Roundup: Feigning ignorance of far-right figures

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It’s another day of Canadian politics covering itself in glory, starting with the Conservatives starting to backpedal when pressure mounted after three MPs—Leslyn Lewis, Colin Carrie and Dean Allison—attended an event with German MEP Christine Anderson, who is part of the far-right AfD party. As the pressure mounted, Pierre Poilievre issued a denunciation saying that he disavowed her racist rhetoric, and the three MPs gave a half-hearted apology, claiming they didn’t know who she was.

And that’s bullshit.

They knew exactly who she was. Carrie even quoted her in the House of Commons because she gave a speech denouncing Trudeau in the European parliament, and Canadian conservatives and far-right figures were lapping it up. (Carrie is one of the MPs who refused to get vaccinated, and has said that public health officials should be prosecuted. He can google all kinds of conspiracy theories but not the woman he’s quoting? Bullshit.) And yes, her trip to Canada included meeting with leaders from the Ottawa occupation from last year, whom the Conservatives also have associated themselves with. Even more interesting is the fact that the Western Standard asked her about Poilievre, and she said she had spoken with him a couple of times and he seemed like a decent guy, which Poilievre’s office disavowed and insisted that he had never spoken with her. But there is a pattern of behaviour here, with these faux apologies when they get caught, because they know there aren’t any actual consequences, and their followers lap it up.

Justin Trudeau got a few minutes of getting to rip into Poilievre and the Conservatives for their pattern of behaviour before he was struck with another bombshell, in which it is alleged that CSIS warned the Liberals to rescind the nomination of their now-MP Han Dong before the last election, citing that he was too close to the Chinese consulate. The PMO says that there was so much false information in the questions put them that they couldn’t answer, which doesn’t help things. But nobody is confirming anything, so this is likely to drag on into next week (where there may be some lawsuits in the works).

Ukraine Dispatch:

The Chinese government has decided they want to get involved in resolving Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and proposed a “peace plan,” but it doesn’t say anything about returning the land Russia currently occupies (including Crimea) or have any mention of accountability. To that end, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he’ll await more details (but I wouldn’t hold my breath). Zelenskyy did say there will be no peace talks until Russia leaves all of Ukrainian territory, so that’s probably China’s answer. Meanwhile, drone footage is showing how badly the eastern part of the country has been smashed by Russian forces. CBC talks to some people about their recollections of when the invasion began.

Good reads:

  • As part of the one-year anniversary remarks on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Canada committed another four tanks, and armoured rescue vehicle and more ammunition.
  • At a vigil in Toronto later that evening, Trudeau clapped back at an anti-vaxxer jackass who tried to make the event about his supposedly curtailed freedoms.
  • Trudeau ruled out an independent inquiry into the alleged Chinese interference, as called for by a former Chief Electoral Officer.
  • Trudeau also remarked that he was bothered by Google’s apparent willingness to block news content in Canada.
  • The fiscal monitor shows that the federal government ran a $5.5 billion deficit after the first nine months of the last year, which is rounding-error territory.
  • François-Philippe Champagne announced $250 million in training funds for high-growth sectors.
  • Sean Fraser announced that the government will fast-track visa approvals for those affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.
  • Bill Blair is revamping the federal disaster relief programme so that new projects are only eligible if building codes and plans take climate resilience seriously.
  • Treasury Board Secretariat is weighing whether to ban TikTok on government devices (which they should because it’s a privacy nightmare).
  • The executive director of PMPRB is stepping down just a day after another board member resigned in protest, alleging government interference.
  • The Vancouver Port Authority is delaying by nine months their plan to only serve trucks under 12 years old as a climate measure.
  • Métis organisations in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario have reached self-governing agreements with the federal government.
  • The Auditor General says she will review the contracts with McKinsey and Company, but hasn’t said the scope of her work.
  • Manitoba is the sixth province to come to an agreement in principle on health funds.
  • Justin Ling looks into Christine Anderson and the appeal she has in Canada to a particular demographic, which is why she’s on tour here.
  • Colby Cosh looks at the police data and isn’t seeing the surge in “ghost guns” that police are claiming, and is convinced this is one more moral panic.
  • My weekend column notes that the “Canada is broken” is a cynical moving target, while Trudeau seems to have abandoned his “build back better” pledge.

Odds and ends:

For the first year, the Rideau Canal Skateway won’t open at all this year because it’s been too warm (and yes, that is climate change).

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