For months now, Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives have been claiming that the Liberals “legalised” hard drugs in BC, which is false, and have been trying to build up a particular lie that they are planning to do so across the country. Again, to repeat, this is a lie, and the limited decriminalisation that happened in BC was done reluctantly, but only after the province, the provincial police force, and municipal authorities all wanted to give it a go as a way of reducing mortality from the toxic drug crisis. They’ve had limited success, but have started rolling back some of those measures which had nothing to do with decriminalisation, mainly being open drug use, because it’s spooking voters. And I get that, but it has nothing to do with decriminalisation and everything to do with the toxic supply. Drug users have taken the notion that if they use openly, then someone may save them with Naloxone if they overdose in public. It’s not just happening in BC, but everywhere across the country now—I see it on the streets in Ottawa all the time, and there is no decriminalisation happening.

Nevertheless, this week Poilievre claims he has “proof” that there is a national decriminalisation plan—which he and his MPs use “legalise” with interchangeably, even though they are absolutely not the same thing. The problem? That the very text he’s highlighting doesn’t say that there is a national decriminalisation plan, only that the federal government is willing to work with willing jurisdictions using the tools at their disposal, that can include decriminalisation. It doesn’t matter that they apparently have no reading comprehension ability—they’ve just highlighted a couple of words and made a false declaration.

BREAKING: Secret documents show that the NDP-Liberal government has a hidden plan for "national decriminalization."

If they are re-elected, expect crack, cocaine, heroin and fentanyl in a schoolyard near you. https://t.co/mUaB0UwBm7 pic.twitter.com/sE7Cb9a68p

— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) July 22, 2024

And now Poilievre and his MPs are blanketing their social channels with this blatant lie, because they want to make people angry and afraid. The truth doesn’t matter. It never did. They’re going to keep lying, because it works, and because nobody, least of all legacy media, is going to call them on it.

This is a lie. The “secret memo” didn’t say that, but Poilievre and Scheer don’t care about the truth, they care about making you angry over social media. pic.twitter.com/wUEKeb7fGW

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) July 22, 2024

Ukraine Dispatch

While both sides have traded drone assaults, the Russians claim to have taken over two villages—one in Kharkiv region, the other in Luhansk. Russians are moving in on the town of Pokrovsk in the east, which serves as a logistics hub for Ukraine. The Czech Republic says that artillery deliveries to Ukraine are going to accelerate. And Ukraine is closing in on a deal to restructure $20 billion of its debt.

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1815394403675988039

⚡️Slovakia receives first F-16s to replace MiG-29's donated to Ukraine.

Another 12 F-16s will be in the country by the end of the year, Lockheed Martin, the company that manufactures the jets said in a press release. https://t.co/xH8ipqYvtQ

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) July 22, 2024

Good reads:

• Oh, nothing, just Canadian media doing the Canada Angle™ thing on the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris nomination drama.
• The US has dropped their proposed rules for dogs entering the country, now allowing them from “rabies-free” countries like Canada without the burden.
• The federal government and BC have signed a draft treaty with the K’omoks First Nation as a step toward self-governance.
• One of our navy’s new slushbreakers is in port in Pearl Harbour dealing with flooding, because the Irving Shipyards craftsmanship is quite…something.
• Two Alberta men have been charged with uttering death threats against the prime minister and other leaders or ministers.
• Oh, look—the premiers are deflecting, trying to blame the federal government for a bail decision rather than their underfunding of their court systems.
• The Star reminds us of what Pierre Poilievre wrote about how he would govern as prime minister in an essay contest when he was twenty.
• Philippe Lagassé suggests a better reasoning the Supreme Court could have used in its ruling on Friday around immunity from damages for unconstitutional laws.

Odds and ends:

For National Magazine, I delve into Friday’s Supreme Court of Canada ruling that limits the absolute immunity of the state from liability for unconstitutional laws.

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