Stephen Harper went to Vancouver yesterday in order to meet the Board of Trade there and have a cozy little sit-down that wouldn’t be full of tough questions, and where he could repeat some talking points about how awesome the European Free Trade Agreement is going to be, and how he won’t approve pipelines unless they meet rigorous environmental standards. Of course, this message was interrupted by a couple of climate activists who got past security by coming dressed as wait staff, a stunt organised by a certain vapid narcissist whom I won’t be naming because I won’t give her the attention. Also noted in this conversation by Harper was his smacking of Barack Obama by saying that he “punted” the Keystone XL decision, which doesn’t seem to be the language of building bridges.
Tag Archives: Northern Gateway Pipeline
Roundup: No plan B
The country needs a new computer programme to deal with Employment Insurance claims, and Shared Services Canada and Employment and Social Developmemnt have until 2016 to do it – leaving almost no time to address any inevitable problems once they procure and install said new system, and more ominously, their presentation says, “there is no Plan B.” Missing that deadline means an escalation of costs, and I’m sure a whole host of other problems with the EI programme as a whole. But hey, it’s not like this government has ever had problems with procurements, and there has never been a boondoggle around new software before, right? Oh, wait…
Roundup: Preston Manning’s misdirected concerns
In a frankly bizarre op-ed, Preston Manning tries to accuse the Press Gallery for lacking proper ethics because the Parliamentary Press Gallery guidelines don’t have a section on ethical guidelines in their handbook – err, except that each member is subject to their own employer’s code of ethics. Also, the Press Gallery is not a monolith, but simply a means of organising ourselves in order to have proper access to do our jobs on the Hill. That Manning tries to somehow equate this to the Senate scandals and Mike Duffy’s role therein lacks any cohesive logic and makes one wonder how this passed the comment editor’s gaze at the Globe and Mail. Does he think that the Gallery could have somehow stopped him before he was appointed? That his constant lobbying for a Senate seat should have been dealt with – as though anyone took it seriously and not as a kind of sad and frankly pathetic long-running joke? Susan Delacourt gives Manning a respectful reply and cautions him that what he’s demanding of the media will mean more access by the government – something the current government is not a big fan of.
Roundup: In the wake of the Bedford decision
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court has struck down the laws around prostitution that related to keeping a bawdy house, living off the avails, and communication for the purposes of prostitution (ruling here). They have given Parliament a year to come up with a new legislative regime before the laws are struck down entirely. Justice Minister Peter MacKay said that he’s disappointed by the finding that the existing laws were unconstitutional, while other Conservatives like Shelly Glover continue to say that these women are now without the “protection” that those laws offered – though the whole point of the ruling was that the laws were not protecting them, but were rather putting them in harm’s way. Part of the debate now moves to the question of how this will affect First Nations women in the sex trade in particular, but it would seem that harm reduction is a good step, particularly if the criminalization made them afraid to go to the police. Emmett Macfarlane writes about the significance of the finding and the way in which the Justices framed their concerns. David Akin looks at how the ruling will affect the various factions of the Conservative base, though it is likely to be more wailing and gnashing of teeth around supposed “judicial activism.” Brenda Cossman worries that the discussion will move toward how to criminalise prostitution rather than how to best regulate a decriminalised environment. Carissima Mathen points out that this court decision is in part because Parliament was negligent over the past three decades when they left these laws in place when they knew that a more comprehensive framework was needed. Andrew Coyne writes about just how very reasonable the decisions is, and how regulation and licensing may be the best choice going forward.
Roundup: Northern Gateway not quite good to go
The National Energy Board has given a conditional approval to the Northern Gateway Pipeline application – and by conditional, they attached 209 conditions to it. There will be additional hurdles with First Nations, as well as the BC government’s own five conditions. In response to the decision, Joe Oliver seems to have toned down his rhetoric around the pipeline proposal, while Harper praises the “rigorous” work of the NEB in this effort. CBC gives you six things to know about the decision. Energy economist Andrew Leach points out that the review is far from a real green light and that it’s not clear that all 209 conditions will be met. Michael Den Tandt counts the many ways in which the pipeline is likely doomed in spite of the NEB decision.
QP: Whither Santa Claus?
With rumours that the House might rise today, there was the very real possibility that this very well could be the last QP of 2013. Without Harper or Mulcair in the House, it was likely to be another fairly perfunctory day full of Paul Calandra’s classic lines of obfuscation. When things did get started, Megan Leslie decried the failure of an NDP motion at Ethics Committee to look into the once-missing Benjamin Perrin emails, and wondered who in the PMO ordered that it be shut down. John Baird, the designated back-up PM du jour, assured her that PCO took responsibility for the mistake, and the committee was in camera so he didn’t know what happened. Leslie tried again twice to no effect, and Nycole Turmel took over in French to ask if those emails proved there was “no legal agreement” around the Duffy repayment. Baird assured her that the RCMP were looking into things. Justin Trudeau was up for the Liberals, and asked about the funding gap for First Nations education. Bernard Valcourt responded by saying that they ended a comprehensive education regime, which required legislation, and that he remained committed to fixing the system that has failed those children, with funds to flow once the framework was in place. Trudeau moved onto the topic of the replacement of the Champlain Bridge, to which Denis Lebel accused the Liberals of 13 years of inaction on the bridge, but they were committed to a replacement ahead of the original schedule. For his last question, with some rhetorical flourish, Trudeau asked if anyone in the government was embarrassed by the conduct on the ClusterDuff file. Baird responded with a bit of a quip before reverting to the talking point that one person had taken responsibility and only two people were under investigation.
Roundup: Terror in Nairobi
A terror attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya killed two Canadians, including one of our diplomatic staff who was off-duty and shopping at the time. This is the first time in seven years one of our diplomats has been killed abroad. Word is the government will be closing the embassy in Nairobi for the time being because of security concerns, which is going to be a major problem in the region because that embassy is sitting on a lot of visa applications and refugee paperwork (that is already backed up by something like five years), and with few other resources in the area, backlogs could get considerably worse.
Roundup: The ostracism of Maria Mourani
The Bloc Québécois has expelled one of its few MPs – and it’s only woman, visible minority, and Montreal representative in caucus – over her criticisms of the Quebec “Charter of Values.” Maria Mourani ran for the leadership of the party and lost to Daniel Paillé, who doesn’t have a seat, and her expulsion leaves them with a caucus of four white male MPs. And it’s too bad, because Mourani was one of their best MPs. I doubt, however, that she will join up with the NDP as some have speculated, because she remains a sovereigntist. Meanwhile, an Ontario hospital is releasing ads targeting doctors in Quebec who are from religious minorities, trying to attract them to move to Ontario instead. Justin Trudeau writes that he knows that Quebeckers are better than the divisive politics that Pauline Marois proposes with the “Charter.” Paul Wells traces more of the roots of this particular “Charter” and the anxieties that lay behind it, while Andrew Coyne says that Quebeckers can no longer content themselves that this legislation isn’t offensive – but that the rest of Canada can’t pat themselves on the back either, given that in Ontario, Dalton McGuinty won an election on very nearly the same grounds. Michael Den Tandt looks at how this latest move could backfire on Pauline Marois.
QP: Harper has been very clear
With the raw wound of Brent Rathgeber’s resignation still palpably present, and Harper sat through Members’ Statements, his mood inscrutable. Thomas Mulcair led off QP with another round of prosecutorial questions, first asking if Nigel Wright or any other staff member was present when he instructed Duffy or the caucus as a whole about repaying inappropriate instructions. Harper insisted that he insisted that all claims be legitimate and any illegitimate ones must be reimbursed, and that he was under the impression that Duffy had repaid them on his own. Mulcair then asked if he instructed anyone to make the Senate expenses scandal go away. Harper said that Duffy made a pledge to act honourably, and will have to face the consequences if he didn’t. For the Liberals, it was up to Rodger Cuzner to lead off, and he asked about Rathgeber’s statement that the PM doesn’t seem to be in control of the PMO, and was that why he could claim that he knew nothing about the Wright-Duffy payment. James Moore got up to take that bullet, and deflected it with an untrue swipe about Senator Merchant. Garneau closed up the round and asked why Harper didn’t insist that Duffy still repay those expenses on his own, even if it meant garnishing his wages. Moore’s response didn’t change.
Roundup: Self-possessed with his aggrandizement
Oh, Senator Mike Duffy – your leaked emails keep painting quite the picture. More emails leaked to CBC yesterday showed he was trying to claim more fees and expenses from the party for his campaign activities, and while the party says they’ve never compensated him, we’ll never find out if that’s true because parties are exempt from these kinds of disclosure rules. Nevertheless, it confirms the picture that has been developing about Duffy himself, which Ralph Goodale put it best when he said “Mike Duffy was absolutely self-possessed with his aggrandizement.” Add to that picture even further with Don Martin calling Duffy out for being a sycophant actively lobbying four Prime Ministers for a Senate appointment, and for him being a faker of the highest order. Ouch. (And it’s a YouTube clip because CTV ended up pulling it down from their website). Senator Tkachuk, who has been accused of whitewashing Duffy’s audit report, now says that he’s disgusted by Duffy. And Stephen Maher writes about his own disappointment in Duffy’s behaviour leading up to and post-appointment, and the way in which Duffy’s old friends are abandoning him.