Phil Dabbles in International Law, Slow Head-Shaking Ensues

Phil McColeman, in addition to doing virtually nothing over the past year, has now decided that he is an EXPERT in international and constitutional law. He gave a speech about the so-called "Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act", a law that became subject to a constitutional challenge the day after it became law.

First, Phil says that Canada should strip anyone of citizenship if he or she engages in terrorism. Okay. Terrorists commit terrible acts, true. Terrorism should be condemned in all its forms, true. But at the same time, it is literally illegal under international human rights law to make a person without any citizenship. You simply cannot turn someone into a stateless refugee. But human rights, that's never bothered Phil or the Conservatives.

(BTW, the only reason that Phil was not around Parliament during the recent tragic shooting was because he left for work at 10:00 a.m. that day #stopthegravytrain).

Second, Phil says that CSIS should be able to spy in foreign countries, and that the Canadian constitution is the only relevant law in such a situation. Mm-hm. So don't know if you've heard about this new idea that's been around since, oh, about 1648, and it's called "sovereignty". It's the idea that one country can't just go barging around in another country without the latter's permission. But it's all gravy, Phil says, because democracy-lovin' Canada doesn't like the governments in the countries whose sovereignty we'd be violating. So if the government of a democractic country like Benin decided to send its secret police into Canada to start snooping around, without telling the Canadian government, Phil would be totally fine with that. Or if a country like, say, Russia decided to start rustling up trouble in a country like, say, Ukraine, Phil would be totally fine with that too.

P.S. Thanks Phil for reminding us that terrorism is bad. You want a cookie? Great. Now please stop blowing smoke and start addressing substantive issues like Ontario's sagging economy or environmental damage and global warming.

Will Phil waste YOUR tax dollars on attack ads?

Wow... we've been quiet on this blog for a while!  That's in part because Phil McColeman has been quiet too.

For example, Phil was quiet when some of his Conservative colleagues spoke out against being muzzled by Prime Minister Harper in the House of Commons.  Did Phil join them?  Absolutely not!  Phil is still repeating the same old drivel that is, in all likelihood, written by 22-year-old staffers in the PMO (e.g. see this speech, and this speech, and this speech.... etc. ad nauseam).  In this blog, we have already compared Phil's efficacy as a Member of Parliament to that of a fire hydrant.  For the time being, it appears that neither the fire hydrant nor the Honourable Member for Brant has any intention of changing its inanimate ways.

But on to more exciting matters.  Prime Minister Harper recently announced that you, the hard-working, taxpaying, country-loving citizen, are going to be paying 100% of the costs of a new Conservative Party initiative: attack ads targeting Justin Trudeau.

Your tax dollars at work

Now, we here at this non-partisan blog remember a time when the Conservatives preached respect for the taxpayer, and we applauded that line.  Several Conservative MPs apparently still respect the taxpayer, and have spoken out against using taxpayer dollars to pay for these attack ads.  These MPs are refusing to mail the taxpayer-funded attack ads to their constituents.

The issue facing Phil today is: will he stand with his principled colleagues and refuse to mail out these taxpayer-funded attack ads?  Or is he going to continue to play the part of the fire hydrant, the muzzled MP, and obey the Prime Minister?

Phil McColeman Attempts to Reopen Abortion Debate

Yesterday, Phil McColeman stood up in Parliament and said this:

Mr. Speaker, I have six petitions to present from my constituents asking the House of Commons to determine when a fetus becomes a human being.

In essence, he was asking the Canadian government to reopen the abortion debate. He did not have to present the petitions, he chose to present the petitions.

The optics of this alone are fantastic. A middle-aged white guy standing up in Parliament and trying to overturn decades of progress for women’s rights. Amazing. Bravo. Somebody give this guy a medal. Somebody name a park after him.

This is not the first time I have wondered: What. On. Earth. Is. Phil. McColeman. Thinking?!?!?!?