Tag Archives: Border

Roundup: Allegations of interference still not adding up

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It’s day one-hundred-and-twenty-seven of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and a major prisoner swap took place, securing the release of 144 Ukrainian soldiers, including 95 of the defenders of Mariupol. The majority of those prisoners swapped were badly wounded. It sounds like an equal number of Russian fighters, as well as so-called Donetsk separatists, were released as part of the swap.

https://twitter.com/smsaideman/status/1542174212378529794

Closer to home, we got another denial from Bill Blair about any interference in the Nova Scotia mass-shooting investigation, and he speaks reasonably authoritatively enough about knowing where the line is given his previous life as a police chief. And there is not a lot of things adding up around these allegations of interference, particularly that the forthcoming order-in-council around banning assault-style rifles, which they would have needed to work on for weeks or months, so it was pretty much baked-in by that point if it was announced days later, and they would have been in consultation with the RCMP over it. The notion that releasing the information could have jeopardized the investigation has been debunked, especially given that the shooter’s spouse could tell them all that information. To add to that, the PMO had already been given the information on the guns thanks to the National Security Advisor, so again, there wouldn’t have been any need for interference if that’s what you’re calling it. Now, we all know that the very first question reporters would have asked when the announcement on the OiC came down was whether the guns used in this shooting would be covered, so again, this seems like fairly basic disclosure that they knew was coming. And if anyone is clutching their pearls over the Liberals politicizing a mass shooting—which is actually appropriate—then they haven’t watched Question Period, where tragedies are politicised every single day. Also, not to be forgotten, the Justice Department isn’t holding onto documents on behalf of the government—they’re acting as the lawyers for the RCMP in this situation, so this likely has to do with the advice they are receiving from their clients. Again, the allegations that this is some kind of cover-up are not adding up.

But these issues aside, let’s be clear—the RCMP in Nova Scotia had just shit the bed. Massively. They didn’t disclose information that could have saved lives, they lied to the media, and they have been increasingly caught out about it, and a lot of this sounds like deflection, particularly because they are butthurt that Commissioner Lucki chewed them out about it. Like I said, stuff isn’t adding up about the supposed “interference,” but I would again remind you that we should not be credulously believing everything the RCMP are saying, particularly as they are in the middle of justifying and deflecting around what happened, and the fact that they were trying to keep from disclosing information unnecessarily.

https://twitter.com/Garossino/status/1541940693492330496

https://twitter.com/Garossino/status/1541942595487600640

https://twitter.com/Garossino/status/1541958232893030401

https://twitter.com/Garossino/status/1541960867863863296

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Roundup: On oaths to the Queen

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We’re in day one-hundred-and-twenty-six of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and much of the attention has been on the reverberations of the attack on the shopping centre in Kremenchuk, where the death toll is up to 18, with more than 20 missing, and many more wounded. French president Emmanuel Macron denounced the attack, and said that because of it, Russia “cannot and should not win” the war (but then again, Macron’s attempts to get Ukraine to give territorial concessions to end the conflict is not exactly reflecting well on him either). As well, CBC interviews a Ukrainian marine who survived the battle of Mariupol with severe injuries before spending two weeks as a Russian prisoner of war before he was able to be sent back to Ukraine for treatment.

https://twitter.com/MFA_Ukraine/status/1541839370747011072

Meanwhile, Turkey has dropped their objections to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, which means that their membership can move ahead. This while NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is talking about an eight-fold increase in Western troops being placed at an increased state of readiness, and more troops headed to the Baltic states, to make Russia very aware that they really, really shouldn’t cross their borders.

https://twitter.com/AnnLinde/status/1541877388937728005

https://twitter.com/ChristinsQueens/status/1541845991225278474

Closer to home, I spent way too much time yesterday being angry at a garbage piece of Canadian Press wire copy that was bad PR masquerading as a news story. I mean, we’re not even a week into Parliament’s summer recess, and this is what CP is using as void fill for the news hole? The piece claims that 56 percent of Canadians oppose the oath of allegiance to the Queen, then cites a “poll,” but it wasn’t actually a poll, it was online panels that are not actually random samples, but that fact isn’t mentioned until six paragraphs down. The only person quoted in the piece is the guy who runs the think tank who commissioned the panels, and he says that most Canadians are unaware that newcomers have to swear an oath to be “faithful to the Royal Family,” which is a wilful distortion of the truth. The oath is to the Queen and her “heirs and successors,” because heredity is kind of the point of monarchy. It’s not the whole Royal Family. Nobody is swearing fealty to Prince Andrew, or even Princess Anne for that matter. And for a think tank that claims to be devoted to increasing Canadians’ knowledge of their country, that kind of distortion is malpractice at best, but I suspect it’s more about trying to build a case that the monarchy is not a unifying force, particularly for immigrants. As for the CP journalist, this was simply retyping a press release with no added context. There were no basic civics in there about how we’re a constitutional monarchy, that the Queen of Canada is different from the Queen of the UK, or that the oath to the Queen is not to her natural person, but to the Crown as the central organizing principle of our constitution (which is why we would need to rewrite the entire thing if we ever were insane enough to ditch the monarchy—not that we would ever get the unanimous agreement of the provinces to do so). It’s really disappointing that CP has descended to this kind of stenography when they used to be one of the most enviable bureaux on the Hill.

https://twitter.com/EmmMacfarlane/status/1541409039330021380

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Roundup: Inviting anti-vaxx organisers onto the Hill

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It’s day one-hundred-and-twenty of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and no news out of Severodonetsk is presumed to be good news. That said, Russian forces have captured three other villages in the region, near the city of Lysychansk, which is across the river from Severokonetsk, so there is still movement in the region. There is optimism in the country, however, that their bid to join the EU will pass to the next stage during a summit this week. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, addressed University of Toronto students, and called on them to pressure governments to provide more aid to Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/DMokryk/status/1539548152432402432

Closer to home, a group of Conservative MPs, including leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis, hosted a trio of anti-vaxxer extremists and occupation organisers ahead of their planned Canada Day protests, and they did it within one of the Parliamentary office buildings just off of the Hill. Included in the group were a former Reservist being charged for a video promoting the occupation while in uniform, a former Trump advisor, and a former spokesperson for the occupation. And in case it’s not clear, they’re no longer talking about vaccine mandates, which have pretty much ended everywhere, but about regime change, and Conservatives are condoning it, if not outright encouraging it by saying “you have allies.” That’s not good. It’s especially not good when they’re talking about civil war in their discourse. Oh, and Candice Bergen’s office was aware this was going on, and did nothing to shut it down. It’s just unbelievable how clueless they are around this issue, when there is real potential for these violent online narratives to manifest into a real-world attack.

https://twitter.com/davidakin/status/1539718763465031680

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1539663123485179904

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1539693666830278660

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1539695139613945856

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QP: Gathering a few more outrage clips before summer

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While the prime minister was at the tail end of his COIVD isolation, he did not make a virtual appearance today, while his deputy was in Toronto in order to meet with her American counterpart, and only one other leader was present. Candice Bergen led off, script on her mini-lectern, and she declared that the government had no plan to deal with inflation other than “mismanagement” and “out of control spending.” Randy Boissonnault reminded her that the Conservatives ran on a plan for higher deficit spending than the Liberals did, and listed indexed benefits for people. Bergen demanded a reduction in federal taxes in order to ease gasoline prices, insisting that the Liberals say no to good ideas. Jonathan Wilkinson said they were doing the right thing, which was dealing with supply constraints caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Bergen then pivoted to higher crime rates, and made the false equivalence of the handgun freeze with the bill to remove mandatory minimums that target Black and Indigenous people. Marco Mendicino accused Bergen of not reading the bill, because it raises penalties on gun smugglers, while the Conservatives want to make AR-15s legal again. Bergen listed the recent sins, real or imagined, of a number of ministers, declaring the government of being a “disaster.” Mark Holland pointed out that the government has seen the government grow the economy, lift people out of poverty, and was focused on delivering for Canadians while Bergen was trolling from subject to subject for attack lines. Luc Berthold took over in French, and he recited his own list of alleged “chaotic incompetence” and wondered who would stand up to the prime minister, to which Boissonnault listed supports for Canadians that Conservatives voted against, while they are trying to find some “snappy lines for Twitter.” (I think you mean clips for future shitposts, though I grant you that may not be parliamentary language).

Alain Therrien warned that police needed to intervene with lines at passport offices, and that the situation was out of control. Ya’ara Saks responded that they have added more resources, including to MP lines to get help to those who need it in time. Therrien was incensed, raising a memo that said that help for MPs’ offices was being ended only to have been withdrawn hours later, citing this as signs of incompetence. Saks repeated her assurances, giving some figures on the additional resources.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and railed that the government wasn’t doing enough to help people deal with inflation, citing that the GST credit only increases by $7 dollars? Randy Boissonnault insisted that this was false, and listed other measures that the government was taking, including indexed benefits. Daniel Blaikie took over in English, and repeated the demand for enriched supports, while Boissonnault insisted this was nothing more than cynicism before he repeated his same points.

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QP: Still on repeat, again and again

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While Justin Trudeau was isolating, he had once again pledged to appear by Zoom, and lo, he did, and all of the other leaders were present as well. Candice Bergen led off, her script in front of her, and she raised Bill Blair’s testimony at committee yesterday, insisting that this was a contradiction to what Marco Mendicino had previously said. (Not really, because apparently there is no room for nuance in politics). She insisted that Mendicino was “misleading” Canadians and demanded his removal from the portfolio. Justin Trudeau reminded her that police do not give themselves emergency powers, that the government does, and that these measures were debated and voted upon in the House of Commons after police and municipalities said they needed more tools to end the occupation and blockades. Bergen listed the supposed misinformation that led to the invocation, torquing what was actually stated at the time and in the confusion of the events. Trudeau noted that the Bergen and the Conservatives were scrambling to make people forget their support for the occupation. Bergen insisted that Mendicino must be covering for the prime minister’s problems, which makes no sense, but nevertheless Trudeau noted the job losses and factories being closed as a result of the occupation and the other blockades at borders. Bergen went off on a tangent about Trudeau supposedly firing strong women who stand up to him but keeping weak ministers (and had Chrystia Freeland been in attendance, I would have been curious to see her gestures in response), and Trudeau reiterated that the Conservatives were trying to cover that they were in the wrong. Bergen tried to extend that tangent, bringing up other weak ministers like Harjit Sajjan, and Trudeau repeated his asserting that this was about the Conservatives deflection from being on the wrong side.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he too insisted that Mendicino had misled Parliament because police did not request the Emergencies Act, and Trudeau reminded him that police don’t request powers and that it is up to governments to make those decisions, which they did after police said they needed new tools. Blanchet reiterated that someone wasn’t telling the truth, and Trudeau repeated his response.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the Bloc, reciting dubious statistics about how inflation is hurting Canadians, and insisted that the government was refusing to give direct support to families who need it. Trudeau suggested he talk to families who had their childcare costs cut in half thanks to federal intervention, and that the indexed benefits would be rolling out in weeks. Singh repeated his question in French, demanding support for their proposal to increase the GST credit and Canada Child Benefit, and Trudeau said that he CCB was already going up in weeks because of indexing. 

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QP: Stuck on Repeat

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While in isolation for his COVID diagnosis, the prime minister pledged to appear virtually, and all of the other leaders were present for a change. Candice Bergen led off, script in front of her, and she went on a paean about telling the truth—which is rich coming from her—and demanded that the prime minister have Marco Mendicino step away from his job. Justin Trudeau, by video, read a list of people who stated at the time of the occupation who stated that their powers had been exhausted, which is why they invoked the Emergencies Act. Bergen outright demanded Mendicino’s resignation, and Trudeau reminded her police should not be able to grant themselves emergency powers, which is why government invoked the Act to give them powers that he listed. Bergen again demanded Mendicino resign, and Trudeau said that this was about the Conservatives trying to hope people forgot their support for the occupation. Bergen then pivoted to the bureaucrat who attended the Russian Embassy party, and Trudeau responded by saying he just got off the phone with Voldoymyr Zelenskyy, but did state that the attendance was unacceptable. Bergen said that the minister must be either dishonest or incompetent, and Trudeau repeated that he just spoke with Zelenskyy and that this did not come up because it wasn’t important in the grand scheme of what is Canada is doing for Ukraine.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he cited the Globe and Mail in saying that the government knew their GHG reductions targets were not credible. Trudeau disputed this, citing those who support the plan which he termed “realistic and ambitious.” Blanchet disputed their support and raised the “fantasy” of carbon sequestration, and Trudeau repeated the list of those who supported the feasibility of their plan.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and he cited a survey response that one quarter of Canadians would not be able to afford their homes if interest rates go up—a figure I have serious doubts about—and demanded direct action to help people to keep their homes. Trudeau recited his talking points about the measures the government is taking to increase housing affordability. Singh repeated the demand in French, and Trudeau recited the French version of the same talking points.

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Roundup: Running out of patience on procedural warfare

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It’s day one-hundred-and-eleven of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Russian forces have destroyed the final bridge connecting Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which cuts off the escape route for other civilians in the region. In echoes of the siege of Mariupol, there are allegedly people sheltering below a chemical plant, and Russians are telling those trapped in Severodonetsk to surrender or die. This is giving urgency to the calls for western governments to hurry up with their deliveries of heavy weapons in order to force Russians back. Elsewhere, more mass graves have been found near Bucha, and exhumations have begun. Here is a look at the network helping to transport vulnerable elderly Ukrainians out of the conflict zones toward safer destinations further west.

https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1536273801599672321

Closer to home, there are eight scheduled sitting days left in the House of Commons before the summer break, and the government is trying to move on several key pieces of legislation in the face of Conservative obstruction. While the bill to preserve Quebec’s seat count is likely to pass with little issue, Conservatives continue to fight the bill to remove mandatory minimum sentences, and the changes to the broadcasting rules to include online platforms. The Commons spent the day moving a programming motion on the online bill that includes mandating that it finishes up at committee by the end of the week, while the Conservatives decry this as draconian and undemocratic, and so on. They’ve completely ground the progress of the bill to a halt at committee, and are insisting they need to hear from more witnesses, never mind that they have wasted the time of the witnesses who have tried to appear by filibustering on procedural issues. Also never mind that they would not tolerate the same level of obstruction when they were in government, where they simply time allocated everything from the start rather than negotiate timelines. Of course, that’s the thing about procedural warfare, is that eventually something has to give, and seeing as the Liberals have the support of the NDP, their patience has run out. Nobody is acting responsibly here, and it’s just one giant gong show at this point. Perhaps eight more days is too long.

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QP: An appalling display of revisionist history

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The prime minister had not planned on attending QP today, having just returned from the Summit of the Americas, but announced this morning that he had tested positive for COVID for the second time in six months, so we may not see him in the Chamber again before the Commons rises for the summer. None of the other leaders were present either, but the deputy prime minister was, for what it’s worth. Luc Berthold led off, and in French, he raised ministerial accountability, and asked whether the prime minister still believes that it applies to him and his Cabinet. Mark Holland replied with a simple “yes.” Berthold then raised the supposed confusion around what Marco Mendicino said about police “requesting” the use of the Emergencies Act (which he has never claimed), and whether that was still true. Mendicino stated that they invoked the Act to protect Canadians’ safety and that the RCMP Commissioner said it gave police the tools they needed, and that the government decided to invoke it after they consulted with police. Berthold, thinking he was clever, tried to claim that the prime minister’s story was “hanging by a thread,” as no police force had asked for it. (And they wouldn’t, because that would be highly inappropriate). Bertold asked whether the prime minister or his staff asked for the Act to be invoked, and Mendicino repeated that it was necessary, and wondered when the Conservatives would understand about the expenses associated with the illegal blockades. James Bezan took over in English, accused Mendicino of talking lessons in revisionist history from Vladimir Putin, and accused the government of declaring “martial law” on the occupation, which did not happen. (Just who is revising history here?) Mendicino took exception to this, and denounced Bezan’s comparison. Bezan railed that the government didn’t need to invoke the Act and that the minster’s story kept changing. Mendicino pointed out that Candice Bergen egged on the occupiers, which was a problem.

https://twitter.com/journo_dale/status/1536413940875415552

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and declared that French is the only official language in North America under threat from English, and demanded that the federal government adopt Quebec’s amendments to the official languages bill. Ginette Petitpas Taylor stated that they recognise the decline, which is why they brought forward their bill. Therrien decried that this was about official bilingualism, which is killing French, and Petitpas Taylor praised her bill and hoped it would royal assent soon.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, in person today, and he decried that the government was cutting EI and child benefits for Canadians (which is stretching the truth). Chrystia Freeland recited her talking points about raising taxes on banks and insurance companies to help pay for the recovery. Jenny Kwan took over in English to repeat the question frame in English and demanded that the government enrich the Canada Child Benefit and double the GST credit. Freeland listed measures that they have taken this year.

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Roundup: Advice versus requests

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It’s day one-hundred-and-six of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Ukraine has filed eight more alleged war crime cases to court, while Ukrainian troops are holding out in the ruins of Severodonetsk as Russian forces advance in the region. Further south, Russians have been targeting agricultural sites including warehouses, because it seems they are deliberately provoking an international food crisis in order to gain some kind of leverage. Here is a look at the situation in the eastern city of Bakhmut, who feel abandoned by Kyiv. The Speaker of the Ukrainian parliament has made a plea to the European Parliament to speed the process to name Ukraine a candidate for European membership, as that declaration could send a strong signal to Russia.

https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1534633310651047936

Closer to home, there is a great deal of discussion as to whether or not Marco Mendicino lied when he said that he acted on the advice of law enforcement in invoking the Emergencies Act, in light of the clarification of his deputy minister. I’m probably going to write something longer on this, but I will make the point that police chiefs saying they didn’t request it is fully appropriate because they should not request it—that would be outside of their bounds as it is a highly political act to invoke it, and the minister needs to wear it. But Mendicino has been hidebound to pabulum talking points and bland reassurances, which is where the confusion is creeping in, and is compounding to weaselly behaviour. In any case, this thread by Matt Gurney lays out a lot of what we know, with some interventions along the way which add further shades of grey to this whole affair.

https://twitter.com/mattgurney/status/1534528096828809217

https://twitter.com/thomasjuneau/status/1534617515158122498

https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt/status/1534539298363654144

https://twitter.com/davidreevely/status/1534541264791773188

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QP: A personal tale of witnessing injustice

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The prime minister was off to Los Angeles for the Summit of the Americas, we had two other leaders present, plus the deputy prime minister, so that was something. Candice Bergen led off, script on her mini-lectern, decrying Canadians skipping meals, saying that they don’t want a “top-up cheque” but want prices to stop rising. (If only the Canadian federal government had the power to control the world price of oil and to stop droughts in food-producing regions). Chrystia Freeland praised her government’s job-centred recovery and the record-low levels of unemployment. Bergen insisted that the government’s fiscal policy was a mess, and raised Bill Morneau’s revisionist concerns, to which Freeland listed the inflation-indexed benefits that families and seniors were getting. Bergen pivoted to rising gun crimes and accused the government of being soft on crime, and Freeland offered a personal story about her mother doing legal aid work for Indigenous clients in Northern Alberta, and she could see first-hand how the justice system treats them, which was why this government was making changes. Luc Berthold took over in French to decry the abolition of mandatory minimums, and Freeland repeated the same story in French. Berthold then pivoted to the cost of living concerns, complaining that their gimmick-laden Supply Day motion was defeated. Freeland wondered why the Conservatives didn’t support their own “concrete” assistance to low-income households.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he insisted that a third of Quebec seniors were losing purchasing power because of rising inflation. Freeland said that she had good news—that OAS was going up by ten percent this summer. Blanchet did not deviate from his question and insisted the same again, and Freeland reminded him that these benefits are already indexed to inflation.

Peter Julian rose for the NDP, and in French, demanded the GST credit and Canada Child Benefit be doubled. Freeland stated that there were targeted measures already going out. Rachel Blaney repeated the question in English with added sanctimony, and Freeland insisted that they looked ahead and set five particular programmes in motion before this summer hits.

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