Roundup: Mendicino’s future in doubt

Posted on by

The political future of Marco Mendicino is in the balance as the revelation has circulated that his office was aware of the potential transfer of serial rapist and killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security facility (designed to treat violent sex offenders) for months but didn’t inform him until it happened, made worse by the fact that the prime minister’s office was also informed, and they kicked it to Mendicino’s office to deal with. And by deal with, we’re not talking politically interfering with an arm’s length body, but at least doing something, whether it’s ordering a review or coming up with a communications plan to get ahead of it. But they didn’t.

There is a lot of talk about ministerial responsibility and accountability, and what that means in a situation like this. The assumption is always that every offence is a resigning offence, which is wrong, and Mendicino says that he’s taken “corrective action” in his office, but as the minister, the buck stops with him, and in this case, it’s a pattern of incompetence coming home to roost, and it’s not the first time, and he’s been a terrible communicator on a number of the files before him, to the point of framing things in a manner that could be construed as misleading, such as issue of “police advice” on the invocation of the Emergencies Act. Mendicino says he won’t resign, but it’s getting hard to see how “corrective action” in his office can be handled without a head rolling, or someone falling on their sword, and at this point, we are getting to the point where Mendicino should probably consider doing so in order to get ahead of things, and looking like he still has some principles left.

The other thing to consider is that he may be out of this job sooner than later, because the rumours of a Cabinet shuffle are pretty loud, and his name is at the top of the list as someone who isn’t performing well and needs to be out of their portfolio. (Also on that list are Omar Alghabra and Joyce Murray). We are at a point in the life of the government where they need a shake-up in order to try and throw off some of the fatigue that is weighing them down, and to get some new blood in some of their portfolios in order to get fresh perspectives. There’s also a major rotation of staff happening in a number of offices, which is also needed at this point. We’ll see if this situation accelerates Trudeau’s plans for when this shuffle is going to happen, which Mendicino could force by doing the honourable thing. (That said, it might mean that Bill Blair might be tasked with taking Public Safety back on, at least until a new minister can be appointed, and that wouldn’t be a good thing because he shouldn’t have that portfolio for very obvious reasons).

Ukraine Dispatch:

The Russian strikes against Odessa and Donetsk early Wednesday morning killed six and damaged dozens of homes. Ukraine’s counter-offensive is still testing Russian defences, largely in the south, as they have thus far only committed three of their twelve battalions to the operation so far.

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1668981197693648898

https://twitter.com/defencehq/status/1668957867301302275

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1668878494762250241

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau says that Canada will continue to rely on foreign firefighters during wildfire season, just as they rely on Canadian firefighters during their seasons.
  • Chrystia Freeland says that Canada is freezing activity with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank following a high-profile resignation from the organisation.
  • Freeland also says that Volkswagen’s production subsidies will be tax-free, as the Americans were offering as well.
  • Seamus O’Regan made an impassioned speech at the International Labour Organisation and help resolve a rift around the rights of LGBTQ+ workers.
  • Sean Fraser says that deportation orders for students caught up in a fraud scheme have been halted until a task force can investigate each case.
  • Steven Guilbeault says there are more changes to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act to come.
  • Bill Blair says the director of CSIS should have followed up with him on the memo about the alleged threats against Michael Chong (as he is getting pissy about this).
  • The government wants to ensure that five of the seven members of the board that will be reviewing the status of Royal Military College have no ties to it.
  • Russia claims it’s on the verge of cutting off ties with Canada as one of their cargo planes is being seized under enhanced sanctions regimes.
  • The Commons and Senate have each voted on motions to grant Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza honorary Canadian citizenship.
  • Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall’s backdoor abortion bill was defeated, with on Conservatives voting for it claiming it was about “violence against women.”
  • Danielle Smith is claiming “government censorship” for being banned from posting to Facebook, but nobody seems to have asked just what mechanism that is.

Odds and ends:

For National Magazine, I look at the skill gaps created on the Supreme Court of Canada with the sudden resignation of Justice Russell Brown.

Also for National Magazine, I get expert reaction to a recent report that cites that legal aid thresholds actually disadvantage women.

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