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.”
British Columbians are voting in the next provincial election on Oct. 19. The NDP is hoping to hold on to power, while those on the right are running in a new political landscape after the former Opposition BC United folded and its Leader Kevin Falcon placed his support behind the B.C. Conservatives.
Here’s a look at B.C. elections over the past three decades:
British Columbia New Democratic Party, 1996
The NDP win a majority government under Glen Clark despite Gordon Campbell’s Liberals winning the largest portion of the popular vote at 41.8 per cent. Clark became leader after former premier Mike Harcourt resigned over money from charity bingo events being siphoned into the party.
British Columbia Liberal Party, 2001
The NDP and then premier Ujjal Dosanjh suffer a resounding defeat at the hands of the British Columbia Liberal party and are only able to hold on to two seats in the legislature. Former premier Glen Clark had resigned in 1999 after he was accused of receiving free renovations from a neighbour who had an application for a casino licence before the government.
British Columbia Liberal Party, 2005
Gordon Campbell’s Liberal party maintains its majority government status though the party drops from 77 seats to 46. The NDP — which came into the election without party status in the legislature with only two seats — grew its support to 33 seats under leader Carole James.
British Columbia Liberal Party, 2009
The Liberals form a majority government again, under Premier Gordon Campbell. He would resign before the next election over his government’s decision to adopt an unpopular Harmonized Sales Tax.
British Columbia Liberal Party, 2013
The Liberals win a fourth straight majority, this time under Christy Clark. She was defeated in her Vancouver Grey-Point riding by lawyer and NDP political rookie David Eby but later won a seat in the legislature in a byelection in the Westside-Kelowna riding. The BC Greens earned their first seat in the legislature, with Andrew Weaver winning in Oak Bay-Gordon Head.
British Columbia New Democratic Party in coalition with Green Party of British Columbia, 2017
The Liberals win a small minority following the 2017 election, but leader Christy Clark loses a confidence vote and resigned. The NDP’s John Horgan became the next premier, after signing a confidence and supply agreement with the support of the three Green members of the legislature. The two parties had a total off 44 seats, the minimum required for a majority.
British Columbia New Democratic Party, 2020
John Horgan calls a snap election one year ahead of the province’s fixed election date and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Horgan tells reporters he’s calling the election early because the province can’t afford “partisan hectoring and uncertainty about whether bills will pass or not.” The New Democrats win a majority.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.
Anand thanked Rodriguez for his contributions to the government and the country, saying she’s grateful for his guidance and friendship.
She sidestepped a question about the message it sends to have him leave the federal Liberal fold.
“That is a decision that he made independently, and I wish him well,” she said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not present for the swearing-in ceremony, nor were any other members of the Liberal government.
The shakeup in cabinet comes just days after the Liberals lost a key seat in a Montreal byelection to the Bloc Québécois and amid renewed calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down and make way for a new leader.
Anand said she is not actively seeking leadership of the party, saying she is focused on her roles as minister and as MP.
“My view is that we are a team, and we are a team that has to keep delivering for our country,” she said.
The minority Liberal government is in a more challenging position in the House of Commons after the NDP ended a supply-and-confidence deal that provided parliamentary stability for more than two years.
Non-confidence votes are guaranteed to come from the Opposition Conservatives, who are eager to bring the government down.
On Thursday morning, Rodriguez made a symbolic walk over the Alexandra Bridge from Parliament Hill to Gatineau, Que., where he formally announced his plans to run for the Quebec Liberal party leadership.
He said he will now sit as an Independent member of Parliament, which will allow him to focus on his own priorities.
“I was defending the priorities of the government, and I did it in a very loyal way,” he said.
“It’s normal and it’s what I had to do. But now it’s more about my vision, the vision of the team that I’m building.”
Rodriguez said he will stay on as an MP until the Quebec Liberal leadership campaign officially launches in January.
He said that will “avoid a costly byelection a few weeks, or months, before a general election.”
The next federal election must be held by October 2025.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will try to topple the government sooner than that, beginning with a non-confidence motion that is set to be debated Sept. 24 and voted on Sept. 25.
Poilievre has called on the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support him, but both Jagmeet Singh and Yves-François Blanchet have said they will not support the Conservatives.
Rodriguez said he doesn’t want a federal election right away and will vote against the non-confidence motion.
As for how he would vote on other matters before the House of Commons, “it would depend on the votes.”
Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will become the government’s new Quebec lieutenant, a non-cabinet role Rodriguez held since 2019.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
— With files from Nojoud Al Mallees and Dylan Robertson
OTTAWA – Several federal political parties are expressing reservations about the prospect of fresh regulations to prevent foreign meddlers from tainting their candidate nomination processes.
Elections Canada has suggested possible changes to safeguard nominations, including barring non-citizens from helping choose candidates, requiring parties to publish contest rules and explicitly outlawing behaviour such as voting more than once.
However, representatives of the Bloc Québécois, Green Party and NDP have told a federal commission of inquiry into foreign interference that such changes may be unwelcome, difficult to implement or counterproductive.
The Canada Elections Act currently provides for limited regulation of federal nomination races and contestants.
For instance, only contestants who accept $1,000 in contributions or incur $1,000 in expenses have to file a financial return. In addition, the act does not include specific obligations concerning candidacy, voting, counting or results reporting other than the identity of the successful nominee.
A report released in June by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians expressed concern about how easily foreign actors can take advantage of loopholes and vulnerabilities to support preferred candidates.
Lucy Watson, national director of the NDP, told the inquiry Thursday she had concerns about the way in which new legislation would interact with the internal decision-making of the party.
“We are very proud of the fact that our members play such a significant role in shaping the internal policies and procedures and infrastructure of the party, and I would not want to see that lost,” she said.
“There are guidelines, there are best practices that we would welcome, but if we were to talk about legal requirements and legislation, that’s something I would have to take away and put further thought into, and have discussions with folks who are integral to the party’s governance.”
In an August interview with the commission of inquiry, Bloc Québécois executive director Mathieu Desquilbet said the party would be opposed to any external body monitoring nomination and leadership contest rules.
A summary tabled Thursday says Desquilbet expressed doubts about the appropriateness of requiring nomination candidates to file a full financial report with Elections Canada, saying the agency’s existing regulatory framework and the Bloc’s internal rules on the matter are sufficient.
Green Party representatives Jon Irwin and Robin Marty told the inquiry in an August interview it would not be realistic for an external body, like Elections Canada, to administer nomination or leadership contests as the resources required would exceed the federal agency’s capacity.
A summary of the interview says Irwin and Marty “also did not believe that rules violations could effectively be investigated by an external body like the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections.”
“The types of complaints that get raised during nomination contests can be highly personal, politically driven, and could overwhelm an external body.”
Marty, national campaign director for the party, told the inquiry Thursday that more reporting requirements would also place an administrative burden on volunteers and riding workers.
In addition, he said that disclosing the vote tally of a nomination contest could actually help foreign meddlers by flagging the precise number of ballots needed for a candidate to be chosen.
Irwin, interim executive director of the Greens, said the ideal tactic for a foreign country would be working to get someone in a “position of power” within a Canadian political party.
He said “the bad guys are always a step ahead” when it comes to meddling in the Canadian political process.
In May, David Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service at the time, said it was very clear from the design of popular social media app TikTok that data gleaned from its users is available to the Chinese government.
A December 2022 CSIS memo tabled at the inquiry Thursday said TikTok “has the potential to be exploited” by Beijing to “bolster its influence and power overseas, including in Canada.”
Asked about the app, Marty told the inquiry the Greens would benefit from more “direction and guidance,” given the party’s lack of resources to address such things.
Representatives of the Liberal and Conservative parties are slated to appear at the inquiry Friday, while chief electoral officer Stéphane Perrault is to testify at a later date.
After her party representatives appeared Thursday, Green Leader Elizabeth May told reporters it was important for all party leaders to work together to come up with acceptable rules.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
