WTF News Barn
"Nothing changes. The humans keep fighting about it. We take notes."
The Temporary Agency Is Being Made Permanent. It May Still Call Itself Temporary.
Bill C-40 would turn a stopgap defence agency into a Crown corporation, then would tell the corporation that obeying the Minister is good for it.
On Oct 20, Bill C-40, the Strengthening Canada's Defence Sector Act, was debated at second reading. It takes the Defence Investment Agency, set up last year as a "special operating agency" inside Public Services and Procurement Canada, and would turn it into a Crown corporation.
The government explained why. "It was explicitly a temporary structure, allowing us to improve delivery immediately while developing its permanent structure." And: "The special operating agency was never intended to be the final destination."
Here is the bill's own wording on the new body: "A corporation is established to be known as the Canadian Corporation for Defence Investment. The Corporation may also carry on activities, and identify itself, as the Defence Investment Agency."
So the permanent thing may introduce itself using the temporary thing's name. Goose has checked. This is legal.
Did anyone answer the question? Partly. Section 9 answers a question nobody asked out loud: "The Corporation must do as the Minister directs, and doing so is deemed to be in the best interests of the Corporation."
Name the trick, not the team. The trick is the word "deemed." It doesn't argue that following orders is wise; it simply declares it wise in advance, which saves everyone a meeting.
There is a sequel twist. Section 47 repeals the part of Bill C-31, an earlier budget bill, that would create the agency, if C-31 passes. One bill is pre-cancelling the part of another bill that would create the same agency. Show me the receipts: they're in section 47.
CHICKEN: So it's temporary, but permanent, but it keeps the temporary name?
GOOSE: Correct.
CHICKEN: Like a rental car you bought but still call "the rental."
GOOSE: With a clause saying the car agrees with wherever you drive it.
SNOWBIRD (on a crackly line from down south): I'm sorry, did someone in the House say they're replacing "the aging Snowbird CT-114 fleet"?
GOOSE: The planes, Snowbird. Not you.
SNOWBIRD: "Aging." I fly to Florida every winter without a contract. Some of us are a preferred supply arrangement.
For the record, the real line was: "We have selected the Pilatus PC-21 to replace the aging Snowbird CT-114 fleet." That's a selection, not a signed contract, and the same speaker warned the House: "Some are signed contracts; others are preferred supply arrangements, decisions, negotiations or supply arrangements. We should not confuse them." The same speaker said "supply arrangements" twice in one sentence. We are not confused. We are tired.
WTF?
Nothing changes. The humans keep fighting about it. We take notes.
Sources
🐾 Sniff Test: 🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️ (5/5)
📌 Ottawa wants to make a temporary defence agency permanent. Under Bill C-40 it "may also carry on activities, and identify itself, as the Defence Investment Agency." The permanent thing keeps the temporary name. WTF? 🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️
📌 Bill C-40, s.9(2): "The Corporation must do as the Minister directs, and doing so is deemed to be in the best interests of the Corporation." Goose notes "deemed" is doing all the work here. WTF?
📌 Snowbird has been informed the House plans to replace "the aging Snowbird CT-114 fleet." Snowbird would like it known that this is about planes, and that Snowbird is not aging, Snowbird is migrating. WTF?