Remember back when Justin Trudeau promised that the Liberals were going to be the party of “open nominations,” because this was good for democracy and all of that? Well, it seems like once again, his party is firming up their rules to protect incumbents from nominations, which is not open nominations, and is very bad for democracy. Very, very bad. Nomination races are one of the only tools that grassroots party members have to hold incumbents to account without voting against the party in a general election. It’s how the party is supposed to hold its own to account, and if they can fundraise enough and keep their memberships above a certain level, they’re being given a free pass rather than the accountability the system is supposed to provide. This is a very bad thing for our democratic system. It’s bad enough that under Trudeau, the Liberals tore up their party constitution and centralized power in his office. Now they are short-circuiting one more accountability measure and keeping tight control over the nomination process, which focuses even more power on the leader (for whom the party constitution states doesn’t have to face a leadership review unless they lose an election). This is not how a party is supposed to be run.

The practice of democracy in this country is backsliding, as much as our parties like to pat themselves on the back. They have been undermining the rules at every turn, and have hollowed out the safeguards and the grassroots participation. And yes, I know that sitting MPs insist that they need protected nominations because they’re not in the riding to fend off any nomination challenges, but a) you’re in the riding an awful lot, because the number of sitting days has been in decline, and b) you have incumbency advantage already, and if you keep up the door-knocking and activities that you’re required to for these protections, you might as well do it for real stakes. Because yes, grassroots democracy matters, and we desperately need to rebuild it in this country before it’s too late. Protecting nominations just corrodes the system even more than it already has been, and the Liberals cannot pat themselves on the back and talk about how good they are for democracy if they can’t even be bothered with the fundamental basics.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 260:

Russian Forces made a big song and dance about pulling out of Kherson, saying they can’t supply it, but Ukraine is sceptical because it looks like Russia is setting a trap, because they tend to do the opposite of what they say they’re going to. And indeed, they say that they haven’t actually seen signs that Russians are completely leaving the city. Meanwhile, here’s a look at the task ahead of rebuilding Kharkiv after Russian occupation.

The 21st century genocide in four pictures. Mariupol, a once pulsing city on the Azov sea with ~500,000 inhabitants was completely leveled by the Russians. Tens of thousands were killed, many more fled. Those who survived the war faced Russian filtration and now a brutal winter. pic.twitter.com/NXmvGgCA5f

— Mattia Nelles (@mattia_n) November 9, 2022

https://twitter.com/StratCom_AFU/status/1589649656338067464

Good reads:

• Justin Trudeau will miss Remembrance Day activities this year because he’s off to the ASEAN summit in Cambodia.
• Chrystia Freeland says she can work with Danielle Smith in spite of any disagreements, while Smith is sending open letters with misleading demands.
• Mélanie Joly gave a speech in Toronto that dropped even more hints about the forthcoming Indo-Pacific Strategy, and warned about doing business with China.
• Marci Ien got the endorsement of her provincial and territorial counterparts for the national action plan to end gender-based violence.
• At COP27, Steven Guilbeault is trying to position Canada as a voice of reason on the issue of compensating poorer countries for damage caused by climate change.
• The public inquiry heard from the mayor of Coutts, who called the blockaders “domestic terrorists,” and from top public safety officials from Ontario.
• Here is a look into the shortage of children’s Tylenol, which some are blaming labelling (though Health Canada has waived some of those rules).
• Pierre Poilievre held a media availability in Vancouver, where he blamed Trudeau for “everything being broken,” and stood by the “peaceful” Ottawa occupation.
• Green Party leadership candidates held a Zoom debate last night.
• Quebec’s premier and finance minister got huffy about Trudeau criticising them for cutting taxes and vote-buying cheques instead of funding healthcare.
• Doug Ford says he has no regrets about invoking the Notwithstanding Clause because it helped both sides “come to their senses,” and I can barely even.
• The National Post looks at what would happen if Disallowance was invoked on a future “Sovereignty Act,” which wouldn’t actually happen.
• Susan Delacourt looks at how the US midterm results are being felt and applied in Canada.

Odds and ends:

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