An independent inquiry has been established to review the invocation of the Emergencies Act and will be led by jurist Paul Rouleau, the Prime Minister’s Office said Monday.
The PMO also said that Justice Rouleau brings 20 years of experience on the bench to the role.
He is to submit a final report to the federal government with his findings and recommendations, which must be tabled in the House of Commons and Senate by Feb. 20, 2023.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
RCMP CONSIDERED CHARGING PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU OVER VACATION – The RCMP consideredcharging Justin Trudeau with fraud over a family vacation at the Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas, but decided against doing so because it was unclear if the Prime Minister had the authority to approve the all-expenses-paid gift for himself. Story here.
Reporter’s Comment, Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife – “Unbeknownst to Canadians, the RCMP were seriously engaged an investigation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his families’ acceptance of an all-expense holiday at the luxurious Bahamian retreat of the Aga Khan in Christmas, 2016.
After the Ethics Commissioner released a report in 2017 finding Mr. Trudeau violated ethics rules, the Mounties did an 84-page analysis of the Trudeau family vacation and decided against a criminal investigation.
However, they reopened the matter after they received a 26-page letter in 2019 from then-Conservative ethics critic Peter Kent, who called on the RCMP to launch a criminal probe.
We now know from Access to Information documents obtained by the Conservatives that the RCMP considered whether to lay charges against Mr. Trudeau for fraud.
Had that been publicly known it would have put the Prime Minister on the defensive during the 2019 election in which he lost his majority. At the time Mr. Trudeau was already facing heavy opposition criticism on the election trail over the SNC-Lavalin scandal.”
BANK GOVERNOR SAYS BANK WILL CONSIDER RATE INCREASE – Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said that the central bank will consider a 50-basis-point increase to its policy rate in June as it looks to push borrowing costs higher to tackle inflation. Story here.
MILITARY FALLING SHORT IN DEALING WITH WHITE SUPREMACIST, EXTREMIST INFILTRATION: REPORT – A scathing new report on racism in the Canadian Armed Forces says the military is not doing enough to detect and prevent white supremacists and other violent extremists from infiltrating its ranks. Story here.
UNEXPLAINED MILITARY SPENDING RAISES QUESTIONS – Parliament’s fiscal watchdog is raising concerns about nearly $15-billion of unexplained military spending buried in the 2022 federal budget – money in excess of what’s spelled out in the Department of National Defence’s spending plan released earlier this year. Story here.
`FREE-FOR-ALL’ POSSIBLE: ORGANIZER OF OTTAWA MOTORCYCLE CONVOY – One of the organizers of a planned motorcycle convoy is warning of a “free-for-all” on Friday if Ottawa police don’t allow hundreds of protesters to bring their bikes onto the streets around Parliament Hill. Story here.
FREEZE ON INCOME TAX FOR SOME AMONG MEASURES IN ONTARIO NDP ELECTION PLATFORM – The Ontario New Democrats’ election platform includes promises of accelerated universal pharmacare and dental care, a freeze on income tax for some residents and hiring tens of thousands of health-care and education workers. Story here.
MLAS ACCUSE N.S. PREMIER OF INTIMIDATION – Two MLAs are accusing Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston of abusive behaviour meant to intimidate opposition members, particularly women. Story here from CBC.
NDP PREMIER JOHN HORGAN’S LIBERAL RIVAL COULD BE HEADED FOR LEGISLATURE SEAT – A by-election that could put new British Columbia Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon back in the province’s legislature is a race about the past and future, say both the candidates and political experts. Voters in the upscale Vancouver-Quilchena riding, previously held by two former BC Liberal leaders, will choose a new member on April 30. Story here.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
TORY LEADERSHIP CAMPAIGNING – Among Tory leadership candidates Monday, Scott Aitchison was in Ottawa, attending to parliamentary business. Patrick Brown was, according to his Twitter account, at a municipal event in Brampton, Ont., where he is mayor, Jean Charest will be in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island this week and is, along the way, expected to release policy announcements on climate change and energy. Leslyn Lewis had no scheduled events on Monday, but was in Halifax on Sunday and, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be campaigning in Fredericton, Saint John and other New Brunswick communities. Pierre Poilievre also has no scheduled events Monday, but is scheduled to hold a news conference in Gatineau on Tuesday as well as an evening rally.
JENNI BYRNE – The Hill Times reports here on Jenni Byrne, the veteran Conservative political operative, who is a key adviser to Mr. Poilievre. “[Ms. Byrne] —who in 2011 became “the first woman to win a majority government as campaign manager for Stephen Harper at age 34″ as she highlights on the website of her consulting firm, Jenni Byrne + Associates—has had an undeniable impact on the shape and direction of the Conservative Party of Canada.”
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, April. 25, accessible here.
CONCERNS ABOUT APPEARANCES BY PRIME MINISTER, ONTARIO PREMIER AND ONTARIO HEALTH OFFICER – A pair of law professors, one from the University of Ottawa and the other from the University of Western Ontario (UWO), have raised concerns about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Kieran Moore breaking quarantine law by not wearing masks in public settings after travels abroad. Amir Attaran at Ottawa and Jacob Shelley at UWO have written to relevant police departments about their concerns. At issue, for the pair, are appearances by Mr. Trudeau, in March, attending the GLOBE forum at the Vancouver Convention Centre after returning from a trip to Belgium, Mr. Ford visiting an Ottawa hospital in March after a trip to Washington and Dr. Moore giving a news conference at Queen’s Park in Toronto in early April, after returning from a vacation in the Dominican Republic.
ANAND HEADED FOR GERMANY – Defence Minister Anita Anand will be in Germany on Tuesday, attending meetings of the Ukraine Defense Consultative Group hosted by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The gathering is intended for partners and allies to discuss Ukraine’s current and future defence needs. After Germany, the minister and a delegation that includes Canadian Chief of Defence Staff General Wayne Eyre, will travel to Washington for further meetings, including talks at the Pentagon with Mr. Austin on topics including the modernization of NORAD and efforts by Canada and the United States to support Ukraine.
THE DECIBEL
On Monday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, The Globe’s science reporter Ivan Semeniuk talks about Canadian businessman and philanthropist Mark Pathy who spent US$50-million for a ticket to spend 10 days on the International Space Station. Mr. Semeniuk got the chance to interview Mr. Pathy while he was floating around the ISS and discusses what he is doing with his time in space, why he decided to pay the large price tag to go and what this could mean for the future of space tourism. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings, and the Prime Minister is scheduled to meet with members of the Parliamentary Internship Programme.
LEADERS
No schedules released for party leaders.
OPINION
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail)on how Ottawa should help Wilfrid Laurier University’s initiative for students in war zone: “Students and faculty from Wilfrid Laurier University arrive in Ottawa Monday with an urgent plea: help them get students who have been put at risk out of conflict zones and on their campus. Laurier is on to a good idea. If everyone acted smartly, displaced students from Ukraine and elsewhere could be on campus this fall or winter. The odds against such swift action from the federal government are high. But that’s no reason not to try.”
Jeffrey Jones (The Globe and Mail)on whether Mark Carney can keep his green finance push on track as the climate fight is getting harder: “Mark Carney’s green financial revolution was never going to be easy. Now it’s getting harder. Last year, the former central banker announced that he had secured commitments from 450 global banks, insurers and asset managers to align their lending and investing to the goals of the Paris agreement on limiting climate change. The expanded membership was one of the marquee announcements at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. Since then, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and surging inflation have returned the spotlight to oil and natural gas, and shortages thereof, just as it seemed the transition to clean energy was about to hit its stride.”
Lloyd Axworthy (Contributed to The Globe and Mail)on how two wise men from Lviv gave us the legal foundation to prosecute Putin for war crimes: “As Russian atrocities in Ukraine compound, the debate over how to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin and his accomplices accountable for their crimes is mounting amongst international-law experts and government policy makers. Missing from that discourse is a recognition of a striking irony: Our modern concept of international criminal law derives largely from the work of two lawyers from Lviv, Ukraine. Hersch Lauterpacht and Raphael Lemkin are the originators of the concepts of crimes against humanity and genocide, which have influenced the creation of tribunals and courts in which prosecution for these international crimes can take place.”
Isabel Macdonald (Policy Options) on whether Canada’s Online News Act is repeating Australia’s mistakes: “The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently tabled the Online News Act, a proposed news media bargaining code law similar to one that Australian authorities have used to force Google and Meta (Facebook), to sign multimillion-dollar deals with many of Australia’s largest news publishers and broadcasters. Yet major concerns have been raised about the lack of transparency surrounding these deals. Moreover, some experts have warned that instituting an Australian-style bargaining code in Canada could compromise the independence of the press and increase Canadian news outlets’ dependence on the world’s most powerful tech companies. For these reasons, the government should consider an alternative policy option: redistributing revenues from digital platforms through an independent fund – an approach which many stakeholders say would be a more effective and accessible way of supporting journalism.”
Steve Paikin (TVO) on why Doug Ford fans must be feeling pretty good about the election: “When Ford won the 2018 election, I asked a former veteran PC cabinet minister what the new premier needed to do to be successful, given his lack of experience. The answer was: show a capacity to learn and grow. Whether you love the premier or hate him, whether you think he’s led Ontario through the pandemic well or been a complete bust, it’s undeniable that he has learned and grown in the job. He’s never been the smartest guy in the room, which bothers progressive voters, who want their leaders to be just that. But he does connect with average people in a way that drives progressives batty. Once the election campaign begins in earnest next month, it’ll be up to the opposition parties to show why a change of government is imperative for Ontario to succeed as it emerges from the pandemic.”
Mark Sutcliffe (The Ottawa Citizen)on the necessity of envisioning a new downtown for Canada’s national capital: Much of Ottawa’s downtown is a bit too boxy and practical, with narrow walkways, buildings abutting the streets, and very few gathering places and pleasant surprises. If fewer cars and buses will be travelling through downtown, let’s expand sidewalks and create room for patios and street life throughout the core. Let’s also think about creating more destinations in the downtown. The refurbished National Arts Centre is a terrific new anchor at the east end of the core. And a new public library and — if we’re lucky — a future hockey arena will combine with the Canadian War Museum to drive people to LeBreton Flats on the west side. But what will bring people right into the heart of downtown? Is it a new museum or attraction, perhaps the long-awaited portrait gallery? A hub for creative thinkers, artists, and entrepreneurs? A music venue? Some green space surrounded by restaurants?”
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NEW YORK (AP) — In a new video posted early Election Day, Beyoncé channels Pamela Anderson in the television program “Baywatch” – red one-piece swimsuit and all – and asks viewers to vote.
In the two-and-a-half-minute clip, set to most of “Bodyguard,” a four-minute cut from her 2024 country album “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé cosplays as Anderson’s character before concluding with a simple message, written in white text: “Happy Beylloween,” followed by “Vote.”
At a rally for Donald Trump in Pittsburgh on Monday night, the former president spoke dismissively about Beyoncé’s appearance at a Kamala Harris rally in Houston in October, drawing boos for the megastar from his supporters.
“Beyoncé would come in. Everyone’s expecting a couple of songs. There were no songs. There was no happiness,” Trump said.
She did not perform — unlike in 2016, when she performed at a presidential campaign rally for Hillary Clinton in Cleveland – but she endorsed Harris and gave a moving speech, initially joined onstage by her Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland.
“I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” Beyoncé said.
“A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided,” she said at the rally in Houston, her hometown.
“Imagine our daughters growing up seeing what’s possible with no ceilings, no limitations,” she continued. “We must vote, and we need you.”
Harris used the song in July during her first official public appearance as a presidential candidate at her campaign headquarters in Delaware. That same month, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, publicly endorsed Harris for president.
Beyoncé gave permission to Harris to use the song, a campaign official who was granted anonymity to discuss private campaign operations confirmed to The Associated Press.
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.
