[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[crazy canuck]

'Honest question', why is Canadian politics so dull?

Every day, I am thankful that it is.

South of the border, with Trump and the Republicans, politics are exciting. In the UK, with Brexit, politics are exciting. Here in Canada, they are dull, focused on small issues of concern only to locals.

Long may politics in Canada remain dull!

Amen

[Barrister]

'Honest question', why is Canadian politics so dull?

Every day, I am thankful that it is.

South of the border, with Trump and the Republicans, politics are exciting. In the UK, with Brexit, politics are exciting. Here in Canada, they are dull, focused on small issues of concern only to locals.

Long may politics in Canada remain dull!

Amen

How dull can it be though - the Politics Redux thread is easily the most active in Languish today!

[crazy canuck]

'Honest question', why is Canadian politics so dull?

Every day, I am thankful that it is.

South of the border, with Trump and the Republicans, politics are exciting. In the UK, with Brexit, politics are exciting. Here in Canada, they are dull, focused on small issues of concern only to locals.

Long may politics in Canada remain dull!

Amen

How dull can it be though - the Politics Redux thread is easily the most active in Languish today!

The intensity of our disagreements reach the level of an American afternoon stroll in the park

[mongers]

'Honest question', why is Canadian politics so dull?

Every day, I am thankful that it is.

South of the border, with Trump and the Republicans, politics are exciting. In the UK, with Brexit, politics are exciting. Here in Canada, they are dull, focused on small issues of concern only to locals.

Long may politics in Canada remain dull!

Now that's a class A response to a trolling post. 

[Barrister]

Weird story - Manitoba Premier goes for a hike in New Mexico, misjudges how long it will take, gets lost in the dark and has to be rescued, eventually breaking his arm.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/brian-pallister-lost-desert-1.4412485

[Malthus]

Weird story - Manitoba Premier goes for a hike in New Mexico, misjudges how long it will take, gets lost in the dark and has to be rescued, eventually breaking his arm.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/brian-pallister-lost-desert-1.4412485

All too easy to do if hiking in wilderness without the proper clothing and supplies. 

Dumb in any event to hike in wilderness alone. If you get hurt, you are in big trouble.

[crazy canuck]

Weird story - Manitoba Premier goes for a hike in New Mexico, misjudges how long it will take, gets lost in the dark and has to be rescued, eventually breaking his arm.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/brian-pallister-lost-desert-1.4412485

All too easy to do if hiking in wilderness without the proper clothing and supplies. 

Dumb in any event to hike in wilderness alone. If you get hurt, you are in big trouble.

Yep, really easy to misjudge how long a hike might take and that is one of the reasons to be prepared for the unexpected. 

[crazy canuck]

The chronic failure of the Liberal government to appoint judges to the BC Supreme Court is both difficult to understand and causing a significant strain on the justice system.  The problem has existed since they were elected.  At first it was thought the problem was that the government was just slow to get organized enough to make the appointments.  But now it is clear that something else is going on.  It has gotten to the point that for a number of months now, when a trial is cancelled because a judge was not available the Chief Justice of the Court attends to apologize to the parties and he explains that there are a number of spots that need to be filled (currently 9 and there will be 12 by the end of the year due to retirements).  He also explains that there are enough candidates who have been approved through the vetting process to fill all those positions.  He then invites people to write to their MP to advise the representative that they lost their trial date because Minister has failed to appoint judges to the Court.

This is an extraordinary step by the Court and I am not sure why this is not a bigger story in the media.  If this was happening under the Conservatives there would likely be talk about some kind of hidden agenda.

But the consequences are easy to see.  The Supreme Court has imposed hard deadlines on when criminal trials must proceed.  Failure to meet those deadline means the charges must be stayed (absent special circumstances).  As a result most of the Court's resources are focused on trying to meet those deadlines and even then, with the absence of its full compliment of judges the system cannot reasonably cope.  And trying to get a civil trail - Ha!

[Jacob]

Do you have any idea why this would be the case? Is there any particular reason they should want to not appoint judges?

Secondly - does anyone in your network know any local journalists? Seems like it's the kind of thing that could use someone feeding a few stories to the media.

[crazy canuck]

Do you have any idea why this would be the case? Is there any particular reason they should want to not appoint judges?

Secondly - does anyone in your network know any local journalists? Seems like it's the kind of thing that could use someone feeding a few stories to the media.

Yes, word is that the Minister is waiting to appoint "diverse" candidates.  All the local journalists know the problem and have interviewed the Chief Justice on almost a weekly basis.  but this is a federal not a local issue.

edit:  I should add that there is nothing wrong with wanting to increase diversity on the bench.  But the suspicion is that this is really code for wanting to appoint judges with a particular ideological and legal view about certain issues.

[Grey Fox]

It's true of probably all provinces. We have empty spots everywhere. I really don't know what's the hold up.

[crazy canuck]

It's true of probably all provinces. We have empty spots everywhere. I really don't know what's the hold up.

If the problem in BC is playing out across the country then that adds more weight to the concern that appointments are being withheld in order to avoid appointing people approved through an impartial process in favour of political appointments. 

[Grey Fox]

They are Liberals after all. Appointments are rewards for service rendered.

[PRC]

They are Liberals after all. Appointments are rewards for service rendered.

BC Liberals aren't associated with Federal Liberals.

[Grey Fox]

They are Liberals after all. Appointments are rewards for service rendered.

BC Liberals aren't associated with Federal Liberals.

Supreme Court justices are appointed by the Federal Government.