Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing back on claims by a Republican senator that Canada is not pulling its defence spending weight.
During an unrelated Thursday news conference, Mr. Trudeau ran through a list of military commitments enacted by his government when asked about Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan’s remarks.
“We’re going to continue to step up in this time of increased concerns around security everywhere in the world,” Mr. Trudeau told journalists in the town of Summerford, on Newfoundland and Labrador’s central coast.
During a confirmation hearing for the next NORAD commander, Mr. Sullivan cited a Wall Street Journal editorial earlier this month that described Canada as a free rider on the NATO military alliance.
Questions have been raised about Canada falling short of NATO’s agreed-upon spending target of two per cent of GDP. And a Washington Post report in April said Mr. Trudeau has privately conceded that Canada, where defence spending is at around 1.3 per cent, would never meet NATO’s threshold.
“I hope the Canadians are watching this confirmation hearing,” Mr. Sullivan said at one point.
U.S. Air Force Lieutenant-General Gregory Guillot, President Joe Biden’s nominee to take over the continental aerospace defence system, promised Mr. Sullivan that he would press Canada to meet the target.
“Americans get frustrated when our allies don’t pull their weight,” Mr. Sullivan said, noting that the subject came up during the recent NATO summit in Vilnius.
“With regard to NATO, Canada’s not even close to pulling its weight. Can you commit to us to have those tough conversations, but important, with your Canadian counterparts?”
“Yes, senator, you can count on me to do that,” Lt.-Gen. Guillot replied.
During this week’s cabinet shuffle, Mr. Trudeau replaced Anita Anand as Defence Minister with Bill Blair, the former Emergency Preparedness Minister. Before entering politics, Mr. Blair was chief of the Toronto Police Service.
With a file from The Canadian Press.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
CABINET SHUFFLE
Conservatives are ‘stoking anger,’ Trudeau says, after massive cabinet makeover – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tried to paint a clear choice between himself and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in Newfoundland and Labrador on Thursday, one day after the Liberals overhauled their front bench and assigned 23 cabinet ministers new portfolios. Story here.
What is citizens’ services, and what should be expected from the new federal minister? – As the Prime Minister reorganized his front bench Wednesday in a massive federal cabinet shuffle, he also created a single new job: Minister of Citizens’ Services. But when the minister appointed to the new role was asked what exactly citizens’ services is, he wasn’t entirely clear. Story here.
GENERAL
Poilievre confirms his leadership campaign paid legal expenses of rival Patrick Brown’s whistle-blower – Pierre Poilievre has confirmed that his campaign for leadership of the federal Conservative Party paid the legal expenses of a whistle-blower working on the campaign of rival leadership hopeful Patrick Brown. Story here.
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal approves $23-billion First Nations child welfare settlement – The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has approved a $23.4-billion settlement agreement for First Nations children, youth and families harmed by the federal government’s underfunding of child welfare services. Story here.
Canada plans to finalize emissions cap by mid-2024, Guilbeault says – Ottawa will likely publish the final regulations of a plan to cap and cut greenhouse gases from the oil and gas sector by mid-2024, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault told Reuters on Thursday. Story here.
Why N.B. Premier Blaine Higgs is facing the ghost of predecessor Bernard Lord – Jacques Poitras of CBC explains here why the nemesis of current New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is the legacy of one of his predecessors as PC party leader and premier: Bernard Lord.
Ottawa LRT woes “completely frustrating”: former mayor – The former Ottawa mayor, who presided over the creation of the city’s now-idled LRT system, says it’s “completely frustrating” when it has technical issues. Story here from The Kitchissippi Times. Ottawa’s current mayor has something to say here about the situation he has inherited.
THIS AND THAT
Summer Break – Both Parliament and the Senate are on breaks. The House of Commons sits again on Sept. 18. The Senate is sitting again on Sept. 19.
Deputy Prime Minister’s Day – Chrystia Freeland, in West Hants, N.S., held private meetings and visited sites damaged by recent flooding. Ms. Freeland also visited an emergency response centre to meet with first responders, then held a media scrum. She later held private meetings in Halifax.
Ministers on the Road – Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan and Citizens’ Services Minister Terry Beech, in Burnaby, B.C., announced funding of more than $20.8 million to seven Burnaby-based businesses and organizations in life sciences, manufacturing and technology to help commercialize new products, acquire advanced technologies and increase sales.
Speaker on the Road – Anthony Rota is not just the Speaker of the House of Commons, but also the Liberal MP for Nipissing–Timiskaming. On Thursday, he was in the latter role announcing $854,480 in funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario in North Bay to help the Canadian Wood Council stimulate job creation and industry growth.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Newfoundland and Labrador on Thursday. In Summerford, Mr. Trudeau, with Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan and Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings, met with workers at a local business to discuss affordability measures and support for workers. Mr. Trudeau then held a media availability.
LEADERS
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held rallies in Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh travelled to Toronto.
No schedules released for other party leaders.
THE DECIBEL
On Thursday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Ottawa reporter Shannon Proudfoot explains what the federal Liberal government is trying to accomplish with the major cabinet shakeup announced this week. The Decibel is here.
TRIBUTE
Pat Carney – Pat Carney, the first female Conservative member of Parliament elected in British Columbia and the first female Conservative appointed from the province to the Senate, has died, aged 88. Story here.
OPINION – The Cabinet Shuffle
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shaking up his bag of meaningless ministerial baubles to build an unserious cabinet: “To say first what can be said: Anita Anand and Jean-Yves Duclos will each bring a reputation for competence to portfolios – Treasury Board and Procurement – that could sorely use some. Dominic LeBlanc is a safe pair of hands to throw Public Safety to. Marc Miller will bring passion and commitment as Minister of Immigration. The choice of rising star Sean Fraser for Housing indicates what a hot issue it has become. As for the shuffle’s big losers, Marco Mendicino, Omar Alghabra and Ahmed Hussen probably got what was coming to them; Pablo Rodriguez, airlifted from Heritage to the relative safety of Transport, did not.”
Lori Turnbull (Contributed to The Globe and Mail)on how the Liberals’ cabinet shuffle won’t satisfy the desire of Canadians for change: “The next election, whenever it occurs, is shaping up to be a change moment. The incumbent government is almost eight years old, Justin Trudeau has been the Leader of the Liberals for over a decade, and the sense of voter fatigue is palpable. People across income brackets are worried about their financial futures. Many feel that the country is not moving in the right direction – or, in other words, they are not convinced that the Liberals have the right economic plan, nor are they sure that the government cares enough about the affordability crisis. And while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre remains a polarizing figure, his party is still polling well ahead of the other parties.”
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Boardon how Ottawa can’t wash its hands of Toronto’s refugee crisis: “Here’s a short list of things that Ottawa spends money on but has no constitutional responsibility for: health care, child care, new fridges for big grocery companies, and Gen Y tech consultants for small businesses. Not on that list, however, is full-fledged support to pay for the rapidly mounting costs of immigration – borders and immigration being, when last we checked, within the ambit of the federal government.”
David A. Robertson (Contributed to The Globe and Mail)on how, by refusing to search a landfill, Manitoba shows its true views on reconciliation: “If you were surprised that Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson announced that a search of the Prairie Green landfill for the bodies of at least two Indigenous women would not be conducted, you haven’t been paying attention. The Progressive Conservative government, including under former premier Brian Pallister, has a less-than-stellar track record on Indigenous relations.”
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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.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
