Tag Archives: Robocon

Roundup: A Monday deadline

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CP Rail is now on strike amidst thousands of layoffs, though they are mostly keeping commuter service unaffected. Lisa Raitt, however, is citing the harm to the economy, and is giving them until Monday to come to a deal, lest she bring down the hammer of back-to-work legislation. (This feels like a good time to remind you of my conversation with Senator Elaine McCoy, a former provincial conservative labour minister, about how this government handles its labour disputes).

Leona Aglukkaq admits that yes, there are food issues in the North – but that doesn’t mean she’ll back down from her comments about the UN Special Rapporteur for Food. Nor will she stop using it as an excuse to bash other countries about their criticism of the seal hunt – even if the Rapporteur never made any mention of the seal hunt in his report.

Elections Canada tried to get Michael Sona to talk about who might be behind the misleading robo-calls. Sona wouldn’t bite.

Defenders of the Canadian Wheat Board are back in court trying to overturn the law that dismantled it.

$100,000 spent in flights and hotels while looking for cost savings. Fiscal austerity, everyone!

Here is a reminder about fifteen things stuffed into the omnibus budget bill that have nothing really to do with the budget.

And Prince Charles and Camilla finished the Diamond Jubilee Royal Tour in Regina last night. Part of his visit there included a tour of First Nations University, and a block of oak from Charles’ estate in Cornwall was given to the province for the creation of their own Black Rod.

Up today: Diane Finley is set to unveil the regulations around the proposed EI changes today. I suppose it’s a good thing that we’re actually getting them now and not after the omnibus budget bill passes. Incidentally, HRSDC is no longer sending Statistics Canada certain EI statistical data, apparently over unresolved “inconsistencies,” which seems terribly convenient.

Roundup: Hints about the EI changes

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Fisheries minister Keith Ashfield has lifted the lid off the proposed EI reform regulations, and they almost seem *gasp!* reasonable. People won’t be forced to take jobs more than an hour’s drive from their homes, which shouldn’t result in the massive depopulation of the Atlantic provinces. Of course, this may all be wrong, and there remains no official word, but it’s a start, right?

The seven Conservative MPs whose seats are facing court challenges have all now formally requested the cases be dismissed as “frivolous and vexatious.” Meanwhile, Stephen Maher worries about what the revelations that overturned the results in Etobicoke Centre say about the job that Elections Canada is doing in ensuring the integrity of our elections.

Attorney General Rob Nicholson is stepping in to try to halt a Human Rights Tribunal hearing about an aboriginal RCMP officer alleging systemic racism in the Force. Meanwhile, here are the unpleasant allegations of sexual misconduct around one senior officer in Alberta’s RCMP headquarters.

Ministerial clampdowns appear to be the theme of the day as Peter MacKay has also ordered one on the inquiry of a soldier’s suicide.

The government is launching consultations on how to improve official languages in this country, while sparing said programmes from budget cuts.

What’s that? Vic Toews is misquoting an NDP MP? You don’t say!

CP Rail assures us that a strike won’t affect commuter service. But the economy is still fragile! No word yet if Lisa Raitt is going to drop the hammer yet again and table some back-to-work legislation.

The Prime Minister’s official bio in Diamond Jubilee Royal Tour media materials contains the election phrase “strong, stable, national majority” (though we have been assured that this was a copy-paste and not written by public servants). Because there is no distinction between the partisan and the office it seems.

And a number of First Nations chiefs met with Prince Charles yesterday, and requested a meeting with the Queen to discuss treaty issues. Remember that the treaties are with Crown directly, and that relationship is personal. Meanwhile, Charles and Camilla are off to Regina, the last stop on their Diamond Jubilee Royal Tour. As for their time in Toronto, here’s a bit of video, including of Camilla visiting with the Queen’s Own Rifles, the regiment for whom she is the Colonel-in-Chief.

Roundup: Null and void

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The results of the last federal election in Etobicoke Centre were declared null and void by an Ontario court yesterday after the judge found there to be enough improper votes cast to overturn the results. The Conservatives have eight days to file an appeal – which would go directly to the Supreme Court in an expedited process – before a by-election needs to be called. While Borys Wrzesnewskyj insists that there was voter suppression in his riding, this was not the basis of the results being overturned, but rather, because Elections Canada officials and the volunteers at the polling stations didn’t follow rules. This does raise the issue of the kind of training that volunteer and scrutineers receive, and what happens when people get lazy, take shortcuts, and don’t follow rules properly. (And yes, the Conservatives have put out talking points that they followed the rules but this is an Elections Canada issue).

While it’s not related to the Etobicoke Centre decision, Elections Canada will soon be receiving a report on the Guelph robo-calls.

What’s that? The Conservatives refuse to release the draft report they prepared in 2007 on pension sustainability? You don’t say! But Finance officials have finally confirmed that the OAS changes are expected to save the treasury about $10.8 billion – even though both ministers refuse to.

Uh oh – it looks like Alberta is going to miss its emissions reduction targets, and that its already dubious carbon-capture-and-storage scheme is falling off the rails. But at least it’s prompting a review of said programmes, right?

Economist Stephen Gordon further problematises the “Dutch disease” rhetoric, and throws in what some of the environmental arguments would mean if they were equally applied to the manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, it turns out that Industry Canada funded their own study into the phenomenon a couple of years ago and found some correlation, but the government of course is distancing itself from it.

There will be another vacancy on the Supreme Court by August. I’m guessing that means September special Parliamentary hearings, unless we’re really lucky and get “emergency” ones in the summer.

The costs of the restoration of buildings in the Parliamentary Precinct continues to rise, but we all know that over time and over budget is part of our proud Canadian heritage.

Here’s a look at the impacts on Canadian archaeology that the cuts to Parks Canada are going to have.

Prince Charles writes about service in a nod to the Diamond Jubilee and his upcoming visit to Canada.

And Scott Brison has a little bit of fun at the expense of the “nude Stephen Harper” painting.

Roundup: Just take the minister’s word

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While the issue of missing regulations on EI changes dominates the debate in the Commons right now, it seems that department of Human Resources and Skills Development did conduct a focus group study on what it would take to encourage people from high-unemployment areas to those regions with better opportunities. The minister has tried to distance herself from this study and her comments have consistently been about finding work within one’s region, but without any regulations on offer, we are left to take her word for it.

Seeing as political parties and voter databases exist outside of privacy legislation in this country, you would expect that this might lead to problems. Well indeed it has, with the voters’ list being abused with fraudulent robo-calls, and people being added to databases after contacting their MPs on policy concerns or case files. Who would have guessed?

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Roundup: Complicating the “Dutch disease”

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Western premiers continue to strike back at Thomas Mulcair, refuting his assertion that they are simply “Harper’s messengers,” while he sticks to his guns on the “Dutch disease” diagnosis, calling it “irrefutable.” Erm, except more economic data shows that it’s not. An IRPP study shows that while there may have been a mild case of said “disease,” it’s a far more complex picture than simply Alberta versus Ontario’s manufacturing sector, as the decline in the manufacturing sector has more to do with the rise of China than it does with the strength of our dollar, which has in turn helped other sectors of the economy as well. Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reports that the manufacturing sector is rebounding. Not that we should expect Mulcair to back down from his position anytime soon.

It seems that the F-35s were built with no cybersecurity protections in them, making them as vulnerable to cyberattacks as Humvees were to roadside bombs, apparently. But these are still the best aircraft that our airmen and women need, remember! Meanwhile, the government sent the RCMP on a five-month probe into what they thought might have been leaked documents after a Globe and Mail story on the F-35s, which turned out to be nothing. Well, nothing but a warning that if the government doesn’t like what the media is reporting, they’ll read too much power into certain National Security Acts that don’t really apply and send the RCMP after them.

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Roundup: Taking the omnibudget threat seriously

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So, remember what I was saying yesterday about how the opposition – and the NDP in particular would be hammering away at the government in QP about the omnibus budget bill if they truly considered it to be the major priority and affront to democracy that it is? Well, it only took them until the end of the second round – a full 25 minutes into QP – to ask a pair of broad and general questions about the omnibus nature of the bill, and 38 minutes to ask a couple of substantive questions about a particularly troubling measure within it (and didn’t take the parliamentary secretary to task for her nonsense answer during the supplemental question, like they should have). Apparently this constitutes taking an existential threat to parliamentary democracy seriously.

What’s that? More problems with defence procurements that say they’re going to be one thing (in this case vehicular power transmission components) and turns out to be something else (13 armoured vehicles)? You don’t say! Meanwhile, the military says that Peter MacKay would have known the actual cost estimates of the Libya mission when he reported a much lower figure to parliament. I am shocked – shocked!

The RCMP Commissioner has sent warning letters out to provincial commissioners of firearms to warn against setting up backdoor long-gun registries. The problem of course is that he doesn’t exactly have the ability to meddle in provincial jurisdiction like he – and Vic Toews – would like to on this issue.

The Public Service Commission is investigating whether eleven employees were improperly hired at ACOA due to political interference.

Here’s a more in-depth look at the situation that MDA finds itself in while the government drags its feet on signing the contract for the next phase of the RADARSAT constellation.

Harper and his team continue to try and get Helena Guergis’ lawsuit against them dismissed.

The punitive measures that the Conservatives and NDP imposed on the Liberals around campaign financing retroactively on the 2006 leadership race continues to haunt some of the former contenders.

Here’s a bit of an explainer of what some of the latest “Pierre Poutine” revelations mean.

And Lisa Raitt talks about her battle with post-partum depression to help raise awareness of mental health.

Roundup: Cutting legislative corners

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Concerns have been raised that private members’ bills are creating laws with less rigorous scrutiny, and that the government is using this to cut corners. Which is pretty much a big “well, yeah – obviously.” Private members’ bills are not drafted with the assistance of the Department of Justice, but rather by some underpaid clerks in the Library of Parliament, and the time allotted for debate is really limited – two hours per stage in the Commons, and maybe two committee meetings. And yes, the government has been taking advantage of this fact, but for a number of reasons. Sometimes that advantage is tactical – if it’s a PMB and not a government bill, it’s open for a free vote so you can get some opposition MPs onside as they (normally) won’t be whipped on it. If those free votes can sow some division, as with the long-gun registry bill in the previous parliament, so much the better. Sometimes it is genuinely an idea from the backbenches that the government likes, which I suspect the masked rioter bill was after it tapped into some good old-fashioned populist outrage after incidents like the Stanley Cup riots in Vancouver. But this having been said, I doubt that it’s often being done for the sake of less oversight and debate considering the speed with which these bills proceed, and no, not every bill or motion from a government backbencher is a backdoor attempt by the government to do something (like the Woodworth abortion motion, so stop insisting that it is. Seriously – just stop). A large part of the problem, however, stems from the fact that MPs are conflating their own roles, and they like to think of themselves as American-style lawmakers, and certain opposition parties – like the NDP in particular – like to use their private members’ business to advance party goals rather than the personal policy hobbyhorses of their MPs, like PMBs are intended to do. We need to be mindful that MPs are not there make laws, but are rather to hold those who do to account, and that has been eroded. PMBs are supposed to be limited in scope and effect because it’s not an MP’s job to make laws.  When this role becomes conflated, problems like this one start creeping into the system.

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Roundup: Failed negotiations and procedural delays

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The news that the Conservatives were going to bend ever so slightly and make some very minor amendments to their still massively problematic refugee reform bill yesterday may have buoyed NDP spirits that the government was going to agree to split up the omnibus budget bill – but to no avail. The government decided that no, even if they split it up, the NDP would simply delay seven bills instead of one, so they said no. Nathan Cullen responded by saying they were “afraid” of the debate, and that he would be consulting with his critics about their next steps, but one had to wonder why they didn’t already have that in place considering they were fresh out of a caucus meeting. (Marc Garneau, incidentally, described the NDP as having been slapped in the face by the Conservatives, and that perhaps they had been a bit naïve in believing this government would actually negotiate). So what did the NDP decide to do? Procedural delays, forcing votes in the Commons until time for government orders expired, with no actual debate taking place on said bill for the day. That’s fine, Peter Van Loan said – we’ll simply move your opposition day (scheduled for today) until next Wednesday, after the vote. The Liberals, meanwhile, criticised the NDP tactics as “too cute by half,” since they were only denying debate and not actually changing the voting date considering time allocation (though they fought over that bit of procedure). I guess we’ll see how this plays out over the course of today, because it’s going to mean a lot of procedural tactics if they want to try and delay a full day’s worth of debate, or if they’ll try some other kinds of tactics to prove their point.

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Roundup: The Environment Commissioner’s warnings

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The Environment Commissioner released his report yesterday, and it’s not good news for the government. It seems that the continued delay in handing down promised regulations to industry means that there won’t be enough time for those affected industries to implement them in time for the 2020 reduction targets to be met. (You would think that industry would start looking for ways to reduce their emissions given that they know regulations will happen eventually, but I digress). He also found that the government hasn’t done any kind of long-term costing to the regulations – or lack thereof – and that they are still underfunding the efforts to clean up contaminated sites around the country. But oh, he’s relying on old data and this government takes the environment seriously, they reply. Only he’s not, and their talking points are going to start sounding pretty hollow.

Critics of the F-35 procurement, including University of Ottawa defence analyst Philippe Lagassé remain unconvinced that the F-35 is the only option for Canada, because DND hasn’t actually made a proper case.

“Pierre Poutine’s” trail has grown cold at a proxy server in Saskatchewan, as the records Elections Canada was looking for were no longer in existence. Not that this means the end of the investigation, but it just takes a different form. Meanwhile, Terry Milewski takes a look at the mounting questions surrounding Elections Canada’s “clerical errors” in the last election that are the subject of those ongoing court challenges.

A Conservative private members’ bill that would ban people from wearing masks during riots went before committee yesterday, and was denounced as being unnecessary. Colin Horgan tried to get answers on the bill from its author, and seemed to be proving the very same points about its futility.

Here is a look at yesterday’s release of the Mental Health Commission’s report.

Vic Toews is lashing out at provinces like Ontario insisting that point-of-sale data on long guns be collected – even though it’s a practice that pre-dates the long-gun registry that has immense value as an investigative tool, and the fact that it falls under provincial jurisdiction.

Thomas Mulcair is bristling at the suggestion that he’s muzzling his Quebec MPs on the tuition question, and says that they have a coherent policy of more federal government support for education. Err, except they also have their Sherbrooke Declaration that says that they shouldn’t tell provinces how to run their affairs. I’m still waiting for that particular reconciliation.

And the Manitoba Conservatives are suggesting that an NDP intern in that province also accessed Vic Toews’ divorce files, for what it’s worth.

QP: Playing coy during negotiations

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Despite the fact that negotiations are apparently ongoing, Thomas Mulcair nevertheless opened QP today with a pair of questions about whether the government would split the omnibus budget implementation bill. Harper, however, played coy and spoke instead about the strong mandate that his party received and their desire to move forward. Mulcair then turned to the Environment Commissioner’s report and how the list of failures there would be compounded with the aforementioned budget bill, but Harper rebutted that his government had made record investments in environmental remediation. Megan Leslie picked up the torch and asked about the hidden costs of not having strict environmental legislation, but Peter Kent assured her that when the costing data was available they’d share it. Marc Garneau led off for the Liberals and demanded that Kent account for his “money laundering” accusations, but rather than Kent speaking up, both Harper and Gail Shea got up instead – Harper to tout Responsible Resource Development™ and the responsible use of charitable dollars, and Shea to insist those budget measures were about greater education and transparency for charities. Kirsty Duncan took the last slot to also ask after the Environment Commissioner’s report, and Kent assured her that they would “take note” of the recommendations.

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