@dharrison #PaulWells is probably the best reporter for #CanPol .

Many serious people are calling for an independent review of Beijing's involvement in Canadian elections. Amon them:

"But I was surprised to see Artur Wilczynski in the mix. I know him as a former Canadian ambassador to Norway. I didn’t know he went to the Canadian Security Establishment afterward. He doesn’t really market himself as a source or pundit on these matters, so I read this as coming from the heart."

https://paulwells.substack.com/p/things-to-do-in-ottawa-when-youre

#PaulWells #CanPol #cdnpoli

@david_megginson Maybe the OPS had the capacity to clear the protesters in the first few days, but they didn't plan to. #PaulWells discussed this on his Substack; I could find the post if you'd like.

I take your point about the hashtag, but I'm not sure what would be better. The "Freedom Convoy" was what it was called at the time, and most other terms seem insufficiently specific. Do you have a suggestion?

Finally, I thought the 24/7 honking ceased after the injunction. Is that wrong?

@robcinos I follow the #CBC #AtIssue panel and #CBCRadio #TheHouse as podcasts.

Others that I've considered following would include #TheLine ( https://theline.substack.com/podcast ) and #PaulWells ( https://paulwells.substack.com/s/the-paul-wells-show-podcast ); but I'm far behind in my podcast queue at present.

#CanPol (That's the hashtag that was mostly used on Mastodon prior to October 2022.)

@davidakin It's always worth reading #PaulWells on #canpol .

@josephby So you're a subscriber to the #PaulWells Substack? Do you find that it's worth the $50 annual subscription?

@josephby
> the poor guy simply isn't that bright.

How so? I can think of several ways you might mean that comment, and it's not clear to me which is intended.

(I happen to have just read the comments of #PaulWells about #BillMorneau 's book at https://paulwells.substack.com/p/morneau-on-trudeau-sorely-lacking )

#canpol

@gemlog @keithzg

If #ErinOToole had moved to the centre and had won, he would have been forgiven his inconsistency. But when he lost...

#PaulWells had an anonymous source who explained the tipping point:

“No matter what position you have” on the truckers, “he had it too,” the MP said. “Nobody believes the guy any more.”

https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/erin-otoole-and-the-multiverse-of-madness/​

#canpol

"Charest and Poilievre will ask Conservatives two different questions. Charest’s is: Are you tired of losing yet? Poilievre’s is: Are you tired of leaders who will say anything to win, and then don’t even win?"

#PaulWells

"I feel comfortable saying that among current Conservative members, the we-miss-Joe crowd are outnumbered by the climate-change-is-Davos-socialism crowd.""

At least one #Tory isn't in either crowd.

https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/what-goes-around-comes-around-and-its-name-is-charest/

#JeanCharest #PierrePoilievre
#canpol
#Macleans

@emacsen As to #ErinOToole, the most cutting criticism within the party was neither that he was too right-wing, nor that he was too centrist. His biggest problem was a perception that he was trying to have things both ways. (I've posted many links on this recently; the #PaulWells one is probably best.)

Of course, if he had done better in the last general election, all would have been forgiven. Doing worse than #AndrewScheer, who had a poor campaign, made the knives come out.

@louisrcouture Il ne faut pas se fier à la façon dont les partisans de M. O'Toole décrivent ses adversaires. Ses opinions sur l'avortement ne sont pas nouvelles, et ne sont pas la raison directe pour ses malheurs actuels.

Moi, je mets plus de confiance dans l'analyse de #PaulWells :

“No matter what position you have” on the truckers, “he had it too,” the MP said. “Nobody believes the guy any more.”

https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/erin-otoole-and-the-multiverse-of-madness/

#canpol

That was from #PaulWells, at https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/erin-otoole-and-the-multiverse-of-madness/

(I must take a moment to correct for the record the claim that #BrianMulroney went to Dal; he went to #StFX and then #UniversitéLaval . We all make mistakes.)

What do I think? I 'm not sure. #ErinOToole isn't winning plaudits from me at the moment; but I'm not sure how he should have handled the #convoy , and I don't see who would be better as a replacement leader.

#canpol
#Macleans

"Third: those calling on governments to do something, now including members of the federal governing caucus, are sometimes short of ideas about what, precisely, to do. Federal lawyers in a court challenge could make no argument that hasn’t already been made—and, largely, rejected by the frustrated Judge Blanchard."

#PaulWells

https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/and-now-the-inevitable-bill-21-fight/

#Loi21 #polqc
#Macleans

According to #PaulWells , the #JustinTrudeau ministry is setting up two cabinet committees: Cabinet Committee on Economy, Inclusion and Climate ‘A’ and Cabinet Committee on Economy, Inclusion and Climate ‘B’. They have identical mandates. Bizarre.

https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/the-climate-committee-double-double/

#Macleans
#canpol

That was #PaulWells in #Macleans , in that paragraph commenting on #ErinOToole . He doesn't mention that Mr. O'Toole won the #Conservative leadership claiming to be a "True Blue".

https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/a-wins-a-win/

Personally, I can live with the centrist policies, but Mr. O'Toole's willingness to bend to the desires of the government of #Québec distasteful. Québec should cancel its own income tax system, not take over federal collection. The law about religious garments is foolish, etc.

#canpol #qcpol

Because this is the sort of man Mr. Trudeau is: verbally intelligent, good at making gestures and sounding like a statesman, but weak at planning and achieving. And at the same time unwilling to delegate to people with the strengths he lacks.

#PaulWells in #Macleans has many good inside stories of how Mr. Trudeau runs his ministry.

#canpol

#PaulWells in #Macleans
"[T]he Trudeau government is plainly skittish about discussing [NORAD modernisation], because it touches on taboo topics like ballistic missile defence (“Bush’s Star Wars”), 21st-century jet fighter capability (see assorted Canadian governments’ procurement horrors passim ad infinitum), and what for the Prime Minister is the eternally vexing question of Canada’s attitude toward China."

https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/the-biden-trudeau-talk-build-back-whatever/

#canpol #NORAD #uspol

"Consider, as this judge would, that Legault’s government could have sought the approval of a majority of provinces, but didn’t bother. That it could have sought the approval of Parliament, but didn’t bother. I don’t think there’s much to be worried about here."

It's rare that #PaulWells says anything good about PM #JustinTrudeau , so the fact he endorses the feds' low-key approach to #ProjetDeLoi96 is interesting.

#canpol #polqc
#Macleans

That was #PaulWells of #Macleans commenting about the federal budget's proposal for a new childcare programme. It's also a judgement on PM #JustinTrudeau .

#canpol

@keithzg There are lots of reasons to dislike the Prime Minister. Personally I find the posts of #PaulWells on #Macleans the most convincing regarding Mr. Trudeau's leadership and character.

Anyway, I don't regret following the @ezralevant@mstdn.foxfam.club feed. Mostly sane, but a wildly different point of view from the radio and newspapers.

#canpol