In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of Jan. 11 …
What we are watching in Canada …
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It was a day of disparity in Canada’s protracted battle against COVID19, with some provinces recording alarmingly high numbers of infections on Sunday while at least one province managed to whittle new cases to zero.
Ontario set a daily record with 3,945 COVID-19 cases, while neighbouring Quebec’s elevated case load showed little sign of abating with 2,588 new infections.
The country’s lopsided pandemic is evident when comparing those figures with provinces farther east, where Newfoundland and Labrador saw its first new case in several days on Sunday and Nova Scotia – the most populous province in Atlantic Canada – had none.
In the west, while Saskatchewan had no new COVID-19 deaths for the first time in a week, it still had 307 new infections while Manitoba recorded 151.
And on the same day that Alberta recorded 811 new cases of the novel coronavirus, New Brunswick had 14 – a massive gap even taking the large population differences into account.
Dr. Theresa Tam, chief public health officer of Canada, said on Twitter that disease activity remains widespread and the country remains on a path of “continuing resurgence.”
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OTTAWA – Authorities are collecting information about the right-wing Proud Boys group as part of a possible terrorist designation, the federal Liberal government said Sunday as it faced calls to ban the organization over its role in last week’s Capitol Hill riot.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair’s office stopped short of saying when — or even if — the Proud Boys would actually be added to Canada’s national list of terrorist organizations, which includes such groups as al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and the Islamic State.
Blair spokesman Mary-Liz Power instead specifically named it as one of the “ideologically motivated” extremist groups that are being closely watched as Ottawa looks to counter the threat posed by white supremacists and other right-wing organizations.
Founded by Canadian Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys are a right-wing group that is unapologetically misogynist and increasingly linked to white supremacy and hate. It was later banned by Facebook and Instagram in October 2018 for violating their hate policies.
The group first made headlines in Canada when several self-identified members in the Royal Canadian Navy disrupted an Indigenous protest in Halifax in 2017, and has since grown its international profile and membership.
Several members were reportedly among those who stormed Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., following a speech by Trump last week.
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What we are watching in the U.S. …
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will proceed with legislation to impeach U.S. President Donald Trump as she pushes Vice President Mike Pence to invoke constitutional authority to force him out.
The House action could start as soon as today as pressure increases on Trump to step aside.
The president is holed up at the White House, increasingly isolated after a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol last Wednesday in support of his false claims of election fraud.
The rioting left five people dead.
A second Republican senator, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, is now calling for Trump to resign.
Lawmakers have been warning of the damage Trump could still do before Joe Biden is inaugurated as America’s next president on Jan. 20.
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WASHINGTON — The full extent of the assault on the U.S. Capitol is coming into sharper focus, with scenes of violence so vast they are difficult to grasp.
Countless smartphone videos have been emerging from the scene, and more lawmakers are recounting the chaos that was around them.
Altogether they reveal the sinister nature of the assault. And they point to the crowd as a force determined to occupy the inner sanctums of Congress and hunt down leaders — Vice-President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi among them.
Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts says what he witnessed was a display of “home-grown fascism that was out of control.”
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What we are watching in the rest of the world …
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been given the title of general secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party in what’s seen as a symbolic move aimed at bolstering his authority.
Kim already was the top party leader and the supreme commander of North Korea’s 1.2 million-member military.
But analysts say restoring the old title formerly held by his father and grandfather helps cement Kim’s authority during a time when North Korea faces challenges.
Kim has vowed to build more sophisticated nuclear weapons and disclosed economic developmental goals during an important ruling party meeting this past week.
However, observers doubt North Korea has substantial solutions amid coronavirus-related economic shocks, natural disasters and persistent U.S.-led sanctions.
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TOKYO — More than 80 per cent of people in Japan who were surveyed in two new polls say the Tokyo Olympics should be cancelled or postponed, or say they believe the Olympics will not take place.
The polls were conducted by the Japanese news agency Kyodo and TBS — the Tokyo Broadcasting System.
The results are bad news for Tokyo organizers and the International Olympic Committee as they continue to say the postponed Olympics will open on July 23.
Tokyo is battling a surge of COVID-19 cases that prompted the government last week to call a state of emergency.
In declaring the emergency, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he was confident the Olympics would be held.
Japan has controlled the virus relatively well but the surge has heightened skepticism about the need for the Olympics and the danger of potentially bringing 15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes into the country.
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ICYMI …
TORONTO – Internationally renowned Canadian keyboard player Michael Fonfara died in a Toronto hospital on Friday. He was 74.
The sad news came in an emailed statement from publicist Eric Alper, who said Fonfara had been battling cancer for two years.
Born in Stevensville, Ont., Fonfara played on nine of the late Lou Reed’s albums between 1974 and 2005, including “Sally Can’t Dance,” “Rock and Roll Heart,” Street Hassle, and “The Bells,” which Fonfara also executive produced.
Lauded by Alper as a “supremely talented musician,” Fonfara also performed on Foreigner’s iconic album “4,” including their major hit “Urgent.”
Fonfara had been a 30-year plus member of Canadian blues legends Downchild, and some of the others he recorded with include The Everly Brothers, Rough Trade, Rhinoceros and Electric Flag.
His final recording was Downchild’s Live At The Toronto Jazz Festival, recorded at their 50th Anniversary party in 2019, where he performed live alongside special guest stars Dan Aykroyd, Paul Shaffer and David Wilcox.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 11, 2021
OTTAWA – The New Democrats confirmed Thursday they won’t help Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives topple the government next week, and intend to join the Bloc Québécois in blocking the Tories’ non-confidence motion.
The planned votes from the Bloc and the New Democrats eliminate the possibility of a snap election, buying the Liberals more time to govern after a raucous start to the fall sitting of Parliament.
Poilievre issued a challenge to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh earlier this week when he announced he will put forward a motion that simply states that the House has no confidence in the government or the prime minister.
If it were to pass, it would likely mean Canadians would be heading to the polls, but Singh said Thursday he’s not going to let Poilievre tell him what to do.
Voting against the Conservative motion doesn’t mean the NDP support the Liberals, said Singh, who pulled out of his political pact with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a few weeks ago.
“I stand by my words, Trudeau has let you down,” Singh said in the foyer outside of the House of Commons Thursday.
“Trudeau has let you down and does not deserve another chance.”
Canadians will have to make that choice at the ballot box, Singh said, but he will make a decision about whether to help trigger that election on a vote-by-vote basis in the House.
The Conservatives mocked the NDP during Question Period for saying they had “ripped up” the deal to support the Liberals, despite plans to vote to keep them in power.
Poilievre accused Singh of pretending to pull out of the deal to sway voters in a federal byelection in Winnipeg, where the NDP was defending its long-held seat against the Conservatives.
“Once the votes were counted, he betrayed them again. He’s a fake, a phoney and fraud. How can anyone ever believe what the sellout NDP leader says in the future?” Poilievre said during Question Period Thursday afternoon.
At some point after those comments, Singh stepped out from behind his desk in the House and a two-minute shouting match ensued between the two leaders and their MPs before the Speaker intervened.
Outside the House, Poilievre said he plans to put forward another non-confidence motion at the next opportunity.
“We want a carbon-tax election as soon as possible, so that we can axe Trudeau’s tax before he quadruples it to 61 cents a litre,” he said.
Liberal House leader Karina Gould says there is much work the government still needs to do, and that Singh has realized the consequences of potentially bringing down the government. She refused to take questions about whether her government will negotiate with opposition parties to ensure their support in future confidence motions.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet hasn’t ruled out voting no-confidence in the government the next time a motion is tabled.
“I never support Liberals. Help me God, I go against the Conservatives on a vote that is only about Pierre Poilievre and his huge ambition for himself,” Blanchet said Thursday.
“I support the interests of Quebecers, if those interests are also good for Canadians.”
A Bloc bill to increase pension cheques for seniors aged 65 to 74 is now at “the very centre of the survival of this government,” he said.
The Bloc needs a recommendation from a government minister to OK the cost and get the bill through the House.
The Bloc also wants to see more protections for supply management in the food sector in Canada and Quebec.
If the Liberals can’t deliver on those two things, they will fall, Blanchet said.
“This is what we call power,” he said.
Treasury Board President Anita Anand wouldn’t say whether the government would be willing to swallow the financial implications of the Bloc’s demands.
“We are focused at Treasury Board on ensuring prudent fiscal management,” she said Thursday.
“And at this time, our immediate focus is implementing the measures in budget 2024 that were announced earlier this year.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – Treasury Board President Anita Anand has been sworn in as federal transport minister at a ceremony at Rideau Hall, taking over a portfolio left vacant after Pablo Rodriguez resigned from cabinet and the Liberal caucus on Thursday.
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
