[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Sheilbh]

But the better example might be Kathleen Ganley, our AG under the NDP (and you'll notice - no KC).  She graduated from law school in 2011, called to the bar in 2012 - and then was elected and made our AG from 2015-2019.  But the NDP caucus just didn't have anyone better for the role.

Similar in recent years here too.

The job in theory has two requirements - giving legal advice to the government and being accountable to parliament. They can be quite difficult to reconcile and it's the only cabinet position I can think of where the job isn't ultimately just be a minister. Labour squared the circle by appointing people to the House of Lords - so Lord Williams and Lord Goldsmith who'd both been lawyers for over 30 years, had spent some time as judges and were both ex-presidents of the Bar Council, Baroness Scotland was slightly more political but was also the first black woman QC for 20 years before she became AG. The Tories have only appointed MPs but, bluntly, it's pretty rare for someone with a full legal career to then become an MP so nowadays it feels like a pulse and a practicing certificate will do

It does mean that I feel like they're relying on their external KC more - you hear a lot about them asking Sir James Eadie for an opinion on things which I think, in the past, would have been done by the AG.

[Barrister]

Nothing relying on external counsel - although I will remind any AGs who happen to wander on by that you have entire departments full of lawyers that work for you you can listen to.

From Ganley's early days there was something that had happened in criminal court that was getting lots of negative news coverage - so Ganley takes to the papers to denounce what her own department had done.  All without actually checking from her own people first.  This is absolutely not how it works - but it was politically expedient for her to do so.

[Sheilbh]

Nothing relying on external counsel - although I will remind any AGs who happen to wander on by that you have entire departments full of lawyers that work for you you can listen to.

The true unsung heroes

From Ganley's early days there was something that had happened in criminal court that was getting lots of negative news coverage - so Ganley takes to the papers to denounce what her own department had done.  All without actually checking from her own people first.  This is absolutely not how it works - but it was politically expedient for her to do so.

I think that would be the responsibility of the Minister of Justice here - and on that front you definitely don't have to be a lawyer. See Liz Truss who said nothing after the Daily Mail "Enemies of the People" headline attacking three senior judges for political expedience so yeah I can sympathise - the bare minimum is to defend the institution you're notionally responsible.

Although one of those judges, Sir Terrence Etherton, was (accurately) described as "an openly gay ex-Olympic fencer" - which I think sounds very cool.

[Barrister]

Nothing relying on external counsel - although I will remind any AGs who happen to wander on by that you have entire departments full of lawyers that work for you you can listen to.

The true unsung heroes

From Ganley's early days there was something that had happened in criminal court that was getting lots of negative news coverage - so Ganley takes to the papers to denounce what her own department had done.  All without actually checking from her own people first.  This is absolutely not how it works - but it was politically expedient for her to do so.

I think that would be the responsibility of the Minister of Justice here - and on that front you definitely don't have to be a lawyer. See Liz Truss who said nothing after the Daily Mail "Enemies of the People" headline attacking three senior judges for political expedience so yeah I can sympathise - the bare minimum is to defend the institution you're notionally responsible.

Although one of those judges, Sir Terrence Etherton, was (accurately) described as "an openly gay ex-Olympic fencer" - which I think sounds very cool.

Well you don't have to defend - yu can just say "there is a process' or "lets wait and see what the investigation says".

[Sheilbh]

Yeah - I agree and I don't like too much squeamishness about the judiciary. I think you absolutely can say you think they got it wrong and you're going to appeal or legislate accordingly. But I think you should make clear there's absolutely no question of the judge's integrity or - as you say - the integrity of the process (even if for no other reason than that it's a big export industry in part reliant on an impression of high quality, impartial judges).

[Josephus]

There's a couple things though that hasn't been mentioned here. The act of giving her the KC title is largely being seen as a patronage honour. What the opinion pieces are raving about is that she has never really practised law in Ontario (or Canada) and was only called to the bar three days before her award, administratively.

The title was just reintroduced last week and of the first 91 nominees, the vast majority are Tory politicians,staffers and loyalists.

The other thing the writers are saying is that the term doesn't really mean much anymore and should never have been reintroduced.  People may think that having KC after their name is an EARNED privilege, like a professional designation, when it clearly isn't

[crazy canuck]

The title was just reintroduced last week and of the first 91 nominees, the vast majority are Tory politicians,staffers and loyalists.

That then is the problem.  If the honour was removed back in the day because it was just a political hand out, the Tories did themselves no credit by simply repeating the sin of the past.

If I were one of those folks, I am not sure I would happy about having to wear my silks in court only for the court to think, "ah one of those".

[Josephus]

Lead in an article in todays Toronto Star

"More than a dozen of the recipients of a new controversial new honour for Ontario lawyers donated to Attorney General Doug Disney's election campaign or his riding association...

[Jacob]

... I guess if you come across an Ontario lawyer with a KC you know they're a flunky of the Ontario Conservatives. Good to know.

[crazy canuck]

Josephus called it, the Star is not going anywhere.  Talks have ended.

[Josephus]

Josephus called it, the Star is not going anywhere.  Talks have ended.

 

[crazy canuck]

When the port strike started, I assumed the Feds would end the strike and order that the dispute be resolved through interest arbitration.

But the strike goes on.  I can only assume Trudeau does not want to recall Parliament for a number of reasons, including he does not want to risk losing the support of the NDP.

[Grey Fox]

It's a fair concern. The Eastern ports strikes were ended so quickly with special legislation, that now management doesn't actually want to negotiate. Pissing off the unions enough means the NDP starts paying attention & you don't want them to have any opportunity to get union support back.

[crazy canuck]

The thing is interest arbitration is almost always to the detriment of the employer, so much so that unions often think they can do better going that route than getting a negotiated deal done.

[viper37]

You gotta love our PM.
If Muslims are intolerant toward LGBT, it's because of Christian conservatives, obviously.

1400 years of religious education and civilization building, and they can't form their own opinion on anything, they have to rely on Christian theologist.  I'd find that pretty insulting if I were Muslim.

I guess the Saudis have learned a lot from the Republican party.

GOLDSTEIN: Trudeau says Muslim parents who object to gender identity education misled by 'far right' [/Url]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Muslim parents who object to their children being taught about gender identity issues in schools are being fed "misinformation and disinformation" by "the American right-wing" and the "far right."
Article content

"I've heard this concern many, many times and I know that it is a very real issue," Trudeau tells a concerned Muslim parent in Calgary, in an eight-minute exchange recorded on video and posted online Wednesday night.

"First of all, there is an awful lot of misinformation and disinformation out there. People on social media, particularly fuelled by the American right-wing, are spreading a lot of untruths about what's actually in the provincial curriculums.

"Now if you look at the various curriculums, you'll see that there is not what is being said out there about aggressive teaching or conversion of kids to being LGBT. That is something that is being weaponized by people who are not doing it because of their interest in supporting the Muslim community.

"These are people on the far right who have consistently stood against Muslim rights and the Muslim community, but they are weaponizing the issue of LGBT, which is something that, yes, Islam has strong opinions on, the same way that the religious right in Canada, the Christian right, has strong opinions against as well."

Trudeau says these right-wing forces are "using those fears to drive a wedge between a government that will always stand up for all your rights, just like I will always stand up for the rights of LGBT kids, including if they're LGBT Muslim kids," as opposed to "the Islamophobia pushed by the previous Conservative government in a whole bunch of different ways" such as "a political campaign against the niqab" and a "snitch line against Muslims."

Muslim parents in Calgary and other Canadian cities have been demonstrating against what they perceive as gender ideology being taught to their children in schools as well as having to attend school events held in support of Pride month in June.

They were also angered by a teacher in an Edmonton school who was recorded lecturing a Muslim student who skipped a Pride event, saying, "We believe in freedom, we believe that people can marry whomever they want, that is in the law, and if you don't think that should be the law, you can't be Canadian. You don't belong here, and I mean it."

When the Calgary parent raises this issue with Trudeau, the PM responds that while the provinces, not the federal government, are responsible for education, "that teacher got serious consequences because that is not something that is acceptable."

The parent replies: "This is what we need the government to come out and say, 'We do not support that, we do not accept that ...'"

The individual who posted the video on twitter – Mocha Bezirgan (@MediaBezirgan), who describes himself as a "freelance reporter/producer" – is clearly no fan of Trudeau and accuses the PM of dismissing the genuine concerns of Muslim parents as the byproduct of far-right misinformation in his "somewhat evasive" answers.

That said, the exchange between the Muslim parent and Trudeau is mutually respectful and the two appear to shake hands at the end.

What's revealing in my view is that the video shows another example of how Trudeau routinely categorizes views different from his own as the result of right-wing disinformation, as opposed to the genuine views of Canadians who disagree with him.