as civilians are being pushed to the industrial outskirts of the city because the Russians are taking a scorched-earth approach to their artillery. A Russian general says they will open a humanitarian corridor today, but we know how trustworthy their word has been to date. If Ukraine can get enough heavy military equipment from its allies in time, they may be able to push back and go on a counter-offensive, but we’ll see if that can happen. Elsewhere, here are how Ukrainians are turning to humour to cope with their situation.

https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1536778589089193988

Closer to home, we saw the fiftieth Senate public bill of this session tabled yesterday, and that’s a sign that things are going off the rails in Justin Trudeau’s “new, independent” Senate. To refresh your memories, Senate public bills are roughly equivalent to private members’ bills for senators, and like any Senate bill, cannot spend money. This kind of proliferation is getting to be an issue, because it’s a sign that these new senators are behaving a lot like MPs (and I don’t just mean the sudden desire for everyone to put their feelings on the record at Second Reading of any bill for no reason at all), and that’s not a good thing. The Order Paper in the Commons is replete with literally hundreds of private members’ bills that are going nowhere because they have a lottery system, and a handful of MPs will get one shot at a bill or motion for the duration of this Parliament, but that doesn’t stop them from tabling all kinds of bills to make a statement, or set a marker, or pretend that the government will be so enamoured with their work that they’ll adopt it for themselves, and that they can reflect in that glory for all time. In the Senate, however, they don’t have one shot, and the work isn’t time allocated from start-to-finish, so they can introduce and debate as many as they like, provided they can get debate time, particularly with committees.

Normally, these bills don’t go very far because they get busy with government bills and the odd PMB from the Commons, which get priority time, but the government has had a very light legislative agenda this session, which has meant that senators have a lot of time on their hands, and these kinds of bills tend to come up. Some of them are feel-good busywork, like declaring special national days. Some of them are just mischief (looking at you, Senator Carignan). Some of these are the policy hobbyhorses of senators who have an inflated view of their positions, combined with a type-A personality, so they’re going to push their personal agenda whether anyone else likes it or not. And even though the government has finally started introducing more bills in the Senate, many of which are housekeeping bills by nature, it’s obviously not enough to keep them busy, or from picking up MPs’ bad habits.

https://twitter.com/journo_dale/status/1536898175210078209

Good reads:

• In Question Period, Justin Trudeau declared that it was “absolutely unacceptable” for a bureaucrat to attend a party at the Russian Embassy.
• The Star goes behind-the-scenes of the decision to “suspend” the bulk of federal public health measures, particularly around travel.
• Marco Mendicino tabled a new cybersecurity bill that will formally grant powers to ban firms like Huawei and ZTE.
• The treaty to divide Hans Island/Tartupaluk has been signed, so Canada now has a land border with Denmark. No, really.
• The Post has more details about that allegedly misleading email the Poilievre camp sent out to party members that apparently caused thousands of duplicate members.
• Here is a look into how Conservatives are losing the trust of ethno-cultural communities, and how this leadership contest plays out in that light.
• The federal government is announcing $77 million to help the town of Lytton, BC, rebuild as a fire-resistant and energy-efficient community.
• Stephen Saideman gives part one of his thoughts on the Arbour Report.
• Justin Ling sorts through the “Klondike Papers” revelations for what is true, and what is the attempt to build a conspiracy theory for leftists.
• Heather Scoffield previews a major speech Chrystia Freeland is set to deliver on Thursday about how the government is fighting inflation for Canadians.
• Paul Wells uses the backdrop of Top Gun: Maverick to offer a meditation on state capacity, and it’s actually quite fascinating.
• My column looks at how the Conservatives have returned to offering succour to the occupation of downtown Ottawa because they think they can use it to score points.

Odds and ends:

https://twitter.com/AaronWherry/status/1536857125149974528

Want more Routine Proceedings? Become a patron and get exclusive new content.