Tag Archives: Healthcare

Roundup: More both-sidesing Smith’s mendacity

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Because this is occasionally a media criticism blog, I found myself somewhat gobsmacked by the way in which The Canadian Press has written up the pushback against some of Danielle Smith’s ridiculous accusations against the federal clean electricity regulations. She has been panned by experts for weeks, but how does CP frame this? With statements by a Liberal MP in Calgary, George Chahal.

“The fuse is lit for fireworks in Ottawa after a Liberal member of Parliament accused Alberta Premier Danielle Smith of making false claims days before Smith is slated to appear before a federal environmental committee,” is the lead, and the piece proceeds to methodically both-sides this to death. It’s Chahal-said about Smith’s batshit crazy things she’s claiming about these regulations, like how this is going to mean blackouts and energy company executives being hauled off to jail, versus statements from Alberta’s energy minister, who in turn accuses the federal government of misinformation. There is no third-party expert weighing in, it’s simply the two sides, and the reader is supposed to determine whom they feel is more credible based on a handful of quotes. Come on.

We are in the middle of a misinformation and disinformation crisis in the Western world, and legacy media—of which a wire service like CP is a foundational element of—cannot arse themselves to do some basic gods damned due diligence and provide evidence that Smith and her ludicrous allegations are nothing more than mendacity for the sole purpose of rage-farming and stoking anger against the federal government (because that works so well in Alberta). There are ways to call out lies in a fair and transparent manner, but there was absolutely zero attempt her, and that just lets lies fester in the open, which is why leaders like Smith and Pierre Poilievre (as Andrew Scheer and Erin O’Toole before him) have all learned from, that it means they suffer no consequences for their lies, because nobody calls them out—just other partisan actors who can be dismissed as such. We’re playing with fire when it comes to the health of our democracy, but nobody seems to care, and that’s a very big problem.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russian drones have attacked Danube port infrastructure in the Odesa region once again. Ukraine’s intelligence service has accused two villagers who fled to Russia of helping guide the missile strike on the village of Hroza that killed 55 people last week. Ukraine’s prime minister says they need $42 billion in budget support this year and next to help aid reconstruction. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Brussels to meet with military leaders and to impress upon them the importance of keeping up aid to Ukraine, and not to get distracted by the outbreak of hostilities in Israel—NATO leaders have pledged ongoing support.

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1712119948749717958

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Roundup: Inflation falling into the control range

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The inflation numbers were out yesterday, and headline inflation dropped to 2.8 percent annualized, which is the lowest in the G7, and back within the Bank of Canada’s control range of 1 to 3 percent (though they have stated they are going to keep measures in place it reaches two percent). There are still hot spots—food price inflation is still fairly high, and shelter costs are also running high, but that’s not unexpected given where things are at right now.

Chrystia Freeland called this news a “milestone moment” that Canadians should feel some relief in, while the Conservatives repeated some of their usual talking points. The NDP, naturally, are keeping up with their attempt to blame high inflation on corporate greed, particularly food price inflation, even though the data doesn’t really bear that out, as I pointed out in this thread:

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russian forces struck the southern port city of Odessa, and while most of the missiles and drones were intercepted, there were hits and there was damage from debris. This was considered to be retaliation for the explosion on the bridge linking Russia to occupied Crimea. More strikes are aimed at Odessa in the early morning hours. Meanwhile, with the Black Sea grain deal ended by Russia, the EU is looking to transport more Ukrainian grain by rail and road, while the UN says they are floating “a number of ideas” around how to get that grain flowing again.

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Roundup: Toronto’s asylum-seeker problem

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There is a bit of an issue happening right now around asylum seekers in Toronto and other parts of the GTA unable to find shelter spaces and some of them sleeping on the streets, and everyone wants to blame the federal government, because of course they do. Reality is, of course, far more complicated and you’d better believe that there is plenty of blame to go around.

To start: the federal government is responsible for refugees, meaning those who have had a status determination, most of whom came over with sponsorship and under some formal programme or structure, and that usually comes with supports, either provided by government or communities. What is the bigger problem in Toronto are those asylum seekers who don’t have a status determination, and may have entered the country in an irregular manner, and because they don’t have status, they also can’t get work permits until they do. And this largely is the responsibility of provinces and municipalities until they get that status determination. But this isn’t to say that the federal government isn’t helping with this situation, because they are, operating certain resettlement services including hotels for some claimants, and they have sent hundreds of millions of dollars to help provinces and municipalities most affected offset their costs. But of course, this money it’s not enough, in part because there are bigger challenges that cities like Toronto haven’t overcome.

In a very real sense, this is a culmination of how broken things have become, particularly under decades of austerity measures by conservative governments and city councils. Provinces are under-funding social services and affordable housing, driving more people to shelters, while the city resists building housing in order to please NIMBY residents clutching their pearls about their property values, so that keeps people in shelters who shouldn’t be there, including these asylum claimants. And because both Toronto and the Ford government have decided the solution to these deep-seated problems is to simply demand more money from Ottawa rather than accepting responsibility for their share of the problem and, oh, doing something about it, it’s leaving the federal government in the position of trying to push back and say things like they need all levels of government to work together, which is also true. I suspect we’ll see some additional federal funds in the next few days as yet another stopgap measure, but this shouldn’t let cities or the province off the hook, as they need to properly step up and start fixing the underlying problems that have led them to this point.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russian launched an overnight drone attack against president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih, and sixteen of the seventeen were shot down, but the last drone and falling debris caused damaged and injured one woman. Progress in the counter-offensive remains slow as Zelenskyy says that the Russians are throwing everything they have at it. Here is a profile of Kyrylo Budanov, Russia’s spy chief. Meanwhile, it sounds like Zelenskyy’s pressure tactics at the NATO summit riled people in the White House, and there was much fighting over the language of the communiqué around Ukraine’s eventual membership in NATO.

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Roundup: A pathway for Ukraine but no obvious timeline

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From the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, we saw some movement on the question of Ukraine’s membership, but with no timeline attached. And while Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy railed that this was “absurd,” that’s pretty much entirely for show because everyone knows that it’s baked into the rules that you can’t join so long as you’ve got an active war taking place in your territory, because as a mutual defence pact, it would draw in the other members, and we don’t want this to turn in to World War III. The other conditions are all largely being waived, because Ukraine is largely becoming interoperable with NATO countries thanks to the training they’ve been receiving from countries like Canada and the UK, and because they’re getting and being trained on more western equipment as it displaces old Soviet equipment; there is also the issue of combatting corruption in their government and ranks, which are also conditions for entry into the European Union, so again, there’s a lot of progress on fast-tracking Ukraine’s membership, but there can’t be a timeline because there’s no timeline as to when the war will be over.

Meanwhile, member countries pledged to boost their spending to at least two percent of GDP (which, we’ve explained previously, is a really dumb metric), and yes, we’ll re-litigate Canada not spending enough yet again, even though we don’t have the capacity to spend more. We can’t spend the current budget allocation, and even if the budget allocated the requisite two percent, a lot of that would lapse and roll over into the next year because we don’t have the capacity to spend it. And this is also the part where I remind you that when Stephen Harper committed to the two percent target, he then cut defence spending and it fell below one percent of GDP, so whatever bellyaching James Bezan and Michael Chong get up to over this, they need to have a good hard look in the mirror about their own record.

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1678933048346263552

As well, the cluster munitions issue came up again. While the US, Ukraine and Russia are not signatories to the international convention banning them, the excuse is that they are running out of other munitions, so the Americans are going to send these instead, which seems…problematic in reasoning considering the reason why they’re largely banned. There doesn’t seem to be any particular move to sanction the US or Ukraine for using them, but or an appetite to prosecute any war crimes for their use, but it’s still not a great sign.

Meanwhile, here is some good analysis from Queen’s University’s Stéfanie von Hlatky that is worth your time to watch.

Ukraine Dispatch:

There was a second night of drone attacks on Kyiv in a row as the NATO summit is underway. As the counter-offensive continues, helmet cam footage is being selectively released, but can’t really provide proper context for what we’re seeing from it. The F-16 pilot training coalition is now firmed up, and training is due to begin in August. Meanwhile, survival skills training is taking off in Ukraine, as the war drags on.

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Roundup: Strange Five Eyes anxieties

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Every now and again, a weird little subplot turns up in Canadian politics centred around anxiety about our place in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance. Lately, this has been heightened because of the AUKUS agreement, which is mostly about Australia buying American nuclear submarines, and that’s the reason why Canada wasn’t invited to join. We as a country have not been having the necessary dialogue around replacing our submarine fleet (which we absolutely should be), so us joining AUKUS would be particularly ill-timed.

Nevertheless, this bit of anxiety crept up again over the weekend, whereby an American intelligence official needed to go on television in Canada to assure us that no, the leaks from national security personnel to media over allegations of foreign interference are not going to jeopardise our Five Eyes membership. But cripes, people—we have had far worse leaks in recent memory, be it Jeffrey Delisle, who was sending information to the Russians, or the allegations surrounding senior RMCP intelligence official Cameron Ortis (who is still awaiting trial). Are these leaks to the media damaging? Yes, of course, particularly because they seem very much to have a partisan focus to them. Is it going to get us kicked out of the Five Eyes? Hardly.

Ukraine Dispatch:

As Russian forces pound the town of Avdiivka, shifting away from Bakhmut, Ukrainian leadership is calling for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council after Russia said it would be transferring tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1639971295113670656

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Roundup: Evading a direct question with fiery rhetoric

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Yesterday’s press conference with the prime minister and US president was the first opportunity to ask Justin Trudeau about the allegations made against MP Han Dong, and whether he believed them. Trudeau said that he accepts that Dong left caucus to fight the allegations, prompted people to watch Dong’s speech in the House of Commons, and then went on a tear about how any foreign interference was unnecessary, and it was why the G7 meeting at Charlevoix set up the Rapid Response Mechanism to deal with it in elections. And it sounded like the kind of answer he should have been giving three weeks ago when he was simply flailing, until you stopped to realise that he didn’t actually answer the question, but sidestepped it with the rhetoric. So that’s a choice.

Meanwhile, here is an interesting deep dive thread into what the Globe and Mail published on Thursday night, and the subtle shade they were throwing at Global about the decision not to print allegations they could not confirm without seeing the transcript of the alleged call or listen to audio. I still think it’s interesting that this seems to confirm that the same source appears to be shopping leaks to both outlets.

Stephanie Carvin answers some questions about the kinds of warrants that could be in play as it appears that CSIS was monitoring the calls of the Chinese consulate.

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1639255538021339136

Former national security analyst Dennis Molinaro gives a good gut-check about the kinds of intelligence we’re dealing with, and why none of it can be taken as conclusive, particularly as much of it is time and context specific, which may be why it wasn’t acted upon at the time.

https://twitter.com/dennismolin11/status/1639402944708632576

And finally, while some are hoping that a public inquiry might stop the leaks, I wouldn’t be so sure. The leaks are intended to cause damage, but to the government in particular, and that’s partly why they are being shopped to the journalists that they are. That they are causing damage to the intelligence service and institutions seems to be considered collateral damage, particularly if the op-ed from last week is indicative of a narcissistic personality who thinks they know better.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russian forces attacked stretches along the northern and southern fronts in the Donbas region, as their assault on Bakhmut has flagged. Ukrainian forces are using three Soviet-era helicopters to pummel Russian forces on the front lines from afar. Slovakia has delivered the first four of 13 MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine. The UN’s human rights monitors have seen cases of abuses and killing of prisoners of war on both sides of the conflict (though disproportionately more on the Russian side).

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QP: Fighting to take credit for the Telford decision

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After a morning full of rapid-fire decisions around what was happening with Katie Telford heading to committee and David Johnston’s mandate being released, the prime minister was present, as were all other leaders. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, took credit for pressuring Trudeau to change his mind in letting Telford testify, and took a swipe at Johnston before demanding a public inquiry starting today. Justin Trudeau responded that this should’t be a partisan issue, which is why the appointed Johnston and were waiting for his recommendations. Poilievre switched to English to again take credit, and took several more swipes at Johnston before demanding a public inquiry right now. Trudeau repeated that this shouldn’t be a partisan issue which was why they appointed Johnston, and that they would abide by his recommendations while they moved forward on other measures. Poilievre then switched topics to inflation, blamed rising food prices on carbon prices (it’s not the cause) and demanded the planned increase be cancelled. Trudeau said that when he sat down with farmers, they underlined their real problems and leadership on climate change, before he listed climate rebates levels. Poilievre went on his usual talking points about carbon prices, and Trudeau listed how much the climate rebates were going up in Poilievre’s riding. Poilievre spouted some disingenuous bullshit about the ongoing heating costs at 24 Sussex and Trudeau’s flights, while Trudeau shrugged off the personal attack while patting himself on the back for dental care and rental benefits.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he demanded a public inquiry be called right here and now. Trudeau insisted that appointing Johnston was the first step and that they would follow his recommendations. Blanchet was talked around the appointment of Johnston, before again demanding the inquiry. Trudeau read some praise for Johnston and insisted he rejected the attacks against Johnston.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and he too took credit for forcing the government to make Katie Telford appear at committee, and then tried calling out Poilievre for blocking their attempt to move a motion on calling a public inquiry. Poilievre theatrically got up to answer, before the Speaker stood up to remind everyone what Question Period was for, which is holding the government to account, and Trudeau took the opportunity to denounce personal attacks and praise Johnston. Singh said that his proves neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals wanted a public inquiry before he switched to French to demand said inquiry right here and now. Trudeau insisted that they appointed Johnston to who could make recommendations about next steps, while NSICOP was doing their work.

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QP: Attempts to call out the NDP

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While the prime minister was in town, neither he nor his deputy was present, and neither were most of the other leaders, save Pierre Poilievre. After a moment of silence for the two police officers who were killed in Edmonton over the weekend, Poilievre led off in French, and said that he was prepared to let any Conservative staff to testify at committee and wanted the Liberals to do the same, particularly Katie Telford. Dominic LeBlanc said that they have taken steps to combat foreign interference, which Poilievre didn’t do when he was minister for democratic reform. Poilievre switched to English to accuse the Liberals of getting help from the communist regime in Beijing, and demanded Telford appear at committee, and called out the NDP for possibly helping the Liberals. LeBlanc said that repeated that they were always transparent, and that they had appeared before committee, and that they looked forward to Johnston’s recommendations. Poilievre said that the question was for the leader of the NDP saying he’s “part of the government”—which is more of his bad faith bullshit—made an un-clever quip about coalitions, and called the NDP out again. This time Pam Damoff recited the lines about taking interference seriously. Poilievre switched back to French to demand that there be national licensing for foreign-trained doctors and nurses—which is not federal jurisdiction. Jean-Yves Duclos said that as part of their new transfer agreement included language about credentials recognition. Poilievre returned to English to ask the same question again, and Duclos repeated that they were already working on this with provinces.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and he demanded a public inquiry into foreign interference. LeBlanc praised David Johnston’s credentials. Therrien took several swipes at Johnston before repeating his demand, and LeBlanc insisted that Johnston will work independently to determine next steps.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and he too demanded that Johnston be directed to recommend a public inquiry—which undermines his role. LeBlanc returned to the recitation of talking points about what they have done to combat interference to date, and praise around Johnston. Leah Gazan railed about wages for child care and personal support workers—which is provincial jurisdiction—and Karina Gould said that recruitment and wages are part of their agreements with provinces.

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Roundup: Demanding the Speaker to something he can’t

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The Liberals are no stranger to stunts, and the “poor me” stunts are some of the worst of all. With this in mind, it should be no surprise that MP Ya’ara Saks has written an open letter to the Speaker to demand apologies from Conservatives for sexist remarks, be it Michael Cooper in Committee or Rick Perkins telling Jean Yip that she deserves a participation ribbon. The problem? There’s nothing the Speaker can really do about it.

Saks didn’t cite any Standing Orders that were contravened, and the Speaker is bound to operate within the Standing Orders. Those are the rules by which he is refereeing. And for well over a generation now, the Canadian House of Commons has seen fit to effectively neuter the Speaker so that he (or she) doesn’t have much in the way of leeway in order to enforce, well, anything. Other Speakers in other Westminster parliaments have a lot more authority and latitude—Australia’s Speaker can even demand that governments answer the question when they are seen to be evasive (though this can sometimes stray into Speakers acting in potentially partisan ways). But ours? Nope—because MPs chose to have a ridiculously unempowered Speaker. The result? More of a gong show, more speaking lists, more canned speeches without any flow, and overall, an unserious Parliament, particularly in relation to our comparator countries.

And MPs could change this. But they don’t want to, so they won’t. And that is a problem.

Ukraine Dispatch:

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that his country’s military chiefs are unanimous to keep defending Bakhmut, probably because they are grinding the Russian forces down there at a fairly alarming rate. Meanwhile, the Americans are accusing the Russians of downing one of their drones over the Black Sea, which Russia denies.

https://twitter.com/yermolenko_v/status/1635649300922245120

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Roundup: The allegations reach Queen’s Park

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Another day, another Global news story about supposed foreign interference allegations, this time naming Ontario PC MPP Vincent Ke as someone who has been working on behalf of the Chinese government, and who was given funds to disperse for election influence. Ke denies this, but Doug Ford swiftly demoted him from parliamentary assistant to committee chair, and then hours later, Ke “voluntarily” stepped out of caucus for the time being. But there are a lot of problems with the reporting in the piece, as both Stephanie Carvin and Jessica Davis—both of whom are former CSIS analysts—point out in separate Twitter threads that are absolutely essential reading to understand why this reporting is so suspect.

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1634268769697640449

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1634272246817607682

Meanwhile, former Senator Vern White is calling out the Conservatives’ characterisation of NSICOP to be the bullshit that it is, and says that it would be faster and cheaper for that committee to do the review into interference allegations than a public inquiry. He also doesn’t believe an NSICOP member leaked an unredacted report to Global news considering how strict the security is. I previously wrote a piece about the legislation empowering NSICOP and how it compares to other Westminster parliaments’ own parliamentary national security committees, and they too face redactions from their political executives—NSICOP is not out of line in that regard, not to mention that we don’t have secure places for a secret-cleared parliamentary committee to meet on Parliament Hill (which should be part of the renovations to Centre Block).

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1634335994525757440

Ukraine Dispatch:

An aide to president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that the decision to stick out the battle in Bakhmut has to do with the ability to pin down and degrade Russia’s best forces ahead of the planned spring Ukrainian counter-offensive. Meanwhile, most of the power in Kyiv has been restored after Thursday’s missile barrage from Russia.

https://twitter.com/gerashchenko_en/status/1634182540868108290

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