Roundup: The empty threat to sit over the holidays

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Yesterday began with Pierre Poilievre announcing at the start of his caucus meeting that the Conservatives would keep the government from going on their Christmas holidays—because they had allegedly ruined the Christmases of Canadians—unless the government lifts the carbon price from “farmers, First Nations, and families,” which is pretty nebulous, and would seem to mean the consumer carbon price and not the industrial one. Their method of warfare? Thousands of amendments that would force round-the-clock votes on things like their budget implementation bill or the bill to amend competition laws.

The problem is that, despite the threats that Conservatives like Melissa Lantsman are making, is that they can’t actually force the House to sit past December 15th. MPs long ago put the fixed calendar into the Standing Orders, and it would take a unanimous consent motion to change that date, which they’re not going to get. And if they think they’re going to exploit the loophole of keep voting going for days on end (which would technically be one sitting day that lasts beyond twenty-four hours), well, Poilievre is going to find his own MPs are going to start getting pretty upset with him because they have families, and constituency business to attend to, and this kind of thing gets pretty tiresome really quickly.

It’s an empty threat, and it’s the same kind of thing that happens every June, and every December without fail. The opposition parties start thumping their chests because it’s their last chance to flex their muscles and look like they’re being tough on the government, and without fail, they go home on time, if not a day or two early, because everyone is tired, cranky, and just wants to get the hell out of there. I would be incredibly surprised if the House didn’t rise for the holidays by the end of the 14th. Of course, this will be a different matter for the Senate, who will once again complain bitterly that these amendment vote-a-thons will delay their getting the bills, which will mean rushed passage, and that same song and dance will play out yet again, as it does at the end of every session.

In short, everyone needs to grow the hell up, and frankly, MPs need to go home sooner than later and think about their atrocious behaviour.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Ukrainian forces shot down 41 out of 48 Russian drones in a major overnight attack. Russian forces pressed again on Avdiivka, with both sides each claiming they made gains. It was Armed Forces Day in Ukraine yesterday, with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisting they would win a fair peace “against all odds,” while his defence minister was in Washington to try and secure more aid from the Americans, who are holding it up to try and force concessions around their border. A former Ukrainian MP who was regarded as a traitor was shot dead outside of Moscow, and sources say that Ukraine’s security service was responsible.

Good reads:

  • The government’s proposed oil and gas emissions cap is set to be revealed today, and likely contains a cap and trade system, and for the cap to be watered down.
  • Bill Blair has named the panel that will review the state of our military colleges, per the Arbour report (who suggested we may close them).
  • CSE is warning that more elections globally are facing cyber-interference, mostly from Russia and China, and it will get worse as deepfakes are easier to make.
  • The number of CSIS agents authorised to break the law in the course of their duties has been increasing, leading to an even greater need for transparency.
  • An expert culture says that CSIS’ is ripe for harassment, as accusations of sexual assault have been made in the media.
  • There is no winner yet at the AFN’s special chiefs’ assembly, as two contenders now vie for the post of national chief, but need a 60 percent vote to get it.
  • A Senate report into the state of Global Affairs says they need fewer senior managers, new recruits, and better training in more languages.
  • MPs have sent the matter of Greg Fergus’ video message to the Procedure and House Affairs committee (where I’m sure it totally won’t be a circus at all).
  • Kevin Carmichael sounds the alarm as to why we need to pay attention to our declining productivity, because the trade-offs we made are no longer working.
  • Carmichael also parses what the Bank of Canada said in their rate decision.

Odds and ends:

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