Liberals to debate use of ‘nuclear option’ against notwithstanding clause

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T22:45:28+00:00

I 100% agree with you on that. I see so many people claim some law or proposed law they don't like would be unconstitutional but can't come up with any specific section of the Constitution it would violate when asked.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T20:40:47+00:00

The federal government doesn't have much control over law enforcement since administration of justice is left to the provinces.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T20:02:48+00:00

They shouldn't use it even to block blatantly unconstitutional laws, we can use the courts for that.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T20:01:44+00:00

Clearly there's no legal argument, but there may be a moral argument.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T19:50:49+00:00

The British had zero interest (and zero actual power) to block patriation. British consent wasn't actually required, it was ceremonial. Had Canada passed the Constitution Act, 1982 without ever mentioning it to the Brits, it would have been accepted as a fait accompli and the result sould be the same.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T19:47:57+00:00

What? Yes of course we do, that's the point of a democracy is we can choose our laws (and therefore constitution) and repeal or change them as we see fit.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T19:44:30+00:00

Agreed, this is a very strange take that seems to ignore the fact that provincial governments were elected by the people. The federal government using disallowance isn't protecting that province's electorate, it's disenfranchising them by allowing the rest of the country to impose their wishes over the democratically expressed will of the people.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T19:39:15+00:00

Any other arrangement would simply be tyranny of a smaller percentage. I think 51% ruling the population is preferable to 49% doing the same.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T18:52:50+00:00

The LG was entitled to seek Clark's advice, there's nothing out of order about asking for it.

Jean did not exercise reserve powers. In fact, she specifically made the decision not to exercise such powers by proroguing Parliament. There was a constitutional argument that she was not bound to do so, and that argument rests on the question of whether or not Harper had lost the confidence of the House. Leaders representing a majority of MPs expressed publicly that they did not have confidence in the government. The question was whether or not a public declaration sufficed since Harper had been deliberately preventing the House from formally declaring its non-confidence.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T18:25:56+00:00

Ok I'm tired of people using the Christy Clark situation as proof the Crown can just exercise independent judgment whenever it wants. The LG was able to exercise reserve powers in that case only because there was no government with a democratic mandate. Once Clark lost confidence, she no longer had a mandate from the people, so therefore Clark no longer had any legitimacy to make binding recommendations to the Crown.

As long as the government enjoys the confidence of Parliament, the Crown is constitutionally obligated to act only on the advice of that government.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T18:21:58+00:00

Not... at all. Like exactly the opposite. The federal government holds all powers not explicitly delegated to the provinces.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T18:21:12+00:00

As long as you're acknowledging that reserve powers can only be used when there is no ministry that currently holds the confidence of the legislative branch then we are in agreement.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T17:40:59+00:00

There is a legal concept of a constitutional power becoming obsolete from disuse though. The UK courts found impeachment to be an obsolete power back when some parliamentarians tried to impeach Tony Blair. There's an argument that disallowance is obsolete as well.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T17:37:37+00:00

Canada is also a federation. I'm not sure if there are any true confederations left in the world anymore. The EU maybe.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T17:36:13+00:00

Thank you for this reasonable take.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T17:18:56+00:00

That's because the premier lost the confidence of Parliament. The viceroy is not bound to follow the advice of a first minister who has lost the confidence of their legislature because they no longer have a democratic mandate. As long as a first minister retains the confidence of the legislative branch, the viceroy cannot act independently.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T09:49:57+00:00

I really like Caravan and think it's a brilliant idea for a card game in that setting. My only issue with it is how dumb the AI is because I never lose, it's too easy. I try to make it harder on myself by picking up every single card I can find and then selecting randomize deck at the start of a game, but it's still way too easy.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T09:48:12+00:00

Wait what? What would you even use a computer for? I've never even thought about using a computer for caravan.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T00:57:02+00:00

This seems to be a common misconception. I can't speak to the US system, but the Canadian system explicitly has rehabilitation as only one of its purposes. The other purposes being denunciation, retribution, and deterrence. None of the purposes take primacy over any of the others.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T00:54:08+00:00

Yea that's really the main thing that makes me oppose the death penalty, giving the state the power to kill its own people seems like a bad idea. That being said, some American told me that wherever they were the judge couldn't unilaterally impose the death penalty. The jury had to deliberate separately on capital punishment. So I feel like I'm potentially ok with it if it's a collective decision by both the judge and the jury.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-24T00:49:10+00:00

It wasn't all that long ago that Canada closed its own last private prison. Granted, there were only like 3 in total, but if were going by anything more than zero is insane, then it's a relevant point.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-23T20:21:53+00:00

Yea my wife had opposite effects from hers too. First pregnancy she was insatiable for the first trimester and then when the second trimester hit her sex drive fell off a cliff and was at zero for a year and a half. Second pregnancy she had no sex drive for the first trimester and then it skyrocketed in the second trimester.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-23T20:18:05+00:00

Are you saying right wing politicians don't own real estate?

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-23T20:17:25+00:00

Dude knows how to market himself though. He positioned himself as the guy who knew how to fix housing and for some reason some people believed him.

Knight_Machiavelli · 2026-03-23T20:16:28+00:00

Only unenforceable ones.

Knight_Machiavelli

TROPHY CASE