It was a rare Monday appearance in QP for the prime minister, given that there is a Maternal, Newborn & Child Health summit in Toronto later in the week that he’s hosting, not to mention that the premier of Turks & Caicos was also in attendance in the Speaker’s gallery. Thomas Mulcair kicked things off by asking why the PM changed his version of events around the call with the Chief Justice. Harper, sounding a bit hoarse, insisted that he had no idea what Mulcair was speaking about, but he knew that there was a potential issue that could go before the courts, so her consulted with independent legal experts. Mulcair tried again, and got the same response. Mulcair asked again, this time in French, and Harper reiterated that they always thought Federal Court judges would be eligible. Mulcair brought up the list of six judges published in the Globe and Mail, but Harper reiterated that they were under the impression that those judges were eligible, and with the Supreme Court having decided otherwise, they would respect that decision. Mulcair then demanded that Harper promise that he would not try to appoint a Federal Court judge for a Quebec seat, and Harper repeated that he wouldn’t. John McCallum led off for the Liberals, and brought up abuses to the Temporary Foreign Worker programme, but Harper insisted that he couldn’t decipher just what the Liberal position was on the issue. McCallum cranked up his rhetorical fire for an English supplemental, demanding that the government adopt his party’s five-point plan. Harper repeated that he couldn’t tell what the Liberal position was, but real job shortages should create an upward pressure on wages which is good for all Canadians. Scott Brison was up for the final question of the round, asking about the numbers of Canadians who have given up trying to even find work, but Harper said that Liberal plans would raise taxes and lose more jobs.
Tag Archives: Supreme Court
Roundup: A looming second empty Quebec seat
The Chief Justice has written to the Prime Minister to remind him that Justice LeBel will retire on November 30th, which would mean a second Quebec seat vacant on the bench. It’s notable because often a soon-to-retire Justice would retire before the next session began, and just finish off any decisions still in the works on their way out. Instead, Justice LeBel is staying on to the bitter end, likely because the Court is not confident that the PM will have a suitable replacement in time, given the way that they handled the vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Fish. Peter MacKay has promised that they’ll have a name for the currently vacant seat (that Justice Nadon was retroactively never appointed to) “soon,” but it’s also a reminder that they’d better get the process started for the next appointment as well. It’s also leading to more calls that the process as it stands needs to be reformed so as to be more transparent, so this might be the impetus to make those changes.
Roundup: Bruce Carson has a book
Stephen Harper’s former advisor, and now accused fraudster, Bruce Carson, wrote a book. And as Colby Cosh noted, historians are forever grateful to those with nothing to lose. So while the Conservatives and NDP gripe about Carson’s current status, we have stories on how Harper wanted to move Jim Flaherty to industry in 2007 but he refused to go, and that Harper backed down because he didn’t want to lose him. We have a story on how Harper gave advice to Jack Layton in the 2008 election about trying to “bury” Stéphane Dion, and how Harper had Ambrose so busy doing other things when she was environment minister that she couldn’t pay attention to her actual file. And here’s a story on how Harper briefly thought he might have to step aside while the Cadman affair (remember that?) was in full swing, before being disabused of that notion by his staff. Could make for interesting reading.
Roundup: More pledges and hints of strategy
As part of the pledge not to raise personal taxes should he form government, Thomas Mulcair has added one that he would never appoint a senator. Never mind that he would be constitutionally bound to do so as it’s a listed imperative in the text, or that the mounting number of absences would start to grind the legislative process to a slow halt, or the fact that once a future government does start making appointments again, it’ll create a further shock to the system that will cause more problems down the road. But hey, it’s easy to make facile promises without thinking about them, right? Paul Wells parses this promise as well as Mulcair’s other promises, like biannual first ministers meetings, to get a glimpse of what Mulcair’s emerging constitutional strategy might look like. Michael Den Tandt looks at Mulcair’s economic promises and pokes holes in the conceits that they can grow the economy and attract investment while increasing taxes on corporations, especially if all of our pension plans are dependent on those corporations turning a profit.
QP: A disputed apology
After Thomas Mulcair’s testy and evasive appearance at committee, he was in the House, ready for another round — and Justin Trudeau was also in attendance, which is now rare for a Thursday. Mulcair began by bringing up the centennial anniversary of the Komogata Maru incident and wondered why there had not been an official apology. Tim Uppal asserted that there had been an apology, and that they funded a monument in a Vancouver and they released a stamp. Mulcair switched topics and asked if the minister of Justice was aware of the advice that Justice Nadon resign from the Federal Court and rejoin the Quebec bar. Robert Goguen responded about the advice they received. Mulcair wondered if they would try the tactic with another Federal Court judge, to which Goguen insisted that they would respect the Supreme Court ruling. Mulcair switched topics again and brought up the cuts to refugee healthcare, for which Chris Alexander insisted that genuine, approved refugees would still get covered, but not those who are not approved — and he took a swipe at the Wynne government in Ontario while he was at it. Mulcair gave it another go in French, and got much the same answer. Justin Trudeau led for the Liberals and asked what problems the government thought were present in the Temporary Foreign Workers programme and what their solutions were. Jason Kenney didn’t really answer, but instead took swipes at Trudeau and the Liberals. Trudeau asked about the pathways to citizenship proposals, to which Chris Alexander touted their record on immigration. Trudeau asked his first question again in French, to which Kenney gave vague assurances before returning to his swipes.
Roundup: Mulcair goes off on reporters
Today is the big day, as Thomas Mulcair goes before committee to defend his party’s use of “satellite” offices and staff doing supposedly “parliamentary” work in provinces where they don’t have MPs. And it could get really testy, given that Mulcair went off on reporters yesterday and was pretty much mansplaining to CTV’s Laurie Graham during caucus outs yesterday. CBC’s leak/counter-leak story is updated with more counter-leaks from House of Commons finance who did have a problem with people being in Montreal, but were still trying to figure out how to deal with it when everything blew up. But there was no problem and this is just the Board of Internal Economy being partisan! Oh, and in case you were wondering, he still plans on hiring someone to work out in Saskatchewan – just not co-locate them with party staffers. Okay then! The NDP also appear to be gearing up for a legal challenge if the committee decides to delve into the matter further, and have sought a legal opinion by the former Commons law clerk to back them up.
QP: A matter of criminal negligence
It was caucus day, when caucus is generally riled up as it is, and after Thomas Mulcair got into a bit of a fight with reporters earlier in the morning, it was likely that everyone was feeling pretty scrappy. Mulcair started off by asking about actions being taken to deal with a viral outbreak, to which Harper gave vague reassurances. Mulcair changed topics, and asked again who advised Justice Nadon to resign and rejoin the Quebec bar. Harper noted that he got legal and constitutional opinions before appointing Nadon. Mulcair noted the 650 lawyers and law professors demanding an apology to the Chief Justice, but Harper rejected the premise of the questions reiterated that he got independent opinions. Mulcair changed topics again, asking about penalties for rail safety violations, and Harper insisted that it wasn’t a matter of regulations but of criminal negligence which is now before the courts. Mulcair bemoaned that nothing has been done since 2012, to which Harper responded that they brought in significant changes to the system. Justin Trudeau was up next, and noted the failures on the Temporary Foreign Workers file, but Harper insisted that they were taking action and ensured that Canadians got the first crack at jobs. Trudeau pressed — to loud objections from the Conservative benches — while Harper hit back by saying that the Liberals wanted more workers. Trudeau asked again in French, and got much the same response.
QP: Who advised Nadon?
It being Tuesday, and lo and behold, all three leaders were in the House. Praise be. Thomas Mulcair led off with a softball about the assistance that Canada is deploying to Nigeria to help locate the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram. Stephen Harper offered a condemnation of Boko Haram, needn’t said that Canadian personnel were in Nigeria to help authorities there. Mulcair moved on to ask a short question as to whether he advised Justice Nadon to resign and rejoin the Quebec Bar. Harper spoke about advice he received that said appointing him from the Federal Court would be okay. Mulcair noted that he didn’t get an answer and asked which staffer gave Nadon that advice to resign. Harper reiterated his answer. Mulcair changed topics again and demanded severe financial penalties for companies that breach railway safety rules. Harper noted improvements that had been made to the safety network, and that they were coordinating with the United States before congratulating the police for laying charges on the individuals involved in the Lac Mégantic disaster. Mulcair insisted that nothing had really been done, but Harper insisted that they were indeed taking measures. Justin Trudeau rose for the Liberals and noted his visit to Fort McMurray before saying that the Temporary Foreign Workers programme was increasing unemployment in Alberta. Harper retorted that the Liberals were looking for more TFWs for their ridings. Trudeau pointed out the ways that the government loosened the rules and demanded the adoption of his party’s plans. Harper said that while there was a need for some workers, it shouldn’t be a business model. Trudeau then noted the objections to the changes in Quebec, but Harper reiterated his assertion that the Liberals wanted even more TFWs.
Roundup: New allegations around satellite offices
Documents suggest that the NDP may have mislead the House of Commons administration with respect to their “satellite offices,” saying that those staffers would be working in Ottawa when they weren’t. This will make for a lot more awkward and/or acrimonious questions when Thomas Mulcair appears before committee to answer questions about this particular setup.
QP: We’re taking action without a commission
Somewhat amazing for a Monday in this session, there actually was a major leader in the House. Almost unbelievable, I know. Thomas Mulcair led off by asking about the UN special rapporteur on indigenous people’s report on Canada’s Aboriginals, and demanded a public inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women. Peter MacKay responded and touted all of the measures they’ve taken like renewing funding for the Aboriginal justice strategy. Mulcair moved on, and demanded powers to compel testimony for the Elections Commissioner, citing that the Conservative party lawyer gave false information to Elections Canada. Pierre Poilievre insisted that his party was cleared of any wrongdoing, and a second round of those questions — which was more party business than government business — got a similar response. Mulcair then moved on to a small business hiring tax credit, to which Joe Oliver read some good news talking points about job creation. Mulcair noted that unemployment was higher in Toronto than the national average, and decried temporary foreign workers. Jason Kenney insisted that they were cracking down on those who abused the programme. John McCallum was up for the Liberals, and thrice denounced the problems with the government’s Job Bank, and Kenney defended the system, calling it a useful platform.