Roundup: Backing away from the crazy now that the leadership is secured

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Now that she has won the UCP leadership and is about to be sworn-in as premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith is suddenly backing down from some of the things she’s been saying about her “Sovereignty Act,” and is telling media outlets that she’ll respect the rule of law when courts inevitably rule against it because it’s going to be blatantly unconstitutional. Which isn’t what was promised, and the whole point of the Act, based on the brain trust that invented the idea, was to force a constitutional crisis by disobeying the Supreme Court. Now Smith is saying otherwise, which is starting to look mighty cynical—that she sold her base on a false promise in order to get them to buy memberships and vote for her, and now she’s going to tone it down. It’s just so cynical and crass that you have to wonder what she won’t say or do in order to get her way now that she’ll have access to real levers of power.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 229:

The weekend began with an explosion on the bridge between Crimea and Russia, attributed to Ukraine, and on the day after Putin’s birthday, given how much of a vanity project this bridge was for Putin. By Monday morning, Russians shelled the city centres in Kyiv and nine other cities in Ukraine, all targeting civilian infrastructure, calling it retaliation for the Crimean bridge explosion, and trying to call it terrorism (while attacking civilian centres, which is actual terrorism). One of the cities hit was Zaporizhzhia, where apartment buildings were struck. As well, here are stories of survivors of Russians in liberated villages in the Kherson region, and a look at the looting Russians have undertaken of places like museums in captured regions.

https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1579530489802944512

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau condemned the attacks on civilians in Ukraine.
  • The public inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act opens this week, and the Star has a reminder of some of what it needs to consider.
  • The immigration committee will hold an emergency meeting this week to look into allegations that Marco Mendicino backdated documents when he was minister.
  • Brian Mulroney had dinner with Poilievre and was impressed with him, but cautions him not to go to the extreme right (and good luck with that).
  • Scott Moe plans to release a policy paper on how to “protect against federal intrusion,” which one suspects will involve holding his breath until he turns blue.
  • Danielle Smith has agreed to run in a by-election in the southern town of Brooks, but won’t call a by-election for a Calgary seat that already has a vacancy.
  • Chantal Hébert suspects that François Legault and Danielle Smith will wind up being more hindrance than help to Pierre Poilievre and his ambitions.
  • Althia Raj worries that the federal government has been too silent on attacks on the constitution from Quebec, which could embolden Alberta and Saskatchewan.
  • Susan Delacourt sees the upcoming testimonies at the Emergencies Act inquiry to be the real fight that Trudeau and Poilievre’s teams have been waiting for.

Odds and ends:

My latest Loonie Politics Quick Take discusses what happens when a new party leader doesn’t have a seat in the legislature.

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One thought on “Roundup: Backing away from the crazy now that the leadership is secured”

  1. It will be interesting when the Premiers are offered a health deal of 40% from the Federal government in return with strict conditions. Will the electorate tolerate any Premier who refuses and leaves his voters a deficient provincial health care plan? There are interesting developments on healthcare on the horizon coming but not until nearer the time for a Federal election.

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