How does a bill become law? That’s a ‘gotcha question,’ says Doug Ford

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The call is coming from inside Quebec:

Quebec Debout makes its debut. That’s what the seven MPs who quit the Bloc Québécois because of leader Martine Ouellet’s separation fixation are calling themselves. It means “standing up,” for those of us who practice Canadian bilingualism more in breach than in action. [iPolitics story]

Look, doggos:

To lock down Charlevoix, Que., for the G7 summit next month, the feds are flying in a pack of German shepherds and a few thousand police officers. The politicians are being kept well away from any protestors, who will have to hoist their signs a hundred kilometres and more south in Quebec City. You may recall how wonderfully the security measures at the Toronto G20 in 2010 panned out. [Canadian Press story]

Ontarians’ votes will be counted by the clammy, lifeless hands of machines as the provincial election authority institutes a technological balloting setup. [Canadian Press story]

Meanwhile, Doug Ford celebrated the eve of his two-month PC anniversary yesterday by labelling a reporter’s request to plot how legislation gets out into the real world a “gotcha question.” He’s gotcha answer too, or an answer, at least: “We’re going to pass endless bills.” [HuffPost story]

Premier Kathleen Wynne officially kicked off the campaign on Ford’s home turf, in Etobicoke, while the NDP’s Andrea Horwath appeared at a health clinic in downtown Toronto.

Right in front of you all along:

Jean Bédard, the acting chair of the dispute-adjudicating Canadian International Trade Tribunal, gets to keep his job for good, or at least until 2020. He’s the second stopgap appointee in as many days that the government has confirmed in place. [Tweet]

The ethics committee continues its hearings on the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica fandango today. Appearing are the U.K.’s information commissioner, who has been watching the proceedings ici with interest, Google Canada’s (lobbying registry-registered) public policy head and Jim Balsillie, ex of BlackBerry and now chair of the main domestic tech interest group.

Insert polite Canadians joke:

Marilyn Gladu wondered whether the Prime Minister is saying “sorry” too much, after he announced an impending apology for the turning away of a boat of Jewish refugees fleeing Germany in 1939. (The expressions of regret have each been warranted, but their frequency could lead some to question their sincerity, she noted). [Canadian Press story, Canadian Press story]

Scott Gilmore has his own take on all this sorry-saying: it’s a distraction. “[S]incerity will not right past wrongs,” he writes. “Even worse, it just reduces the pressure to prevent future ones.” [Maclean’s column]

Later in the day, Erin O’Toole and Justin Trudeau had a little QP tussle over whether or not Canada should be fronting on the world stage. The word “swagger,” which should not by rights be in the vocabulary of men of their age and pallor, was used more than once. [Tweet]

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Meanwhile, in non-political news:

Happy birthday!

May 10 is a historic day in the long life of Canada. On this day in 1534, Jacques Cartier reportedly sighted Newfoundland. In 1841, Halifax became a city. In 1970, Bobby Orr scored his famous Stanley Cup-winning goal.

When Orr led his Boston Bruins to the promised land, a young Scott Brison was celebrating his third birthday. The president of the Treasury Board, born in Canada’s centennial year, turns 51 today. HBD, TBP.

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