The federal Conservatives are reversing course and for the first time on Thursday called for the blockades to end, as the crisis at border crossings grew ever bigger with a third blockade now at a border crossing in Manitoba, in addition to those in Alberta and Ontario.
“I am asking you to take down the blockades,” Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen said in the House of Commons Thursday morning. “It’s time to remove the barricades and the trucks, for the sake of the economy.”
Before her election as interim leader, Ms. Bergen last week met with protesters blockading downtown Ottawa, calling them “passionate, patriotic and peaceful.” Since taking on her new post, she has called on Mr. Trudeau to extend an “olive branch” to the demonstrators and meet with them.
On Thursday she tabled a motion in the House of Commons calling on the federal government to release a plan by the end of February for the lifting of all federal mandates and restrictions.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
PROTESTS
WINDSOR SEEKS INJUNCTION IN AMBASSADOR BRIDGE PROTEST – The City of Windsor, Ont., is seeking an injunction to end the protest blocking the Ambassador Bridge. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said he hopes the Superior Court of Ontario will soon grant the injunction to end the “illegal” blockade and restore traffic across Canada’s busiest link with the United States. Story here.
OTTAWA 911 SYSTEM HIT WITH CALLS – The Ottawa Police says the city’s 911 system is being flooded with nuisance calls, putting residents’ lives at risk amid a continuing standoff with protesters over vaccine mandates. Story here.
NO SIGN OF PROTEST ENDING: OTTAWA MAYOR – Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said he still has no sense of when demonstrations in the nation’s capital will end after nearly two weeks of disruption and as protesters show no signs of leaving. Story here.
GOFUNDME TO APPEAR BEFORE COMMITTEE – U.S.-based crowdfunding platform GoFundMe will appear before the House public safety and national security committee on March 3 about its involvement in hosting the trucker convoy’s original fundraising campaign. Story here from CTV.
STOP AMBASSADOR BRIDGE PROTEST: GOVERNOR – Michigan’s Governor is calling on Canada to stop a border protest snarling one of the country’s busiest trade routes. Story here.
GLOBE AND MAIL EXPLAINER: The Ottawa protests’ havoc is spreading from Windsor to Alberta. Where are the truckers convoys now? Explainer here.
MEANWHILE
LOCKDOWN BENEFITS EXTENDED The federal government is extending its lockdown benefits for businesses and workers by one month, to March 12. Story here.
KENNEY APOLOGIZES – Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he’s sorry for comparing what he calls the stigma of being unvaccinated for COVID-19 to the plight of HIV-AIDS patients in the 1980s. Story here.
INADVERTENT PRIVACY RELEASE – The company administering the federal government’s $900-million settlement deal with Armed Forces members and veterans who experienced sexual misconduct while in uniform has inadvertently released private information about dozens of claimants. Story here.
LYTTON NEEDS TO REPLACE GOVERNANCE RECORDS – British Columbia has introduced legislation that will allow the fire-ravaged community of Lytton to replace and rewrite its governance laws destroyed in the disaster. Story here.
LOSING N.S. LIBERALS DISSECT ELECTION DEFEAT – A report commissioned by the Liberal Party of Nova Scotia into last summer’s provincial election campaign is scathing in its criticism of the way the campaign was prepared and conducted, and calls for a “complete overhaul” of the party organization. Story here from CBC.
THIS AND THAT
The projected order of business at the House of Commons, Feb. 10 is here.
NOTLEY IN THE SPOTLIGHT – Former Alberta premier Rachel Notley will be in the spotlight next Tuesday, appearing at “conversation” hosted by the Calgary Chamber. the event comes ahead of the 2023 provincial election with the NDP making a strong showing in public-opinion polls.
SCHEER AND PROTESTERS – Former Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, who has accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of “overreach on vaccine mandates”, here greets some of the protesters in Ottawa on Wednesday.
RITCHIE HEADED FOR OTTAWA – Sarah Ritchie, an anchor and reporter for Global Halifax and Global New Brunswick, is joining the Ottawa bureau of The Canadian Press. “She will be focused on covering breaking political news in the House of Commons and beyond, bolstering our broadcast capacities, helping with copy editing and setting us up for the next day,” CP Ottawa Bureau Chief Joanna Smith said in a tweet.
THE DECIBEL – On Thursday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, National Security Reporter Colin Freeze talks about the leaders of the Freedom Convoy, including those fundraising millions of dollars to support it. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings. The Prime Minister was scheduled to attend Question Period.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh held a press conference on the importance of vaccines and was scheduled to attend Question Period.
No other schedules released for party leaders.
OPINION
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on why it is time for leaders to assert there are rules to the road: “At this point, it’s incumbent on anyone who lays a claim to leadership, including those who have supported the protests, to say it has gone too far. And to call for it to stop. It’s also time for provincial authorities responsible for roads and vehicles – starting with Ontario Premier Doug Ford – to warn that those who use trucks as roadblocks will lose the right to operate them. This is now beyond a question of who is right about vaccination mandates. Political leaders who condone rule from the road are paving the way for such tactics to be used again and again. The front-runner for the Conservative leadership, MP Pierre Poilievre, has lauded the protest and become its political darling, so now it is time for him to tell the country if he thinks it has gone too far. He could call on the protesters to stop the blockades. On Wednesday, he declined.”
Lawrence Martin (The Globe and Mail)on how the Canada bashers have got it wrong about this country: “It’s inevitable that social and political trends from the U.S. have some northward spillover and there is certainly evidence of it in respect to the Ottawa siege. What is happening with the truckers hardly compares with the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 last year,but the hard right is punching far above its weight in Canada as elsewhere given the limitless platforms provided by modern media. It menaces the Canadian fabric. But the country is much more unified today than it was when Quebec separatism was a dire threat and when the West was aflame with Reform Party rage and talk of firewalls to protect it from the federal government. The country is hardly becoming unglued. The dark forces partaking in the protest are freedom deniers – not freedom fighters. They represent a tiny minority in a country whose greatness they are too blind to see.”
Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail)on how challenges from inside of the Liberal Party cap Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s month of living dangerously: “Whether he intended to or not, Mr. Carney’s op-ed presented Liberals with a stark contrast to the leadership approach Mr. Trudeau has taken since the outset of the trucker-convoy protests two weeks ago. The tough law-and-order stance taken by Mr. Carney may not necessarily work in his favour in a future leadership race given that Liberals historically prefer to project a softer, gentler image than mandatory-minimum-sentence-loving Tories. And no doubt about it, Mr. Carney has drawn a line in the sand that Liberals are not likely to forget any time soon. Right now, however, it is Mr. Trudeau whose leadership is on the line. His crisis-management style is being challenged from within the Liberal family. It does not get more dangerous than this for a leader whose sunny ways are now a fading memory.”
Kelly Egan (The Ottawa Citizen)on the fate of Ottawa’s downtown Rideau Centre mall and its workers given protests have closed the centre for the first time in its four-decade history: “Freedom is a word being hollered non-stop these dozen days. What about the freedom of 175 stores to open, of 1,500 workers (or more) to earn a living, of masses to criss-cross in downtown’s indoor square? Honestly, has any sector of the economy suffered more than retail — and its low-paid workers — during this two-year pandemic, while taking on the unwanted task of enforcing public health measures (masks, distancing) not of their own making, for $15 an hour? And then they bear the brunt of this anti-mandate counter-anger, which has absolutely nothing to do with them?”
Steve Paikin (TVO)on great political rivalry that began 40 years ago this week: “[David} Peterson defeated [Bob] Rae in the 1985 and 1987 Ontario elections. Rae got even in 1990. As the two men blasted on to the political scene when they were fresh-faced newbies, it’s hard to believe that Peterson will turn 79 years old in December and that Rae’s next birthday in August will be his 74th. Since their rivalry began 40 years ago today, both men have reached what you might call senior-statesman status, and they continue to make their marks on the public stage.”
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
