Roundup: UCP contest finds new lows

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As the UCP leadership race in Alberta meanders through clown town, outgoing leader Jason Kenney took a slightly bold step, and called Danielle Smith’s “Sovereignty Act” proposal “nuts,” which is an interesting enough intrusion in the race. But, because this is Kenney, he then took it a step too far and spouted a bunch of nonsense about the lieutenant governor not signing it, and no, that’s not how this works. There is pretty much no ability for an LG to refuse to sign legislation post-Statute of Westminster, because they aren’t reporting to the foreign desk of the Imperial government in Britain. Federal powers of disallowance may still be on the books, but have for all intents and purposes gone extinct because we have courts that have the power to strike down laws, and yes, that does matter. So you can bet that if Smith were to win said contest, and did manage to somehow pass said bill without a full-on caucus revolt (because it’s sheer, unconstitutional lunacy), you can rest assured that said bill would be immediately challenged in the courts, if not outright referred to the Supreme Court of Canada by the federal government, where it would summarily be struck down, likely in a ruling from the bench because it is so blatantly unconstitutional on its very face. So we have both Smith and Kenney in the wrong here, and this contest just keeps finding new lows.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 173:

Russian troops spent the weekend shelling the cities of Nikopol and Kramatorsk, as well as claimed the village of Pisky on the outskirts of Donetsk province. This as Ukrainian forces were continuing their counter-offensive in the south, striking the last working bridge over the Dnieper River, cutting off Russian supply lines. Ukrainians also say that they are targeting Russians that are firing near or from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility, and are accusing Russians of using it as a shield. As well, here is a look at Ukrainian drone pilot training, where video game skills are a welcome addition.

Good reads:

  • German chancellor Olaf Scholz will be visiting Canada next week, and will sign a green energy agreement with Canada at a hydrogen conference in Newfoundland.
  • The federal civil service has been exploring flexibility over bilingualism requirements with Indigenous languages, but it’s a fraught issue.
  • The Canadian Transportation Agency has a backlog of over 18,000 travel complaints (and they’re also a captured regulator, so it’s a really bad problem).
  • Canadian Blood Services is in talks about paying for plasma donations (note that they often have to import paid donations from the US, so this shouldn’t be a Thing).
  • Colby Cosh takes to task that AP wire story about the supposed state of assisted dying in Canada, and why it neither reflects reality, history, or context.

Odds and ends:

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