The federal government has announced a $1-billion package of aid to help Canadians, businesses and hospitals deal with the novel coronavirus.
The package includes money for provinces to help with higher health-care costs, funds for vaccine research and changes to employment insurance rules for those self-quarantining.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the funds mere hours before the World Health Organization officially declared the virus a pandemic.
The illness could hit close to home for Mr. Trudeau: Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan, a close friend of the PM, says he is self-isolating because there’s a chance he could have gotten the coronavirus.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
The federal government is preparing to list plastic as a toxic substance through regulation, partly to avoid a messy legislative debate.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he’s going to get tough on the province’s tow-truck industry. A recent Globe and Mail investigation revealed the level of violence and crime hitting tow-truck operators
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The Quebec government introduced a balanced budget yesterday that puts money aside to pay down debt while also increasing infrastructure spending. The budget relies, however, on economic forecasts that could be a bit rosy if coronavirus continues to weigh on the global economy.
Canada’s chief justices are pushing back on a multipartisan proposal to make judges take more training on sexual-assault cases.
Residents of Lower Post, B.C., say they hope the federal government will replace a building that formerly housed a residential school that now houses many important community services.
Long-time Conservative MP Scott Reid is the only person in his 121-member caucus without any kind of leadership role, critic portfolio or committee assignment, the Hill Times reports. Mr. Reid and the party whip declined to explain what happened, but the Ontario MP did reveal in December that the party had previously punished him for voting in favour of the Liberals’ cannabis legalization bill.
Joe Biden is racking up wins in the Democratic presidential primaries, but Bernie Sanders say he will remain in the race.
And disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 23 years in prison.
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Kelly Cryderman (The Globe and Mail) on the magnitude of the problems facing Alberta: “The oil-price crash this week is uncharted. Yes, there have been oil demand slowdowns, and global fear about the spread of a previously unknown, deadly disease. There have been past battles between global oil giants, completely out of Canada’s or Alberta’s control, that have hit oil prices and hurt the economy here. But at this scale, all at once, and coming off a five-year period when the province was already crawling out of a hole? That hasn’t happened before.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on the low-oil-price-shaped-hole in the Alberta budget: “At some point, the compassion one has for a province down on its luck has limits. If Alberta does not want to do anything to help itself out of these messes when they invariably arrive, then you can’t feel too badly for them. It’s like a child that won’t listen. Eventually, you have to let them sort out these problems for themselves. That’s the only way they will learn.”
Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on the Quebec budget: “How Quebec’s public finances stand up during a crisis could have a profound impact on the fate of the Legault government. It came to office promising sound fiscal management and robust economic growth. But a shrinking working-age population and lower immigration levels were already hampering its plans before the threat of a recession emerged.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on the finances of Newfoundland and Labrador: “Thanks in large part to its oil wealth, Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy generates much more in revenues than any other province – about a third more than the national average. The problem is that it spends even more – in excess of $8-billion annually, against roughly $6-billion in taxes and other revenues. It gets about a billion dollars from the feds, and borrows the rest.”
Lawrence Martin (The Globe and Mail) on how U.S. President Donald Trump is dealing with coronavirus: “There is still time for Mr. Trump to reverse course and gain some control of the situation. National crises provide presidents with enhanced emergency powers. In many ways, COVID-19 plays to Mr. Trump’s nationalist agenda of stricter border controls. For the economy he will take extraordinary measures of stimulus for those most affected. He had been talking about another tax cut before the fall election. With so many businesses taking a hit from the virus, he will now likely be able to get one passed.”
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OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
