Roundup: A declaration of persona non grata

Posted on by

A week after the Chong revelations were made in the Globe and Mail, and two years after the briefing had been prepared by CSIS, Mélanie Joly has declared the Chinese diplomat at the centre of those revelations to be persona non grata. This declaration was made right as the Commons was voting on the Conservatives’ Supply Day motion to expel any diplomats implicated in this affair, in which all opposition parties voted for it and the government voted against, meaning that they lost (but it’s non-binding, so it’s more of an expression of opinion than anything else).

The reaction, of course, is that this is two years too late, and that the government’s insistence that this is complicated isn’t actually backed up by the Vienna Convention—though it has been said that they were likely preparing people on the ground in China for the inevitable retaliation, because China doesn’t like to do tit-for-tat, as happens with most PNG declarations, but rather they prefer to escalate. (See: the two Michaels). The Canadian Press has a brief primer on previous diplomatic expulsions from Canada.

Meanwhile, Marco Mendicino still won’t say who is either responsible or accountable for the failure to alert political actors about those Chong revelations two years ago, and is relying on vague “hostile actors” talk rather than, you know, being held to account for what is clearly a process failure within the government’s bureaucracy. That would seem to me what he should be doing as minister, because it’s been made clear that this wasn’t a CSIS problem—it was a problem further up the chain, and whether that’s because we have a poor culture of consuming intelligence at the senior levels, or because this government can’t walk and chew gum at the same time, that kind of thing needs to be addressed.

Ukraine Dispatch:

For Russia’s Victory Day, they launched one of the biggest swarms of drones against Ukraine in months, targeting mostly Kyiv and Odessa, though air defences are largely repelling the attacks on Kyiv. Russian shelling also hit two villages in the Kherson region, wounding eight people, as well as damaged the electrical grids in five Ukrainian regions. In Bakhmut, the head of the Wagner Group mercenaries says they still haven’t received promised ammunition from Russia. Elsewhere, farmers in Ukraine are having a harder time because many workers are off fighting, which is hurting their operations.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau spoke with Danielle Smith about federal aid for Alberta’s wildfires, including some military support and a matching Red Cross fund.
  • Anita Anand met with Poland’s deputy prime minister and talked about sharing technology with allies—but wouldn’t say if we’re trying to join AUKUS.
  • Sean Fraser announced the extension of a pilot project to get more temporary foreign workers in agriculture, because of the slow start due to the pandemic.
  • Marco Mendicino announced a $390 million programme over five years to help crack down on gang violence and reduce gun crimes.
  • The government has announced $103 million for Indigenous women’s shelters in a number of First Nations across the country.
  • The government has moved a programming motion in order to speed passage of their gun control bill, which has been in committee for months now.
  • The government is preparing a list of which institutions they consider a threat to national security, and universities or researchers can lose funding for partnering.
  • Here’s an interview with the UK High Commissioner about developing even closer ties with Canada, and aligning goals in the Indo-Pacific.
  • Facebook says they’re ready to block news content in Canada if the online news bill passes, after one of their senior executives decided to skip the committee hearing.
  • The guy who threw gravel at the prime minister during the last election has been sentenced to 90 days of house arrest and one year of probation.
  • The interim commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission appeared at a Senate Committee to say that staff found to engage in racism have been reassigned.
  • Cabinet members are distancing themselves from the Liberal policy resolution at the convention around “anonymous sources” in media.
  • The federal Liberal Party is trying to delay their court case in BC around provincial privacy rules until the new federal “rules” pass in Bill C-47.
  • Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith is officially declaring his bid to become Ontario Liberal leader (but won’t decide whether to resign his federal seat just yet).
  • Parks Canada says that the renovations to PEI’s legislature are taking longer than expected, in part because of the condition it was in.
  • Danielle Smith has apologised for comparing people who got vaccinated to “Hitler’s followers.” I wish I was kidding.
  • David Eby says he has met with the regional director of CSIS over the allegations of Chinese interference in BC elections.
  • Philippe Lagassé walks through the competing arguments over whether the King or the Governor General is the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Odds and ends:

For National Magazine, I look at two upcoming Supreme Court of Canada hearings on automatic publication bans that take place before juries are chosen.

My Loonie Politics Quick Take explains the meaning of those policy resolutions the Liberals voted on at their convention over the weekend.

Want more Routine Proceedings? Become a patron and get exclusive new content.