Atlantic premiers are making the case for additional health care funding from the federal government ahead of a meeting next month of all premiers and territorial leaders where the issue will be key to the agenda.
“This increased funding would have a significant impact on the ability of provinces to provide quality health care services and respond to the strain on health care systems,” said the closing statement Wednesday for the meeting of the Council of Atlantic Premiers.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, chair of the Atlantic premiers council, hosted the meeting in Pictou, N.S. Present for the meeting were Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, Dennis King of Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs.
The 13 provincial and territorial premiers in the Council of the Federation are to meet in Victoria on July 11 and 12. Premiers have said Ottawa should increase its contribution to the Canada Health Transfer by about $28-billion more this year.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier this year that discussion on the issue should wait until the pandemic is over. He has said the federal government has spent the past two years engaging directly with provinces and territories on funding for health in addition to the Canada Health Transfer, which is worth $43.1-billion this year. Story here.
As B.C. Premier John Horgan, chair of the Council of the Federation, announced Tuesday that he would be stepping down as premier, he said that he remained committed to the health care funding issue and would work on it through to his expected departure from his post later this year.
“Premiers across the country will be assembling in Victoria, where the number one issue on the table is a commitment from the federal government to sit down with the provinces and resolve the crisis in public health care,” Mr. Horgan told a news conference in the B.C. capital.
“I fully intend to carry on that battle to make the federal government stand up for the commitments they made to all of us and convene a meeting so we can fix the most important social program, in fact, the most important program in Canada.”
Mr. Horgan, a New Democrat, said premiers and territorial leaders have been united across Canada on the issue despite partisan differences. “We have been a uniform group.”
This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Ian Bailey. It is available exclusively to our digital subscribers. If you’re reading this on the web, subscribers can sign up for the Politics newsletter and more than 20 others on our newsletter signup page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.
TODAY’S HEADLINES
TIM HORTONS LATEST COMPANY TO SUSPEND HOCKEY CANADA SUPPORT – Tim Hortons is suspending its support of the IIHF World Junior Championship and plans to re-evaluate its sponsorship of Hockey Canada, as the organization faces growing backlash from corporate partners over its payment to settle allegations that eight Canadian Hockey League players assaulted a young woman in 2018 following a Hockey Canada gala. Story here.
$150M SETTLEMENT WITH PERDUE PHARMA CANADA – A proposed $150-million settlement with Purdue Pharma Canada covering all provinces and territories has been reached for the recovery of health care costs related to the sale and marketing of opioid-based pain medication. Story here.
RCMP COMMISSIONER BOWED TO POLITICAL PRESSURE: SENIOR CIVILIAN MOUNTIE – A senior civilian Mountie sent a strongly worded letter to RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki last year, accusing her of bowing to political pressure and displaying “unprofessional and extremely belittling” behaviour to officers investigating the worst mass shooting in Canadian history. Story here.
FIRST NATIONS CHIEFS GATHERING LOOMS – First Nations Chiefs from across Canada are set to gather in Vancouver next week, but along with discussionson issues ranging from climate change to housing and child welfare, they will also face an unfolding leadership crisis within their national advocacy organization. Story here.
CANADA OPENING FOUR NEW EMBASSIES – Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Canada will open four new embassies in Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Armenia, and will reinforce its presence in Latvia amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Story here.
B.C. PREMIER QUITTING – John Horgan will step down as B.C. Premier this fall, saying two bouts of cancer and 36 years in government have left him without the intensity needed to commit to another term. Story here. Global News looks here at possible successors to Mr. Horgan, including former NDP MP Nathan Cullen.
‘I STABBED HIM IN THE FRONT’: JEAN ON TOPPLING KENNEY – Brian Jean is blunt about his efforts to see Jason Kenney ousted as leader of Alberta’s United Conservative Party, leading to the ongoing race to lead the party. “People that say I stabbed Kenney in the back, well, I never. I stabbed him in the front. He knew I was coming. I was very honest with him,” Mr. Jean, a candidate in the UCP leadership race, told The Edmonton Journal. Story here.
JUDGE IN CONVOY CASES THREATENED – One of the judges who presided over the court hearings of Freedom Convoy organizers is speaking out after receiving threats considered serious enough to require police intervention. Story here from CBC.
PMO POWER CENTRALIZATION NECESSARY: FORMER ADVISERS – The frequently criticized centralization of power within the Prime Minister’s Office is a necessary part of governing – regardless of who is in power – argued two former prime ministerial advisers, at an event in Calgary Tuesday. Story here from The National Post.
ALBERTA POSTS SURPLUS – Alberta posted a multi-billion-dollar surplus in the last fiscal year after a record windfall of energy revenue erased a forecasted deficit that motivated the government to cut spending. Story here.
CANADA LACKS AMBASSADOR TO CHINA – Canada has been without an ambassador to China since the end of 2021, when Dominic Barton moved out of the Beijing offices. The government says, while a representative will be named in “due course,” Canada continues to engage with China at the “highest levels” in the meantime. Story here from CTV.
SWEET TAX COMING IN NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR – Newfoundland and Labrador’s pending tax on soft drinks and other sugary beverages is leaving a bad taste with some in the province. The tax, which takes effect in September, will be a first in Canada. Story here from Global News.
TOUGH GREEN LEADERSHIP RULES DRAW COMPLAINTS- The contest to find the next Green Party leader is off to a rocky start, with leadership hopefuls and a former party insider complaining about the restrictive rules governing the race. Story here from CBC.
CYBERSPY AGENCY SOUGHT TO PROTECT ELECTION – Canada’s cyberspy agency launched a defensive operation to protect last year’s federal election – including the party leaders’ debate – from disruption by foreign agencies. Story here from CTV.
INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE NEEDS TO BE DECLARED EPIDEMIC: INQUEST JURY – The Ontario government should formally declare intimate partner violence an epidemic, says an inquest jury after three weeks of testimony into a rural triple femicide nearly seven years ago. Story here.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL – Scott Aitchison is in Ontario. Patrick Brown is in Brampton. Jean Charest is in Alberta. Leslyn Lewis is in her riding of Halimand-Norfolk. Pierre Poilievre is in Ottawa. There was no word on the campaign whereabouts of Roman Baber.
BROWN CALLS FOR CONSERVATIVE CLARITY ON ABORTION – Patrick Brown says the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on abortion means the Conservative Party in Canada needs to emphasize it is ruling out changes to policies on terminating pregnancies. Story here.
BROWN AND MACKAY BREAKFAST – Patrick Brown is scheduled to attend a breakfast event in Stellarton, Nova Scotia on Sunday with former Conservative cabinet minister Peter MacKay, also a contender for the party leadership in 2020. However, an endorsement is unlikely. In a statement this week, Mr. MacKay said he is doing what he can to support all candidates, but not picking a favorite.
THIS AND THAT
The House of Commons is not sitting again until Sept. 19. The Senate is to resume sitting on Sept. 20
FREELAND IN SHERBROOKE – Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is in Sherbrooke, visiting footwear manufacturer LP Royer and workers. She was also scheduled to meet with workers and hold a news conference. She will also meet with the Sherbrooke Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
MENDICINO IN SCARBOROUGH – Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is in Scarborough to make an announcement with Toronto Mayor John Tory on federal support for organizations on the front lines of the fight against gun and gang violence in Toronto.
MILLER IN N.W.T AND HAJDU IN THUNDER BAY – In Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller announces a project under the Cultural Spaces in Indigenous Communities Program. Meanwhile, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu announces support to enhance tourism and expand Northwestern Ontario’s creative economy.
ALGHABRA IN MISSISSAGUA – Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, and NAV CANADA vice president Mark Cooper, in Mississauga, will make an important funding announcement regarding investments in air traffic control infrastructure in Canada.
SUTCLIFFE RUNS FOR OTTAWA MAYOR – Writer, broadcaster and podcaster Mark Sutcliffe, the founder of the Ottawa Business Journal, and the former executive editor of The Ottawa Citizen newspaper, has entered the mayoral race in Ottawa. Jim Watson, who has been mayor since 2010 after serving a previous three-year term, is not seeking re-election. There are now a total eight candidates in the Oct. 24 election. I will work hard, every single day, to make Ottawa safe, reliable, and affordable for everyone,” he said in a tweet Wednesday.
THE DECIBEL
Wednesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast features Rosemary Westwood, who has been following the battle over abortion rights in the Southern U.S. for the past six years. She’s the host of Banned, a podcast about the Mississippi case that led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. She’s on the show to explain how the U.S. got to this point, the people behind the fight on both sides of the issue and what their plans are now that Roe v. Wade is gone. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
In Madrid for a NATO summit, the Prime Minister held private meetings, and participated in the official arrivals at the summit, met with the Secretary General of NATO,Jens Stoltenberg and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and attended the official summit welcome ceremony by Secretary-General Stoltenberg.The Prime Minister also participated in the Opening Session of the North Atlantic Council Meeting, and met with Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö. After that, the Prime Minister participated in the North Atlantic Council Plenary Session, and attended the Transatlantic Working Dinner, chaired by the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez.
LEADERS
No schedules provided for party leaders.
OPINION
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail)on how John Horgan’s power as B.C.’s NDP Premier was his ability to connect with ordinary people: “There will be other opportunities to discuss Mr. Horgan’s legacy. But without question, he will go down as one of the top two or three most popular premiers in B.C. history. He had the Irish gift of gab, combined with a common touch that made him highly relatable – a guy with whom you wouldn’t mind having a pint. That’s not something you teach; you’re born with those skills. It’s funny when you consider he almost talked himself out of going for the job.”
Rosemary Westwood (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how the U.S. has demolished abortion rights: “On the day the decision came down, former vice-president Mike Pence – the man whose evangelical bona fides helped affirm the religious right’s support of Mr. Trump – tweeted that Republicans “must not rest and must not relent until the sanctity of life is restored to the center of American law in every state in the land.” It took half a century for the anti-abortion movement to take down Roe, and its work may not be finished. The question now is whether the abortion-rights movement can mount an expansive, well-funded, enduring movement of even greater force to restore women’s rights – and how fast.”
Jake Enright (The National Post)on the truth behind skyrocketing Conservative party membership sales: “Finally, and for me most significantly, each of the three Conservative leadership front-runners are communicating to a unique audience, using a specific medium they themselves dominate. For example, Patrick Brown is primarily communicating to ethnic communities, using cultural media and outreach. Jean Charest is communicating to disillusioned progressive conservatives, using traditional media to reach his audience, especially in Quebec. Lastly, Pierre Poilievre is communicating to the “Left Behinds,” an audience that feels they are falling further and further behind financially, who also do not trust the government and are becoming suspicious of institutions. Poilievre is using his mastery of social media to reach this once illusive political audience. Leslyn Lewis is also communicating to a specific audience, the pro-life community.”
Marjory LeBreton (Policy Magazine)on the Conservative Party’s Make-or-break Moment: “Now, I fervently believe that the Conservative Party has reached an existential choice. The current leadership race is the third in six years, and the message that sends to Canadians in general cannot go unheard by Conservatives in particular: We have to get it right this time. I fear that if we don’t, the great accommodation reached by Stephen Harper and Peter MacKay in the fall of 2003 could fracture, possibly beyond repair. Clearly, this trend cannot continue if we are serious about earning the support of Canadians in future elections.”
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OTTAWA – The federal agency that investigates election infractions found insufficient evidence to support suggestions Beijing wielded undue influence against the Conservatives in the Vancouver area during the 2021 general election.
The Commissioner of Canada Elections’ recently completed review of the lingering issue was tabled Tuesday at a federal inquiry into foreign interference.
The review focused on the unsuccessful campaign of Conservative candidate Kenny Chiu in the riding of Steveston-Richmond East and the party’s larger efforts in the Vancouver area.
It says the evidence uncovered did not trigger the threshold to initiate a formal investigation under the Canada Elections Act.
Investigators therefore recommended that the review be concluded.
A summary of the review results was shared with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP. The review says both agencies indicated the election commissioner’s findings were consistent with their own understanding of the situation.
During the exercise, the commissioner’s investigators met with Chinese Canadian residents of Chiu’s riding and surrounding ones.
They were told of an extensive network of Chinese Canadian associations, businesses and media organizations that offers the diaspora a lifestyle that mirrors that of China in many ways.
“Further, this diaspora has continuing and extensive commercial, social and familial relations with China,” the review says.
Some interviewees reported that this “has created aspects of a parallel society involving many Chinese Canadians in the Lower Mainland area, which includes concerted support, direction and control by individuals from or involved with China’s Vancouver consulate and the United Front Work Department (UFWD) in China.”
Investigators were also made aware of members of three Chinese Canadian associations, as well as others, who were alleged to have used their positions to influence the choice of Chinese Canadian voters during the 2021 election in a direction favourable to the interests of Beijing, the review says.
These efforts were sparked by elements of the Conservative party’s election platform and by actions and statements by Chiu “that were leveraged to bolster claims that both the platform and Chiu were anti-China and were encouraging anti-Chinese discrimination and racism.”
These messages were amplified through repetition in social media, chat groups and posts, as well as in Chinese in online, print and radio media throughout the Vancouver area.
Upon examination, the messages “were found to not be in contravention” of the Canada Elections Act, says the review, citing the Supreme Court of Canada’s position that the concept of uninhibited speech permeates all truly democratic societies and institutions.
The review says the effectiveness of the anti-Conservative, anti-Chiu campaigns was enhanced by circumstances “unique to the Chinese diaspora and the assertive nature of Chinese government interests.”
It notes the election was prefaced by statements from China’s ambassador to Canada and the Vancouver consul general as well as articles published or broadcast in Beijing-controlled Chinese Canadian media entities.
“According to Chinese Canadian interview subjects, this invoked a widespread fear amongst electors, described as a fear of retributive measures from Chinese authorities should a (Conservative) government be elected.”
This included the possibility that Chinese authorities could interfere with travel to and from China, as well as measures being taken against family members or business interests in China, the review says.
“Several Chinese Canadian interview subjects were of the view that Chinese authorities could exercise such retributive measures, and that this fear was most acute with Chinese Canadian electors from mainland China. One said ‘everybody understands’ the need to only say nice things about China.”
However, no interview subject was willing to name electors who were directly affected by the anti-Tory campaign, nor community leaders who claimed to speak on a voter’s behalf.
Several weeks of public inquiry hearings will focus on the capacity of federal agencies to detect, deter and counter foreign meddling.
In other testimony Tuesday, Conservative MP Garnett Genuis told the inquiry that parliamentarians who were targeted by Chinese hackers could have taken immediate protective steps if they had been informed sooner.
It emerged earlier this year that in 2021 some MPs and senators faced cyberattacks from the hackers because of their involvement with the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, which pushes for accountability from Beijing.
In 2022, U.S. authorities apparently informed the Canadian government of the attacks, and it in turn advised parliamentary IT officials — but not individual MPs.
Genuis, a Canadian co-chair of the inter-parliamentary alliance, told the inquiry Tuesday that it remains mysterious to him why he wasn’t informed about the attacks sooner.
Liberal MP John McKay, also a Canadian co-chair of the alliance, said there should be a clear protocol for advising parliamentarians of cyberthreats.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
WINNIPEG – The federal New Democrats have kept a longtime stronghold in the Elmwood-Transcona riding in Winnipeg.
The NDP’s Leila Dance won a close battle over Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds, and says the community has spoken in favour of priorities such as health care and the cost of living.
Elmwood-Transcona has elected a New Democrat in every election except one since the riding was formed in 1988.
The seat became open after three-term member of Parliament Daniel Blaikie resigned in March to take a job with the Manitoba government.
A political analyst the NDP is likely relieved to have kept the seat in what has been one of their strongest urban areas.
Christopher Adams, an adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba, says NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh worked hard to keep the seat in a tight race.
“He made a number of visits to Winnipeg, so if they had lost this riding it would have been disastrous for the NDP,” Adams said.
The strong Conservative showing should put wind in that party’s sails, Adams added, as their percentage of the popular vote in Elmwood-Transcona jumped sharply from the 2021 election.
“Even though the Conservatives lost this (byelection), they should walk away from it feeling pretty good.”
Dance told reporters Monday night she wants to focus on issues such as the cost of living while working in Ottawa.
“We used to be able to buy a cart of groceries for a hundred dollars and now it’s two small bags. That is something that will affect everyone in this riding,” Dance said.
Liberal candidate Ian MacIntyre placed a distant third,
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say the Liberals have “all sorts of reflections” to make after losing a second stronghold in a byelection in Montreal Monday night.
His comments come as the Liberal cabinet gathers for its first regularly scheduled meeting of the fall sitting of Parliament, which began Monday.
Trudeau’s Liberals were hopeful they could retain the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, but those hopes were dashed after the Bloc Québécois won it in an extremely tight three-way race with the NDP.
Louis-Philippe Sauvé, an administrator at the Institute for Research in Contemporary Economics, beat Liberal candidate Laura Palestini by less than 250 votes. The NDP finished about 600 votes back of the winner.
It is the second time in three months that Trudeau’s party lost a stronghold in a byelection. In June, the Conservatives defeated the Liberals narrowly in Toronto-St. Paul’s.
The Liberals won every seat in Toronto and almost every seat on the Island of Montreal in the last election, and losing a seat in both places has laid bare just how low the party has fallen in the polls.
“Obviously, it would have been nicer to be able to win and hold (the Montreal riding), but there’s more work to do and we’re going to stay focused on doing it,” Trudeau told reporters ahead of this morning’s cabinet meeting.
When asked what went wrong for his party, Trudeau responded “I think there’s all sorts of reflections to take on that.”
In French, he would not say if this result puts his leadership in question, instead saying his team has lots of work to do.
Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet will hold a press conference this morning, but has already said the results are significant for his party.
“The victory is historic and all of Quebec will speak with a stronger voice in Ottawa,” Blanchet wrote on X, shortly after the winner was declared.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and his party had hoped to ride to a win in Montreal on the popularity of their candidate, city councillor Craig Sauvé, and use it to further their goal of replacing the Liberals as the chief alternative to the Conservatives.
The NDP did hold on to a seat in Winnipeg in a tight race with the Conservatives, but the results in Elmwood-Transcona Monday were far tighter than in the last several elections. NDP candidate Leila Dance defeated Conservative Colin Reynolds by about 1,200 votes.
Singh called it a “big victory.”
“Our movement is growing — and we’re going to keep working for Canadians and building that movement to stop Conservative cuts before they start,” he said on social media.
“Big corporations have had their governments. It’s the people’s time.”
New Democrats recently pulled out of their political pact with the government in a bid to distance themselves from the Liberals, making the prospects of a snap election far more likely.
Trudeau attempted to calm his caucus at their fall retreat in Nanaimo, B.C, last week, and brought former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney on as an economic adviser in a bid to shore up some credibility with voters.
The latest byelection loss will put more pressure on him as leader, with many polls suggesting voter anger is more directed at Trudeau himself than at Liberal policies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
