Roundup: Internet troll and wide-eyed naïf

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The occupation leaders started their turn to testify at the Emergencies Act committee yesterday, and it’s quite an interesting picture that they are painting of themselves. Chris Barber, for example, admits to being a racist internet troll who “saw the light” thanks to all of the love and hugs during the occupation (sure, Jan), but also tried to present himself as this wide-eyed naïf who couldn’t possibly understand the MOU about overthrowing the government, or who believed all the honking was just these truckers being excited. Yeah, so believable. There were, apparently, power struggles between the different groups and organisers, and things started to spiral out of their control. Gosh, you think? And when Barber was presented with an email with an assassination threat targeting Chrystia Freeland, he insisted he had no knowledge of this—because, you know, it was all peace and love. (Credit to Shannon Proudfoot for the troll/naïf descriptor).

Elsewhere, Doug Ford’s lawyers were at Federal Court to argue that the rule of law would be “irreparably harmed” if Ford and Sylvia Jones were forced to testify at the public inquiry or deal with any subsequent contempt proceedings, which…is a bit much. The judge in the case noted that the parliamentary privilege relates to criminal and civil courts, but does not specify public inquiries (because the basis of the privilege stems from a time when the Crown controlled the courts). Said judge also said he expects to have a decision by November 8th, which is two days before Ford and Jones are supposed to testify at the inquiry.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 252:

Russian authorities in occupied territories have ordered the evacuation of civilians in an area near Kherson, which the Ukrainian government considers a forced depopulation, which is a war crime. Russians also fired missiles into an apartment building in the port city of Mykolaiv, and have destroyed about 40 percent of the country’s energy infrastructure as winter approaches.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau condemned Doug Ford’s pre-emptive use of the Notwithstanding Clause to attack labour rights.
  • Sean Fraser says the government plans to welcome half a million immigrants per year by 2025 to fill labour shortages (which will make housing shortages worse).
  • This year’s Silver Cross Mother for Remembrance Day is the mother of the last Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan.
  • The Correctional Investigator’s report says there has been scant progress on addressing the over-representation of Black and Indigenous people.
  • Gun control advocates want the definition used for banned firearms and their variants enshrined in legislation (which would be a problem going forward).
  • Tiff Macklem and his senior deputy, Carolyn Rogers, told a Senate committee that addressing supply problems won’t substitute the need for higher interest rates.
  • Liberal MPs on the Heritage Committee are calling bullshit on Facebook’s threats to remove all news content, citing the hash of a job when they tried this in Australia.
  • CSIS has confirmed that no, Chinese interference didn’t derail Erin O’Toole’s election campaign. (He did it himself by twisting himself into an impossible pretzel).
  • The NDP and the Bloc look set to support the Conservative Supply Day motion to call in the Auditor General on ArriveCan—but the AG doesn’t have to comply.
  • The NDP want clearer rules for ministerial direction between the Public Safety minister and the RCMP commissioner.
  • The Speaker of the National Assembly in Quebec has ruled that all MNAs need to swear an oath to the King if they want to take their seats, as it’s in the Constitution.
  • Heather Stefanson says she’s not going to drop everything to meet Danielle Smith and Scott Moe in Churchill, Manitoba, to discuss shipping oil out of its port.
  • Saskatchewan introduced their bill to “assert control” over natural resources, which is quite transparently a publicity ploy and temper tantrum.
  • TVO talks to Philippe Lagassé about Doug Ford’s privilege fight.
  • Heather Scoffield plays defence for oil companies called out by Steven Guilbeault, and ignores that he was responding to their demands for government money.
  • My column points out that the government can’t respond to the opposition’s misinformation driving economic anxiety with their usual spate of bromides.

Odds and ends:

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