Roundup: A couple of not-that-scathing reports

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The Auditor General released two reports yesterday on pandemic befits programmes and vaccine procurement, and they were…not explosive. Really. There were weak spots from the government, in large part because of the haste in which these programmes were designed because of the pandemic, and some inefficiency, but on the report about vaccines, part of the problem with wastage is because of a lack of provincial data, because the federal government hasn’t been able to sign agreements with the provinces. And as we’ve seen all too often, this is the fault of the provinces.

Nevertheless, the Conservatives were salivating over this release and put on a whole dog and pony show to decry that this was a sign that this government’s “wasteful spending” is what is fuelling inflation, which isn’t true, but this is the narrative they have been trying to push, and these numbers were ripe for the plucking. And as they do with every other officer of Parliament, they misconstrued the report, cherry-picked figures, and cranked up the hyperbole, and lo, this was scandalous. But that’s not what the report found. And it also ignores that they voted unanimously to design the benefit programmes this way because it was more important to get the money out the door.

Anyway, here’s Jennifer Robson’s read of the report, and it’s worth your time.

 

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 287:

Another drone strike within Russia set a third airfield ablaze, though the Ukrainians have not claimed responsibility for the attack. (Video here) More Russian missiles did strike civilian targets in Ukraine, but they were said to be less severe than other attacks in recent weeks. The strikes against Russian airfields have Russian bloggers questioning the competence of their government’s defences.

https://twitter.com/dgardner/status/1600135762179018752

Good reads:

  • Mélanie Joly pledged another $15 million to help Ukraine with de-mining operations, on the anniversary of the Ottawa Treaty on banning landmines.
  • François-Philippe Champagne will be unveiling legislation to modernise the Investment Canada Act later today.
  • CSIS says they have seen an alarming rise in espionage and foreign interference since the start of the pandemic, particularly from China and Russia.
  • AFN national chief RoseAnne Archibald says she has tapped former senator Murray Sinclair to help with conflict resolution in the organisation.
  • Daughters of the victims of the alleged serial killer in Winnipeg were on Parliament Hill to call for more federal resources to end violence against Indigenous women.
  • Senators studying the broadcasting bill have added a requirement for age verification for pornography sites, which is going to be a huge privacy risk.
  • Federal officials told a Senate committee that changes to the Criminal Code would be necessary to allow Canadian aid workers to help in Afghanistan.
  • The Commons public safety committee won’t hear from independent experts as they debate amendments to the gun control bill.
  • Marit Stiles will be acclaimed the new leader of the Ontario NDP after she ran unchallenged in the race (but they will still go through a pro forma vote).
  • Ontario’s system of surgical abortion clinics are under threat because of two-tiered funding for clinics and disparity in access.
  • The Saskatchewan government tabled legislation to create their own tax collection agency, because apparently they like more bureaucracy and to fill out more forms.
  • Danielle Smith insists she didn’t make any mistakes with her initial version of her “Sovereignty Act” (but admitting mistakes may also mean admitting incompetence).
  • Smith also says she secured another five million doses of children’s Tylenol…but it needs Health Canada approval, which raises questions as to where she got it from.
  • Kathryn May recounts professor Donald Savoie’s call for a royal commission on the future of the federal civil service.
  • Emmett Macfarlane denounces Quebec’s bill to remove the obligation to swear the Oath to the King in that province as blatantly unconstitutional.
  • My column looks at the state of the debate on MAiD, and why a number of discrete issues are being conflated in with what is under debate as a means of side-lining it.

Odds and ends:

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