Opposition Leader Candice Bergen wants a full investigation into questions around the RCMP Commissioner allegedly pressing her force to disclose the weapons used in the Nova Scotia mass shooting to help advance the federal Liberal government’s gun-control legislation.
But the interim leader of the Conservatives said Wednesday that she doesn’t have faith in a committee of MPs looking into the matter because of the supply and confidence agreement that the NDP struck earlier this year with the governing Liberals.
“We have seen the NDP help cover up a lot for the Liberals so I really have concern about a parliamentary committee,” Ms. Bergen told journalists as she arrived for this week’s caucus meeting.
“So I think there has to be more independence and the ability for more of an independent investigation to happen. I don’t trust the NDP to not cover up.”
She declined to provide further specifics.
The public inquiry into the April, 2020, killings of 22 people by a lone gunman has been told that in an April. 28 conference call, Commissioner Brenda Lucki chastised senior commanders for withholding information about the guns used in the attack – allegedly telling them those details could be leveraged for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s gun-control agenda.
The Mass Casualty Commission released supporting documents and notes Tuesday involving a conversation between Commissioner Lucki and RCMP officers overseeing the Nova Scotia investigation into the murders. Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife, Senior Parliamentary Reporter Steven Chase, and Atlantic Canada Reporter Greg Mercer report here.
Meanwhile, Opposition House Leader John Brassard said the Conservatives were going to ask the Speaker for an emergency debate in Parliament on this issue. Mr. Brassard said the debate should include inflation and the passport “fiasco” as Canadians seek access to travel documents. He said the request would be made Wednesday.
Mr. Brassard expressed more faith in a committee investigation than Ms. Bergen, saying “at a minimum” questions about the RCMP and the mass shooting need to go to a parliamentary committee. “We expect that this is going to end up at a parliamentary committee so that we can get to the truth of this matter.”
He said the process needs to move as quickly as possible, even ahead of the inquiry in Nova Scotia.
Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont said the situation is disturbing. “It makes me sick,” the member for West Nova and the deputy speaker said.
“Twenty-two people died in Nova Scotia. We, as Nova Scotians, mourn the loss of those people as do our neighbours.”
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
INFLATION AT FOUR-DECADE HIGH – Canadian inflation accelerated to the highest rate in nearly four decades in May as calls broaden for policy makers to find new ways of curbing runaway price growth. Story here.
HOCKEY CANADA FUNDING TO BE FROZEN – Hockey Canada’s federal funding is being frozen in the wake of the national sport body’s handling of an alleged sexual assault and out-of-court settlement. Story here.
WHEREABOUTS OF SCIENTISTS STILL A MYSTERY – A year and a half after two Canadian scientists were fired from Ottawa’s top-security infectious-disease laboratory over alleged national-security breaches, it is still unclear whether the couple are now in China or living at an undisclosed location in Canada. Story here.
SITUATION AT PASSPORT OFFICES “UNACCEPTABLE”: TRUDEAU – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising to do more to fix what he calls an “unacceptable” state of affairs at passport offices overwhelmed as thousands of Canadians scramble to get necessary documents before travelling abroad. Mr. Trudeau made the comments in an interview on CBC Radio’s The House that will air Saturday. Story here from CBC.
PM DEPARTS FOR INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has departed for a 10-day international trip, with the Russia-Ukraine conflict expected to be a major focus during stops in Kigali, Rwanda as well as Germany and then on to Madrid. Story here.
REMPEL GARNER CLEARS HURDLE FOR UCP LEADERSHIP BID – Long-time federal Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner has cleared a barrier for entry into the United Conservative Party leadership race to replace Alberta Premier Jason Kenney after the UCP agreed to let her run despite the potential candidate not being a party member long enough. Story here.
STEFANSON HAS COVID-19 -Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson has tested positive for COVID-19. Story here.
MPS EQUIPPED WITH PANIC BUTTONS – MPs say they are getting used to the option of carrying panic buttons that can summon help, even when away from Parliament Hill, amid rising threats against parliamentarians. Story here..
TRANS MOUNTAIN PIPELINE NO LONGER PROFITABLE: PBO -The Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain oil pipeline is no longer profitable after cost overruns and delays to its expansion project, the country’s parliamentary budget officer (PBO) said on Wednesday. Story here.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL – Scott Aitchison is in Ontario. Patrick Brown is in Brampton. Jean Charest is in the Toronto region meeting members and working with his campaign team. Leslyn Lewis is in Ottawa, and was at the national Conservative caucus meeting Wednesday. Pierre Poilievre is in Ottawa. There’s no word on the campaign whereabouts of Roman Baber.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, June 22 accessible here.
DEPUTY BANK GOVERNOR TO RETIRE – Timothy Lane, the deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, will retire on September 16, 2022, the bank announced on Wednesday. Mr. Lane joined the bank in August, 2008, as an adviser to the governor, after a 20-year career at the International Monetary Fund. He was appointed Deputy Governor in 2009.
FREELAND INTRODUCING ZELENSKY – Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was scheduled to introduce Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, at a virtual address to students at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. The event was livestreamed here.
JOLY TO RWANDA AND MADRID – Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is travelling to Kigali, Rwanda, from June 22 to 25, to attend the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting, then to Madrid from June 28 to 30 to attend the NATO Leaders’ Summit with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
CHAMPAGNE IN TORONTO – Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne was in Toronto on Wednesday for the Collision tech-industry conference.
HORGAN UPDATE ON $789.5M MUSEUM – In Victoria, British Columbia Premier John Horgan will be providing an update on plans to modernize the Royal BC Museum. The NDP government has been in political hot water over the $789.5-million cost to build a new museum on the site of the current complex. In May, Western Arts Correspondent Marsha Lederman looked at the situation here.
THE DECIBEL
On Wednesday’s edition of The Decibel, Yap Boum from Doctors Without Borders talks about monkeypox in Central and West Africa. Then, Helen Branswell, senior writer at STAT News, whose beat is infectious diseases, provides an update on how monkeypox’s spread is different in Europe and North America, and why the World Health Organization might label it a “public health emergency of international concern” at its meeting Thursday. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
The Prime Minister arrives in Kigali, Rwanda for a conference on Commonwealth leaders.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet held a news conference on the session of Parliament ending this week.
Conservative interim leader Candice Bergen attended the national Conservative caucus meeting and was scheduled to attend Question Period.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh attended the NDP national caucus, held a news conference and attended question period.
PUBLIC OPINION
FRANCOPHONE QUEBECERS AND FRENCH STATUS – Francophone Quebecers are concerned about the status of French, with seven in 10 feeling the French language is threatened in Quebec, according to new survey research. Details here.
CANADIANS ON UNITED STATES – Canadians are growing more confident in the United States as a trusted and reliable international ally, but losing faith in the man who’s currently running the country, a new poll suggests. Details here.
Sheema Khan (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how she was wrong that the Charter protects Canadians’ fundamental rights: “Much has been written about the history of how the notwithstanding clause came to be: a compromise between federal and provincial powers; a balance between elected representatives and unelected judges. Yet, this does not explain how basic human rights were used as a bargaining chip, rendering our Charter of Rights and Freedoms hollow. When it was introduced, the thought was that it would be rarely used. Some termed it the “nuclear button.” For decades, that was the case. However, within the past three years, it has been used twice by Quebec and once by Ontario.”
Don Braid (The Calgary Herald)on how, talking straight to UCP anger, could win Danielle Smith the leadership of the Alberta party: “Many Albertans are dismissing Danielle Smith as a separatist flake who won’t get anywhere in the UCP leadership election. They should not. Smith is onto something that could win her the leadership and premier’s office. She’s flying out of the gate with a striking Alberta First agenda. Early polls show her rising and now leading among UCP loyalists – the only ones who will matter in the vote Oct. 6. Whether her plan to “nullify” federal laws would be a winner in next year’s general election is another matter. That seems unlikely, but we should also remember the adage about playing with fire.”
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Outside of sports and a “Cold front coming down from Canada,” American news media only report on Canadian events that they believe are, or will be, influential to the US. Therefore, when Justin Trudeau’s announcement, having finally read the room, that Canada will be reducing the number of permanent residents admitted by more than 20 percent and temporary residents like skilled workers and college students will be cut by more than half made news south of the border, I knew the American media felt Trudeau’s about-face on immigration was newsworthy because many Americans would relate to Trudeau realizing Canada was accepting more immigrants than it could manage and are hoping their next POTUS will follow Trudeau’s playbook.
Canada, with lots of space and lacking convenient geographical ways for illegal immigrants to enter the country, though still many do, has a global reputation for being incredibly accepting of immigrants. On the surface, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver appear to be multicultural havens. However, as the saying goes, “Too much of a good thing is never good,” resulting in a sharp rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, which you can almost taste in the air. A growing number of Canadians, regardless of their political affiliation, are blaming recent immigrants for causing the housing affordability crises, inflation, rise in crime and unemployment/stagnant wages.
Throughout history, populations have engulfed themselves in a tribal frenzy, a psychological state where people identify strongly with their own group, often leading to a ‘us versus them’ mentality. This has led to quick shifts from complacency to panic and finger-pointing at groups outside their tribe, a phenomenon that is not unique to any particular culture or time period.
My take on why the American news media found Trudeau’s blatantly obvious attempt to save his political career, balancing appeasement between the pitchfork crowd, who want a halt to immigration until Canada gets its house in order, and immigrant voters, who traditionally vote Liberal, newsworthy; the American news media, as do I, believe immigration fatigue is why Kamala Harris is going to lose on November 5th.
Because they frequently get the outcome wrong, I don’t take polls seriously. According to polls in 2014, Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives and Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals were in a dead heat in Ontario, yet Wynne won with more than twice as many seats. In the 2018 Quebec election, most polls had the Coalition Avenir Québec with a 1-to-5-point lead over the governing Liberals. The result: The Coalition Avenir Québec enjoyed a landslide victory, winning 74 of 125 seats. Then there’s how the 2016 US election polls showing Donald Trump didn’t have a chance of winning against Hillary Clinton were ridiculously way off, highlighting the importance of the election day poll and, applicable in this election as it was in 2016, not to discount ‘shy Trump supporters;’ voters who support Trump but are hesitant to express their views publicly due to social or political pressure.
My distrust in polls aside, polls indicate Harris is leading by a few points. One would think that Trump’s many over-the-top shenanigans, which would be entertaining were he not the POTUS or again seeking the Oval Office, would have him far down in the polls. Trump is toe-to-toe with Harris in the polls because his approach to the economy—middle-class Americans are nostalgic for the relatively strong economic performance during Trump’s first three years in office—and immigration, which Americans are hyper-focused on right now, appeals to many Americans. In his quest to win votes, Trump is doing what anyone seeking political office needs to do: telling the people what they want to hear, strategically using populism—populism that serves your best interests is good populism—to evoke emotional responses. Harris isn’t doing herself any favours, nor moving voters, by going the “But, but… the orange man is bad!” route, while Trump cultivates support from “weird” marginal voting groups.
To Harris’s credit, things could have fallen apart when Biden abruptly stepped aside. Instead, Harris quickly clinched the nomination and had a strong first few weeks, erasing the deficit Biden had given her. The Democratic convention was a success, as was her acceptance speech. Her performance at the September 10th debate with Donald Trump was first-rate.
Harris’ Achilles heel is she’s now making promises she could have made and implemented while VP, making immigration and the economy Harris’ liabilities, especially since she’s been sitting next to Biden, watching the US turn into the circus it has become. These liabilities, basically her only liabilities, negate her stance on abortion, democracy, healthcare, a long-winning issue for Democrats, and Trump’s character. All Harris has offered voters is “feel-good vibes” over substance. In contrast, Trump offers the tangible political tornado (read: steamroll the problems Americans are facing) many Americans seek. With Trump, there’s no doubt that change, admittedly in a messy fashion, will happen. If enough Americans believe the changes he’ll implement will benefit them and their country…
The case against Harris on immigration, at a time when there’s a huge global backlash to immigration, even as the American news media are pointing out, in famously immigrant-friendly Canada, is relatively straightforward: During the first three years of the Biden-Harris administration, illegal Southern border crossings increased significantly.
The words illegal immigration, to put it mildly, irks most Americans. On the legal immigration front, according to Forbes, most billion-dollar startups were founded by immigrants. Google, Microsoft, and Oracle, to name three, have immigrants as CEOs. Immigrants, with tech skills and an entrepreneurial thirst, have kept America leading the world. I like to think that Americans and Canadians understand the best immigration policy is to strategically let enough of these immigrants in who’ll increase GDP and tax base and not rely on social programs. In other words, Americans and Canadians, and arguably citizens of European countries, expect their governments to be more strategic about immigration.
The days of the words on a bronze plaque mounted inside the Statue of Liberty pedestal’s lower level, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” are no longer tolerated. Americans only want immigrants who’ll benefit America.
Does Trump demagogue the immigration issue with xenophobic and racist tropes, many of which are outright lies, such as claiming Haitian immigrants in Ohio are abducting and eating pets? Absolutely. However, such unhinged talk signals to Americans who are worried about the steady influx of illegal immigrants into their country that Trump can handle immigration so that it’s beneficial to the country as opposed to being an issue of economic stress.
In many ways, if polls are to be believed, Harris is paying the price for Biden and her lax policies early in their term. Yes, stimulus spending quickly rebuilt the job market, but at the cost of higher inflation. Loosen border policies at a time when anti-immigrant sentiment was increasing was a gross miscalculation, much like Trudeau’s immigration quota increase, and Biden indulging himself in running for re-election should never have happened.
If Trump wins, Democrats will proclaim that everyone is sexist, racist and misogynous, not to mention a likely White Supremacist, and for good measure, they’ll beat the “voter suppression” button. If Harris wins, Trump supporters will repeat voter fraud—since July, Elon Musk has tweeted on Twitter at least 22 times about voters being “imported” from abroad—being widespread.
Regardless of who wins tomorrow, Americans need to cool down; and give the divisive rhetoric a long overdue break. The right to an opinion belongs to everyone. Someone whose opinion differs from yours is not by default sexist, racist, a fascist or anything else; they simply disagree with you. Americans adopting the respectful mindset to agree to disagree would be the best thing they could do for the United States of America.
PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president.
Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.
Kennedy made the declaration Saturday on the social media platform X alongside a variety of claims about the heath effects of fluoride.
“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, “want to Make America Healthy Again,” he added, repeating a phrase Trump often uses and links to Kennedy.
Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken to Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible.”
The former president declined to say whether he would seek a Cabinet role for Kennedy, a job that would require Senate confirmation, but added, “He’s going to have a big role in the administration.”
Asked whether banning certain vaccines would be on the table, Trump said he would talk to Kennedy and others about that. Trump described Kennedy as “a very talented guy and has strong views.”
The sudden and unexpected weekend social media post evoked the chaotic policymaking that defined Trump’s White House tenure, when he would issue policy declarations on Twitter at virtually all hours. It also underscored the concerns many experts have about Kennedy, who has long promoted debunked theories about vaccine safety, having influence over U.S. public health.
In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. Though fluoride can come from a number of sources, drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say.
Officials lowered their recommendation for drinking water fluoride levels in 2015 to address a tooth condition called fluorosis, that can cause splotches on teeth and was becoming more common in U.S. kids.
In August, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.
A federal judge later cited that study in ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.
In his X post Saturday, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in that lawsuit, the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.
Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization has a lawsuit pending against news organizations including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy is on leave from the group but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.
What role Kennedy might hold if Trump wins on Tuesday remains unclear. Kennedy recently told NewsNation that Trump asked him to “reorganize” agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and some agencies under the Department of Agriculture.
But for now, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump’s top surrogates. Trump frequently mentions having the support of Kennedy, a scion of a Democratic dynasty and the son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy traveled with Trump Friday and spoke at his rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Trump said Saturday that he told Kennedy: “You can work on food, you can work on anything you want” except oil policy.
“He wants health, he wants women’s health, he wants men’s health, he wants kids, he wants everything,” Trump added.
