Roundup: Unilateral Arctic plans and foreign aid churlishness

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Pierre Poilievre called a press conference from Iqaluit, yesterday, where he announced his Arctic policy ideas, which include finally building an air force base in the region, doubling the number of Canadian Rangers, and building two more heavy icebreakers, but for the Royal Canadian Navy and not the Coast Guard. Oh, and that he was going to pay for it all by gutting foreign aid. Set aside the fact that the plans for an Arctic base have long been in the works with slow progress, but does the Navy even want icebreaker capability? They didn’t want the slushbreakers—sorry, Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships that the Harper government decided they needed, and here is another Conservative who wants to impose capabilities that they have not asked for, because reasons. Nevertheless, this whole thing set off the premier of Nunavut, who noted there was zero consultation on these policies, and pointed to actual sovereignty-affirming things that governments should be doing for the north that aren’t this kind of performative flexing.

As for Poilievre’s disdain for foreign aid, it’s one-part monkey-see-monkey-do with MAGA and Elon Musk dismantling USAID, but it’s juvenile, provincial, and ignores that foreign aid is soft power that also does thinks like not let Russia and China swoop in and start winning hearts and minds in those countries, which is what Trump opened the door to, and which Poilievre seems keen to follow, justified by a number of lies about the recipients of that aid based on the fact that UNRWA may have had a handful of compromised employees. He doesn’t care about the realities of this aid spending and the projection of soft power, because those recipients can’t vote for him, and he’s playing into tired populist tropes about “taking care of people at home,” even though they actually don’t care about vulnerable people at home, and just want a tax cut instead of actually helping anyone. And again, Poilievre doesn’t care.

If anything, Canada should actually be living up to its previous pledges about increased funding for foreign assistance, particularly because the dismantling of USAID is going to affect programmes that Canada was partnering with them on, and they provided much of the “thought leadership” in the space. Children are going to die of malnutrition, and preventable illness, HIV infections are going to skyrocket, and again, Poilievre doesn’t care because those people can’t vote for him. What a bleak, cursèd timeline we live in right now.

Ukraine Dispatch

A Ukrainian drone attack damaged an industrial facility—possibly an oil refinery—in Russia’s Saratov region. The US’ “freeze” of aid money means that organisations helping investigate Russian war crimes can’t pay staff or continue their work—Trump and Musk just doing Putin’s bidding.

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1888916130254725208

Good reads:

  • Leaked recordings from Friday’s trade summit had Trudeau saying that Trump uses disinformation for political purpose and doesn’t care about protecting democracy.
  • Trump signed executive orders to reimpose Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium at 25 percent, but won’t actually take effect until March 12th.
  • The Chief Electoral Officer says that there are still tools they can use to strengthen election integrity if changes to the Act can’t be passed before an election.
  • The Logic has an interview with Rajiv Gupta, the head of the Canadian Centre for Cybersecurity, and how their reality is to keep cooperating with the Americans.
  • The claims process for the First Nations child welfare class action settlement will be opening up in March.
  • Both Arif Virani and Mary Ng declared they’re not running again next election.
  • Ruby Dhalla wants a translator for the upcoming French debate. (Hahaha, no.)
  • Jagmeet Singh says if he forms government, he would double the rebate on Canadian-made EVs and tariff Teslas. (So, no chance that will happen).
  • The Duke and Duchess of Montecito are in Vancouver for the Invictus Games.
  • Susan Delacourt talks to Chrystia Freeland about her campaign, including whether it’s harder to be a woman in a leadership role in these “bro” times.
  • Paul Wells has a lengthy essay about Poilievre’s private and public personas, and why he is as aggressive as he is about his plans should he form government.

Odds and ends:

My Loonie Politics Quick Take asks just what Parliament needs to be summoned for to deal with Trump that the government isn’t doing already.

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