The Conservatives cleared six candidates to run in the party’s leadership race Monday, but disqualified three others who all said they had met the fundraising and nomination requirements to make it to the final ballot.
Ontario MPs Scott Aitchison, Leslyn Lewis and Pierre Poilievre will be on the ballot as well as former Quebec premier Jean Charest, Brampton, Ont., Mayor Patrick Brown and Roman Baber, an independent member of the Ontario legislature.
The party posted the list in a tweet on Monday, saying the candidates had been verified by the leadership election organizing committee, which is responsible for running the race to replace former leader Erin O’Toole.
Leadership hopefuls Joel Etienne, Joseph Bourgault and Grant Abraham were all disqualified from entering the race. The party’s leadership committee did not provide an explanation for why the three were disqualified. All of them had said they had met the Friday deadline to raise $300,000 and collect the 500 nomination signatures required to appear on the final ballot for the September vote.
Also, on the Conservative leadership front, Jean Charest, who has been criticized for lacking roots in the Conservative Party, touted his credentials on Sunday at the first gathering of prospective party leaders. Story here.
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
UNITED FRONT FROM PRIVACY WATCHDOGS ON FACIAL-RECOGNITION TECH – All of Canada’s provincial, territorial and federal privacy watchdogs are imploring Ottawa to limit how law enforcement can use facial-recognition technology, seeking to restrict its use to investigating or preventing “serious” crimes and minimize the sharing of data with businesses or other police agencies. Story here.
ARCHBISHOP APOLOGIZES DURING VISIT- The Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of one of world’s largest Christian denominations, told survivors of Prairie residential schools their stories of abuse at the institutions had “opened a window into hell,” as he listened and apologized to them during a historic visit to Saskatchewan. Story here.
OTTAWA PROTEST ENDS – Ottawa residents and police breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday after protesters who had prompted a large security response this weekend left the nation’s capital. Story here.
CANADA LAGS ON INTERCEPTING FORCED-LABOUR IMPORTS – Canada is lagging the United States in intercepting imports made with forced labour, as Ottawa struggles to implement a commitment to do so in the renegotiated NAFTA deal. Story here.
B.C. GOVERNMENT INTRODUCED MILESTONE RACISM LEGISLATION – The B.C. government has introduced first-of-its-kind legislation in an attempt to “dismantle systemic racism and discrimination” faced by Indigenous, Black and people of colour in the province. Story here from Global News.
ONTARIO LIBERALS PROMISE $1 TRANSIT FARES AS ELECTION CAMPAIGN LOOMS – The Ontario Liberals promised Monday to cut transit fares across the province to $1 per ride, if elected. Story here. Meanwhile, while Ontario’s election campaign is slated to officially launch this week, the three major political parties have already hit the ground running in the race to form the next government on June 2. Story here.
FALCON HEADED FOR B.C. LEGISLATURE – The new leader of the British Columbia Liberals has won a voice in the legislature after a landslide win in a traditionally safe seat for his party. Story here. The Vancouver Sun’s Vaughn Palmer writes here on the challenges ahead for the BC Liberal leader, and what they mean for B.C. politics.
Jean Charest, who has been criticized for lacking roots in the Conservative Party, touted his credentials on Sunday at the first gathering of prospective party leaders. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, May. 2, accessible here.
NO TACIT SUPPORT FOR DOUG FORD: PM – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is not tacitly supporting Ontario Premier Doug Ford as the Ontario election campaign looms. Appearing with Mr. Ford in Windsor on Monday to announce new federal investment for automaker Stellantis NV’s plan to retool its Ontario plants to make electric and hybrid-fuel vehicles, Mr. Trudeau was asked about the notion given recent cheerful appearances with the Progressive Conservative premier. “This is about investing in Windsor. This is about the culmination of months, if not years, of putting Canada forward as the right partner for electric vehicle investments,” Mr. Trudeau said of Monday’s announcement. Mr. Ford said his Progressive Conservative government has been working with the federal Liberal government on the plan for quite some time, and that voters expect various levels of government to work together. The federal government is contributing up to $529-million to the Stellantis plan and the province $513-million. Ontario voters are expected to go to the polls on June. 2. There are further details on the Stellantis NV announcement here.
HALL TO RETIRE – Veteran CBC journalist Chris Hall, host of the weekly politics show The House, on CBC Radio, is retiring at the end of June. On Saturday’s show, Mr. Hall announced his plans to listeners, and quipped, “I know, that’s a long way off – or perhaps too far off for some of you.” He added, “To paraphrase Monty Python, `I am not gone yet.’”
ANSWER: MATTEA ROACH. QUESTION: WHO WAS ONCE A PARLIAMENTARY GUIDE? – The Library of Parliament is paying tribute to one of their own. Mattea Roach , a 23-year-old from Nova Scotia who is the most successful Canadian to compete on TV’s Jeopardy. Story here. “Congratulations to @mattearoach for your continued success on @Jeopardy! Mattea was one of our Parliamentary Guides in 2016,” said a tweet posted Monday by the library. Guides are university students who lead toursof Parliament. Details here.
THE DECIBEL
Monday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast has an interview with Santiago Lyon, who appears in The Globe’snew documentary, Shooting War, which features nine photographers known for their work in conflict zones. Mr. Lyon worked with the Associated Press for 25 years covering conflicts around the world. He talks about the physical and mental toll capturing wartime images can take and the work he is doing now as the head of education at the Content Authenticity Initiative to counter misinformation. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
The Prime Minister held private meetings in the Ottawa region, and attended Eid prayers with members of the Muslim community. He made an announcement in Windsor with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and, in the Ottawa region, attend the National Culture Summit welcome reception and deliver remarks.
LEADERS
No schedules released for party leaders.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on why no politician will ever say `Sorry, Grandma, we’re cutting your benefits,’ but maybe they should: ”The Harper government’s plan to gradually up the OAS age to 67 was to have started next year. The Liberals scrapped that, and last year raised OAS benefits by 10 per cent for those 75 and older, starting this summer. In a world of finite taxpayer dollars, that should raise questions. Given that people are living and working longer, is 65 still the right age for OAS? Should the income level at which the clawback starts be lower? And should a senior couple with a combined income of $150,000 get full OAS payments? Their cheques are, after all, being paid by taxpayers – nearly all of whom are younger, and have lower incomes.”
Akwasi Owusu-Bempah and Alex Luscombe (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how we can’t reach racial equality without drug law reform: As politicians, policy makers and members of the public look for ways to reduce racial inequality in our society, our drug laws should be front and centre. Racial disparities in drug possession arrests are troubling because of what we know about patterns of drug use. Available evidence from Canada and other countries such as the U.S. and U.K. shows that rates of drug use are relatively similar across racial groups. Racial differences in drug arrests stem largely from racially biased policing practices. Black and Indigenous people are more likely to be stopped by the police, which means they are also more likely to be caught in possession of drugs. In fact, stereotypes connecting race with drug use drive the police to initiate more contact with Black and Indigenous people in the first place.”
Mark Kristmanson (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how Ottawa’s Holocaust memorial is a place for solemn reflection, not photo shoots:”Last month, a disturbing misuse of Ottawa’s National Holocaust Monument came to light. A photographer posted images on Instagram of a sexy fashion shoot taken at the site, attesting not just to the monument’s arresting visual presence but also its relative obscurity as a hallowed place. Deeming the photographs “totally inappropriate,” MP Greg Fergus said he was “stunned by the lack of common sense … of all those involved.” It’s not the first thoughtless use of this seminal commemoration as a backdrop: Selfie-taking visitors have also become targets of online criticism in recent years. If people knew more about the monument’s genesis, might they understand its gravitas?”
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.
EDMONTON – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government’s $8.6-billion plan to fast-track building new schools will include a pilot project to incentivize private ones.
Smith said the ultimate goal is to create thousands of new spaces for an exploding number of new students at a reduced cost to taxpayers.
“We want to put all of the different school options on the same level playing field,” Smith told a news conference in Calgary Wednesday.
Smith did not offer details about how much private school construction costs might be incentivized, but said she wants to see what independent schools might pitch.
“We’re putting it out there as a pilot to see if there is any interest in partnering on the same basis that we’ll be building the other schools with the different (public) school boards,” she said.
Smith made the announcement a day after she announced the multibillion-dollar school build to address soaring numbers of new students.
By quadrupling the current school construction budget to $8.6 billion, the province aims to offer up 30 new schools each year, adding 50,000 new student spaces within three years.
The government also wants to build or expand five charter school buildings per year, starting in next year’s budget, adding 12,500 spaces within four years.
Currently, non-profit independent schools can get some grants worth about 70 per cent of what students in public schools receive per student from the province.
However, those grants don’t cover major construction costs.
John Jagersma, executive director of the Association of Independent Schools and Colleges of Alberta, said he’s interested in having conversations with the government about incentives.
He said the province has never directly funded major capital costs for their facilities before, and said he doesn’t think the association has ever asked for full capital funding.
He said community or religious groups traditionally cover those costs, but they can help take the pressure off the public or separate systems.
“We think we can do our part,” Jagersma said.
Dennis MacNeil, head of the Public School Boards Association of Alberta, said they welcome the new funding, but said money for private school builds would set a precedent that could ultimately hurt the public system.
“We believe that the first school in any community should be a public school, because only public schools accept all kids that come through their doors and provide programming for them,” he said.
Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, said if public dollars are going to be spent on building private schools, then students in the public system should be able to equitably access those schools.
“No other province spends as much money on private schools as Alberta does, and it’s at the detriment of public schools, where over 90 per cent of students go to school,” he said.
Schilling also said the province needs about 5,000 teachers now, but the government announcement didn’t offer a plan to train and hire thousands more over the next few years.
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi on Tuesday praised the $8.6 billion as a “generational investment” in education, but said private schools have different mandates and the result could be schools not being built where they are needed most.
“Using that money to build public schools is more efficient, it’s smarter, it’s faster, and it will serve students better,” Nenshi said.
Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides’ office declined to answer specific questions about the pilot project Wednesday, saying it’s still under development.
“Options and considerations for making capital more affordable for independent schools are being explored,” a spokesperson said. “Further information on this program will be forthcoming in the near future.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
OTTAWA – Health Minister Mark Holland urged a committee of senators Wednesday not to tweak the pharmacare bill he carefully negotiated with the NDP earlier this year.
The bill would underpin a potential national, single-payer pharmacare program and allow the health minister to negotiate with provinces and territories to cover some diabetes and contraceptive medications.
It was the result of weeks of political negotiations with the New Democrats, who early this year threatened to pull out of their supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberals unless they could agree on the wording.
“Academics and experts have suggested amendments to this bill to most of us here, I think,” Independent Senator Rosemary Moodie told Holland at a meeting of the Senate’s social affairs committee.
Holland appeared before the committee as it considers the bill. He said he respects the role of the Senate, but that the pharmacare legislation is, in his view, “a little bit different.”
“It was balanced on a pinhead,” he told the committee.
“This is by far — and I’ve been involved in a lot of complex things — the most difficult bit of business I’ve ever been in. Every syllable, every word in this bill was debated and argued over.”
Holland also asked the senators to move quickly to pass the legislation, to avoid lending credence to Conservative critiques that the program is a fantasy.
When asked about the Liberals’ proposed pharmacare program for diabetes and birth control, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has often responded that the program isn’t real. Once the legislation is passed, the minister must negotiate with every provincial government to actually administer the program, which could take many months.
“If we spend a long time wordsmithing and trying to make the legislation perfect, then the criticism that it’s not real starts to feel real for people, because they don’t actually get drugs, they don’t get an improvement in their life,” Holland told the committee.
He told the committee that one of the reasons he signed a preliminary deal with his counterpart in British Columbia was to help answer some of the Senate’s questions about how the program would work in practice.
The memorandum of understanding between Ottawa and B.C. lays out how to province will use funds from the pharmacare bill to expand on its existing public coverage of contraceptives to include hormone replacement therapy to treat menopausal symptoms.
The agreement isn’t binding, and Holland would still need to formalize talks with the province when and if the Senate passes the bill based on any changes the senators decide to make.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia’s NDP are accusing the government of prioritizing landlords over residents who need an affordable place to live, as the opposition party tables a bill aimed at addressing the housing crisis.
NDP Leader Claudia Chender took aim at the Progressive Conservatives Wednesday ahead of introducing two new housing bills, saying the government “seems to be more focused on helping wealthy developers than everyday families.”
The Minister of Service Nova Scotia has said the government’s own housing legislation will “balance” the needs of tenants and landlords by extending the five per cent cap on rent until the end of 2027. But critics have called the cap extension useless because it allows landlords to raise rents past five per cent on fixed-term leases as long as property owners sign with a new renter.
Chender said the rules around fixed-term leases give landlords the “financial incentive to evict,” resulting in more people pushed into homelessness. She also criticized the part of the government bill that will permit landlords to issue eviction notices after three days of unpaid rent instead of 15.
The Tories’ housing bill, she said, represents a “shocking admission from this government that they are more concerned with conversations around landlord profits … than they are about Nova Scotians who are trying to find a home they can afford.”
The premier’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Also included in the government’s new housing legislation are clearer conditions for landlords to end a tenancy, such as criminal behaviour, disturbing fellow tenants, repeated late rental payments and extraordinary damage to a unit. It will also prohibit tenants from subletting units for more than they are paying.
The first NDP bill tabled Wednesday would create a “homelessness task force” to gather data to try to prevent homelessness, and the second would set limits on evictions during the winter and for seniors who meet income eligibility requirements for social housing and have lived in the same home for more than 10 years.
The NDP has previously tabled legislation that would create a $500 tax credit for renters and tie rent control to housing units instead of the individual.
Earlier this week landlords defended the use of the contentious fixed-term leases, saying they need to have the option to raise rent higher than five per cent to maintain their properties and recoup costs. Landlord Yarviv Gadish, who manages three properties in the Halifax area, called the use of fixed-term leases “absolutely essential” in order to keep his apartments presentable and to get a return on his investment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
