Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 200 people who are loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
Global Affairs Canada says the new measures target 11 senior officials and 192 other members of the People’s Councils of the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk for supporting Putin’s attack on the area.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, asked about the new sanctions on Wednesday morning, said unity across the West will continue to put pressure on anyone who supported Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We are all looking at ways of moving forward and every conversation we have is about how we can do more as Western countries to demonstrate that Vladimir Putin made a terrible mistake,” Mr. Trudeau told the media as he arrived for a caucus meeting. “He needs to lose and anyone who supports him needs to face severe consequences.”
Meanwhile, senior parliamentary reporter Steven Chase reports here the Canadian government plans to give itself the power to sell off assets of foreigners seized under sanctions law, and then turn them over to affected victims or pay for rebuilding war-torn countries. The change would make Canada the first among Group of Seven countries to allow such actions.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
BULLYING AND HARASSAMENT IN THE CRA – A team of psychological consultants hired by the Canada Revenue Agency found that a division responsible for working with multinational firms on global tax enforcement is rife with bullying and harassment and most of the staff feel their unit is ineffective. Story here.
ALL-TIME HIGH OF WORKING-AGE CANADIANS CLOSE TO RETIREMENT – More than one in five Canadians of working age are close to retirement, an all-time high that will have major ripple effects on the country’s economy, labour market and health care system, according to 2021 census details released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday. Story here.
TORIES SEEK RCMP INVESTIGATION OF PM’S AGA KHAN VACATION – Opposition Conservatives are asking the RCMP to pursue a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s trip to the Aga Khan’s private island six years ago, saying there’s new evidence. Story here Meanwhile the Prime Minister told Parliament, on Tuesday, that he did not authorize himself to take his family on an exclusive vacation at the Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas in 2016. Story here.
LAW ENFORCEMENT NEEDED EMERGENCIES ACT: MENDICINO – The Liberal government invoked the never-before-used Emergencies Act because law enforcement advised that existing authorities were ineffective to restore public safety during blockades at ports of entry, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Tuesday evening. Story here.
QUEBEC AS LOUISIANA?: LEGAULT – Two newly formed political parties would prefer Quebec be bilingual, a move that is a sure ticket to becoming a new Louisiana, Premier François Legault said Tuesday. Story here.
FEDERAL COURT RULES AGAINST FEDERAL B.C. FISH FARM ORDER – A Federal Court judge has set aside a Department of Fisheries order that would have phased out fish farming in British Columbia’s Discovery Islands. Story here.
ALBERTA PLANS TO PROMOTE ITSELF IN U.S. – New documents reveal details of a multimillion-dollar plan from the province of Alberta to promote itself in the United States and expand its international diplomacy in an era of tension over energy policy. Story here from CBC.
LIGHT SHED ON FUNDRAISING DETAILS FOR RACE TO BE MANTOBA PREMIER – Former federal cabinet minister Shelly Glover came close last fall to becoming Manitoba’s premier with a third of the donations of the eventual winner, Heather Stefanson. Story here from CBC.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
SMALLER THAN USUAL CROWD FOR POILIEVRE – After rallies with crowds of hundreds or thousands in attendance, Pierre Poilievre, on Tuesday night, made his case for leading the federal Tories to a smaller crowd. Only about 200 were in attendance for a meet and greet held at a Gatineau hotel. Still, the crowd was lively, and many lined up for photos with the candidate after his remarks. The Poilievre campaign has yet to respond to Politics newsletter questions about the turnout. Mr. Poilievre asked for a show of hands for card-carrying Conservatives in the group. Most raised their hands. The candidate is holding a similar event in Brockville, Ont., on Wednesday night.
BABER IS IN – Roman Baber, an independent member of the Ontario legislature now seeking the Tory leadership, announced Wednesday he has submitted $300,000 to the Conservative Party of Canada alongside the required signatures from party members to warrant appearing on the ballot for the leadership race.
CHAREST VS. POILIEVRE ON THE ENVIRONMENT – Two high-profile candidates in the race to lead the federal Conservatives touted their climate change credentials on Tuesday, with Jean Charest releasing his environmental plan and Pierre Poilievre saying he would look at reviving some energy projects blocked by the Liberal government. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, April. 27, accessible here.
FREELAND AT ALBRIGHT FUNERAL – Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was in Washington on Wednesday and scheduled to attend the funeral of the former United States secretary of state, Madeleine Albright at the Washington National Cathedral. U.S. President Joe Biden spoke at the ceremony. Ms. Albright was secretary of state from 1997 to 2001 under former president Bill Clinton. She died last month, aged 84.
HATE IN THE SPOTLIGHT AT COMMITTEE HEARING – House of Commons committee meetings on Wednesday include the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage gathering to hear witnesses on the “History of and Current Display of Hate Symbols and Emblems in Canada.” Witnesses include leaders from the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies and the Hindu Federation. The notice, including instructions for watching online, is here. Notices of all meetings are here.
BQ MP HAS COVID-19 – Bloc Québécois MP Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, who represents Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, has tested positive for COVID-19 with a rapid test. He is in isolation at home, according to a party statement.
THE DECIBEL
On Wednesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, The Globe’s technology reporter, Temur Durrani, talks about who is financing Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter, the social media platform, for US$44-billion as well as what Twitter’s users and advertisers think of it, and why it matters even if you’ve never written a single tweet. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
The Prime Minister held private meetings, attended the Liberal caucus meeting, was scheduled to attend Question Period and a reception hosted by Canada’s Building Trades Unions where he was to deliver remarks.
Conservative Leader Candace Bergen attended the Conservative caucus meeting, and Question Period.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh attended the NDP national caucus meeting, was scheduled to hold a media availability and participate in Question Period. In the evening, Mr. Singh was scheduled to attend the 22nd annual conference of the Association québécoise de la production médiatique , which advises, represents and supports independent production companies in film, television and the web, and present an award.
PUBLIC OPINION
TORIES LEADING LIBERALS IN NEW POLL – The Conservative Party of Canada has opened up a “statistically significant” lead over the governing Liberals, the latest polling from Nanos Research shows. Story here from CTV
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Boardon how the subject of the Rouleau inquiry is the Trudeau government, not the truckers: “It’s all too apparent that the Trudeau government doesn’t want the inquiry to focus too much on its decision to invoke the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14. What it appears to want is for the inquiry to put as much public attention on those who organized and took part in the trucker convoy that turned Parliament Hill into a giant parking lot for weeks on end. And that is wrong.”
Lawrence Martin (The Globe and Mail)on how the left is losing the language war: “The word “woke” used to have a positive connotation. It originated in Black culture and took on a more common, mainstream usage following the killing of Black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014. To be woke meant to be socially progressive, with an acute awareness of social injustices. Then, in the United States, Canada and elsewhere, the word woke was co-opted, hijacked by the political right and turned into a broad-sweep putdown of anyone with politically correct liberal values. Woke was newly reserved for lefty intellectuals and tree huggers, sushi eaters and faculty lounge highbrows, New York Times readers and the like.”
Diane Bellemare (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how a basic income would be an unfair, complicated and costly way to eliminate poverty: “There is much to say about Bill S-233 tabled in the Senate. The bill – which proposes to oblige the federal Minister of Finance to develop a national framework to implement an unconditional guaranteed basic income program (GBI), unconditionally guaranteeing sufficient income (equivalent to or near the low-income threshold) for all Canadian citizens over age 17, as well as Canadian residents, refugees and temporary workers – strives to eliminate poverty and establish social equity. These are laudable goals. There is also no doubt about the positive effects of a stable basic income on an individual’s physical and mental health, as ample research has demonstrated.”
Noura Kevorkian (Contributed to The Globe and Mail)on how the Syrian refugee crisis still requires our urgent attention: “As the world rightfully focuses its attention on the current war in Ukraine and the displacement of millions of refugees, I notice how the focus has shifted off of Syrians. This year marks the 11th anniversary of the start of the Syrian refugee crisis. Since the beginning of the revolution in March, 2011, thousands have been killed, with families and a nation torn apart. With more than six million refugees, it remains one of the largest forced human migrations of our time, along with seven million displaced internally in Syria. This conflict is not being as widely reported in the media these days, but it is certainly just as deserving.”
Rob Shaw (The Orca)on how John Horgan’s F bomb in the B.C legislature raises questions about the premier’s future: “The quick apology, and the humorous deflection, will likely be enough to cauterize any lasting political wound from the incident. For some, seeing the premier drop an f-bomb in the chamber may even be a relatable moment, mirroring how they often react privately to seeing the shenanigans by politicians in Victoria or Ottawa. Eventually, BC New Democrats will get around to spinning the entire affair into a positive light, suggesting this was exactly the kind of folksy “Premier Dad” moment that holds Horgan so high in public opinion polls. But make no mistake – everyone, on both sides the house, was surprised at the Premier’s poor performance on Monday. I suspect, even himself. Horgan looks tired and spent. His quick apology will save him this time. But it will only accelerate quiet chatter in the legislature about whether his retirement is near.”
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The New Democrats have declared a federal byelection victory in their Winnipeg stronghold riding of Elmwood—Transcona.
The NDP candidate Leila Dance told supporters in a tearful speech that even though the final results weren’t in, she expected she would see them in Ottawa.
With several polls still to be counted, Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds conceded defeat and told his volunteers that they should be proud of what the Conservatives accomplished in the campaign.
Political watchers had a keen eye on the results to see if the Tories could sway traditionally NDP voters on issues related to labour and affordability.
Meanwhile in the byelection race in the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun the NDP, Liberals and Bloc Québécois remained locked in an extremely tight three-way race as the results trickled in slowly.
The Liberal stronghold riding had a record 91 names on the ballot, and the results aren’t expected until the early hours of the morning.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
VANCOUVER – An incumbent BC United legislative member has reversed her decision not to seek re-election and has announced she’ll run as an Independent in the riding of West Vancouver-Capilano in the upcoming British Columbia election.
Karin Kirkpatrick has been a vocal critic of BC United Leader Kevin Falcon’s decision last month to suspend the party’s campaign and throw support behind the B.C. Conservatives under John Rustad.
Kirkpatrick announced her retirement this year, but said Monday that her decision to re-enter the race comes as a direct result of Falcon’s actions, which would force middle-of-the-road voters to “swing to the left” to the NDP or to move further right to the Conservatives.
“I did hear from a lot of constituents and a lot of people who were emailing me from across B.C. … that they didn’t have anybody to vote for,” she said. “And so, I looked even at myself, and I looked at my riding, and I said, ‘Well, I no longer have anybody to vote for in my own riding.’ It was clearly an issue of this missing middle for the more moderate voter.”
She said voters who reached out “don’t want to vote for an NDP government but felt deeply uncomfortable” supporting the provincial Conservatives, citing Rustad’s tolerance of what she calls “extreme views and conspiracy theorists.”
Kirkpatrick joins four other incumbent Opposition MLAs running as Independents, including Peace River South’s Mike Bernier, Peace River North’s Dan Davies, Prince George-Cariboo’s Coralee Oakes and Tom Shypitka in Kootenay-Rockies.
“To be honest, we talk just about every day,” Kirkpatrick said about her fellow BC United incumbents now running as Independents. “We’re all feeling the same way. We all need to kind of hold each other up and make sure we’re doing the right thing.”
She added that a number of first-time candidates formerly on the BC United ticket are contacting the group of incumbents running for election, and the group is working together “as good moderates who respect each other and lift each other up.”
But Kirkpatrick said it’s also too early to talk about the future of BC United or the possibility of forming a new party.
“The first thing we need to do is to get these Independent MLAs elected into the legislature,” she said, noting a strong group could play a power-broker role if a minority government is elected. “Once we’re there then we’re all going to come together and we’re going to figure out, is there something left in BC United, BC Liberals that we can resurrect, or do we need to start a new party that’s in the centre?”
She said there’s a big gap left in the political spectrum in the province.
“So, we just have to do it in a mindful way, to make sure it’s representing the broadest base of people in B.C.”
Among the supporters at Kirkpatrick’s announcement Monday was former longtime MLA Ralph Sultan, who held West Vancouver-Capilano for almost two decades before retiring in 2020.
The Metro Vancouver riding has been a stronghold for the BC Liberals — the former BC United — since its formation in 1991, with more than half of the votes going to the centre-right party in every contest.
However, Kirkpatrick’s winning margin of 53.6 per cent to the NDP’s 30.1 per cent and the Green’s 15.4 per cent in the 2020 election shows a rising trend for left-leaning voters in the district.
Mike McDonald, chief strategy officer with Kirk and Co. Consulting, and a former campaign director for the BC Liberals and chief of staff under former Premier Christy Clark, said Independent candidates historically face an uphill battle and the biggest impact may be splitting votes in areas where the NDP could emerge victorious.
“It really comes down to, if the NDP are in a position to get 33 per cent of the vote, they might have a chance of winning,” McDonald said of the impact of an Independent vote-split with the Conservatives in certain ridings.
He said B.C. history shows it’s very hard for an Independent to win an election and has been done only a handful of times.
“So, the odds do not favour Independents winning the seats unless there is a very unique combination of circumstances, and more likely that they play a role as a spoiler, frankly.”
The B.C. Conservatives list West Vancouver School District Trustee Lynne Block as its candidate in West Vancouver-Capilano, while the BC NDP is represented by health care professional Sara Eftekhar.
Kirkpatrick said she is confident that her re-entry to the race will not result in a vote split that allows the NDP to win the seat because the party has always had a poor showing in the riding.
“So, even if there is competition between myself and the Conservative candidate, it is highly unlikely that anything would swing over to the NDP here. And I believe that I have the ability to actually attract those NDP voters to me, as well as the Conservatives and Liberals who are feeling just lost right now.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Egypt on Tuesday for his 10th trip to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began nearly a year ago, this one aimed partly at refining a proposal to present to Israel and Hamas for a cease-fire deal and release of hostages.
Unlike in recent mediating missions, America’s top diplomat this time is traveling without optimistic projections from the Biden administration of an expected breakthrough in the troubled negotiations.
Also unlike the earlier missions, Blinken has no public plans to go to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on this trip. The Israeli leader’s fiery public statements — like his declaration that Israel would accept only “total victory” when Blinken was in the region in June — and some other unbudgeable demands have complicated earlier diplomacy.
Blinken is going to Egypt for talks Wednesday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and others, in a trip billed as focused both on American-Egyptian relations and Gaza consultations with Egypt.
The tamped-down public approach follows months in which President Joe Biden and his officials publicly talked up an agreement to end the war in Gaza as being just within reach, hoping to build pressure on Netanyahu’s far-right government and Hamas to seal a deal.
The Biden administration now says it is working with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar to come up with a revised final proposal to try to at least get Israel and Hamas into a six-week cease-fire that would free some of the hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Americans believe public attention on details of the talks now would only hurt that effort.
American, Qatari and Egyptian officials still are consulting “about what that proposal will contain, and …. we’re trying to see that it’s a proposal that can get the parties to an ultimate agreement,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday.
The State Department pointed to Egypt’s important role in Gaza peace efforts in announcing last week that the Biden administration planned to give the country its full $1.3 billion in military aid, overriding congressional requirements that the U.S. hold back some of the funding if Egypt fails to show adequate progress on human rights. Blinken told Congress that Egypt has made progress on human rights, including in freeing political prisoners.
Blinken’s trip comes amid the risk of a full-on new front in the Middle East, with Israel threatening increasing military action against the Hezbollah militant organization in Lebanon. Biden envoy Amos Hochstein was in Israel on Monday to try to calm tensions after a stop in Lebanon.
Hezbollah has one of the strongest militaries in the Middle East, and like Hamas and smaller groups in Syria and Iraq it is allied with Iran.
Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged strikes across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas started the war in Gaza. Hezbollah says it will ease those strikes — which have uprooted tens of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border — only when there’s a cease-fire in Gaza.
Hochstein told Netanyahu and other Israeli officials that intensifying the conflict with Hezbollah would not help get Israelis back in their homes, according to a U.S. official. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks, said Hochstein stressed to Netanyahu that he risked sparking a broad and protracted regional conflict if he moved forward with a full-scale war in Lebanon.
Hochstein also underscored to Israeli officials that the Biden administration remained committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the tensions on Israel’s northern border in conjunction with a Gaza deal or on its own, the official said.
Netanyahu told Hochstein that it would “not be possible to return our residents without a fundamental change in the security situation in the north.” The prime minister said Israel “appreciates and respects” U.S. support but “will do what is necessary to maintain its security and return the residents of the north to their homes safely.”
Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, meanwhile, warned in his meeting with Hochstein that “the only way left to ensure the return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes will be via military action,” his office said.
In Gaza, the U.S. says Israel and Hamas have agreed to a deal in principle and that the biggest obstacles now include a disagreement on details of the hostage and prisoner swap and control over a buffer zone on the border between Gaza and Egypt. Netanyahu has demanded in recent weeks that the Israeli military be allowed to keep a presence in the Philadelphi corridor. Egypt and Hamas have rejected that demand.
The Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7 killed about 1,200 people. Militants also abducted 250 people and are still holding around 100 hostages. About a third of the remaining hostages are believed to be dead.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, said Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its count. The war has caused widespread destruction, displaced a majority of Gaza’s people and created a humanitarian crisis.
Netanyahu says he is working to bring home the hostages. His critics accuse him of slow-rolling a deal because it could bring down his hardline coalition government, which includes members opposed to a truce with the Palestinians.
Asked earlier this month if Netanyahu was doing enough for a cease-fire deal, Biden said, simply, “no.” But he added that he still believed a deal was close.
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Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.
