The co-owner of GCStrategies agreed with his business partner’s assessment that the Auditor-General got it wrong as to how much their company was paid to work on the ArriveCan app – but also said he’s never read her report.
Darren Anthony appeared before the Commons government operations committee today to answer questions about Auditor-General Karen Hogan’s findings regarding his company.
The two-person company’s managing partner, Kristian Firth, appeared before the same committee yesterday. In that hearing, Firth disputed Hogan’s recent finding that his company received $19.1-million to work on the app project, saying it was closer to $11-million.
Firth said he invoiced the Canada Border Services Agency for about $22-million in work, but he disagrees with the Auditor-General as to how much of that should be attributed to ArriveCan versus other IT services.
Anthony said he agreed that Hogan’s conclusions were “incorrect” regarding his company. He was later asked if he had read the report. “I have not read it, no,” he said.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
Canada relocating some diplomats from ‘volatile’ Haiti: “The security situation remains volatile,” Sebastien Beaulieu, Global Affairs Canada’s chief security officer, told reporters today.
Doug Ford sends list of requests to Trudeau ahead of Ontario, federal budgets: In four sections of a letter disclosed today, the Ontario Premier details a series of requests to the federal government, including matching Ontario’s commitment of more than $1-billion to build roads in the Ring of Fire region. Global News reports.
Quebec Premier to seek full powers over immigration at meeting Friday with Trudeau: Premier François Legault made his intention known today while responding to a question in the provincial legislature from Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, according to a report in The Montreal Gazette.
In Gander, Nfld., Pierre Poilievre encourages rally attendees to press MPs over carbon-pricing hike: About 100 people showed up for the federal Conservative Leader’s visit to the central Newfoundland city this week, according to CBC.
New Zealand says it’s not questioning Canadian allegations on Nijjar after remarks by country’s deputy PM: The Indian Express newspaper this week reported comments from New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who asked for evidence to prove Canada’s allegations that India played a role in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing in B.C. But the New Zealand government, asked for comment, said Wellington is not challenging Canada’s allegations.
Justin Trudeau and Danielle Smith hint at compromise over federal pharmacare proposal: The Alberta Premier wants Ottawa to revise its national pharmacare proposal while the Prime Minister indicated this week the federal government was open to negotiating separate pharmacare deals with each province.
TODAY’S POLITICAL QUOTES
“I want to thank you for your ongoing partnership as our governments continue to work together to deliver for the people we serve” – Ontario Premier Doug Ford, in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on a series of requests in various policy areas.
“I fully expect that person to soon join a Pierre Poilievre-led Conservative government” – Conservative MP Ed Fast, announcing his decision not to seek re-election, on his hopes for his successor as the Conservative candidate in his B.C. riding, soon to be named Abbotsford-South Langley.
“As much as the international community will continue to have a role to play, if we want a sustainable solution, it has to be led by Haitians themselves” – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, during a news conference today in Windsor, Ont., on where responsibility lies in dealing with the challenges facing Haiti.
THIS AND THAT
Fast bowing out: Ed Fast, the Conservative MP for Abbotsford for the past 18 years, has announced he will not seek another term in order to open an opportunity for what he labels the “next generation of leader” to take the spot. Fast, who served as international trade minister under former prime minister Stephen Harper, said in a statement that the party has assured him there is “no preferred candidate as some have suggested” for the nomination and he hopes party members are free to choose the next candidate.
Commons, Senate: The House of Commons is on a break until Monday. The Senate sits again on March 19.
Deputy Prime Minister’s day: Chrystia Freeland is in Ottawa, but has no public events scheduled.
Ministers on the road: Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne is in the Italian city of Verona for a meeting with his G7 counterparts on industry, technology and digital issues. In the Nova Scotia town of Bridgewater, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced a clean-energy investment, and, in the town of Shelburne, held a roundtable with members of the Black community affected by environmental pollution since the 1940s. International Trade Minister Mary Ng, in Vancouver, announced federal funding for seven businesses. Later, she participated in a roundtable held by the Surrey Board of Trade on the Canada-US commerce relationship and issues faced by Canadian businesses in trade relations with the United States. Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, in Montreal, announced permanent funding to support Indigenous-led storytelling through the Indigenous Screen Office, including $65-million over five years starting in 2024–25 and $13-million a year afterward. Veterans Affairs Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, in the New Brunswick town of Oromocto, announced a $55.6-million plan to upgrade 255 buildings at the 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, as well as $19.7-million to construct a solar farm at the base. Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, in Saskatoon with Mayor Charlie Clark, announced funding for critical minerals development in Saskatchewan.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Justin Trudeau, in Southwestern Ontario, met with union workers, held a short media availability, and met with seniors.
LEADERS
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, in Halifax, was scheduled to join federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault at a roundtable discussion with the Black community in Shelburne, N.S., on environmental racism.
No schedules released for Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet,Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.
THE DECIBEL
Haitian political scientist Chalmers Larose, a lecturer at several Canadian postsecondary institutions, is on the Globe podcast today to unpack the security problems facing Haiti, what can be done about them, and whether international efforts could help. The Decibel is here.
TRIBUTE
Kim Rudd: The Liberal MP for the Ontario riding of Northumberland-Peterborough South from 2015 to 2019 died Tuesday of ovarian cancer, says an online obituary. She was 66.
OPINION
EVs shift into a higher gear
“EVs, which include battery electric and plug-in hybrids, accounted for 10.8 per cent of all new motor vehicle registrations last year. It’s a big number – prepandemic, in 2019, EVs market share was 2.9 per cent – but 10.8 per cent in 2023 is also a small number, still only a fraction of the total market.” – The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
The ArriveCan of worms: Public-service problems spill out
“We haven’t got to the bottom of the ArriveCan debacle, but it sure has drawn out a host of other problems inside government.” – Campbell Clark
If the Trudeau Liberals are annihilated in an election, it will be over housing
“If the Trudeau Liberal government is annihilated in the next election, on an economic matter, it will be on carbon pricing but also broader, continuing inflation worries. And also concern about Canada’s GDP slumping on a per-capita basis. But mostly, housing.” – Kelly Cryderman
Haiti cannot wait another year for the U.S. and Canada to help
“In short, a year of U.S. and Canadian procrastination has led to nothing but more suffering and bloodshed in Haiti. It is hard to see how Haitians stand a fighting chance at order, much less democracy, without another United Nations-sanctioned peacekeeping force first restoring security to its streets.” – Konrad Yakabuski
We all deserve affordable homes and a stable climate – and that is achievable
“Many fitting tributes have been paid to the late former prime minister Brian Mulroney. Here I will only add that he championed an ambitious strain of politics, one that didn’t shy away from the challenges of the day, no matter how tough.” – Mark Carney
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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
