Roundup: Preparing for the backbench rebellion

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In advance of Liberal caucus tomorrow, media is rife with attempts to figure out just how many MPs will be pushing for Trudeau to go, and it sounds like between twenty to forty, but nobody knows anything for sure, and much like the past two caucus retreats where the backbenchers were restive, it could all fizzle out by the end, because Trudeau apparently has some kind of magic he can weave when he’s in the room. This could also just be a means of applying pressure to force the PMO to start showing that they are committed to a change of direction or just showing that they are capable of change, but so far Trudeau’s response has been to double-down and stare down his naysayers, but you have to admit, that even twenty backbenchers being ready to push you out is a bad sign, and forty is an indication that you’re not able to read the room.

This of course has led to future leadership speculation, and jumping right into things was former BC Liberal premier Christy Clark, who says she’s taking French classes, but I find this whole thing a bit of a laughable charade. While I know of several federal Liberals who will vouch for her Liberal-status, she also previously mused about running for the leadership of the Conservatives save for her lack of French skills, and was also organizing with the “Centre Ice conservatives,” now the upstart wannabe party that Dominic Cardy is leading. On top of that, Clark’s record as premier is pretty problematic, so I would have some very big questions about just what kind of reception she thinks she’s going to get outside of the few Liberal insiders who knew her ack in the day.

And then there’s Mark Carney, who told Nathaniel Erskine-Smith on his podcast over the weekend that he’s planning to run for a seat at some point, but won’t say where and when, and is vague about a lot of it other than saying that this is because he owes Canada “a lot.” Of course, none of this changes the fact that as a former central bank governor, he should stay the hell out of electoral politics for the rest of his life, because of what it does to his successors and the institution. Central banks need to be scrupulously politically neutral because what they say needs to be believed if they are to control inflation.

Ukraine Dispatch

Russian attacks killed three people in Zaporizhzhia, and three in the Donetsk region. A Ukrainian drone attack damaged two distilleries in Russia, just south of Moscow. And this is what is known so far about North Korean troops joining the Russian invasion.

Good reads:

  • Revenue minister Marie-Claude Bibeau says she’s not running again because she plans to run for mayor of Sherbrooke.
  • Statistics Canada estimates the cost of replacing crumbling public infrastructure across the country will be some $356.7 billion.
  • The Foreign Interference inquiry is now in its final week of hearings and consultations before Justice Hogue goes to write her final report.
  • The new CEO of the Trans Mountain pipeline says the government shouldn’t rush to sell it, because capital markets need to see its stability before offering a fair price.
  • A civilian working with Canadian forces in Latvia was not given an apology after she was sexually assaulted because they feared it would spark media attention.
  • Deputy Speaker Chris d’Entremont disputes Yvan Baker’s recounting that he said he only gave the speaking prohibition after pressure from his caucus.
  • Liberal and Bloc members of the heritage committee voted down a study of the Soccer Canada drone scandal, citing the ongoing external investigation.
  • Poilievre says that if he forms government, he’ll cut provincial social transfers if they don’t end clawbacks of disability benefits (and good luck with that).
  • The Liberals won a majority in New Brunswick, and Blaine Higgs lost his own seat; Liberal leader Susan Holt is set to become the first female premier in that province.
  • Doug Ford has appointed former federal health minister Jane Philpott to lead a “primary care action team” to get more family doctors. (Good luck with that).
  • It appears that there was an added partisan dimension to the alleged complaints about trans people in change rooms that prompted Scott Moe’s pledge.
  • Here is Anne Applebaum’s speech at the German Peace Prize about pacifism, complacency, and fighting the pessimism on the future of democracy.

Odds and ends:

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2024-10-22T00:17:31.045Z

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