Roundup: Not spelling out a non-binding motion

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The Conservatives spent their Supply Day yesterday calling for an “emergency” televised meeting with premiers on the carbon levy, which was full of the usual nonsense and false talking points about the effect the carbon levy is having on food affordability, or using the torqued numbers from the PBO report in a misleading way. Nevertheless, Pierre Poilievre was trying to make a point about Trudeau being somehow afraid to face the premiers, which is just more of his terminally online “Debate me!” energy going on, even though we all know this wouldn’t actually be a debate, it would be the premiers ganging up for the sake of them all gathering video clips for fundraising purposes.

This having been said, I find myself one again supremely irritated by how the CBC—and in particular a certain journalist in the CBC’s bureau—chose to write up the day’s activities, with the headline about the motion trying to “force” Trudeau to meet with the premiers. The motion is non-binding. It can’t force anything. All Supply Day motions are non-binding. But the headline seems to indicate that it could bind the government, and nowhere in the text of the piece does it point out that it’s non-binding. This is malpractice at this point, because it’s painting a completely false picture of what the debate was. The “debate”—and I use the term loosely because it was MPs reading twenty-minute speeches into the record—was posturing for the sake of gathering clips for social media. That’s all. And this particular writer has been on the Hill long enough that he should know this, but he has a habit of ignoring relevant facts about procedure or jurisdiction to try and lend weight to his pieces. It’s not cute, and it’s not doing anything for the CBC’s reputation.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Ukraine says that they downed 20 attack drones overnight, though there was still infrastructure damage in the west of the country. Ukraine is trying to repair and shield their power systems after the recent spate of attacks. A retaliatory strike inside of Russia hit an aviation factory in the Voronezh region. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited fortifications in the Kharkiv region, while the Americans are offering to send seized Iranian weapons, and to sell them $138 million USD air defence upgrades.

https://twitter.com/zelenskyyua/status/1777666453950337220

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau will be hosting French prime minister Gabriel Attal before Attal heads to Montreal and Quebec City.
  • Chrystia Freeland announced $500 million in the budget for youth mental health (on top of existing transfers), and didn’t rule out corporate tax increases.
  • Mark Holland says he is “negotiating” with dental associations about the rollout of dental care, but his red line is forcing people to pay up front and get reimbursed.
  • The Star looks into the size of the infrastructure gap that Indigenous communities face for things like housing, roads, or basic cellular service.
  • Six children are being repatriated from a Syrian detention camp, but their Canadian mother is not.
  • The foreign interference inquiry heard from senior PMO officials, who disputed getting CSIS briefings, and who found flat-out errors in other CSIS reports.
  • Those officials also didn’t see signs of interference in Han Dong’s nomination contest, and had argued for the release of documents that would clear his name.
  • More cases are being tossed from the courts for lack of judges to hear cases, while the federal government refuses to reform their appointment process.
  • At committee the head of the Infrastructure Bank defended spending $900,000 on due diligence work on the now-suspended Laie Erie Connector project.
  • Global has a look at the youth flocking to Poilievre, because they like his angry vibes, not necessary because they believe he can deliver on his policies.
  • François Legault is threatening a “referendum” on immigration, which would be an empty gesture because that’s a federal head of power.
  • John Michael McGrath looks askance at the Ford government’s attempt to pad their housing numbers with student residences and long-term care beds.
  • Philippe Lagassé and David Perry have concerns about the ability to actually do the implementation of the proposals in the defence policy update.
  • Susan Delacourt attended a Mark Carney speech and tried to imagine this as a possible glimpse at political leadership. (Stop trying to make Fetch happen!)
  • My column looks to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision on the federal carbon levy as to why premiers can’t opt out of having a carbon price in their plans.

Odds and Ends:

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