Roundup: The first Sovereignty Act lawsuit

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The first legal challenge to Danielle Smith’s risible “Sovereignty Act” has been filed, and it’s from the Onion Lake Cree Nation, citing that the Act tramples on their treaty rights, that it’s ultra vires the province’s authorities, and that they were not consulted on it when it impacts their rights. This shouldn’t be a surprise—they warned her that she didn’t consult them and that this was going to be a problem, and she not only didn’t listen, she made the utterly offensive comparisons, claiming that the federal government oppresses Alberta like it did First Nations. This is who she is. I can’t wait for the courts to smack this legislation down for the unconstitutional mess that it is.

 

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 300:

Russian drones struck Kyiv’s power grid for the third time in a week, as 18 out of 23 drones were shot down over the city, and those successful drones are said to have caused fairly serious damage. There were also reports of kamikaze drones flying over a nuclear power plant in the Mykolaiv region.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau is now saying that some hunting rifles may get banned because they are “too dangerous in other contexts,” as his narrative evolves.
  • Delegates at the COP15 biodiversity conference reached an agreement in the wee hours, but it will require provincial and Indigenous cooperation in Canada.
  • Mélanie Joly says that Ottawa has largely not been upfront with Canadians about the risks of doing business with China until recently.
  • Joly also says that the sanctions regime will target a Russian oligarch to seize his assets in Canada and divert them to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
  • The government appointed a new chair of the CRTC, who has a background in competition law (which could be good for opening up the telecom sector).
  • More oversight is being added to how fighter pilots get callsigns after the incident of a misogynistic and homophobic callsign resulted in discipline.
  • The Canadian Judicial Council has recommended that Parliament remove a Quebec Superior Court judge for “serious misconduct.”
  • Heather Scoffield delves into the delays around the promised EI reforms.

Odds and ends:

For Xtra, I profile sports minister Pascale St-Onge, who is the country’s first openly lesbian Cabinet minister.

My Loonie Politics Quick Take notes just how few government bills passed in the fall sitting, which is a problem for the government’s agenda.

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