Roundup: Senators won’t be pushed around

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The Bloc Québécois are trying to sweeten their demand for their two private members’ bills to pass before October 29th, saying they will help end the current filibuster in the House of Commons if the government does. Couple of small problems there—one is that the Senate can’t speed passage of any private members’ bills, no matter how much MPs or even the government strongly encourages them to; and the second is that the government isn’t going to give a royal recommendation to their OAS bill, because they absolutely don’t want to set a precedent there.

Nevertheless, Mary Ng wrote a letter to Senator Peter Boehm, who chairs the committee studying the Supply Management bill, urging him to speed it along, and it was co-signed by a few MPs from different parties, no doubt to try and demonstrate that they all care about this. Boehm, rightly, responded by telling them to go pound sand. The committee estimates it’ll get to clause-by-clause of the bill in the first week of November, because that’s how long it’ll take, end of story. And let me reiterate once again—there is no mechanism in the Senate to fast-track private members’ bills, and that’s for very good reason. In fact, during the Harper years, they tried to rewrite the Senate rules to allow for it to happen—in part because they were moving some odious legislation through as private members’ bills instead of government bills for various reasons (including the fact that PMBs get very little study and are automatically time-allocated so they can’t really be filibustered), and enough senators pushed back on that attempt that it didn’t happen. Again, for good reason.

As for the Bloc’s frankly boneheaded suggestion that the prime minister needs to get on the phone to order senators “that he appointed” around undermines the entire institutional independence of the Upper Chamber. They are appointed in such a way as to make them largely immune to this kind of political pressure for very good reason, and this is proving that very point. By that logic, should the prime minister be phoning up judges that they appointed in order to pressure them to deciding cases in a particular way? How about the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? This extended tantrum they’re throwing is embarrassing for them, particularly when it began as a ham-fisted attempt at blackmail that it turns out they weren’t very good at.

Ukraine Dispatch

Three people, including a child, were killed in a Russian drone strike in Sumy. The UN estimates that the Ukrainian population has declined by ten million since the start of the invasion, a combination of people being displaced and war deaths. Ukraine has been targeting alcohol plants in Russia over the past several days. With news that North Korea is sending troops to fight with Russians, South Korea is now considering sending weapons to Ukraine.

Good reads:

  • Patty Hajdu says it’s up to the AFN to decide what they want to do next around the child welfare agreement they voted down last weekend.
  • It’s official that Marie-Philippe Bouchard will be the next president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada (and good luck to her with that job).
  • The Auditor General says she will look into contracts with firm GC Strategies.
  • The head of the Canada Industrial Relations Board says the government’s directive to end the rail shutdown was “unprecedented,” but within his discretionary powers.
  • Parents of children with autism are frustrated the federal government’s national strategy doesn’t actually force the provinces to do anything. (Guys…)
  • Families are calling for a national public inquiry over a spate of recent Indigenous deaths at the hands of police.
  • One of the local conspiracy crew, who has previously tried to “citizen’s arrest” the prime minister, tried to force his way into West Block yesterday and was arrested.
  • The Star sets the stage for the big Liberal caucus meeting this morning.
  • Doug Ford is learning it’s actually hard to just “mail every Ontarian a cheque” and is trying to work with CRA to do it (because what’s a little vote-buying?)
  • Rob Shaw gives his overall take on the BC election results.
  • Susan Delacourt looks to Trudeau’s biography to try and glean some clues as to how he may handle today’s caucus meeting.
  • My column points to Poilievre’s dwindling excuses for why he won’t get his security clearance, and none of them are actually credible.

Odds and ends:

My Loonie Politics Quick Take offers a reminder that yes, there is still a government in BC, but the real drama is whether their legislature will have a Speaker.

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One thought on “Roundup: Senators won’t be pushed around”

  1. I’d like to hear of a meeting with Bloc leader, PM and head of Senate blocks to ensure these explanations get out there. Can’t have government fall over this.

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