Politics Briefing: Legault asks police to help any Quebec election candidates who feel unsafe due to threats, harassment - The Globe and Mail | Canada News Media
Quebec Premier François Legault says he has asked the province’s police force to help any candidates in the provincial election who feel unsafe given a wave of threats and harassment.
The leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec made the comment Thursday during an ongoing national debate on the safety of politicians and the harassment of journalists, particularly those from racialized communities.
Earlier this week, a Liberal incumbent in a Montreal provincial riding disclosed a man called her local police station last week and told them to go to her street, saying they would find her dead body there. A man has been arrested and released in the case. Story here from CBC.
Referring to threats against politicians, Mr. Legault said, according to the Montreal Gazette, that there are more threats, some on social media and others “real threats” and that the trend is not acceptable.
“I have asked the Sûreté du Québec to make themselves available for all candidates who feel threatened. It think it’s important for the SQ to actively supervise,” Mr. Legault said in the city of Trois-Rivières.
He added that everyone has a responsibility to avoid stirring up anger. “I am thinking of candidates and leaders and even the population in general. This is not the kind of society we want, to see such threats. It seems to be this is not the Quebec we love.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday the harassment of journalists and other public figures is a systemic issue that the country’s police officers need to take seriously.
At a news conference in Winnipeg, Mr. Trudeau said Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino would be conveying that view to the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police in a meeting also scheduled for Thursday.
He called a pattern of threats against journalists, especially racialized journalists, “absolutely unacceptable’ and said he agreed with the view of an open letter from the Canadian Association of Journalists that individual complaints against journalists should not be seen in a vacuum.
“When the Minister of Public Safety sits down with the association of national chiefs of police, this afternoon, he will be bringing forward an expectation that police forces across this country take seriously, very seriously, not just individual issues but as a systemic issue, this pattern of intimidation attacks on people who serve their country lie journalists,” said Mr. Trudeau.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
NEW COVID-19 VACCINE APPROVED – Health Canada has approved a new COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna that targets both the original strain of the novel coronavirus and the Omicron variant. Story here.
QUEBEC ELECTION – François Legault, leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec, is standing by his party’s language law reform despite criticism from business leaders who say the legislation will make it harder to recruit talent and will cause enormous damage to the economy. Story here.
ATLANTIC PREMIERS SEEK MORE TIME ON CARBON PRICING – A day before the deadline for provinces to submit their plans to the federal government for how they will price carbon until 2030, Atlantic premiers are asking for more time. Story here from CBC.
SUGAR-SWEETENED DRINKS TAX LAUNCHED – Beginning today, consumers in Newfoundland and Labrador will be paying 20 cents more per litre for sugar-sweetened drinks as part of a new tax. Story here.
DELAY IN ORTIS TRIAL – The trial of RCMP employee Cameron Jay Ortis, accused of breaching Canada’s secrecy law, has been delayed a year after a new defence lawyer took on his case. Story here.
RODRIGUEZ BREAKS SILENCE – Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez has broken his silence over his department’s funding of an agency whose senior consultant posted a series of tweets about “Jewish white supremacists,” more than a week after the government cut off the money. Story here.
TRUDEAU DEFENDS CSIS – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending the Canadian Security Intelligence Service after details contained in a new book revived controversy over its overseas operations and how it used informants to gain insight into the Islamic State. Story here.
IRONIC BIKE THEFT – A Winnipeg mayoral candidate had his bicycle stolen this week less than 90 minutes after announcing a cycling-infrastructure plan that included plans to reduce bike theft. Story here from CBC.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL – Scott Aitchison is campaigning virtually. Jean Charest is in Montreal. Leslyn Lewis is in Scarborough, Richmond Hill and Brampton. Pierre Poilievre is in Ottawa. There’s no word on the campaign itinerary of Roman Baber.
PLAIN LANGUAGE PLAN – Pierre Poilievre, as prime minister, would force the federal government to stop using overly complex bureaucratic wording by passing a law that will require the use of “plain language.” Story here from The National Post.
`CONSERVATIVE’ DROPPED FROM ORGANIZATION TITLE – Rick Peterson, a former candidate for the leadership of the federal Conservatives, explains here why the Centre Ice Conservatives group is dropping `Conservatives’ from the title of their organization.
PROFILE OF ROMAN BABER – The 42-year-old candidate for the leadership of the Conservative party is a folk hero to people who oppose COVID-19 lockdowns, but dismisses the idea that he ever engaged in misinformation. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
COMMONS NOT SITTING – The House of Commons is not sitting again until Sept. 19. The Senate is to resume sitting on Sept. 20.
NEW SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SWORN IN – Michelle O’Bonsawin was officially sworn in as a Supreme Court of Canada justice on Thursday in what a statement from the court described as a small private ceremony. She is the first Indigenous judge to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada. Marsha McLeod reported here on Justice O’Bonsawin’s appearance last month at a hearing in Ottawa where parliamentarians from both the Senate and House of Commons questioned her.
FREELAND IN TORONTO – Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is holding private meetings in Toronto.
BENNETT IN SUDBURY – Mental Health Minister Carolyn Bennett, in Sudbury, announced funding to prevent and address family violence in the City of Greater Sudbury, and held a media availability.
DUCLOS IN GASPE- Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos held a virtual news conference, from Gaspé, on the importance of COVID-19 vaccination heading into the fall.
FRASER IN NEW WATERFORD – Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, in New Waterford, Nova Scotia, visited an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada application processing centre and took media questions.
GUILBEAULT IN WEST VANCOUVER – Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, in West Vancouver, announced more than $926,000 in federal funding for the Átl’ka7tsem / Howe Sound Biosphere Region to protect nature.
THE DECIBEL
Thursday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast deals with issues around the health impacts of alcoholic drinks. A new report from the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and Addiction says if you have three or more alcoholic drinks in a week, you’re putting your health at risk. Dr. Catherine Paradis – co-chair of this new report – talks on the Decibel about lessons on how alcohol impacts health, the new guidelines the CCSA hopes Canadians will follow and why they want mandatory portion labels on alcoholic drinks. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
In Winnipeg, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with students at Université de Saint-Boniface, took media questions, met with Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, and was scheduled to meet with parents and children at a children’s centre.
LEADERS
No schedules released for party leaders.
OPINION
David Parkinson (The Globe and Mail)on the harassment of Chrystia Freeland and the perils of the public-facing politician: “Back in June, I chatted with Ms. Freeland about her freewheeling tendencies. Yes, she confirmed, she bikes alone – staff meet her at her next meeting or event, but no one comes along for the ride. No, she confirmed, her team isn’t super happy about it. But the time alone is important to her, both personally and professionally. It clears the head, provides some alone time, gives her a sense of normalcy and control of her life. (Who wouldn’t want that, right?) She acknowledged there are dangers. A couple of times, she has been “doored” – knocked off her bike by a careless driver opening a car door into her path. She has simply called her staff on her cellphone from the curb, to explain why she was about to be late for the next meeting.”
Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail)on how the Doug Ford government is betting Ontarians won’t care about relocating seniors without their consent: “Just imagine the howls that would emanate from the opposition benches if an OntarioLiberal government rammed through legislation, bypassing committee hearings and public consultation, to expedite the transfer of patients from hospitals to long-term care homes. The Progressive Conservatives would be apoplectic: “This arrogant Liberal government thinks it knows best when it comes to our vulnerable seniors,” they’d huff, citing their own party’s fidelity to the conventional democratic process. “Instead of listening to families, to health care professionals and to advocates for the elderly, they are taking a ‘government knows best’ approach to people’s lives. This is totally wrong!” Alas, we all know that indignation is contingent on which team is bypassing conventional democratic processes and which is standing impotently on the sidelines. That’s why members of the PC caucus are apparently A-okay with rushing through legislation without the input of stakeholders and experts.”
Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail)on Quebec’s parties breaking the bank to woo voters in a fight (so far) for second place: “The Quebec election campaign is only a few days old, but the five main parties – yes, five – vying for seats in the National Assembly are breaking the bank with promises of tax cuts and free money that threaten the province’s hard-won fiscal health. The Quebec Liberal Party got the ball rolling even before Sunday’s official launch of the campaign by vowing to reduce the tax rate on income below $92,000 by 1.5 percentage points. The Conservative Party of Quebec outdid the Liberals by promising a two-percentage-point cut, a move it said would mean savings of more than $2,700 a year for a family earning $80,000.”
Amit Arya and Samir Sinha (Contributed to the Globe and Mail) on how forcing seniors into long-term care is not the solution to the hospital crisis: “If the Ontario government was serious about addressing the health care crisis, they would start by addressing the biggest problem, which is not directly related to a lack of beds, but rather, a lack of available staff to care for the people in those beds. Instead, they are pitting sectors against each other and proposing to strip the fundamental right of being able to consent around key health care decisions. This puts physicians like us in a situation where even allowing our patients to become designated as ALC in hospital could potentially cause them unnecessary harm and suffering. Finally, blaming vulnerable patients who don’t want to be waiting in hospitals as long as they can get into the LTC homes of their choice is more than deeply disturbing – it is ageist and ableist.”
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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.
