Ottawa

Maxime Bernier Chessmaster Watch

The maverick backbencher manages the neat trick of stating his opposition to the government’s plans for a national securities regulator, while preemptively blaming the Quebec government if such a thing is allowed to proceed by the Supreme Court.

It was thus with full knowledge of the facts that they gave provinces jurisdiction over that sector. Nothing has changed fundamentally since then that would justify transferring this jurisdiction to the federal government.

In its arguments to the Court of appeal, Quebec’s attorney general offers no reply to his federal counterpart on any of these points. He provides none of the arguments that would be necessary to win this cause, and so risks losing it.

If that were to happen, nobody will be able to say this time that Quebec’s powers were weakened by another illegal assault from Ottawa, since our government did everything it could to follow constitutional due process. It will entirely be Quebec’s fault.

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