Friday, February 19, 2021

From the Most Corrupt and Opaque Governments Ever Re-Elected

And, just like that, we were always at war with Eastasia:

A Liberal MP has asked the Speaker of the House of Commons to strike a former Liberal caucus member's comments from the official record after he made a statement he said "impinged on the reputation" of Sikh MPs. 

Ramesh Sangha, who was removed from his party's caucus last month, read a statement before question period today accusing Sikh MPs of pressuring the government in 2018 to have the term "Khalistani extremism" removed from the 2018 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat in Canada.

Sangha said the Sikh MPs — he did not name them — had a "hidden agenda" to "camouflage" the names of Sikhs linked to the Khalistani extremist movement.

The Khalistani movement is a Sikh independence movement that seeks to establish an independent Sikh state called Khalistan.

Sangha, who said he was a "proud Sikh," said the other Sikh MPs who successfully lobbied the Liberal government to change the report compromised national security, pandered to extremist views and undermined national security.

(Sidebar: more here.)

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The Conservatives are pledging to keep fighting for the release of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine contracts – despite the Liberals filibustering a health committee meeting in a bid to keep them secret.

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The Commons by a 202-115 vote yesterday rejected a private bill to outlaw “green” expropriations of private land without a public hearing. “My goal is to protect the property rights of average Canadians,” said Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew-Nipissing, Ont.), sponsor of the bill.

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Feature, not a bug:

A federal system promising Canadians access to government secrets is “on the brink,” Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard last night told the Commons government operations committee. Maynard contradicted claims by the Prime Minister that Access To Information is better than ever: “It is on the brink of being unable to be fixed.”

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Looking out for Number One:

An Ontario MPP who was recently kicked out of Premier Doug Ford's caucus for calling lockdowns "deadlier than COVID" introduced a private member's bill Wednesday that would slash MPP salaries to $500 per week so elected officials can "appreciate the consequences" of shutdowns.

Just guess the outcome.

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Just like with the budget, there are no answers:

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra yesterday said he saw no quick conclusion to talks with airlines on a $7 billion pandemic bailout. “I’m not able to prejudge the outcome yet,” Alghabra told the Commons transport committee: “I’m not able to give a specific date.”



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