Roundup: Not a national government?

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The “Sovereignty Act” passed in Alberta on Wednesday night, albeit in a slightly amended form where the Henry VIII clause was largely taken out, but it’s still hot garbage and still blatantly unconstitutional on a number of fronts, so have no worries there. Rachel Notley has, not incorrectly, pointed out that that the rejection of federal authority clearly lays the groundwork for separatism, and the brain trust (if you can call it that) which were behind the bill are actively trying to court a constitutional crisis, demanding constitutional changes or they’ll start holding separation referendums (because that won’t devastate the province’s economy like it did Quebec’s in 1980. Cripes).

And then Danielle Smith said something really stupid, like she is wont to do, insisting that we don’t have a national government (erm, we do), and that provinces are sovereign (they’re not), and made up a bunch of ahistorical nonsense about signatories to the constitution and powers of the provinces, and it’s all wrong, but it’s not like Smith cares.

As for Justin Trudeau, he is steadfastly refusing to take the bait, and it looks like there will be some court challenges to the legislation in Alberta before the federal government is forced to make any kind of move to refer it to the Supreme Court of Canada. Some of those challenges may come from the province’s First Nations, who can clearly see that this is going to infringe on their inherent and treaty rights because it’s a resource grab by the province (and likewise in Saskatchewan with their “Saskatchewan First Act”) which is an absolute violation of Indigenous rights.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 289:

Russian forces shelled the entire front of the Donetsk region, in what Ukrainians say is a bid to secure the bulk of territory they have already claimed, with the fiercest fighting once again near Bakhmut and Avdiivka. Ukrainian officials are also saying that Russia has installed multiple rocket launchers at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, apparently trying to use it as a base to fire on Ukrainian territory, which not only violates all rules around nuclear safety, but is trying to use the plant as a shield from retaliation.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau says they are committed to passing the gun control bill after they finish “fine-tuning” the details (which is getting to be very complex).
  • Trudeau and four other ministers appeared at the Assembly of First Nations meeting, and took questions from chiefs assembled there.
  • Karina Gould has tabled legislation to try and enshrine the federal role in early learning and child care agreements, to make it harder to dismantle in the future.
  • David Lametti says he is open to legislative changes that would allow victims of sexual offences to opt out of automatic publication bans.
  • The prime minister’s national security advisor says she has seen no evidence of attempted Chinese interference in the 2019 election.
  • The RCMP say they have suspended the contract with the company with Chinese ties and are checking installed equipment; DND is looking into their past contracts.
  • EDC has committed to ending all financing of overseas oil and gas projects by the end of the year—except if they employ carbon capture and storage.
  • It looks like Treasury Board will be issuing a back-to-work order for civil servants, requiring them in the office two or three days a week.
  • The Assembly of First Nations has voted to oppose the current iteration of the government’s gun control bill, citing a threat to their hunting rights.
  • More questionable individuals have been tied to that Palestinian “solidarity” event that took place on Parliament Hill. (Vetting guests should not be that hard, guys).
  • The Clerk of the Commons announced he will be retiring in the New Year; he was the subject of what appears to have been a smear campaign not long ago.
  • The government has agreed to two more meetings on the gun control legislation at committee to hear from witnesses on those controversial amendments.
  • There will be a record 40 candidates on the ballot in the Mississauga-Lakeshore by-election (in part because or Rhinoceros Party shenanigans).
  • Nearly 58,200 people had their health data exposed in last year’s cyberattack on Newfoundland and Labrador’s healthcare system.
  • Nova Scotia’s finance minister insists he doesn’t need any more financial oversight, and I can barely even. (That’s the whole gods damned point of Parliament!)
  • There is an agreement to halt operations in the landfill outside of Winnipeg while they determine what to do about searching for remains of women buried there.
  • Alberta introduced legislation to create a police oversight board for the province, and to require civilian oversight bodies for all jurisdictions over 15,000 people.
  • Kevin Carmichael parses the latest comments out of the Bank of Canada about the direction of future rate hikes, and why they may indeed pause by January.
  • Emmett Macfarlane gives his thoughts on the “Sovereignty Act” having passed in a somewhat amended form. (Spoiler: It’s still unconstitutional).

Odds and ends:

Paul Wells continues to delve into the turmoil at the National Gallery, and gets word that the heritage minister is now starting to make inquiries (finally).

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One thought on “Roundup: Not a national government?”

  1. Maybe Ms Smith thinks Canada is The Federation. One of my favourite episodes of DS9 was Little Green Men and towards the end, the Earthling of 1940s was opining about a giant confederation of planets. Rom corrects her automatically saying “Fed-er-a-tion” and then Quark throws cold water on the idea of going into space saying “they wouldn’t like it” and assuring them that staying on Earth was better.

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