Stephen Harper has made the call – four by-elections will be held on June 30th, two in Alberta and two in Ontario. The fifth vacant riding, Whitby–Oshawa, former riding of Jim Flaherty, will remain open for the time being. That means that Fort McMurray–Athabasca and Macleod in Alberta, and Trinity–Spadina and Scarborough–Agincourt in the Greater Toronto Area are now officially in play. It also means that the two GTA ridings will be contesting the by-election in the middle of both a provincial and municipal election. It has also been suggested by the cynical among us that Harper intended to drive down voter participation by holding the by-elections the day before Canada Day. It remains to be seen in some of the more hotly contested ridings, and Justin Trudeau has spent the weekend in both Northern Alberta and Okotoks because of the two by-elections, hoping for a Liberal breakthrough in that province.
Tag Archives: Robocon
Roundup: Whips and grandfathered MPs
Given that it’s the big March for Life on the Hill, reporters asked Justin Trudeau yesterday about the whole pro-choice thing for the party (I’m guessing since it’s a fun game to try and catch the Liberals out on being a nominally pro-choice party with a few pro-life MPs still in the caucus). Trudeau said that as was decided by the membership in the 2012 policy convention, the party is officially pro-choice, that such votes would be whipped, and that the existing pro-life MPs are being grandfathered in, but all future candidates must follow the pro-choice party line. “So much for open nominations!” the commentariat cries, ignoring the kinds of conditions – or indeed groupthink – that other parties employ with their own candidates. And pro-life Liberals like John McKay kind of shrugged and said that it’s normal to have some disagreements within a party and left it at that. And now everyone else will try to make hay of this, because that’s the way it works.
Roundup: Amendments underway
Amendments are proceeding to the Fair Elections Act, and yes, the government is agreeing to a number of them. Others, like those proposed by Brent Rathgeber and Elizabeth May, well, not so much. Kady O’Malley uses the bill as a prime example of how the government’s obstinate and obstructionist communications strategy has not only backfired, but blown up in their faces as they were forced to make a public climbdown as the amendment process is underway.
Roundup: Skills shortages versus wages
After Jason Kenney suspended the temporary foreign workers programme for restaurants, Alberta restaurants are warning that they are going to have to start closing due to labour shortages, given that they already have a hard enough time retaining staff when the oil and gas sector snaps up relatively unskilled labour in short order. Kenny has said that more employers should try to hire Canadians, but that will likely mean raising wage rates. But will people accept the increase in how much it’ll cost them to eat out? We have become a culture that worships on the altar of cheap, after all.
Roundup: Harper’s saint turns against him
Call it a shot across the bow, or maybe a broadside, but former Auditor General Sheila Fraser has weighted in on the Fair Elections Act, and she is not amused. In a blistering, no-holds-barred interview, the woman whom the Conservatives had previously sainted point-blank called them out for trying to rig up a bill designed to sideline Elections Canada because they had been investigating various voting irregularities and other misdeeds by the Conservatives, and which would advantage their particular donor base. And yet, during QP yesterday, Pierre Poilievre just kind of shrugged it off and denounced the “so-called experts” as not being able to stack up against “common sense and democracy.” Actual quote. And yet, when we see the real need for things like being able to compel testimony, as the investigation into “Pierre Poutine” continues to this very day. Former Guelph Conservative campaign worker Andrew Prescott, who has been granted immunity in exchange for testimony, has given evidence about Michael Sona – the only person thus far charged in that whole affair – as well as Ken Morgan, then campaign manager who is now living in Kuwait. Sona, meanwhile, asserts that he has ironclad alibis that will exonerate him, and that they didn’t learn their lessons after being coached into a story about Sona that was contradicted by the fact that he was in Aruba when an alleged incident took place. If the Commissioner of Elections had the power to compel testimony, it is likely this dance around the Guelph robocalls would have long been over. First Nations groups are also sounding the alarm about the bill, and pointing out the reality on most reserves are that the kinds of acceptable ID just aren’t there for most residents and that the bill is a fix for something that simply isn’t broken.
Roundup: An immunity deal
One of the key figures in the case of the misleading Guelph robocalls has made an immunity deal with Elections Canada in order to give his testimony. Andrew Prescott, whose account was used in connection with the calls, has previously denied wrongdoing, and Michael Sona remains the only person charged to date, and he too maintains his innocence.
Jason Kenney is sounding like there may be some flexibility in the Canada Job Grant programme after all – but it would still mean no new funding, just that the provincial matching component would come from the federal government instead. That would mean fewer grants available overall, and the provinces would still lose that $300 million in funding annually. Kenney also announced that they are harmonizing apprenticeship programmes across the Atlantic provinces.
Roundup: The AG has concerns
The Auditor General tabled his fall report yesterday morning, but unlike many a report in the past, it was pretty tame. He did kick the crap out of the audit process for the Safety Management System of our railways, and cast a withering eye on food recall systems, and emergency preparedness on First Nations reserves. He wasn’t particularly kind to the CBSA’s lapses in border security, he noted that farmers face a long wait for emergency assistance, and he was really, really unimpressed with the constant delays in implementing financial controls, but he wasn’t too tough on the shipbuilding contracts, and he generally praised CRA in dealing with tax evasion in Lichtenstein – but they need to be better prepared to deal with an increase in tax-haven cases. (Highlights here).
QP: A few lengthy detours
With the Rob Ford sideshow slowing down enough so as not to consume the news cycle whole, and with the leaders back in the House today, it was setting up to be a much more lively QP than yesterday’s rather sedate hour. Thomas Mulcair started off with giving the Prime Minister a chance to address the relief efforts for the typhoon in the Philippines, which Harper dutifully did to much applause. Mulcair then moved onto asking if Harper had any regrets of his role in the ClusterDuff affair. Harper rejected the premise of the question, and said that he was disappointed with Wright and Duffy when he found out. Mulcair asked which members of Harper’s staff have been questioned by the RCMP, even offering up names that have been mentioned. Harper insisted that this was all Wright’s responsibility, and both he and Duffy have been sanctioned. Justin Trudeau started his round off by congratulating the government for its typhoon response, and asked if they would extend the deadline for matching donations and visas for students and foreign workers in Canada. Harper said that moving forward, they would extend the needed flexibility as need be. Trudeau moved onto the topic of judicial obstruction by the Conservative staffers, some of whom are now in the PMO, and wondered why there were delays in the false robocall investigations. Harper hit back by pointing out that Trudeau’s lack of support for mandatory minimums meant that he didn’t believe in accountability in the justice system.
QP: Paul Calandra, once again
With the Rob Ford sideshow still sucking the oxygen out of the news cycle, and none of the leaders in the House, it was either going to be a quiet QP, or an utter gong show — rarely is it anything in between when the leaders are away. Megan Leslie stated off by asking a question about the relief efforts to the Philippines after the typhoon. Chrisitian Paradis stood up to laud the efforts of the DART, and that the government commitments to relief stand at nearly $40 million. Nycole Turmel was up next, and asked about the expedited immigration for those affected. Costas Menegakis reiterated some of the measures that the government was taking. Turmel and Leslie then returned to the issue of ClusterDuff timelines, but Paul Calandra responded with the usual lines about how the Prime Minister was unaware of what happened. For her final question, Leslie asked about the revelations about Michael Sona being in Aruba when he allegedly bragged about the robocall scheme — which isn’t actually government business — and Calandra didn’t really give an answer in any case. For the Liberals, Ralph Goodale returned to the topics of the staffers in the PMO involved in the ClusterDuff affair, but Paul Calandra told him to repeat the allegations outside of the Chamber. For the final question, Marc Garneau asked about a February 20th email that directed some PMO staff to assist Senator Duffy, and why were they still employed? Calandra insisted that the PM was clear that he wouldn’t have stood for these actions.
Roundup: Another underfunded procurement
As we await the Auditor General’s report, due next week, we hear that he is expected to report that the National Shipbuilding Programme doesn’t have enough money to fulfil its goals. Not that this should surprise us, as the constant delays and rising inflation have driven up the costs. Because this government has clearly done their bit for the procurement file every chance they get.