Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland outlined Ottawa’s plan for dealing with inflation Thursday, pledging to focus on fiscal restraint, boosting productivity and delivering on recently promised programs that will help Canadians afford higher prices.
The package of measures add up to $8.9-billion, she said, but all of that spending was previously announced and accounted for in previous budgets.
Those measures include a range of enhanced benefits to individuals through programs such as the Canada Workers Benefit, a 10-per-cent increase to Old Age Security for seniors over 75, and increased funding for child care and rent support. The minister also noted that many federal income support programs such as the Canada Child Benefit, the goods and services tax credit, Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement for low-income seniors are designed to automatically increase in line with inflation.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
SUPREME COURT SECURITY NEEDS TO BE TAKEN MORE SERIOUSLY: CHIEF JUSTICE – Canada’s chief justice says the safety of the Supreme Court of Canada building needs to be taken more seriously following this winter’s convoy protest in downtown Ottawa. Story here from CBC.
RECORD COMPLAINTS ON HANDLING OF ACCESS REQUESTS – The federal information watchdog fielded a record number of complaints last year about the way government bodies handled requests for documents despite years of promises from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reform the system. Story here.
NO COMPENSATION FOR CIVIL SERVANTS ON UNPAID LEAVE – Civil servants who were placed on unpaid leave for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 will not be compensated for eight months of lost pay now that the vaccine mandates are being suspended, the federal government said in the face of union demands. Story here.
ONLINE STREAMING BILL MUST MOVE QUICKLY: RODRIGUEZ – Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says it is “important” that the Liberal government’s online-streaming bill moves through Parliament quickly, shrugging off the Conservatives’ accusations that the legislation is being rushed through committee in an “undemocratic” way. Story here.
JEAN RUNNING FOR UCP LEADERSHIP; NOTLEY ACKNOWLEDGES VOLUNTEER ISSUES – Brian Jean, the co-founder of Alberta’s governing United Conservative Party, has officially launched his campaign to become the next leader, saying it’s imperative the party get back on track by listening to people and fighting for a better deal in Confederation. Story here. Meanwhile, Alberta Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley, a week after acknowledging her party is investigating allegations of mistreatment of volunteers, said Wednesday there are problems. Story here.
RCMP UPDATING CORE VALUES – The RCMP is updating its statement of “core values” for the first time in a quarter century by adding references to “reconciliation,” “diversity,” “honour” and “empathy.” Story here from CBC.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL – Scott Aitchison is in Ontario. Patrick Brown in Hamilton and London, Ont., where, according to a tweet, he spoke to the city’s Macdonald-Cartier Club. Jean Charest is in Montreal. Leslyn Lewis is in her Haldimand-Norfolk riding. Pierre Poilievre is in Ottawa. There is no word on Roman Baber’s campaign whereabouts.
BROWN CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR DEPARTS POST – Patrick Brown’s campaign to lead the Conservatives will survive the departure of his campaign co-chair, a campaign spokesperson says.
Alberta MP Michelle Rempel Garner is leaving the Brown campaign to focus on the possibility of seeking the leadership of the governing United Conservative Party in Alberta.
But Chisholm Pothier, the communications director for the Brown campaign, says nothing has changed “organizationally” with Ms. Rempel Garner’s exit. “We have an organization of over 1000 individuals across the country, in every province and territory and most ridings in this country. We have an senior campaign team with a huge amount of experience,” Mr. Pothier said in a statement.
In a Wednesday night tweet, Ms. Rempel Garner said she is giving a leadership bid “serious consideration” after being encouraged to seek the job, which is being vacated by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney after he won 51.4 per cent support in a recent membership confidence vote. She said she will decide based on further conversations about the possibility. “As such, I will no longer be participating in the federal Conservative leadership race so that I can focus on how to best serve my province.”
Meanwhile, the federal Conservative Party is investigating allegations that Patrick Brown’s leadership campaign has been reimbursing the membership fees paid by individuals who agreed to join the party. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, June. 16, accessible here.
PM TRAVELS – Between June. 23 and June 30, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will participate in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, the G7 Summit at Schloss Elmau, Germany, and the NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain. He will also participate in an official bilateral visit hosted by Pedro Sanchez, the Prime Minister of Spain. The commonwealth meeting runs from June 23 to the 25th. The G7 Summit runs from the 26th to the 28th. The NATO summit runs from the 28th to the 30th. After the NATO summit, the Prime Minister will participate in the official visit hosted by Prime Minister Sanchez on June 30.
JACZEK ON BLUESFEST – Helena Jaczek, minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for southern Ontario, announced Thursday over $10-million to support Ottawa Bluesfest − a 10-day, multi-staged music festival that is one of the city’s top attractions – and three Ottawa-based tourism operators.
CHANGE OF ARMY COMMAND – In Ottawa, there’s a change-of-command ceremony for the Canadian Army as Lieutenant-General Jocelyn (Joe) Paul assumes command of the Canadian Army from Major-General Michel-Henri St-Louis, in a ceremony presided over by the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Wayne Eyre.
THE DECIBEL
On Thursday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, columnist Tim Kiladze talks about declines in cryptocurrencies and why, even with a sector that has constant ups and downs, this crash matters and what retail investors with money caught up in crypto should do. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
The Prime Minister holds private meetings and speaks with Rwanda president, Paul Kagame, and the commissioner of official languages, Raymond Théberge.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet has meetings in the riding of Laurentides-LaBelle
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, accompanied by NDP MP Lori Idlout (Nunavut), was scheduled to meet with staff and elders from Nunavut at the Larga Baffin facility in Ottawa, and to speak about the need for long-term care services in Nunavut. The NDP leader was also scheduled to participate in Question Period.
No other party leader schedules released.
PUBLIC OPINION
A study on public perception of the news industry found that more people are avoiding the news and that Canada is among the countries with higher levels of trust in media. Story here.
OPINION
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on how it’s not just Marco Mendocino playing bob and weave with the Emergencies Act: “If you’re a cabinet minister, you get used to playing the partisan game of bob and weave at parliamentary committees. Maybe Liberal ministers are having a hard time understanding that the committee reviewing the use of the Emergencies Act isn’t the same thing. So somebody – specifically somebody named Justin Trudeau – should be telling them in loud clear terms: This is different.”
Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail)on Ottawa’s oil and gas emissions targets hinging on hopes and miracles: “When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault released Ottawa’s targets for greenhouse-gas emissions for the oil and gas sector in March, they insisted there would not need to be a trade-off between “clean air and good jobs, a healthy environment and a strong economy.” They called their blueprint “an ambitious and achievable sector-by-sector approach” for reducing Canada’s overall emissions to 40 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. Despite the upbeat presentation, not many observers bought the government’s line that Canada’s oilpatch could cut its emissions by 81 megatonnes, or 42 per cent, within eight years – at least not without slashing production and incurring all the negative consequences that would entail for the Canadian economy.”
Akwasi Owusu-Bempah (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how it’s not enough for Toronto police to release data on racism. They have to act on it: “It is time for the Toronto Police Service to stop apologizing about racist policing and start doing something meaningful to address it. The force’s current approaches are clearly not cutting it. Data released Wednesday paint a damning picture of the nature of race and policing in the city, showing that Black people are overrepresented in both use-of-force incidents and strip searches. As the force itself acknowledges, these differences cannot be explained away by the behaviour of the individuals involved, which means responsibility lies with the police. Chief James Ramer points to systemic racism. I’d suggest systemic racism and years of inaction – itself a reflection of systemic racism.”
Hugh Segal (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on the absolute rejection of sedition should be a non-negotiable part of democratic politics: “Whatever the future policy priorities of the federal Conservative party, the core Canadian constitutional values of “peace, order and good government” are non-negotiable parts of our constitutional framework. That framework has no tolerance for the seditious and illegal overthrow of duly elected governments, nor for any candidate who signals so much as an ambivalence toward that threat to our democratic system. Canadian voters should not have any time for any politician who will not denounce sedition and those who proposed it.”
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OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
