Roundup: A lack of enthusiasm

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The House of Commons resumes today, and normally at this time I would have started to miss them all, and would be eagerly awaiting the first Question Period back, but this year? I’m having a hard time summoning the enthusiasm, which may be a reflection of just how tired I still am, or possibly because there isn’t a lot to get excited about right now. We are in this kind of holding pattern of outright lies coming from certain opposition parties, and a government that just carries on responding to absolutely everything with a mountain of pabulum. It also doesn’t help that almost nothing is getting done, because of dilatory motions on every single piece of legislation, and the fact that they passed only two non-budget-related bills in the fall doesn’t really give any confidence that they’re going to get stuff done.

With that in mind, I’m going to point you in the direction of this piece I wrote a few weeks ago about what is on the Order Paper, and it’s a lot, and considering how long some of the bills have been on there (carrying over from previous sessions or parliaments), one has to wonder just how they plan to get things done, and I suspect we’re going to be in for a lot more time allocation, closure, and other procedural tools to finally get these bills moving.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 341:

Russian missiles struck Kosyantynivka and an apartment building in Kharkiv, and the town of Chasiv Yar near Bakhmut. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s defence minister says that now that they have secured modern tanks, they are now looking for new fighter jets, and the president’s aide says that talks for planes and missiles are being fast-tracked.

https://twitter.com/maksymeristavi/status/1619040069490442241

https://twitter.com/zelenskyyua/status/1619295582878834688

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau was in Quebec City to attend the commemoration on the sixth anniversary of the mosque shooting.
  • Jean-Yves Duclos insists that the federal government won’t micromanage health systems…which he was never going to do, so I’m not sure why they’re asking.
  • The bulk of federal housing dollars remain unspent because of delays at the municipal level, including with construction itself.
  • Surgeons are pointing out that they can’t keep up OR hours or get training because the focus remains on emergency rooms because of the ongoing pandemic.
  • The Ottawa occupation anniversary “event” on Parliament Hill saw tens of attendees, as well as 23 vehicles towed and dozens of tickets issued.
  • The Liberals’ caucus retreat ended with them talking about creating green jobs (in the middle of a labour shortage).
  • Liberal MP Kirsty Duncan says she’s had a life-long eating disorder because of abuse she suffered when she was a gymnast.
  • Pierre Poilievre ended his caucus retreat wanting to talk about inflation, and trying to soften his image by talking about other everyday issues.
  • Former long-time Mississauga mayor, Hazel McCallion, died at 101.
  • It’s not only the anniversary of the occupation in Ottawa, but of the border blockade in Coutts, Alberta, which continues to divide that community.
  • Chantal Hébert sees signs that some of Trudeau’s backbenchers are getting restive over a number of files that aren’t going very well for the Liberals.

Odds and ends:

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