Roundup: Planning to appoint a special rapporteur

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After two weeks of pretty much flailing on the subject of allegations of Chinese influence on the last two elections, Justin Trudeau held a late-day press conference yesterday to declare that he was going to appoint a special rapporteur to deal with these allegations, who would take a look at the situation and determine if a public inquiry or commission was necessary to look into the matter, and if so, to determine what the terms of reference should be for it.

On top of that, Trudeau also:

  • Asked both NSICOP and NSIRA to conduct their own investigations into the allegations;
  • Launched formal public consultations on a foreign agent registry (with the caution that we have to be careful about how to go about registering people from certain nationalities given the history of this country);
  • Established a new National Counter Foreign Intelligence Coordinator within the department of Public Safety;
  • Called for a plan to address outstanding recommendations from NSICOP and the Rosenberg Report within 30 days;
  • Pledged $5.5 million for civil society groups to counter disinformation.

It was a lot, and there are a few things worth noting in there. The recognition that they have dragged their feet on past NSICOP recommendations is significant, because NSICOP had previously found the federal government slow to react in the 2019 election. That this current crisis is kicking their asses into finally acting is a good thing, all things considered.

The Conservatives are already outraged saying that this is too secretive, and the NSICOP is a “trap” for their members—which is, of course, bad-faith bullshit, because if they were being unduly silenced or felt that official redactions to the reports were unfair, then they would resign in protest, which no member of NSICOP has ever done. The NDP were saying this was a “baby step” in the right direction but still want a public inquiry (but remember, there is no problem in this country for which the NDP does not demand an independent public inquiry). They may yet get one. Trudeau said he would consult with opposition leaders on who would be the special rapporteur, so he can at least launder any accountability for the appointment through them (not always a good thing, guys!), and we’ll see how that goes in the next few weeks. Nevertheless, it’s a bit surprising that it took Trudeau two full weeks to get to this point, and it shouldn’t have, but once again, he and this government can’t communicate their way out of a wet paper bag, and this has once again left them looking weak, and incapable of dealing with the issue.

Meanwhile, the Star has more reminders from the Chinese diasporic communities that they have been sounding the alarm for nearly twenty years and have been consistently ignored.

Ukraine Dispatch:

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his advisors were unanimous in their agreement to press the fight at Bakhmut and not retreat. American analysts are saying that even if Bakhmut were to fall, it wouldn’t change the tide of the war in any appreciable way. Meanwhile, photos have shown that the town of Marinka, which used to be home to 10,000 people, has been completely razed to the ground by Russian forces. A new top anti-corruption investigator was also appointed on Monday, as part of the ongoing efforts to clean up the system for future EU membership.

Good reads:

  • David Lametti is planning to talk bail reform with his provincial counterparts on Friday (even though the problem is provincial resourcing, not the federal law).
  • The government has to pay to replace the faulty engines on the two new slushbreakers coming out of Irving yards because the warranty already expired.
  • Ahead of her speech to Parliament, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyer says Canada should focus on exporting renewable hydrogen.
  • The RCAF is going on cost-cutting measures for VIP flights for the PM and the Governor General because we are a petty and cheap country.
  • Unsurprisingly, the RCMP are investigating the leaked CSIS documents shown to media (because it’s damaging to our reputation with our Five Eyes allies).
  • Google Canada executives were going to testify at committee when hybrid problems forced it to be cancelled. (Stop hybrid sittings, guys).
  • Food producers talked about their rising costs to the agriculture committee in trying to explain food price inflation.
  • Pierre Poilievre says that there will be no consequences for his three MPs who met with far-right German MEP Christine Anderson, and deflected with “Blackface!”
  • Ed Fast tabled a bill to repeal expanding MAiD to mental illness as a sole criteria.
  • The premier of PEI is calling a provincial election several months before his “fixed election date” would mandate him to.
  • The Ontario Court of Appeal struck down Ford’s ban on third-party advertisers saying the Notwithstanding Clause couldn’t apply to this legislation.
  • Saskatchewan achieved their $10/day child care plans three years ahead of schedule, but they have a long waiting list.
  • Alberta’s energy regulator may have ignored provincial law in not disclosing the leak from an oil sands tailings pond.
  • Emmett Macfarlane gives his analysis of the Ontario Court of Appeal decision around Ford’s election spending limits.
  • Colby Cosh walks through the redactions of the American intelligence report on “Havana Syndrome” and why it almost certainly wasn’t a weapon.

Odds and ends:

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4 thoughts on “Roundup: Planning to appoint a special rapporteur”

  1. Watched Poilievre the hypocrite on the mother corporation this morning…they give him way too much time… his message… Trudeau is trying to hide behind the rapporteur. Of course like the rat he is with his shiny teeth firmly clamped into another corpse, he shakes the victim totally unaware that openness when it comes to CSIS would give China exactly what it wants and he wants us to think that he would be a PM of Canada? What a joke!

    • Seems to me that Poilievre is creating the chaos that China was looking for.

  2. No one elected Robert Fife to dictate what should be the priorities of this government. This government was elected on a mandate to prioritize healthcare and affordability, not racist Cold War conspiracy theories from bottom-feeders who have the gall to call themselves “journalists.” I hope the RCMP investigation sees that SOB in iron shackles rotting behind bars with his scum-of-the-earth traitor “source.” Lock. Him. Up.

    • You may wish to check out Section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Amongst others, it recognizes “freedom of the press and other media of communication” as fundamental freedoms. Fortunately, Mr. Fife need have no fear of folks like you who would have the government put journalists in jail.

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