Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Russian President Vladimir Putin has “launched the greatest threat to European stability since the Second World War” with his invasion of Ukraine, and announced new sanctions in response.
“Canada is unequivocal in our condemnation of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on the sovereign, democratic state of Ukraine,” Mr. Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa.
He said he had just spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and told him about the “strong action” announced in Ottawa.
The Prime Minister said new sanctions will target 58 individuals and entities, including “members of the Russian elite” as well as the Wagner Group, a private Russian military contractor with close connections to the Kremlin, as well as major Russian banks.
He also said Canada will sanction members of the Russian Security Council, including the ministers of defence, finance and justice.
Mr. Trudeau also said Canada is ceasing all export permits for Russia – a measure that Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says is worth $700-million – and cancelling existing permits.
The Prime Minister said the “wide-reaching” sanctions “will impose severe costs on complicit Russian elites and they will limit President Putin’s ability to continue funding this unjustified invasion.”
Asked about directly sanctioning President Putin, Mr. Trudeau turned the question over to Ms. Joly, who did not directly answer, but said more sanctions are coming. “It is important for us to act as one,” she said.
Canada is also moving to arrange safe passage for Canadians and permanent residents and their families at land borders with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldava and “urgently issuing” travel documents for affected Canadians, permanent residents and their immediate family members.
Mr. Trudeau also said Canada is prioritizing immigration applications for Ukrainians who want to come to Canada.
In a statement, Conservative Party Leader Candice Bergen, leader of the official opposition, said President Putin’s “contemptible aggression” and invasion of Ukraine is unacceptable.
“Autocrats like Putin should and will be judged harshly. Conservatives stand ready to defend the rules-based international order against these grievous violations of international law.”
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
UKRAINE
CANADIAN DIPLOMATS EVACUATED – Canada has evacuated all its diplomats from Ukraine, including ambassador Larisa Galadza, as Russia’s invasion proceeds. Story here.
UKRAINIANS FLEE AS INVASION BEGINS – The highways out of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities were jammed with traffic on Thursday, as thousands of Ukrainians fled their homes in the first hours after a Russian invasion of their country began. Story here.
UKRAINE INVASION FUELS INFLATION – The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sent energy and agricultural prices soaring, adding to global inflationary pressures and putting central banks around the world in a delicate position as they embark on a much-anticipated rate hike cycle. Story here.
CANADA’S SANCTION TOOLKIT – Earlier this week, Canada warnedit had a package of additional sanctions ready to impose on Russia if Moscow proceeds with a further invasion of Ukraine. Story here.
PLANNED SANCTIONS BOOST SOME FORTUNES – Planned sanctions against Russia are boosting the fortunes of domestic farmers, miners and fertilizer producers. Story here.
UPDATES – Watch here for the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
PROTESTS
USE OF THE EMERGENCIES ACT ENDS – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is ending the use of the Emergencies Act because the federal government has been assured that police have sufficient tools to deal with any further challenges. Story here.
BANK ACCOUNTS UNFROZEN – Canada’s banks have unfrozen most accounts belonging to customers who were linked to illegal blockades, an industry group said, restoring access to financial services that was cut off for dozens of people under emergency powers last week as a tool to put pressure on protesters to leave downtown Ottawa. Story here.
MEANWHILE
MILITIARY OFFICER FACES SEX-ASSAULT CHARGES – A senior military officer in Ottawa has been charged with five counts of sexual assault against at least four alleged victims, according to court documents obtained by The Globe and Mail. The documents say Lieutenant-Commander Robert Waller is charged in connection with alleged incidents in Ottawa and the United States between April, 2016, and the spring of 2018. Story here.
CALL FOR MEETING AFTER ATTACK ON B.C. PIPELINE WORKERS – A group of nearly 120 members of the Wet’suwet’en Nation in British Columbia are calling for an emergency meeting with hereditary leaders after last Thursday’s attack on workers at a construction camp for a controversial natural gas pipeline in the north of the province. Story here.
MORE MONEY FOR ALBERTA HEALTH: KENNEY – Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says the provincial budget will include an unprecedented blitz of health-care spending powered by a roaring, re-energized economy. As he announced $1.8-billion in long-term spending Wednesday to increase beds, operating rooms and labs at the Red Deer Regional Hospital, he said the announcement is the vanguard of a monumental health-spending package coming Thursday in the 2022-23 budget. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – The House is adjourned until Feb. 28, 2022 at 11:00 a.m.
SUPREME COURT JUSTICE STEPS DOWN – Justice Michael Moldaver is retiring from the Supreme Court of Canada on Sept. 1. “Justice Moldaver has made exceptional contributions to Canadian jurisprudence, particularly in the area of criminal law,” Chief Justice Richard Wagner said in a statement announcing the resignation. “Canadians have benefited from his humanity and deep commitment to fair and just results. His colleagues and I have profited from his wisdom, warm collegiality and wit. We wish him a very happy retirement.” Justice Moldaver was later appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in October, 2011.
JOHN TURNER BIOGRAPHY IN THE WORKS – TVO anchor and host Steve Paikin has finished the first draft of a biography of former prime minister John Turner, who died in September, 2020, and turned it in to his publishers Sutherland House Press. The book is to be released later this year. “In a nutshell, the book tries to make the point that Turner was so much more than the 70-odd days that he was PM, particularly in the last decade of his life when he became one of Canada’s great champions of democracy,” Mr. Paikin, anchor of The Agenda on TVO, said in an e-mail exchange. “He had an utterly unique political career and life. Not three acts as most politicians have but more like six. I hope I’ve done his story justice.” Mr. Turner, who served as a cabinet minister under Pierre Trudeau, was prime minister himself from June to September, 1984. He was succeeded, as prime minister, by Brian Mulroney. Mr. Turner was also official opposition leader from 1984 to 1990. Mr. Paikin said there is no confirmed title yet for his biography. He noted that he knew Mr. Turner fairly well. “Our birthdays were two days apart so we celebrated together at an annual lunch. I covered his 1984 comeback into politics and was at the convention. So I have first person observations I think others may not have had.”
THE DECIBEL – On Thursday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Atlantic Canada reporter Greg Mercer talks about the the inquiry into the mass shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia, that killed 22 people. Mr. Mercer will explain the criticism families and politicians have of the inquiry and what we’ve learned about the shooting and its perpetrator since it happened. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings. The Prime Minister participated in a G7 Leader’s meeting hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and held a news conference on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Thursday evening, the Prime Minister was scheduled, in Edmonton, to participate in a roundtable with leaders from the Black community. Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault and Women’s Minister Marci Ien were also scheduled to attend.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves François Blanchet, in Quebec City, meets with Mayor Bruno Marchand, then holds a news conference at city hall.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Toronto, toured a United Association Local 46 Training Facility, held a press conference, and met with the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association. He was also scheduled to speak to a meeting of the NDP federal council.
No schedule released for other party leaders.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Boardon the Emergencies Act ending not with a bang, but with a whimper: “The Trudeau government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act, nearly a week and a half ago, may have been a mistake. It may have been unconstitutional. It may have been an attempt to turn crisis into political opportunity, and it may have gone beyond what was required to keep the peace and uphold the law. For years to come, people will debate whether there was an emergency on Feb. 14. But there can be no doubt that, by the start of this week, it was over. As such, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did right by the country, and saved himself a world of political pain, by abruptly revoking powers his government had given itself nine days earlier, and which it had pushed through the House of Commons just 44 hours earlier.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is eager to stop talking about the Emergencies Act and talk about blockades instead: “From a purely political perspective, it was obvious that Mr. Trudeau had to revoke the Emergencies Act orders quickly. With each passing day, the political debate was more about the Emergencies Act, and potential overreach, and less about what the Liberals want it to be about: the blockades and whether they had to be broken up. Most Canadians, opinion polls told us pretty convincingly, were against the blockades, and wanted police to shut them down. But using the Emergencies Act? That’s likely to have more opponents. Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, the front-runner for the party’s leadership, has de-emphasized his support for the convoys while working up social-media attacks on the Emergencies Act.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail)on the Emergencies Act as nine days that didn’t really shake the world all that much: “Federalizing the operation seemed to set in motion things that were not moving under either the city or the province. That’s unfortunate – we shouldn’t be invoking the Emergencies Act unless strictly necessary. Had the police acted before, it would not have been necessary. But they didn’t, so it was. Perhaps in the mandatory inquiry to follow we will learn why they did not act before; remedies can be put in place to ensure the feds do not have to step in again. But in the here and now that option was unavailable.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on how, ready or not, Canada must face the crisis in the Ukraine head on: “When Mr. Trudeau became Prime Minister in 2015, he could not possibly have imagined that he would preside over the greatest crisis since the Second World War: a pandemic that forced us into our homes and took tens of thousands of Canadian lives. In the main, his government handled that well. Now he faces a new crisis, one that challenges the unity of the Western alliance and our commitments under the North Atlantic Treaty, as we face a rogue Russia with nuclear weapons and bent on restoring its sphere of influence. Hard times are ahead.”
Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail) on where the anger goes now that the trucks are gone: “Anger left unchecked tends to metastasize. The resentment that festered over U.S. President Barack Obama’s expansion of government programs and spending, most notably through the Affordable Care Act, birthed the Tea Party movement, which morphed into the Donald Trump movement (which is ironic, since Mr. Trump went on to massively increase government spending as president). The Yellow Vest protests of 2018 and the United We Roll convoy of 2019 can be viewed in hindsight as precursors to the recent trucker convoy; Tamara Lich, who was recently denied bail for her organizational role in the convoy, was also involved in both prior events.”
John Manley (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on Canadian collectivism prevailing in the midst of cries for individual `freedoms’: “I was proud of my fellow citizens for blocking the protest on a street not far from my home. But it should not be necessary that brave citizens risk personal harm to do what we have authorized and empowered law enforcement agencies to take care of. The confrontation could have ended badly, and vigilantism is not something we want to encourage. But this is what can happen when governments – which we elect and empower to make the rules, and to which we bestow the right to use reasonable force when necessary – fail to act.”
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OTTAWA – The federal agency that investigates election infractions found insufficient evidence to support suggestions Beijing wielded undue influence against the Conservatives in the Vancouver area during the 2021 general election.
The Commissioner of Canada Elections’ recently completed review of the lingering issue was tabled Tuesday at a federal inquiry into foreign interference.
The review focused on the unsuccessful campaign of Conservative candidate Kenny Chiu in the riding of Steveston-Richmond East and the party’s larger efforts in the Vancouver area.
It says the evidence uncovered did not trigger the threshold to initiate a formal investigation under the Canada Elections Act.
Investigators therefore recommended that the review be concluded.
A summary of the review results was shared with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP. The review says both agencies indicated the election commissioner’s findings were consistent with their own understanding of the situation.
During the exercise, the commissioner’s investigators met with Chinese Canadian residents of Chiu’s riding and surrounding ones.
They were told of an extensive network of Chinese Canadian associations, businesses and media organizations that offers the diaspora a lifestyle that mirrors that of China in many ways.
“Further, this diaspora has continuing and extensive commercial, social and familial relations with China,” the review says.
Some interviewees reported that this “has created aspects of a parallel society involving many Chinese Canadians in the Lower Mainland area, which includes concerted support, direction and control by individuals from or involved with China’s Vancouver consulate and the United Front Work Department (UFWD) in China.”
Investigators were also made aware of members of three Chinese Canadian associations, as well as others, who were alleged to have used their positions to influence the choice of Chinese Canadian voters during the 2021 election in a direction favourable to the interests of Beijing, the review says.
These efforts were sparked by elements of the Conservative party’s election platform and by actions and statements by Chiu “that were leveraged to bolster claims that both the platform and Chiu were anti-China and were encouraging anti-Chinese discrimination and racism.”
These messages were amplified through repetition in social media, chat groups and posts, as well as in Chinese in online, print and radio media throughout the Vancouver area.
Upon examination, the messages “were found to not be in contravention” of the Canada Elections Act, says the review, citing the Supreme Court of Canada’s position that the concept of uninhibited speech permeates all truly democratic societies and institutions.
The review says the effectiveness of the anti-Conservative, anti-Chiu campaigns was enhanced by circumstances “unique to the Chinese diaspora and the assertive nature of Chinese government interests.”
It notes the election was prefaced by statements from China’s ambassador to Canada and the Vancouver consul general as well as articles published or broadcast in Beijing-controlled Chinese Canadian media entities.
“According to Chinese Canadian interview subjects, this invoked a widespread fear amongst electors, described as a fear of retributive measures from Chinese authorities should a (Conservative) government be elected.”
This included the possibility that Chinese authorities could interfere with travel to and from China, as well as measures being taken against family members or business interests in China, the review says.
“Several Chinese Canadian interview subjects were of the view that Chinese authorities could exercise such retributive measures, and that this fear was most acute with Chinese Canadian electors from mainland China. One said ‘everybody understands’ the need to only say nice things about China.”
However, no interview subject was willing to name electors who were directly affected by the anti-Tory campaign, nor community leaders who claimed to speak on a voter’s behalf.
Several weeks of public inquiry hearings will focus on the capacity of federal agencies to detect, deter and counter foreign meddling.
In other testimony Tuesday, Conservative MP Garnett Genuis told the inquiry that parliamentarians who were targeted by Chinese hackers could have taken immediate protective steps if they had been informed sooner.
It emerged earlier this year that in 2021 some MPs and senators faced cyberattacks from the hackers because of their involvement with the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, which pushes for accountability from Beijing.
In 2022, U.S. authorities apparently informed the Canadian government of the attacks, and it in turn advised parliamentary IT officials — but not individual MPs.
Genuis, a Canadian co-chair of the inter-parliamentary alliance, told the inquiry Tuesday that it remains mysterious to him why he wasn’t informed about the attacks sooner.
Liberal MP John McKay, also a Canadian co-chair of the alliance, said there should be a clear protocol for advising parliamentarians of cyberthreats.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
WINNIPEG – The federal New Democrats have kept a longtime stronghold in the Elmwood-Transcona riding in Winnipeg.
The NDP’s Leila Dance won a close battle over Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds, and says the community has spoken in favour of priorities such as health care and the cost of living.
Elmwood-Transcona has elected a New Democrat in every election except one since the riding was formed in 1988.
The seat became open after three-term member of Parliament Daniel Blaikie resigned in March to take a job with the Manitoba government.
A political analyst the NDP is likely relieved to have kept the seat in what has been one of their strongest urban areas.
Christopher Adams, an adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba, says NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh worked hard to keep the seat in a tight race.
“He made a number of visits to Winnipeg, so if they had lost this riding it would have been disastrous for the NDP,” Adams said.
The strong Conservative showing should put wind in that party’s sails, Adams added, as their percentage of the popular vote in Elmwood-Transcona jumped sharply from the 2021 election.
“Even though the Conservatives lost this (byelection), they should walk away from it feeling pretty good.”
Dance told reporters Monday night she wants to focus on issues such as the cost of living while working in Ottawa.
“We used to be able to buy a cart of groceries for a hundred dollars and now it’s two small bags. That is something that will affect everyone in this riding,” Dance said.
Liberal candidate Ian MacIntyre placed a distant third,
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say the Liberals have “all sorts of reflections” to make after losing a second stronghold in a byelection in Montreal Monday night.
His comments come as the Liberal cabinet gathers for its first regularly scheduled meeting of the fall sitting of Parliament, which began Monday.
Trudeau’s Liberals were hopeful they could retain the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, but those hopes were dashed after the Bloc Québécois won it in an extremely tight three-way race with the NDP.
Louis-Philippe Sauvé, an administrator at the Institute for Research in Contemporary Economics, beat Liberal candidate Laura Palestini by less than 250 votes. The NDP finished about 600 votes back of the winner.
It is the second time in three months that Trudeau’s party lost a stronghold in a byelection. In June, the Conservatives defeated the Liberals narrowly in Toronto-St. Paul’s.
The Liberals won every seat in Toronto and almost every seat on the Island of Montreal in the last election, and losing a seat in both places has laid bare just how low the party has fallen in the polls.
“Obviously, it would have been nicer to be able to win and hold (the Montreal riding), but there’s more work to do and we’re going to stay focused on doing it,” Trudeau told reporters ahead of this morning’s cabinet meeting.
When asked what went wrong for his party, Trudeau responded “I think there’s all sorts of reflections to take on that.”
In French, he would not say if this result puts his leadership in question, instead saying his team has lots of work to do.
Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet will hold a press conference this morning, but has already said the results are significant for his party.
“The victory is historic and all of Quebec will speak with a stronger voice in Ottawa,” Blanchet wrote on X, shortly after the winner was declared.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and his party had hoped to ride to a win in Montreal on the popularity of their candidate, city councillor Craig Sauvé, and use it to further their goal of replacing the Liberals as the chief alternative to the Conservatives.
The NDP did hold on to a seat in Winnipeg in a tight race with the Conservatives, but the results in Elmwood-Transcona Monday were far tighter than in the last several elections. NDP candidate Leila Dance defeated Conservative Colin Reynolds by about 1,200 votes.
Singh called it a “big victory.”
“Our movement is growing — and we’re going to keep working for Canadians and building that movement to stop Conservative cuts before they start,” he said on social media.
“Big corporations have had their governments. It’s the people’s time.”
New Democrats recently pulled out of their political pact with the government in a bid to distance themselves from the Liberals, making the prospects of a snap election far more likely.
Trudeau attempted to calm his caucus at their fall retreat in Nanaimo, B.C, last week, and brought former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney on as an economic adviser in a bid to shore up some credibility with voters.
The latest byelection loss will put more pressure on him as leader, with many polls suggesting voter anger is more directed at Trudeau himself than at Liberal policies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
