Roundup: The “Blue Seal” nobody else ever though of

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Pierre Poilievre held another Sunday press conference (which I fear is going to become a regular feature for the coming months, because the calculation is that it lets them set the agenda for the week), wherein he proposed a “blue seal” programme for doctors, nurses, and other medical practitioners, akin to the “Red Seal” programme for skilled trades, so that they can work anywhere in the country. Gosh, it’s as though nobody had ever thought of this before, and that these kinds of regulatory non-tariff barriers have been a bane on the country since literally Confederation. But hey, I’m sure because he’s demanding it, it’ll be different this time.

This being said, some provinces have been finally moving ahead on this kind of thing, with the Atlantic provinces loosening restrictions so that doctors can practice in any of those provinces, so there is progress. But it has taken a crisis for us to get to this point (because that is apparently how we overcome our pervasive normalcy bias in this country) and not because Poilievre goes around calling things “broken.”

Ukraine Dispatch:

Ukrainian forces destroyed five Russian ammunition depots near Bakhmut on Friday, and say that they are still able to supply their forces in the city and get wounded to safety, as they continue to cause massive damage and casualties to Russian invaders. Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to occupied Mariupol, which Ukrainian officials regarded as “the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime.”

https://twitter.com/defencehq/status/1637345862077513730

Good reads:

  • Sean Fraser says the government will prioritise visa applications from Türkiye and Syria for those who have family in the country or who want to study here.
  • Here is a preview of the issues at play in this week’s Biden visit.
  • The Star gets an inside look at the first year of the Supply-and-Confidence Agreement between the Liberals and the NDP, and how it nearly derailed.
  • Here a deeper dive into the Don Valley East riding in Toronto, and the connections with Liberal MP Han Dong and PC MPP Vincent Ke with the local community.
  • Her Excellency Mary May Simon is looking to foster more Indigenous diplomacy, such as her meeting with the Sami people in Finland.
  • Google says they will make some of their top executives available to the Heritage committee in regards to the online news bill and their blocking search results.
  • Heather Scoffield worries that the budget is going to be just about fear of missing out on the green investments being made by the US and the European Union.
  • Chantal Hébert castigates both Trudeau and Poilievre for not showing any leadership on the foreign interference allegations.
  • Susan Delacourt remarks how much better things seem to be operating behind-the-scenes, like the Liberal-NDP deal, as opposed to the toxic spotlight.

Odds and ends:

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