PM Justin Trudeau's Canada

[steveintoronto]

Just up at the Financial Times:

​

​ ​ May hopes for Brexit plan dealt blow by legal opinion from attorney-general​ Theresa May's hopes to win over Eurosceptics to back her Brexit deal have been dealt a blow by a legal opinion from the UK attorney-general. Geoffrey Cox warned on Tuesday that the risk of the UK remaining trapped in a backstop arrangement to avoid a hard Irish border after Brexit remains unchanged despite assurances from Brussels won by the British prime minister. Read more here ​

You see Justin, that's how the Westminster model works. Is Mrs May now going to fire the messenger because she doesn't like his message? I think not...

Meantime, Twitter is a-twit with the interpretation of exactly what his advice inferred:

Geoffrey Cox calls a report on his Brexit legal advice 'b*ks' and the internet is losing it
Posted 1 hour ago by Greg Evans in news
UPVOTE


Ahead of today's crucial Brexit vote in the Commons, the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox has called a report on his legal advice to be literally 'balls.'
In response to a tweet from Channel 4's Jon Snow, where the presenter suggested that he understood that Cox had said 'no' to Theresa May's 'new EU deal,' Cox was quick to say otherwise.
[...]

Geoffrey Cox said a report on his Brexit legal advice was 'bollocks' and people don't know what to say

Ahead of today's crucial Brexit vote in the Commons, the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox has called a report on his legal advice to be literally 'balls.'

www.indy100.com

Let the healthy debate ensue!

 

[jje1000]

SNC-Lavalin announced confidential deal with feds, four days after Trudeau's first throne speech in 2015

Four days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals opened their first session of Parliament with a throne speech in 2015, the federal government entered into a new confidential deal with SNC-Lavalin.

The Quebec construction and engineering giant touted the deal in December of that year, noting that it would allow it to continue scoring lucrative public contracts with the federal government. But to this day, the details and content of this deal remain a secret.

The agreement is different from the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) that former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould has testified she was improperly pressured into pursuing by the prime minister, his senior officials and the country’s top public servant.

Both agreements are meant to address the fraud and corruption charges hanging over the Montreal-based engineering firm. But while Wilson-Raybould’s replacement, David Lametti, is still considering offering a DPA, the administrative agreement was long ago successfully enacted. It remains on the books, more than three years later.

SNC-Lavalin announced confidential deal with feds, four days after Trudeau's first throne speech in 2015

Four days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals opened their first session of Parliament with a throne speech in 2015, the federal government entered into a new confidential deal with SNC-Lavalin. To this day, the contents of that deal remain a secret, but what's clear is that it allows...

www.nationalobserver.com

 

[steveintoronto]

^ Holy Smelly Poo Poo!

Justin's got some 'splainin' to do...

 

[steveintoronto]

And things just got worse:

SNC-Lavalin board chair, a former top bureaucrat, may have run afoul of federal lobbying rules
By BEATRICE PAEZ MAR. 12, 2019 Hill Times

Former top bureaucrat Kevin Lynch, who now serves as board chairman for SNC-Lavalin, may have violated federal lobbying rules in failing to disclose a phone call with Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick. Ethics watchdog Democracy Watch is planning to file a complaint with the Lobbying Commissioner’s Office that would call on it to rule whether Mr. Lynch ran afoul of the Lobbying Act.

Mr. Wernick testified last week before the House Justice Committee that he took a call last fall, on Oct. 15, 2018, from Mr. Lynch—a former clerk of the Privy Council—who expressed “frustration” that a remediation deal was not being considered for the embattled company. That call was not listed on the federal lobbying registry. SNC-Lavalin is registered to lobby federally under its CEO, Neil Bruce. Mr. Lynch, who is a paid board member, is not.

Federal lobbying rules state that board members who are paid beyond the reimbursement of travel expenses and who engage in lobbying activities have to register as a consultant lobbyist and disclose contact with public officials they lobby by filing a communication report. Board members who are not considered employees have to register separately as consultants.

Daniela Pizzuto, a spokesperson for SNC-Lavalin, in a phone interview, confirmed that Mr. Lynch is not an employee of SNC and is paid for his work as chairman, as all board directors are. Speaking on behalf of Mr. Lynch, Ms. Pizzuto declined to comment directly on whether he was aware of the obligation paid board members have to register if they make appeals to public officials. The Hill Times reached out to Mr. Lynch directly for this story, but the request was forwarded to Ms. Pizzuto.

[...]

SNC-Lavalin board chair, a former top bureaucrat, may have run afoul of federal lobbying rules

An SNC-Lavalin spokesperson, who spoke on behalf of Kevin Lynch, declined to comment directly on whether he was aware of the obligation paid board members have to register if they make appeals to public officials.

www.hilltimes.com

 

[steveintoronto]

And the latest twist (in the collar of the necks that are in deep doo-doo)

Ethics watchdog investigating SNC-Lavalin affair announces medical leave
By Alex Boutilier Ottawa Bureau TorStar
Tues., March 12, 2019

OTTAWA—The federal ethics commissioner leading a probe into the SNC-Lavalin affairwill take a “prolonged” absence for medical reasons, according to his office.
Mario Dion, who was appointed ethics commissioner in 2017, announced Tuesday that he is stepping back from his duties due to medical reasons. [...]

Ethics watchdog investigating SNC-Lavalin affair announces medical leave

Mario Dion was appointed as ethics and conflict of interest commissioner in 2017 and office says ongoing investigations will continue.

www.thestar.com

 

[Videodrome]

I would be interested in some Brexit commentary from Scheer. He boasts about being in favor of it before it was cool.

 

[jje1000]

Liberals delay debate on whether to bring Wilson-Raybould back to testify

Liberal MPs have delayed debate on a motion to bring former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould back before the House of Commons Justice Committee.

The decision means that there are no answers yet as to whether she will be allowed to appear before the committee once again to give additional details about meetings relating to the prosecution of Quebec engineering giant SNC-Lavalin.

The debate will take place behind closed doors on March 19, the same day the federal budget is set to be released.

Liberals delay debate on whether to bring Wilson-Raybould back to testify

Liberal MPs have delayed debate on a motion to bring former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould back before the House of Commons Justice Committee.

www.ctvnews.ca

‘Political grandmaster’ Frank Iacobucci is at the center of SNC Lavalin, Kinder Morgan scandals

Iacobucci led SNC-Lavalin‘s efforts to secure a ‘Deferred Prosecution Agreement’ last summer and into the fall. He was instrumental in persuading Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to insert the new legal provision as a policy rider into last year’s budget bill, acting as SNC Lavalin’s in-house attorney.

Last August, Iacobucci ‘demanded’ a Deferred Prosecution Agreement for SNC Lavalin, even dictating to Finance Minister Bill Morneau the terms that his client ‘would accept’ from the Trudeau government. Sources close to Morneau say that’s a familiar posture for Iacobucci, who months earlier helped colleagues at Torys ‘bully’ Morneau into acquiring Kinder Morgan‘s Trans Mountain Pipeline in May — on terms that CEO Steve Kean would accept.

‘Political grandmaster’ Frank Iacobucci is at the center of SNC Lavalin, Kinder Morgan scandals | The Buffalo Chronicle

buffalochronicle.com

SNC-Lavalin lawyer Iacobucci urged to resign as Trudeau's Trans Mountain envoy

A prominent chief is urging SNC-Lavalin lawyer Frank Iacobucci to resign his position as special envoy to First Nations for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the Trans Mountain expansion project. Iacoubucci's name popped up a couple of times in bombshell testimony on Feb. 27 by former attorney...

www.nationalobserver.com

 

[jje1000]

Still more inaction by the Liberals throughout 2018 into 2019- we should remember that 40% of all shelter space was occupied by migrants as late as last November (https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4925418) Are we going to see more asylum seekers this spring as word continues to get out? Is Trudeau going to continue underfunding Toronto's shelters?

Safe Third Country Agreement ‘no longer working as intended,’ memo reveals

“With the recent influx of asylum seekers to Canada, the Safe Third Country Agreement is no longer working as intended,” the memo prepared for Hussen states.

“Asylum seekers are evading the Canada-United States Safe Third Country Agreement by crossing into Canada between ports of entry where the agreement does not apply. This has brought to our attention gaps that may be creating a pull factor for people to cross illegally into Canada.”

The release of the memo comes as spring nears across much of Canada, raising questions about whether there will be an increase in the number of irregular migrants crossing the border following data last year that appeared to suggest an increase between winter to spring.

“Minister Blair is in discussion with his U.S. counterparts to address the loophole that permits people to avoid the provisions in the STCA and improve the way the ‘anchor relative exception’ is defined and applied,” she said.
That exception allows relatives of irregular migrants with unprocessed claims to use the irregular migrant’s claim to effectively “anchor” their own asylum application when they, in turn, appear at the border.

Safe Third Country Agreement ‘no longer working as intended,’ memo reveals - National | Globalnews.ca

The Safe Third Country Agreement governing asylum claims between Canada and the United States is “no longer working as intended,” according to documents obtained by Global News.

globalnews.ca

 

[jje1000]

Again, in my opinion, the government-funded Syrian refugee project was largely an act of emotional grandstanding- in an act of 'saviordom', it plucks a few to be 'rescued' (the same way how Hollywood celebrities adopt ethnic kids) while ignoring the plights of the millions left behind. Three years later, and 60% of the government-sponsored refugees are still unemployed, though happier.

The better use of money would have been to allow private sponsorship as-is (and provide additional support), but increase funding of the improvement of living conditions and entrepreneurial opportunities within the refugee camps, and the reconstruction of Syria as the war winds down. The money spent here would have gone much farther in Syria. I suppose the main blessing though is that the majority of the refugees are young- they will likely find joining Canadian society easier even as their parents struggle, and most of them will likely feel more Canadian than Syrian when they grow up.

William Watson: Now we know how well Trudeau’s Syrian refugees are doing. It’s not good
For government-assisted refugees, the employment rate is less than five per cent

Among Syrian refugees admitted in 2015, however, employment of male refugees who had been privately sponsored was about 55 per cent, which doesn’t seem so bad under the circumstances. For males who were government-assisted, however, and who tended to be the harder cases to begin with, the employment rate was less than five per cent. Syrian refugees were also less likely to be employed than 2015–16 refugees from other countries. In part this was because on average they had been in the country a shorter time, but it was also because their demographic characteristics made them less employment-ready than refugees from other countries. Taking such factors into account, their employment rates were only slightly below those of non-Syrian refugees.

But of course the goal is to have Syrian refugees do well in absolute terms, not just in comparison to other refugees. To that end, the fact that fewer than half of the Syrians spoke either official language when they arrived here, while 51 per cent of men and 47 per cent of women didn’t have a high-school diploma, seems bound to make absolute success difficult.

For instance, if you look at the cohort of all immigrants who arrived in Canada in 2011, the median income five years on of those who did have wage and salary income was $28,800. Looking specifically at economic immigrants with earnings, they had median income of $40,400, while earners in the “Canadian experience class” — those who had spent time here on a different type of visa before formally immigrating — had five-year median income of $61,300.

Five years on, however, refugees from the class of 2011 had median earnings of only $21,500. Among those, government-assisted refugees were making just $16,200, while privately sponsored refugees were at $22,400. In their very first year of earning, these two groups had made just $6,900 and $18,900, respectively. So their median incomes had gone up. Just not very high.

William Watson: Now we know how well Trudeau’s Syrian refugees are doing. It’s not good

For government-assisted refugees, the employment rate is less than five per cent

business.financialpost.com

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/75-006-x/2019001/article/00001-eng.pdf?st=n_i2Sj6s

 

[Videodrome]

stephen taylor, metacanada, and the search for answers. — Bashir Mohamed

I have chose to publish this piece after learning more about the tragedy that unfolded in Christchurch today.

www.bashirmohamed.com

In light of the New Zealand attack, this piece about one of the people trying to elect Scheer is important.

 

[pman]

stephen taylor, metacanada, and the search for answers. — Bashir Mohamed

I have chose to publish this piece after learning more about the tragedy that unfolded in Christchurch today.

www.bashirmohamed.com

In light of the New Zealand attack, this piece about one of the people trying to elect Scheer is important.

It’s beyond absurd to link Scheer to the NZ massacre, even tangentially.

 

[Videodrome]

I wasn't saying that Scheer caused the massacre, just that he has people with ties to white nationalists working for him. Read the piece I posted.

Scheer just released a new statement. Looks like some party brass made him do it.

 

[steveintoronto]

I wasn't saying that Scheer caused the massacre, just that he has people with ties to white nationalists working for him. Read the piece I posted.

Scheer just released a new statement. Looks like some party brass made him do it.

I'm coming into this sideways, just to keep the record straight, as for me "Scheer ain't no Lisa Raitt" in terms of principle, legality and sensitivity:

View on Twitter

I'm with Mulroney Sr. on this (although he shit all over his own cause): There's a vacuum in leadership in almost all nations and jurisdictions at this time.

Fortunately, we do have the likes of Raitt and JWR waiting for their turns, and I welcome them.

Addendum: I only just got in and had time to check the news, and here's @Videodrome 's point writ large:

Scheer issues second statement on Christchurch after backlash
Conservative leader’s initial reaction to terrorist attack failed to mention Muslims or anti-immigrant sentiment.

I won't comment any further on Scheer, I have nothing flattering to write on him...I'm biting my tongue...Someone get Raitt to start taking French lessons. She's needed at the top of the Con Juncture.

But to digress from the forum premise a tad:

In Slovakia, unlikely presidential candidate signals a backlash against populism
Zuzana Caputova’s unlikely rise and broad support in this deeply conservative country has given hope to opposition leaders in other countries, who sense that a backlash against populists may be brewing.

It is a trend! More on this later, a number of nations are ready for something better...

 

[Videodrome]

Ever seen Man Of The Year? It is a Robin Williams movie that was partially filmed close to where I live. He plays a late night host who runs for president as an independent and manages to win.

After New Zealand, Tory cancels event with anti-Muslim speaker; Scheer ripped by Harper aide for weak response

Andrew MacDougall, a former spokesman for Harper, tweeted at Scheer: ‘Delete and try again. Name the place of worship. Name their religion. Put your arms around them. Condemn the specific pathology that drove their killer(s).’

www.theglobeandmail.com

This is for the best.

EDIT:

Lisa Raitt
@lraitt

Anyone who comments on my previous posts with anti-Muslim statements will be blocked.

It is a shame that Scheer won't say this.

 

[steveintoronto]

Canada’s top public servant Michael Wernick announces surprise retirement
By Alex BoutilierOttawa Bureau
Mon., March 18, 2019

OTTAWA—Canada’s top public servant is stepping down after opposition MPs openly questioned his neutrality and demanded his resignation for his role in the SNC-Lavalin affair.
Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick announced Monday he will “retire” from the public service before the coming federal election.
[...]

Canada’s top public servant Michael Wernick announces surprise retirement

Trudeau says he’ll be replaced at the top of the federal public service by Ian Shugart, currently the deputy minister of foreign affairs.

www.thestar.com