Protesters blockading downtown Ottawa for almost three weeks were issued orders to leave immediately by patrolling police officers.
“You must leave the area now,” reads the flyer given to protesters on Wednesday, the 20th day of the capital-city blockade. “Anyone blocking streets, or assisting others in the blocking streets, are committing a criminal offence and you may be arrested.”
The notice was updated from one issued by police last week that was less forceful. It warns that a criminal charge could mean they are denied entry to the United States, their licences could be revoked and vehicles seized.
Police dropped the flyers on the windshields of trucks, campervans and other vehicles jamming the Ottawa core. Parents with children in the blockade are also being warned that they could be separated from their kids if police action begins.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
PROTEST
FEDS PROCEED WITH EMERGENCIES ACT POWERS – The federal government is pushing ahead with sweeping Emergencies Act powers that could ban gatherings around legislative buildings and national monuments, even as police announce resolutions of border blockades in Alberta and Manitoba. Story here.
CANADA BANKS TAKE MEASURE OF EMERGENCY POWERS – Canada’s largest banks held a flurry of meetings and calls on Tuesday as they tried to grasp how far the federal government expects them to go in wielding emergency powers to cut off financial support for blockades that have disrupted Ottawa and major border crossings. Story here.
RCMP HAS A MESSAGE FOR CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGES – The RCMP is asking cryptocurrency exchanges to stop facilitating transactions with cryptocurrency accounts connected to convoy protests. Story here.
TOW-TRUCK INDUSTRY PREDICTS RESISTANCE TO FORCED RECRUITMENT TO CLEAR BLOCKADES – The tow-truck industry says the federal government will be met with resistance if it tries to use Emergencies Act powers to force operators to clear blockades and protest sites against their will. Story here.
THIRTEEN PEOPLE FACE MURDER, WEAPONS, MISCHIEF CHARGES IN ALBERTA PROTEST – Four Alberta men are in custody accused of plotting to murder RCMP officers and nine other people are facing weapons and mischief offences as part of what RCMP say was a significant and organized threat by a heavily armed group at the Coutts border protest – and the first public steps in a continuing RCMP investigation into illegal activity at the blockade. Story here.
CROSBIE SUPPORTS FREEDOM CONVOY -The former leader of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Progressive Conservative party has donated money to the protest movement gripping parts of Ontario, saying he supports the Freedom Convoy’s calls for reduced public health restrictions. Story here from CBC.
MEANWHILE
INFLATION HITS THREE-DECADE HIGH – Canadian inflation hit a new three-decade high in January, heaping more pressure on the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates for the first time since the COVID-19 crisis started. Story here.
OTTAWA EASING BORDER RESTRICTIONS – Ottawa is easing border restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers, who soon will no longer be required to take a molecular COVID-19 test before arriving in the country, and dropping its recommendation that Canadians avoid international travel for non-essential purposes. Story here.
KENNEY CALLS BYELECTION – Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has called a by-election that will feature his own candidate campaigning to topple him as leader. Story here.
FORMER QUEBEC CABINET MINISTER COMES TO CHAREST’S DEFENCE – Former provincial cabinet minister Lise Thériault on Wednesday passionately defended the reputation of former Quebec premier Jean Charest, telling reporters that neither she nor her colleagues were “corrupt.” Story here from The Montreal Gazette.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, Feb.16, accessible here.
SENATE RETURNS – In a statement, the Senate speaker says the Senate is being recalled to sit on Friday, Feb. 18 at 10 a.m. for the consideration of public business and, in particular, the declaration of emergency made pursuant to the Emergencies Act. The Senate was supposed to return on Feb. 22.
BYRNE TAKING A BREAK FROM CURSE – Jenni Byrne is taking a break from the Curse of Politics podcast to help MP Pierre Poilievre’s bid to win the leadership of the federal Conservative Party. “For the first time in a while, I am actually back working on a campaign,” Ms. Byrne said in a video posted online. She said she thought it unfair to many people, including listeners and her co-hosts if she stayed on the podcast while she is more in a “campaign mode” than a “Jenny mode.” She added, “It’s not forever. It’s for the next few months.” The video is here.
JOLY TO GERMANY AND FRANCE – Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is travelling to Germany and France to reiterate Canada’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity with international partners. Her trip, which begins Feb. 17 includes attendance at the Munich Security Conference, the world’s largest conference on security, and meetings with French Foreign Minister Le Drian. Ms. Joly returns on Feb. 22.
Q&A -FORMER RCMP DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ON THE CHALLENGE FOR POLICE IN OTTAWA – Pierre-Yves Bourduas, a former RCMP deputy commissioner of federal, international and protective policing, who lives in the nation’s capital, speaks to the challenge facing police in Ottawa as they move to deal with protesters.
Q-What challenge do the police face dealing with these protesters in Ottawa that they may not have faced elsewhere in Canada?
A-It’s the urban environment first and foremost. If you recall, the Windsor police took 48 hours to clear a large street. It was pretty much an open area. They had lots of officers. They managed to control the crowd. Ottawa? It’s a whole different dynamic. You don’t have a single leader. You have different leaders, with different profiles, and that is what is going to be the challenge tactically and strategically for police who are going to deploy and eventually have to clear these areas.
Police officers have to factor in extremist views that have been expressed by some of the organizers. And you have an additional layer of complexity because you have children involved. Things could become volatile and could be out of the control of parents or police officers.
Q-What challenge will the children present?
A-Tear gas, for example. This could create a problem. It’s volatile. All over the country, people will be watching the way this unfolds. Police will have to be as diplomatic as possible, avoid confrontation.
Q-How will police deal with some of the challenges you mentioned in terms of moving through this urban environment filled with trucks?
A-Intelligence. They have had 20 days to observe who are the movers and shakers in this siege, and now they will have to act on hopefully very accurate intel and decide what kind of action they should put in place to bring this to a successful and hopefully peaceful solution.
Q-The West Block of Parliament is full of MPs, staff, journalists, probably into the wee hours. What complication does Parliament Hill raise in all of this because people are coming and going?
A-If I were in charge of the strategic deployment, I would deploy when you have the least number of people around, for a number of reasons. You want, maybe, to resort to the surprise element. If you need to act, you need to act quickly. The problem is the big trucks that are jamming the Parliament. That should have never ever been allowed. These trucks should have never been allowed to move on Wellington.
Q-How concerned are you about the volatile nature of the whole thing?
A-I am very concerned. I will not hide that fact. There are some elements that are quite radical there. It’s the fragmentation and the elements within this siege that trouble me because there are elements that have clearly and publically declared they wouldn’t hesitate to resort to violence if need be. That’s why I am deeply concerned about what I am looking at.
Q-As someone who lives in the Ottawa region, how has this protest affected you? Have you been down to see it yourself?
A-Every weekend, since it started. The first weekend, I skated down the Rideau Canal to observe what was going on. I was completely baffled by seeing police officers not reacting to the anarchy to a certain point. This thing started going sideways from the first weekend. Police were never able to regain any control because of passive policing.
Last weekend, I gave a television interview for the Telejournal, and we did it on the street in front of CBC on Queen Street. I was with a seasoned journalist. And we had two bodyguards. We were yelled at around the issue of fake news. One of the protesters approached me, yelled in my face while I was doing the interview. He came about two or three inches from my face to yell at me. I experienced first-hand how this has been a total loss of control and anarchy for the downtown people. I empathize with them and this thing needs to come to an end, hopefully peacefully.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
THE DECIBEL – On Wednesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Globe sports reporter, Rachel Brady, in Beijing covering the Olympics, talks about why the Canada and the U.S women’s hockey teams keep meeting in the finals – it’s the sixth time these teams have met in an Olympic final – what needs to be done for women’s hockey to continue to grow and why there are still so few opportunities outside of the Olympics for these elite athletes.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings. The Prime Minister attended the national caucus meeting, was scheduled to attend Question Period, and also chair a meeting of the Incident Response Group on the continuing blockades.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet held a news conference, and attended Question Period.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh attended the NDP national caucus meeting, then held a news conference. He also attended Question Period.
No schedule released for other party leaders.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Boardon how, if this is a national emergency, make it limited, localized and brief: “The Ottawa occupation must be resolved and removed. But reasonable people can ask whether police already have enough legal tools to do that. To the extent the use of the Emergencies Act is carefully tailored to the time, place and scope of the illegal activity targeted, it may be justified. The threat currently appears relatively small, and highly localized. Within seven sitting days, the Trudeau government must come before Parliament with a motion to confirm the declaration of emergency. It could be in a position to close the book on the act even sooner.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on how, in Question Period, an unprecedented step meets routine politics: “It’s high time that something be done about the blockades. But you would expect the opposition to demand to know the basis on which this extraordinary step had been taken. You might think the Prime Minister would make a stirring statement to justify it. You should hope the Justice Minister, David Lametti, would be forced to stand up to defend, in detail, the legal basis for this move. You might expect the opposition to grill the government about those important legalistic things because the answers have to be heard. But Parliament didn’t live up to those expectations.”
Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail)on how, by invoking the Emergencies Act, the feds go from no action to the nuclear option: “It is true that the situation in downtown Ottawa is much more complicated. There are kids among the protesters, and potentially, also a cache of deadly weapons. The police are outnumbered, and it’s not easy to clear a site where protesters are holed up in 10-tonne semis, especially when tow truck operators have refused to haul away the trucks out of concerns over retribution. No one should be under any illusions that there is a simple solution to an occupation that has been years in the making, particularly when extremists have committed to staying put until the government has been ousted and replaced. But the complexity of the situation doesn’t in and of itself justify the federal government’s decision to opt for one of the most extreme options it has at its disposal.”
Irwin Cotler and Yonah Diamond (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how Beijing’s Games of Shame show how far China’s government has fallen: “What we were already witnessing in 2001 and 2008 was China’s pervasive assaults on human rights, which fly in the face of the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.What we are seeing today, as China hosts the games for a second time in 14 years, is the utter betrayal and abandonment of the Olympic Charter.”
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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
