The Canadian Armed Forces has failed to make the changes needed to stamp out sexual misconduct and should move all criminal sexual offences to the civilian justice system, finds a new report that in part repeats past recommendations the federal government had ignored.
The damning report was released Monday and authored by former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour. It is the third report in seven years to give the government similar recommendations to address misogyny in the military.
All three were written by former justices of the top court. Monday’s report calls for urgent and profound changes to how the Forces operate in order to “create an even and safe playing field for women in the profession of arms.”
BREAKING – The federal government is outlining new firearms legislation later this afternoon. Preview here. Please check The Globe and Mail for details.
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
SUPREME COURT BACKS VICTIMS IN 34 CONSECUTIVE SEX-ASSAULT CASES – The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled against accused people in 34 sexual-assault cases in a row, stretching back more than four years, making it more difficult to overturn such convictions on appeal as the cases pour in during the Me Too era. Story here.
INTEREST RATE HIKE COMING FROM BANK OF CANADA – The Bank of Canada is expected to announce another oversized interest rate increase this week, part of its effort to push Canadian borrowing costs rapidly higher in the hope of slowing the pace of consumer price growth. Story here.
LEGAULT ANNOUNCES POLICY PRIORITY FOR FALL ELECTION – Quebec Premier François Legault, at a policy convention of his Coalition Avenir Québec, announces a key issue he will be pressing in this fall’s provincial election, one that will require a response from Ottawa. Story here from The Montreal Gazette.
CANADA’S PUBLIC SERVICE BEING DESTROYED: FORMER PRIVY COUNCIL CLERK – A lack of trust between politicians and senior levels of the public service, and a Prime Minister’s Office that calls all the shots, is “destroying” Canada’s public service, warns a former clerk of the Privy Council. Story here from Policy Options.
MORE EXPECTED FROM POPE: GOVERNOR-GENERAL – Indigenous communities are “expecting more” from Pope Francis when he visits Canada in July, says Governo-General Mary Simon — but she said she’s uncertain if he’ll deliver. Story here from CBC.
SAJJAN PROMISES HELP FOR VICTIMS OF RUSSIAN SEXUAL ASSAULT – International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan says he told Canadian officials in Ukraine and neighbouring countries to ensure that women sexually assaulted by Russian troops get the help they need – including access to abortions if they wish. Story here.
ONTARIO ELECTION – Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is defending his decision to not visit Ottawa sooner following a deadly storm that has left thousands of people in the area without power for nine days. Story here. Meanwhile, parties made final push on last weekend of campaign before June 2. Story here.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL: Scott Aitchison is campaigning across Ontario this week. Roman Baber is holding a virtual event. Leslyn Lewis is in Gander in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Pierre Poilievre is in Winnipeg. No word on the campaigning whereabouts of Patrick Brown and Jean Charest.
BROWN BACKS OFF ON “DINOSAURS” LABEL ON SOCIAL CONSERVATIVES – Federal Conservative leadership candidate Patrick Brown says calling social conservatives “dinosaurs” in a book he wrote about his time in Ontario politics was “the wrong terminology” Story here.
POILIEVRE MUM ON BILL 96 Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre is the only candidate in the Conservative leadership race to stay mum on Quebec’s controversial new language law, Bill 96. Story here. Meanwhile, The National Post reports here that Mr. Poilievre’s polling numbers headed “in a negative direction.”
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – The House of Commons is sitting again Monday after a week’s break, and will continue to do so, Monday to Friday, through June. 23. Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, May. 30, accessible here.
COMMITTEE MEETINGS – House of Commons committee meetings Monday include the standing committee on national defence holding a hearing on rising domestic operational deployments and challenges for the Canadian Armed Forces, with witnesses that include the Chief of Staff, Canadian Joint Operations Command, Canadian Armed Forces. Details, including the video link, here.
CHANGE OF NAVAL COMMAND – In Halifax, a Change of Command ceremony will be held for the Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy as authority is transferred from Vice-Admiral Craig Baines to Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee. General Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff will preside over the ceremony.
TOURING THE SENATE BUILDING – Public tours of the Senate of Canada building, a former train station and government conference centre in the heart of Ottawa, have resumed. Details here.
THE DECIBEL
On Monday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Globe columnist Marcus Gee talks about the relaxation that birding provides more since the pandemic started. He has also been honing his skills at identifying birds by song. This led him to ask: Why do birds sing at all? The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
In Ottawa, the Prime Minister held private meetings and was scheduled to hold a news conference on firearms legislation with several ministers including Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, Justice Minister David Lametti and Women’s Minister Marci Ien. The Prime Minister was also scheduled to speak with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
LEADERS
No schedule released for party leaders.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Boardon Canada’s real gun violence problem: “There is no one magic bullet that can make gun crime disappear. But Canada has done a few things right, and the way forward includes more of the same: smart gun control that screens owners while respecting law-abiding hunters; a focus on the flow of smuggled and illegal guns; criminal laws that target gun crime; and a society with a strong economy, education system and social safety net, to minimize the incentive to turn to crime.”
Kelly Cryderman (The Globe and Mail)on how Jason Kenney didn’t learn the lessons that Doug Ford has: “Critics of conservative premiers often lump them all together in the same category. But if there ever was a moment that showed how different they can be, it could be this spring – as the clearly contrasting fates of Doug Ford and Jason Kenney play out. Mr. Ford, the anti-establishment municipal politician who has become a more middling conservative, is likely to be re-elected as premier. The detail and policy-oriented Mr. Kenney – who wears his true-blue conservatism on his sleeve – will resign in the months ahead after a bruising leadership review result last week.”
Marcus Gee (The Globe and Mail) on a disappointing election in Ontario: “Ontario votes in a provincial election on Thursday and the tension is… barely palpable. This campaign was less than a barnburner. The three major-party leaders traded predictable gibes about predictable issues and rolled out the usual array of unrealistic, unaffordable promises. Though anything can happen on election night, opinion polls suggest that the Progressive Conservatives will coast to re-election and Doug Ford will serve a second term as premier.”
David McLaughlin (Contributed to The Globe and Mail)on how the trust that binds Canada together is cracking: “Canada’s governments and leaders will need to listen to and learn from Canadians in the months and years ahead to maintain our strong democratic traditions and public institutions. Our public servants tally among the best in the world. They have a big stake in getting this right. Listening and learning from their front-line experiences with citizens and inside experiences with politicians would be smart.”
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
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.
The New Democrats have declared a federal byelection victory in their Winnipeg stronghold riding of Elmwood—Transcona.
The NDP candidate Leila Dance told supporters in a tearful speech that even though the final results weren’t in, she expected she would see them in Ottawa.
With several polls still to be counted, Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds conceded defeat and told his volunteers that they should be proud of what the Conservatives accomplished in the campaign.
Political watchers had a keen eye on the results to see if the Tories could sway traditionally NDP voters on issues related to labour and affordability.
Meanwhile in the byelection race in the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun the NDP, Liberals and Bloc Québécois remained locked in an extremely tight three-way race as the results trickled in slowly.
The Liberal stronghold riding had a record 91 names on the ballot, and the results aren’t expected until the early hours of the morning.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
