A deal struck among Democrats in the U.S. Senate appears to have eliminated a threat hanging over the nascent electric vehicle manufacturing industry in Canada.
An agreement announced late Wednesday between Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia gives the Democrats the votes they need to pass a key plank of U.S. President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda.
The deal would amend Mr. Biden’s climate and health bill and change the terms of tax credits for electric vehicles that, as previously written, would have only applied to autos assembled in the United States.
The amended language does away with the made-in-America criteria and instead says the tax credit would apply to electric vehicles assembled “within North America,” which means not only the United States but Canada and Mexico.
Canada’s auto industry and the Canadian government are celebrating the development. International Trade Minister Mary Ng had previously warned that a Buy-America-style tax credit would do “serious and irreparable harm” to the Canadian automotive sector.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
PAPAL VISIT CONTINUES – Pope Francis is hosting a reconciliation-themed mass in Quebec before a congregation made up largely of residential school survivors and other Indigenous people, a day after expressing shame and sorrow for the role played by Catholic institutions in the schools. Story here. Meanwhile, the Vatican is not planning to conduct a formal investigation into the abuses at Catholic-run residential schools that operated across Canada for a century, but will examine any new evidence that emerges. Story here.
NO PLANS TO RESIGN: HOCKEY CANADA CEO – Hockey Canada’s CEO said he has no plans to resign amid controversy over the organization’s handling of sexual-assault allegations, despite growing calls for a leadership overhaul to address the troubling culture in the country’s national winter sport. Story here.
PROVINCES WANT MORE IMMIGRATION CONTROL – Citing a nationwide labour shortage, several provincial immigration ministers say they want more control over the immigration process, and have sent a letter to their federal counterpart calling for change. Provincial and territorial ministers involved with immigration were Wednesday meeting with federal minister, Sean Fraser. Story here from CBC.
DETAILS ON AR-15 COMPENSATION RELEASED – The federal government is proposing $1,337 in compensation for turning in an AR-15 rifle under a mandatory buyback program. Story here.
QUEBEC CONSERVATIVE PARTY GAINING TRACTION – When Éric Duhaime took over as leader of the Quebec Conservatives last year, the party – which is unaffiliated with the federal Conservatives – had never held a seat in the legislature, never been invited to a major debate and never raised more than $60,000 in donations in any given year. Now, however, the party has wrangled a seat in the legislature and started polling near 20 per cent. Story here from CBC.
SMITH FACES CRITICISM AT UCP DEBATE – Danielle Smith, considered one of the front-runners in the United Conservative Party leadership race, faced sharp criticism Wednesday from debate rivals over her Alberta sovereignty plan and controversial comments on cancer. Story here.
NEW POSTMEDIA CHAIRMAN NAMED – Jamie Irving, a scion of the wealthy New Brunswick family, will take over as executive chairman of Postmedia Network Canada Corp. at the end of this year, as board chair Paul Godfrey prepares to step down after a dozen years in the newspaper publisher’s top ranks. Story here.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL – Scott Aitchison is in Newfoundland. Roman Baber is in Ontario, with stops in Chatham and Windsor. Jean Charest is in B.C. Leslyn Lewis is in Saskatchewan, with stops in Regina and Saskatoon. Pierre Poilievre is in Ottawa.
HARPER DIDN’T ADDRESS `BATTY’ POILIEVRE IDEAS: FORMER CABINET MINISTERS – Two Stephen Harper-era cabinet ministers say his endorsement of Pierre Poilievre for the leadership of the Conservative party failed to address the candidate’s “batty” economic policies. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
The House of Commons is not sitting again until Sept. 19. The Senate is to resume sitting on Sept. 20.
TIMETABLE FOR ONTARIO LEGISLATURE RETURN – Ontario Premier Doug Ford confirmed Thursday that the legislature will convene Aug. 8, with a speaker elected that day. Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell will deliver a throne speech on Aug. 9. It’s the first sitting of the legislature since the Ontario election held on June. 2 in which Mr. Ford led the Progressive Conservatives to a second, consecutive majority government.
FRASER IN N.B. – Immigration Minister Sean Fraser in Saint John, N.B., joins a media availability held by other provincial and territorial ministers responsible for immigration, at the end of the joint meeting of the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration.
KHERA IN P.E.I.- Seniors Minister Kamal Khera, in Prince Edward Island, announced a $73,486 investment to fund five community-based projects to support seniors in the Rural Municipality of Miltonvale Park, Prince Edward Island.
NG IN HALIFAX – International Trade Minister Mary Ng, in Halifax, makes an announcement about the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy Ecosystem Fund.
THE DECIBEL
Thursday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast features Senior WriterGrant Robertson whose investigation into the National Equity Fund exposed it publicly. Hockey Canada told federal hearings Wednesday that it has paid $8.9-million since 1989 to settle 21 cases of alleged sexual assault, with the bulk of that money, $7.6-million, coming from a special fund built through registration fees that wasn’t disclosed to parents and players. Mr. Robertson explains how the equity fund functions and how it allowed Hockey Canada to keep quiet allegations of a group sexual assault for years. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
The Prime Minister, in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec, attends a Holy Mass celebrated by Pope Francis.
LEADERS
No schedules released for party leaders.
OPINION
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail)on how Pierre Poilievre will need more than promises of freedom: “Stephen Harper’s public endorsement of Pierre Poilievre as the next leader of the Conservative Party means very little, but also a lot. Very little, because Mr. Poilievre probably had the leadership sewn up even without the former prime minister’s imprimatur. A lot, because Mr. Harper is clearly hoping to preserve party unity and win over uncommitted voters in support of a candidate he believes has a clear shot at becoming prime minister.”
Cathal Kelly (The Globe and Mail)on how defining Hockey Canada’s problem in plain English continues to be a problem: “Pull back from the talking points and the gotcha questions. What message are the people who run hockey in Canada trying to send? It’s twofold – hockey does not have a systematic problem (ergo, we are not the problem); the players must be Clockwork Orange’d until they are functioning citizens again. It’s the players who’ve lost their way. Hockey Canada is the good guy. It’s trying to help the victims and make them sign NDAs, but only if they want to. Underneath the bureaucratese, you can faintly hear the real explanation: ‘We tried, but what are you going to do with these brutes? Every once in a while, they’re going to get loose, and then it’s our job to get them back in a box before they panic the locals.’ If you didn’t believe hockey had a culture problem before Wednesday, you should now.”
Lawrence Martin (The Globe and Mail)on why Americans are more gullible than Canadians when it comes to falsehoods: “But in recent times it’s become clear that we’ve missed a critically important distinction between the two countries, one which helps explain why American democracy threatens to go off the rails while the Canadian system, warts and all, remains relatively stable. The difference is in the level of gullibility of the respective populations. Americans have become remarkably vulnerable and prone to myths, conspiracy theories, alternative facts and the charlatans who peddle them. They’ve been imbibing snake oil by the barrel. To the point where, as Kurt Andersen puts it in his book Fantasyland, “The irrational has become respectable and often unstoppable.” To the point where “the reality-based community,” to use a term attributed to an official working with Karl Rove, is imperilled. While Canada is by no means free of the problem, there is no comparison in terms of degree.”
Winnie Byanyima (Contributed to the Globe and Mail) on how the global AIDS response is faltering, putting millions of lives in danger: “The 24th International AIDS Conference, taking place this week in Montreal and bringing together thousands of activists, scientists and policy-makers, could not have come at a more vital time. For over two decades, this conference has been a moment to celebrate life-saving advances against the AIDS pandemic. This year, however, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is releasing new data that will sound an alarm: we are not on track to end AIDS, and millions of lives are at risk. We can turn this around, but in this particular emergency, the only safe response is to be bold.”
Andrew MacDougall (The Ottawa Citizen)on the way to stop Pierre Poilievre: “As surprises go, Harper’s support for Poilievre shouldn’t register on the Richter scale. After all, he made Poilievre his parliamentary secretary after the 2008 election and made him a minister in 2013. The news would have been if he hadn’t endorsed his boy Skippy. Most Conservatives I know took it in stride. And then there’s Jean Charest. Despite Harper’s reference to a “strong field” in his endorsement of Poilievre, there is no way the “strong” in that field had anything to do with the former Quebec premier. If Charest ever ran to be dog catcher in Rivière-au-Tonnerre, Harper would drive all the way there in the dead of a pandemic winter – on a skidoo, if he had to – to poleaxe his chances.”
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Anand thanked Rodriguez for his contributions to the government and the country, saying she’s grateful for his guidance and friendship.
She sidestepped a question about the message it sends to have him leave the federal Liberal fold.
“That is a decision that he made independently, and I wish him well,” she said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not present for the swearing-in ceremony, nor were any other members of the Liberal government.
The shakeup in cabinet comes just days after the Liberals lost a key seat in a Montreal byelection to the Bloc Québécois and amid renewed calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down and make way for a new leader.
Anand said she is not actively seeking leadership of the party, saying she is focused on her roles as minister and as MP.
“My view is that we are a team, and we are a team that has to keep delivering for our country,” she said.
The minority Liberal government is in a more challenging position in the House of Commons after the NDP ended a supply-and-confidence deal that provided parliamentary stability for more than two years.
Non-confidence votes are guaranteed to come from the Opposition Conservatives, who are eager to bring the government down.
On Thursday morning, Rodriguez made a symbolic walk over the Alexandra Bridge from Parliament Hill to Gatineau, Que., where he formally announced his plans to run for the Quebec Liberal party leadership.
He said he will now sit as an Independent member of Parliament, which will allow him to focus on his own priorities.
“I was defending the priorities of the government, and I did it in a very loyal way,” he said.
“It’s normal and it’s what I had to do. But now it’s more about my vision, the vision of the team that I’m building.”
Rodriguez said he will stay on as an MP until the Quebec Liberal leadership campaign officially launches in January.
He said that will “avoid a costly byelection a few weeks, or months, before a general election.”
The next federal election must be held by October 2025.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will try to topple the government sooner than that, beginning with a non-confidence motion that is set to be debated Sept. 24 and voted on Sept. 25.
Poilievre has called on the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support him, but both Jagmeet Singh and Yves-François Blanchet have said they will not support the Conservatives.
Rodriguez said he doesn’t want a federal election right away and will vote against the non-confidence motion.
As for how he would vote on other matters before the House of Commons, “it would depend on the votes.”
Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will become the government’s new Quebec lieutenant, a non-cabinet role Rodriguez held since 2019.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
— With files from Nojoud Al Mallees and Dylan Robertson
OTTAWA – Several federal political parties are expressing reservations about the prospect of fresh regulations to prevent foreign meddlers from tainting their candidate nomination processes.
Elections Canada has suggested possible changes to safeguard nominations, including barring non-citizens from helping choose candidates, requiring parties to publish contest rules and explicitly outlawing behaviour such as voting more than once.
However, representatives of the Bloc Québécois, Green Party and NDP have told a federal commission of inquiry into foreign interference that such changes may be unwelcome, difficult to implement or counterproductive.
The Canada Elections Act currently provides for limited regulation of federal nomination races and contestants.
For instance, only contestants who accept $1,000 in contributions or incur $1,000 in expenses have to file a financial return. In addition, the act does not include specific obligations concerning candidacy, voting, counting or results reporting other than the identity of the successful nominee.
A report released in June by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians expressed concern about how easily foreign actors can take advantage of loopholes and vulnerabilities to support preferred candidates.
Lucy Watson, national director of the NDP, told the inquiry Thursday she had concerns about the way in which new legislation would interact with the internal decision-making of the party.
“We are very proud of the fact that our members play such a significant role in shaping the internal policies and procedures and infrastructure of the party, and I would not want to see that lost,” she said.
“There are guidelines, there are best practices that we would welcome, but if we were to talk about legal requirements and legislation, that’s something I would have to take away and put further thought into, and have discussions with folks who are integral to the party’s governance.”
In an August interview with the commission of inquiry, Bloc Québécois executive director Mathieu Desquilbet said the party would be opposed to any external body monitoring nomination and leadership contest rules.
A summary tabled Thursday says Desquilbet expressed doubts about the appropriateness of requiring nomination candidates to file a full financial report with Elections Canada, saying the agency’s existing regulatory framework and the Bloc’s internal rules on the matter are sufficient.
Green Party representatives Jon Irwin and Robin Marty told the inquiry in an August interview it would not be realistic for an external body, like Elections Canada, to administer nomination or leadership contests as the resources required would exceed the federal agency’s capacity.
A summary of the interview says Irwin and Marty “also did not believe that rules violations could effectively be investigated by an external body like the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections.”
“The types of complaints that get raised during nomination contests can be highly personal, politically driven, and could overwhelm an external body.”
Marty, national campaign director for the party, told the inquiry Thursday that more reporting requirements would also place an administrative burden on volunteers and riding workers.
In addition, he said that disclosing the vote tally of a nomination contest could actually help foreign meddlers by flagging the precise number of ballots needed for a candidate to be chosen.
Irwin, interim executive director of the Greens, said the ideal tactic for a foreign country would be working to get someone in a “position of power” within a Canadian political party.
He said “the bad guys are always a step ahead” when it comes to meddling in the Canadian political process.
In May, David Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service at the time, said it was very clear from the design of popular social media app TikTok that data gleaned from its users is available to the Chinese government.
A December 2022 CSIS memo tabled at the inquiry Thursday said TikTok “has the potential to be exploited” by Beijing to “bolster its influence and power overseas, including in Canada.”
Asked about the app, Marty told the inquiry the Greens would benefit from more “direction and guidance,” given the party’s lack of resources to address such things.
Representatives of the Liberal and Conservative parties are slated to appear at the inquiry Friday, while chief electoral officer Stéphane Perrault is to testify at a later date.
After her party representatives appeared Thursday, Green Leader Elizabeth May told reporters it was important for all party leaders to work together to come up with acceptable rules.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
FREDERICTON – A look at David Coon, leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick:
Born: Oct. 28, 1956.
Early years: Born in Toronto and raised in Montreal, he spent about three decades as an environmental advocate.
Education: A trained biologist, he graduated with a bachelor of science from McGill University in Montreal in 1978.
Family: He and his wife Janice Harvey have two daughters, Caroline and Laura.
Before politics: Worked as an environmental educator, organizer, activist and manager for 33 years, mainly with the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.
Politics: Joined the Green Party of Canada in May 2006 and was elected leader of the New Brunswick Green Party in September 2012. Won a seat in the legislature in 2014 — a first for the province’s Greens.
Quote: “It was despicable. He’s clearly decided to take the low road in this campaign, to adopt some Trump-lite fearmongering.” — David Coon on Sept. 12, 2024, reacting to Blaine Higgs’s claim that the federal government had decided to send 4,600 asylum seekers to New Brunswick.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
