There was a story in the Star yesterday that I hadn’t actually noticed happening, which is that Liberal MP Yvan Baker has been barred from speaking in the House of Commons until he apologises for saying that the “Putin wing” had taken over the Conservative Party on March 20th. Baker says he has no intention of apologising for what he considers to be the truth, and the Speaker, as usual, makes little tut-tut noises about what Baker said, never mind that there is a giant double-standard at play.
It’s funny that Rachael Thomas faced absolutely no censure when she declared on the floor of the House of Commons that Justin Trudeau is a dictator, and the Conservatives have accused Trudeau of being in the pocket of dictators on a regular basis. https://t.co/7RzCco3yXR pic.twitter.com/OzWvRyxyHx
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) September 30, 2024
If Fergus is concerned about MPs alleging that their colleagues “stand four-square behind dictators,” it’s funny that the consequences only seem to apply to Baker. After all, Conservatives on a frequent basis have said that Trudeau is in the pocket of dictators, and that he allowed foreign interference on their behalf because it benefitted his party. (There is absolutely no public evidence of this). And most egregious was that Conservative MP Rachael Thomas has said on the floor of the Commons that Justin Trudeau is a “dictator,” and she faced absolutely no censure for saying it, which makes it really hard to see why Baker is being singled out for being hyperbolic—the point was about which elements of the party’s base that Poilievre is pandering to as opposed to saying that Poilievre is under Putin’s sway—when nobody else is. (I will note that Conservative MP Mark Strahl was barred from speaking for several weeks because he refused to withdraw the remarks that someone was lying, which is a big no-no under the rules of Parliament—rules which are now being absolutely abused—but he did eventually do so).
What is perhaps the most galling in all of his was the statement that Andrew Scheer gave to the Star, in which he says “Liberals should not whine and complain because they were caught spreading disinformation and lies to divide Canadians and cover for their own total failures on Ukraine.” Erm, serial liar and promoter of conspiracy theories Andrew Scheer is lecturing Liberals on the subject, when he faces zero consequences for lying in the House of Commons on a daily basis. We already knew he had absolutely no sense of shame, but it definitely extends to a complete lack of self-awareness as well. Just utterly ridiculous.
Applies to Canada just as well. https://t.co/4043HS5VnM
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) September 30, 2024
Ukraine Dispatch
It was another bloody weekend in Ukraine which saw waves of drone attacks targeting Kyiv last night, the pounding of Zaporizhzhia with guided bombs earlier, the death of a top judge after an attack on Kharkiv, and an attack on a hospital in Sumy that killed ten. President Zelenskyy says that the front lines are “very, very difficult” as autumn descends on the conflict.
Today, Russia struck Zaporizhzhia with aerial bombs. Ordinary residential buildings were damaged, and the entrance of one building was destroyed. The city’s infrastructure and railway were also damaged.
In total, 13 people were injured, and two were rescued from under the… pic.twitter.com/PhtrNpdpPm
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 29, 2024
Russia is planning to draft 133,000 Russians, according to a decree signed by Putin on Sept. 30; Kyiv was targeted by several waves of Russian attack drones overnight; and more. https://t.co/9Ikz1YNx1J
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) September 30, 2024