Open for Business: Canadian Politics 2019

I thought the same of Harper tbh.

Dispiriting how every time this kind of thing happens almost no one thinks to themselves 'perhaps I should try the NDP instead'. Do we really need a Scheer/Ford/Legault triumvirate?

Perhaps we'll get Faith Goldy as minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship.

I don't think a Tory win is guaranteed if Trudeau resigns.

NB: Singh is a lame duck because lol Quebec.

Not to beat on dylannn but just want to note that we cannot both believe this to be true and also not think it is pushing significant barriers for him to lead a major party into an election as a brown-skinned man in a turban (assuming these are the factors that VHS is implying).

Anyone keeping up with what is actually going on with SNC-Lavalin btw? The larger questions that were raised, touched on in the Luke Savage thread and the tbtf discussion here, are interesting.

This is some grim shit, admittedly:

“The Conservatives have over a 20-point lead in the 905, which has the most seats that swing back and forth in any election campaign,” said Bricker.

https://globalnews.ca/news/5021267/trudeau-approval-rating-snc-lavalin-wilson-raybould/

I don't know if this is at all right but it is an interesting comment I saw online that directly opposes the prevailing narrative:

the more i think about it the more i think wilson raybould is the one who has been unethical. she shepparded the law amenment through parliament which allows the government to step in and defer prosecution. if she had an issue with that law she should have resigned then. that law is questionable, but she should not have been surprised they were preparing to use the deferred prosecution option, and in fact her characterization of the facts is skewed. there would always be internal discussion about such a move. she disagreed, so jt excercised his abosolute right to remove her and put his own choice into the portfolio. and if he doesn't proceed with filing a decision in parliament to defer prosecution he's a wimp.

we do not have the pure shawcross doctrine in canada, first because we don't have a justice minister separate from the ag, and with the new amendment we have given the government the right to over rule a prosecutors decision. they are supposed to do this to protect innocent stake holders such as employees and pensioners.

one can question whether we should have a shawcross doctrine in full, and whether this law is wrong, but jwr had ample opportunity to do that and did nothing. she is what i used to call a mad dog prosecutor. they see everyhint as evidence of guilt. the very same discussions can also be seen as evidence of worry about job losses and pension loses.

so the scandal that wasn't there might bring down the liberals because a few mad dog mentality prosecutors and their supporters are posturing.

there is no there there.

Afaict, the nature of the "internal discussion" is salient to whether the Shawcross doctrine has been breached.

First, the Attorney General must take into account all relevant facts, including the effect of a successful or unsuccessful prosecution on public morale and order — we would probably now call this the public interest. Second, the Attorney General is not obliged to consult with cabinet colleagues but is entitled to do so. Third, any assistance from cabinet colleagues is confined to giving advice, not directions. Fourth, responsibility for the decision is that of the Attorney General alone; the government is not to put pressure on him or her. Fifth, and equally, the Attorney General cannot shift responsibility for the decision to the cabinet.

http://craigforcese.squarespace.com/public_law_blog/2019/2/9/laffaire-snc-lavalin-the-public-law-principles.html

The line is probably fuzzy, but I think the intensity of the "advice" (after she had explicitly told them that she had made up her mind) and the some of the reasons being given (partisan political reasons that go beyond public interest) are supposed to be part of the case that Trudeau and his staff had crossed the line into applying inappropriate pressure.

she shepparded the law amenment through parliament which allows the government to step in and defer prosecution. if she had an issue with that law she should have resigned then.

I don't know much about her role in the initial amendment, but wouldn't she probably say that she accepts the idea of DPAs in principle but that SNC failed to meet the standard in this particular case?

Will definitely read that post in full. xp

I mean regardless of the question of JRW and what she did, this whole episode is just showing Trudeau's ineptitude at governing a crisis.

absolutely

Will definitely read that post in full. xp

That was helpful.

Not to beat on dylannn but just want to note that we cannot both believe this to be true and also not think it is pushing significant barriers for him to lead a major party into an election as a brown-skinned man in a turban (assuming these are the factors that VHS is implying).

― All along there is the sound of feedback (Sund4r), Tuesday, March 5, 2019 8:18 AM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That is an important factor but as Chantal Hebert just reminded me on twitter, there is no reason for the Quebec electorate to elect a politician who does not speak the basics of their language. Even Harper understood this.

Misread, she talked about JRW. Back to the racist barrier.

Yeah, Singh's French seems competent to me, at least as good as Harper's. I'd be surprised if Scheer's was better.

How is Freeland's French? I thought it was OK?

Canadian political history explained: https://www.thebeaverton.com/2019/03/scheer-credits-rising-poll-numbers-to-time-tested-conservative-strategy-of-hope-the-liberals-do-a-big-scandal/

(I usually find that Indians and Canadians can understand each other's politics immediately once you explain "Congress are basically the Liberals".)

PM Justin Trudeau considering a statement of contrition over SNC-Lavalin. https://t.co/qFojqcG6Qw #cdnpoli

— CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) March 5, 2019

bit of a thread derail but I'm trying to educate myself a bit wrt the political history of canada. was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on books of canadian political history/philosophy/biography? abstruse is fine. documentaries are good too, "the champions" doc series about lévesque and trudeau is a favourite

PM introduces deferment of impeachment legislation... or whatever the f. Take a hike!

ndp should really focus on the populist angle that both the liberals and conservatives are in the pocket of big business and bay street and don't represent hard working canadians blah blah blah

― ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) (jim in vancouver), Thursday, February 28, 2019 10:41 AM (five days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

email i received from the ndp today:

Another key cabinet minister, Jane Philpott, has resigned from Trudeau’s cabinet just days after Jody Wilson-Raybould spoke truth to power about the PMO scandal – and Trudeau’s Liberal government is scrambling.

People across the country are shocked by how far Justin Trudeau is willing to go to protect his wealthy friends at SNC-Lavalin. Imagine if he cared half as much about making sure Canadians have safe housing, clean water, and access to medication...

Jim, John English's Just Watch Me is also very good on PET from 1968-2000, covering the whole time he was PM.

sounds good

butts speaks:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-butts-tells-committee-wilson-rayboulds-shuffle-was-independent-of-snc-2/

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/liberal-mps-shut-down-snc-committee-before-vote-on-recalling-wilson-raybould

Sad lol: https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2019/03/14/ndp-deputy-leader-wants-to-hire-unpaid-interns-but-says-he-wouldnt-have-to-if-the-liberals-banned-them.html?fbclid=IwAR213xjJ-rny0ebEV8k5oxGtekHHC3ouJC9rYIwPOJhgv7b0sjNTjTpbyGE

as an NDP member I feel exceptionally qualified to say: what a shitshow of a party

As a former member of the ndp (membership lapsed because all my credit cards are maxed out lol) I agree!

if you're not calling the NDP a shitshow then you're not a real NDP member

Has there ever been a viable left-wing alternative to the federal NDP?

Not in the sense of "could win more seats than the Greens", afaict.

The viable left-wing alternative to the current NDP is a genuinely left-wing NDP

is there a left bloc in the ndp? like a momentum uk but for canada's ndp?

http://ndpsocialists.ca/

thanks!!

they look pretty damn dead events-wise, though

http://ndpsocialists.ca/events/

SNC-Lavalin back in the news

BREAKING: PMO announces Canada’s top public servant is retiring. Michael Wernick came under heavy criticism from the opposition recently after his testimony about the SNC-Lavalin affair. pic.twitter.com/rLAnbypUdE

— Katie Simpson (@CBCKatie) March 18, 2019

MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes quits Liberal caucus

Trudeau not looking good in this

After increasing class sizes to build resiliency, we're doing this to, um, promote choice?

https://globalnews.ca/news/5106128/ontario-student-choice-initiative/amp/?fbclid=IwAR2G5qz_b2GQT8vsa-SnAgEK-fZ-9TYgu0DmmjxIllmtIQTQg0EOxIlculo

Tbc, I WOULD be in favour of removing accessibility funding from student fees but that would be if the province (or feds) would cover it. Somehow I doubt that's what is happening but I guess we'll see?

Lol, prophetic thread title: https://globalnews.ca/news/5112402/ontario-licence-plate-redesign/?fbclid=IwAR3_KSG1TyV3BjOkrC-uwEabU47B4L9nZ5dmdwLXQNyjjB2UFrS8dBJXco0

In other news, I'm so happy that François Legault and the CAQ are putting the Islamic veil back at the forefront of provincial politics. We really needed another debate about this most neglected of topics.

I'm actually curious to see how far they go with crucifixes this time.

A silver lining would be nice, I guess.

Apparently they are taking it out of the parliament.

Still bullshit. I don't give a shit about the crucifix, I care about minorities losing job opportunities.

Haven't listened yet, but I thought this thread being at the top of the board would have to do with JWR's basement tape.

Apparently they are taking it out of the parliament.

Wait, is there any confirmation on this? Everything I've read so far has been in the language of "might" and "are considering". (I do agree with your second point btw.)

Just listened to the Wilson-Raybould tape. Fascinating. I have to say, only knowing the story in broad outline, I found Wernick comes across okay. She knows the conversation is being taped, so she can choose her words very carefully and frame the conversation however she wants. He doesn't--and while he's clearly exasperated, all he says is that he's worried she and Trudeau are headed for a showdown. I don't hear that as an implied threat of reprisal, although I can see where someone might.

In case any of you are fellow Canadians abroad, you might like to know that the disenfranchisement of citizens who have been away for 5+ years has been reversed. Interestingly, voter registration gives you a lot of options for which address to use - your last lived address, a relative, or someone you'd live with if you lived in the country (but once you've chosen, you can't change it). For me, that meant options to register in conservative strongholds, liberal ridings at risk of swinging to tories, and the province's only NDP-held riding (lol alberta). Went with the last one.