Roundup: A resignation that won’t solve the problem

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A couple of days after everyone declared ministerial responsibility dead for Ontario housing minister Steve Clark’s refusal to resign over the Integrity Commissioner’s report and his own gross negligence and dereliction of his duties, Clark did resign, at 9 AM on Labour Day, pointing to an attempt to take the sting out of the messaging. Ford later announced changes to his Cabinet which would put Paul Calandra in the housing file, in addition to Calandra’s existing role as House Leader.

Ford, however, insists that the tainted process for those Greenbelt lands will carry on, and while he is promising a “review” of the process, he won’t do the one thing the Auditor General and Integrity Commissioner have said, which was to cancel this process and start over. In fact, yesterday morning, Ford left open the possibility of reviewing all Greenbelt land and opening it up for development, which is unnecessary for housing needs—he hasn’t even implemented the recommendations of his government’s own housing task force, which explicitly stated they don’t need to develop those lands because there are fifty other things they should be doing instead.

https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt/status/1699015630316360078

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1699103206893056279

And that hasn’t been all. As this sordid affair continues to drip out, the identity “Mr. X” from the reports has been identified as a former mayor and developer who Ford has ties with, and his operation is practically stuffed with Batman villains. The jokes write themselves, but just make the corruption all the more hard to take.

My latest:

  • My weekend column looks at how ministerial responsibility changed in the age of message discipline, but how Doug Ford and Steve Clark can’t do the bare minimum.
  • At National Magazine, I look at the number of “secret trials” that we have seen come to light recently, and what could be behind them.
  • Also at National Magazine, I get some reaction to the Competition Tribunal’s cost award to the Bureau and the signals that they are sending by it.
  • My column points out just how inappropriate it is for premiers to write open letters to Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem, and how it corrodes our system.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russian strikes damaged more grain warehouses at the Danube port of Izmail. Ukrainian forces say that they have taken more ground in both the eastern and southern fronts, as president Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited two front-line areas. Ukraine’s defence minister is being replaced by Rustem Umerov, a Crimean Tatar, who headed a privatization fund. Ukraine’s parliament passed an anti-graft law that contains a loophole, and many are urging Zelenskyy to veto it as a result. A parts shortage and a dispute over intellectual property rights is hobbling the ability to repair the Leopard 2 tanks we sent to Ukraine. And Ukrainian intercepts show Russian soldiers complaining about poor equipment and heavy losses.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau was just in Indonesia for ASEAN talks, where Canada is set to become a strategic partner of the trading block.
  • Kamal Khera says she wants to get the new Canada Disability Benefit right.
  • Some 600 CRA employees have now been terminated for fraudulently claiming CERB benefits while on the job.
  • Draft regulations for the Online News Act have been released, and it includes the option for web giants to pay a percentage into a fund; Facebook is still sulking.
  • The Public Health Agency is looking at a revamp of the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile, after the failures that happened at the height of the pandemic.
  • The RCMP are investigating three former RCAF pilots who are now training pilots in China (because they could inadvertently be passing along tactics).
  • The RCMP are also considering changing their rules that forbid front-line officers from using recreational cannabis for four weeks before duty.
  • A group of heritage architects think that 24 Sussex can be saved for a much smaller price tag than the NCC is claiming, and want a chance to kick the tires.
  • India’s High Commissioner says that Canada has asked for a pause with trade talks, in part because there has been so much happening so quickly.
  • The High Commissioner also says he is satisfied with the Canadian government’s response to threats made against him by Khalistani separatists.
  • Criminal trials began yesterday for two of the organisers of the Ottawa occupation.
  • The CBC interviewed a number of backbench MPs and got their take on how they feel about the state of democracy.
  • The provincial election has begun in Manitoba. CP has profiles of Heather Stefanson, Wab Kinew and Dougald Lamont, as well as some of the key races.
  • Saskatchewan is piloting an immigration nominee programme that is geared only to immigrants from certain countries (and lo, most of them are white Europeans).
  • Patricia Treble analyses how the King’s messages differ from those his mother wrote, particularly around condolences for tragedies.
  • Artur Wilczynski puts the Global Affairs’ warnings to LGBTQ+ travellers to the US into context, as the move is being mocked and misconstrued by the pundit class.
  • Stephen Saideman reiterates his warning to Conservatives about their politicising the Canadian Forces by inviting that former general to speak at their convention.
  • Althia Raj examines Jagmeet Singh’s tightrope strategy to try and get more concessions before his existing wish list is fulfilled.
  • Susan Delacourt worries about the anti-immigration rhetoric seeping into the housing debate by those who profess to not want to go down that route.

Odds and ends:

As always, the Beaverton has a pitch-perfect take on provinces name-and-pronoun policies and making trans kids feel unsafe at school.

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