Roundup: More of a stage than an institution

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The House of Commons is back today after the Christmas break, and you can pretty much guarantee that there will be a level of awfulness to the discourse, because that’s where things are right now. In fact, when asked over the weekend, former prime minister Joe Clark correctly noted that the House of Commons is “more a stage than an institution” these days. You’ve heard me bang on about this more times than I can count, but it bears repeating—MPs are no longer debating ideas. They are reciting prepared talking points into the record, because those are being used to generate clips for social media. It’s not even for the benefit of news media anymore, like it used to be (which caused its own particular problems with how QP works), because they all think they can just bypass legacy media and speak directly to their own audiences over their socials.

It’s no longer politics—it’s theatre. Bad theatre. The kind where people can’t even memorise their lines, but are full-on reading the script in front of them during the performance, not even on cue-cards that are far enough in the distance, and most of them can’t even be ashamed of their own amateurishness as they adhere to their party’s message, do what is expected of them, and continue to pretend that this is all normal.

And that’s why our democracy is in trouble.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Security officials in Ukraine say that defence ministry officials conspired with employees from an arms firm to embezzle nearly $40 million that was earmarked to buy mortar shells. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has disclosed his own income as part of a drive for transparency and combatting corruption.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau attended Holocaust Remembrance Day events on Saturday, as well as Ed Broadbent’s state funeral on Sunday.
  • Trudeau announced that the Durham by-election will be held on March 4th.
  • Trudeau also appointed Toronto entrepreneur Mohammad Al Zaibak to the Senate.
  • Special Representative for combatting Islamophobia Amira Elghawaby says that the rise in Islamophobic incidents is more trauma on top of the loss of lives in Gaza.
  • Former National Security and Intelligence Advisor Jody Thomas says that the likelihood of using the Emergencies Act again is decreased due to lessons learned.
  • Mark Carney continues to deny he’s running for Liberal leader. (Come on, guys).
  • Polling data suggests that the Liberals’ attempts to tie Poilievre to Trump may not make much of a difference to voters.
  • The Liberals and NPD have been crafting changes to election legislation to increase ease and access of voting, such as more days and polling station options.
  • Pierre Poilievre addressed his caucus yesterday, promising a relentless focus on the farm fuels carve-out bill.
  • A former Toronto city councillor is seeking the Conservative nomination in Eglington-Lawrence (currently held by Marco Mendicino).
  • The NDP think they have rich territory in Edmonton thanks to the provincial election, but keep hearing people don’t like their working with the Liberals.
  • Danielle Smith is set to unveil her own “parental rights” legislation.
  • The Alberta NDP will conclude their leadership contest to replace Rachel Notley on June 22nd, with the race set to begin February 5th.
  • Kevin Carmichael sees the current moment as a good lesson in why we ensure the independence of the central bank, as the temptations for interference are many.
  • Philippe Lagassé further reflects on what it means that Bill Blair has assured people that the Canadian Forces will always be available for domestic emergencies.
  • Althia Raj points out the parts of the Federal Court ruling on the Emergencies Act that people are ignoring as they apply it to their established narratives.
  • My weekend column delves into the inherent problems with the “leadership review” process within parties and especially the Liberals under current rules.

Odds and Ends:

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