There is a really, really stupid fight brewing around whose jurisdiction housing is, and I am very nearly at the end of my patience for this. On Monday while in Hamilton, the prime minister said—correctly—that housing is primarily not a federal jurisdiction, but that they are trying to do what they can to support municipalities. And so yesterday, Pierre Poilievre held a press conference to insist that it must be a federal responsibility because immigration, infrastructure and taxes affect housing, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is federal (erm, except it’s an arm’s-length Crown corporation). But while there are federal policies that can affect housing, that’s not actually a federal responsibility. He knows this, but is trying to muddy the waters in order to blame Trudeau for the problems that provinces and municipalities have created for themselves.

And to put a cherry on this particular sundae, the gods damned CBC comes along and simply both-sides this stupid fight without actually pointing out that under the constitution, housing is a gods damned provincial responsibility. And there is a certain other outlet that shall not be named running a piece about how Trudeau says that housing’s not a federal responsibility while standing behind a lectern with a sign about building houses faster as though that’s some kind of smoking gun and not simply the federal government patting itself on the back for dispersing money—which is not actually an indication of constitutional responsibility. This shouldn’t be rocket science, and yet they also do this with healthcare. Nor is this new—provinces have been shrugging off this responsibility since at least the 1950s, because they know they can get away with it because credulous media outlets in particular let them.

Provinces have long been willing to wash their hands of their own constitutional responsibilities so long as people let them. And we do. All the time. https://t.co/QPXEzUzrsR

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) August 1, 2023

This being said, I am also rapidly losing patience with the whole thing about people angry that Trudeau has correctly pointed out that he is not primarily responsible, and that he should somehow “show leadership” through handwavey means. This makes as much difference as people getting angry that Trudeau hasn’t fixed healthcare. Yes, there are things the federal government can do around the margins to affecting housing, but again, they cannot force municipalities to zone for density. There are stories about how hundreds of millions of federal dollars for affordable housing are languishing in cities like Vancouver because the municipalities can’t get their permitting through. Trudeau doesn’t have the constitutional levers to change that, or a Green Lantern ring to willpower more housing construction. Meanwhile, the premiers sit back and let Trudeau take that blame while they continue to do nothing about the problems, and the media won’t hold them to account. Isn’t federalism just grand?

https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt/status/1686292418344239104

Ukraine Dispatch:

In the early morning hours, drone debris has hit Kyiv as attacks were thwarted. There were also more attacks on the port city of Odessa and the grain storage there. Russians also shelled a hospital in Kherson, which killed one doctor. Meanwhile, that same office tower in Moscow’s financial centre got hit by another drone attack (and again, Ukraine is not claiming responsibility).

Footage published in Russian Telegram channels showed smoke between the hills on the outskirts of occupied Sevastopol in southwestern Crimea, where a drone attack was reported near the Russian ammunition depot. https://t.co/T9PA2XrvQE

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) August 1, 2023

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1686410208338464768

Good reads:

• Justice minister Arif Virani will have to re-take his oath as Attorney General because he was provided with one using old language and not the updated version.
• For the past six months, Canada has been secretly building a G7 consensus to provide security guarantees for Ukraine because NATO membership isn’t viable yet.
• DND is planning on spending $1 billion to expand their headquarters at the Carling campus in suburban Ottawa.
• The tribunal that is part of the military discipline grievance process says that mandatory COVID vaccinations violated Charter rights. (I am very dubious).
• Facebook and Instagram have made a big song and dance about blocking all Canadian news on their sites, as their pressure tactics continue.
• Poilievre also took a shot at the government’s immigration policy, insisting it’s “broken,” but wouldn’t say what he would change if he forms government.
• Jagmeet Singh is touring Atlantic Canada in the hopes of winning seats there, and had to deal with a homophobic heckler at one press scrum.
• Queen’s Park will be installing a new statue of Queen Elizabeth II, and the usual suspects are grousing.
• Alberta says they’re no longer actively pursuing a provincial police force (but they may no longer have a choice as the future of contract policing is debated).
• Philippe Lagassé wonders if Canada is reaching a point of defence spending fatigue as demands increase but there doesn’t appear to be a willingness to act on it.
• My column looks at some of the lesser-remarked upon strange dynamics in last week’s Cabinet shuffle.

Odds and ends:

Politico got a look at how the $37 million price tag for 24 Sussex renovations was arrived at, and it may be a generous over-estimate.

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