Not one, but two opposition stunts were voted down in the Commons yesterday. The first was the NDP’s opposition day motion on Senate abolition, which they, the Bloc and Elizabeth May voted in support of, and was defeated 186-101. The other was the Bloc’s motion to repeal the Clarity Act, which only they voted in support of, the NDP “totally not whipped” into voting down, and it went to its defeat 283-5. Bob Rae called out the NDP for their “total incoherence” on their Clarity Act/Unity Bill position, and deemed the party to be an unstable coalition in the wake of their “orange wave” fortunes. And now, with these votes out of the way, one can hope that the opposition parties get back to their actual jobs of holding the government to account rather than to continue with stunts and grudge-matches, but that’s probably asking too much. Sadly.
Tag Archives: F-35 Fighters
Roundup: Mike Duffy’s cognitive dissonance
Beleaguered Senator Mike Duffy went to the media last night, and declared that he was going to repay the residency expenses he’s been claiming for his “secondary” residence in Ottawa. He claims, however, that he still qualifies to sit as a PEI senator – because the cognitive dissonance, it burns! As his excuse, Duffy said that the Senate rules are fuzzy and the form wasn’t clear – err, except it was. It’s two ticky boxes, and fill-in-your-address. No, seriously. But no, this repayment doesn’t halt the audits, or the question as to his residency being in line with the constitutional requirement for residency. And while Charlie Angus may huff and puff and demand the RCMP be brought in, one has to ask if the RCMP were brought in when MPs were found to be improperly claiming housing allowances a few years ago. No? Didn’t think so. Meanwhile, the former editor of satirical Frank magazine reminisces about his fractious relationship with Duffy, and it paints a pretty interesting picture of the Senator back in the day.
Roundup: New residency questions
It seems that Senator Peterson of Nunavut is next on the list to have his residency questioned. Apparently he may be spending more time in BC than in Nunavut, where he is representing. Meanwhile, intrepid reporters went to check out signs of life at Senator Mac Harb’s alleged primary residence in the Ottawa Valley, and found the Christmas lights were still up. Closer to home, there is talk that Senator Wallin’s travel expenses were flagged during a random audit, for what it’s worth. And yes, the audits of those residences will be made public. What is amusing is the concern that the NDP are showing about “secret audits” in the Senate – as though the Commons Board of Internal Inquiry were a paragon of openness and transparency as opposed to the most secretive organisation on the Hill.
What’s that? The RCMP has a problem of bullying within the ranks? You don’t say!
QP: Starting off the new parliamentary year
The first QP of 2013, and all leaders were in the House — even Bloc leader Daniel Paillé in the diplomatic gallery. Thomas Mulcair started off by wishing everyone a productive session before he read off a pro-forma question about the mission to Mali. Harper offered him assurances that there would be no combat mission and that he would consult the House before any future deployments. Next up, Mulcair read off a pair of questions about the First Nations, and why progress on their issues was so slow. Harper assured him that they were moving ahead with the issues, and that processes were in place and they would continue to work with those partners who were willing (this being the key phrase the government has been employing of late). Romeo Saganash was up next, and gave the vague threat that they didn’t need the government because he has a Private Member’s Bill on implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — err, except that he’s number 167 on the Order of Precedence, and it’s the job of the opposition to oppose, and not to govern. It’s called the Westminster system, which he may need to read up on. John Duncan offered up a bland list of achievements by way of response. Bob Rae then got up for the Liberals, and pressed about the signing of the Declaration, and that the government has been insufficient in its consultations with First Nations. Harper disputed this, stating that the government has met all of its legal obligations and their duty to consult. For his final question, Rae asked about the role of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, to which Harper reminded him that his government created the office to be non-partisan and credible.
Roundup: An elegant climbdown?
And so, with some drumming and the signing of the thirteen-point declaration, Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence ended her hunger action. At a press conference that started off with the First Nations members present blaming the media for their woes, Spence was not present – she was at a local hospital getting checked out before she began eating solid food again – but Bob Rae chimed up to buy into the constitutional relativism about the kind of role that the GG should be playing with future First Nations meetings, and Romeo Saganash said that First Nations shouldn’t have to beg. To that end, he’s going to present a Private Member’s Bill to ensure that government legislation lines up with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Err, except that he’s number 167 on the Order of Precedence, whereas the Commons isn’t quite up to number 90 in terms of what’s been brought forward for debate, and even if he were much closer, a bill like that far exceeds the mandate of a PMB. (And once again, we have an example of MPs trying to govern from the opposition benches rather than doing their jobs of holding the government to account). Kady O’Malley rounds up the responses from the opposition parties, the minister and the PMO. Michael Den Tandt looks at the achievable goals within the 13-point declaration. Martin Patriquin looks at the forces of change versus status quo that played out around Spence and the Idle No More protests. And through it all, the person running Spence’s Twitter account called Senator Brazeau an asshole. Because you know, peaceful and helpful dialogue, and so on.
Roundup: Money out the door
As part of their warm-up before the House returns next week, the Conservatives have been blanketing the country with ministerial good news announcements/re-announcements, and getting the local MPs in on it (which is actually a clear violation of their roles – backbench MPs are not supposed to hand out the cash, they’re supposed to hold the government to account when they hand it out). Yesterday’s score was about $205 million.
Aboriginal Affairs minister John Duncan issues a reminder that it’s inappropriate for the GG to attend future meetings on First Nations issues. Meanwhile, reports are that the Manitoba chiefs – who have been among the most vocal and radicalised in terms of the untenable demands with regards to the unilateral demands around the GG’s participation – are considering breaking with the AFN. Here’s a look at how urban Aboriginal issues are being marginalised as the current Idle No More debate continues.
Roundup: No end in sight to protests
While Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence continues to insist that the GG and PM meet with all of the chiefs, here is a reminder of the role that the GG played at the last Crown-First Nations gathering – basically the introductory speech, and then left. In other words, not at the table for the working portion, nor should he ever be. Meanwhile, the PMO says that they’ll be following up with National Chief Shawn Atleo on a follow-up meeting in the coming weeks, and have no intention of calling another big meeting with the GG. Apparently this means that the protests will continue. And the fact that NDP MP Charlie Angus is buying into Spence’s constitutional relativism and encouraging the GG’s participation in order to “draw down the rhetoric” is not only disheartening, it’s constitutionally irresponsible. I guess the “democratic” in New Democratic Party means that Responsible Government can be tossed away on a whim, and that we are subject to the whims of an activist monarch. Because that’s what he’s encouraging.
Roundup: Debates, and a trip to James Bay
So, the federal Liberals had their first leadership debate yesterday, and it was…without a whole lot of sparks or drama. I mean, it wasn’t NDP dull and full of violent agreement, but there weren’t too many fireworks or memorable exchanges. Aaron Wherry liveblogged it here, here is the CBC recap, and Michael Den Tandt gives his thoughts on its tepid nature here. (I wrote up my own thoughts on the debate here).
Jonathan Kay visits several James Bay Cree reservations, including Attawapiskat, and finds that things are not necessarily as bleak as we might otherwise think – though Attawapiskat is noticeably poorer-run than the others. The other conclusion is that those communities that are doing best are doing it outside of the Indian Act system, which is something I’ve heard said about the successful First Nations communities on the West Coast. Nevertheless, Kay’s story is a must read.
Roundup: Sovereignty via subcontract
Buried in last week’s KPMG audit of the F-35 programme was the revelation that the government planned to contract out air-to-air refuelling of the jets, seeing as the systems we have in place are currently incompatible. When this was pointed out two years ago, the government said, “Oh don’t worry, we’ll adapt our systems.” By adapt, apparently they meant subcontract. And nothing says asserting sovereignty over our airspace than getting the Americans or some other private companies to do our air-to-air refuelling for us. Great job, guys!
The Supreme Court handed down a split 4-2-1 decision on witnesses wearing niquabs – basically saying sure, but only some of the time, and here’s some guidelines to think about. Emmett Macfarlane examines the split and comes down on Team Abella – the single dissent that said while we’d like to see more of a person’s face than less, on the whole it’s not as big of a deal as it would be to have people to choose to not testify at all.
Roundup: Undermining accountability with dollar figures
The government has started attaching dollar figures to who much it costs to answer Order Paper questions – in this case, $1.2 million in a three-month period. Oh noes! Parliament costs money! And really, using this tactic of putting dollar figures on basic accountability is underhanded and violates the very premise of Parliament, which is to hold the government to account by means of controlling supply. To do that, Parliament needs facts and figures, quite simply. And making it seem like a costly imposition for Parliamentarians to exercise their most basic function is, in a word, despicable.
The federal and provincial finance minsters met at Meech Lake yesterday, and while they didn’t come to any consensus over boosting the CPP, they did agree to study it and come up with a report for their meeting in June.
Not that it’s any big surprise, but former assistant deputy minister of procurement at DND, Alan Williams, said the F-35 process as “corrupted” from the beginning, but the main question remains why the cabinet went along unquestioningly when the bureaucrats barrelled ahead with the sole-source contract. Meanwhile, the Americans are already looking at developing a “sixth generation” fighter jet by 2030.