Roundup: A new Speaker in a toxic environment

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The day began with the speeches from the prospective candidates for Speaker—unserious Liberal candidate Stephane Lauzon bowed out before things got started, and the rest began their speeches as to why they deserved to get the job. There were also a few fulsome (in the proper sense of the word) expressions of thanks to Anthony Rota and claims that he was a “good Speaker” when he absolutely was not, which is why we were here today. The notion of respect and decorum got mentioned time and again, because they always do, for what little good it does (because the Speaker can only do so much). Elizabeth May once again said she was running (even though her being a party leader should have been disqualifying automatically, except for the fact that because the Greens don’t have official party status was the technicality that allowed it), but her running was yet again less about being a serious candidate than it was about giving herself the opportunity to make a speech about the rules, and why the Speaker needs to give up the lists provided to him or her and use their own judgment as to who should be recognised. (I actually agree, but this is one of those areas where if the Speaker did this unilaterally there would likely be a revolt). May also made the point that Rota apparently broke his own rules in recognising the Nazi-aligned veteran, however the Speaker’s office says that those rules didn’t really apply because it wasn’t an official sitting of the Commons, and Speakers have wide discretion in any case.

In the end, Liberal MP Greg Fergus was chosen, making him the first Black Speaker in Canadian history. The choice was a surprise to me because Fergus had never shown any interest in the role prior to this past week. In fact, he has always been a pretty notorious partisan (former leader of the Young Liberals, former national director of the party, former parliamentary secretary to the prime minister), and that raises questions for me, but that’s solely my opinion. Fergus did talk about subscribing to Hansard when he was 14, and being a House of Commons page, which puts him in good stead for his respect for the Chamber and the institution, but again, he’s coming into the position as a complete neophyte with no experience as a Chair occupant, which should be a little worrying given the particular state of Canadian democracy right now, and the rancorous mood.

That rancorous mood extended to the congratulatory speeches. Prime minister Justin Trudeau’s speech danced on the edge of being partisan in his talk about what were essentially government priorities, to which Pierre Poilievre decided to one-up him and go full-partisan, that included a bizarre false history lesson where he tried to wedge his “common sense” nonsense into “common people,” and the House of Commons, with a wrong history of the name and the institution itself, before trying to compare Trudeau to King John, who was forced to sign the Magna Carta. If the words “classless jackass” crossed your mind, you would be correct, which is all the more reason why the state of Canadian democracy is in trouble, and Fergus will be hard-pressed to do much about it.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Ukrainian forces downed 29 out of 31 Russian drones and one cruise missile in overnight attacks, while falling debris tarted fires in Dnipro. Russia claims it downed a Ukrainian missile off the coast of occupied Crimea. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was visiting troops in the country’s northeast.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland met with a group of oil and gas CEOs in Ottawa as part of the “One Alberta, One Canada” delegation.
  • Mélanie Joly says Canada wants to do more in Haiti, as the UN Security Council approved a multilateral force to be led by Kenya to help combat gangs there.
  • Global Affairs released an internal report highlighting wrongdoing and consequences by employees to combat the notion that problems are covered up.
  • The government is suspending its operations with Sustainable Development Technologies Canada after a report found a number of governance problems.
  • The Star has a fact-check on the Online Streaming Act and what it’s asking for with registration, amidst mendacious bullshit about government censorship.
  • India is demanding that Canada recall 41 of its 62 consular officials in India.
  • The first day of the Cameron Ortis trial began for his allegedly leaking RCMP intelligence to criminal elements, with encrypted documents found at his home.
  • Pierre Poilievre is lashing out about his Truth and Reconciliation Day photos being “politicised,” because apparently irony died.
  • Han Dong says he’s still waiting to hear if he can re-join the Liberal caucus.
  • Ontario government lawyers have admitted that Doug Ford does government business on his personal phone, and they refuse to turn over the records.
  • Wab Kinew and the NDP have won a majority legislature in the Manitoba election.
  • Althia Raj talks to Pascale St-Onge about her negotiations with Google in getting a resolution around the Online News Act.
  • Susan Delacourt wonders if Fergus will really be able to deal with the decorum issue in the House of Commons given the level of acrimony.

Odds and ends:

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