Roundup: Bringing in the spouses?

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The fallout from Jagmeet Singh’s confrontation with members of the Asshole Brigade who are harassing people in front of Parliament Hill has taken a couple of strange twists. In his post about the incident, Singh said that “That’s the country that Pierre Poilievre wants,” which of course sent the Conservatives into the usual bit of performative victimhood. Among those was Michael Cooper, who was seen hanging out with some of those members of the Asshole Brigade, and he tweeted out that he didn’t know them, that they approached him at the restaurant he was eating in…but there is video that shows him meeting with them before the restaurant, so perhaps that’s a very judicious use of the truth.

The stranger part was that Anaida Poilievre wrote a long Twitter missive to rebut the accusation and to praise Poilievre’s good character, while taking shots at Singh and Justin Trudeau. There has been a long-held convention in Canadian politics that spouses stay out of things, and they get a semblance of anonymity as a result. The fact that she has been very active in Poilievre’s campaign is a sign that she could be much more active in a future where Poilievre becomes prime minister, and that’s a bit of a problem because we don’t have “First Ladies” in this county like the Americans do, because our “First Lady” is Queen Camila. If she plays an active role, does she then become a target for other parties? Does that open up attacks for their spouses? I worry about that given the coarsening of politics as it is, and the fact that far too many people are already targeting MPs’ homes as part of protests. We don’t need them to become fair game as things continue to race to the bottom.

https://x.com/AnaPoilievre/status/1836225640938508466

Ukraine Dispatch

Russian shelling in Zaporizhzhia killed one woman and injured two others, while another attack targeted energy facilities in the central city of Kropyvnytskyi. Ukrainian drones have struck a Russian military base north of Moscow, causing an “earthquake-sized” blast. President Zelenskyy will be addressing the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday.

Good reads:

  • Mark Miller announced further cuts to student visa levels, and pointed out that international students are a privilege for institutions, not a cash cow.
  • Pablo Rodriguez is expected to resign as transport minister (but not his seat just yet) in advance of a bit for the Quebec Liberal leadership.
  • Mark Holland is pleading with senators not to amend the pharmacare bill so that he can get on with negotiating with provinces.
  • Canada’s ambassador to China considers relations to be at a “yellow light,” but not fully adversarial.
  • Canada abstained from a vote at the UN on a ceasefire in Gaza because the language was deemed to be too one-sided.
  • The Ethics Commissioner has closed yet another investigation into Randy Boissonnault’s business dealings because there’s no evidence of wrongdoing.
  • The Auditor General is considering an audit of the Indigenous Services Canada’s procurement practices around determining indigeneity of contractors or suppliers.
  • Erin O’Toole told the Foreign Interference Inquiry he considered expelling former Senator Oh from caucus, but didn’t for fear of charges of racism. (So brave!)
  • Michael Chong and Jenny Kwan also testified at the inquiry. Documents were also produced about China’s attempt to influence the vote on the Uyghur genocide.
  • Yves-François Blanchet says that the Bloc won’t support the upcoming non-confidence motion the Conservatives will put forward.
  • New Brunswick’s election is kicking off today as Blaine Higgs goes to meet the lieutenant governor to ask her to dissolve the legislature.
  • The policy proposals for the upcoming UCP convention include some more far-right stalwarts. (This is what happens when your party is overtaken by extremists).
  • Kevin Carmichael takes a deeper dive into the inflation data and where the signs of weakness in the economy now lie as more rate cuts are to come.
  • Carmichael also parses the Bank of Canada’s deliberations on their last rate decision to look ahead to the October rate decision.
  • Althia Raj remarks on the apparent irony of the Bloc saving the government’s skin.

Odds and ends:

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One thought on “Roundup: Bringing in the spouses?”

  1. The constituency association for Drayton Valley-Devon proposes that all prospective teachers “take one university three credit course on the origins and negative consequences of Marxism and Communism.”

    That should boost socialism and activism in the province.

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