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Politics Briefing: Liberals' Bill C-18 would compel tech giants to compensate Canadian news industry – The Globe and Mail

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Hello,

The Liberal government introduced legislation Tuesday requiring major tech giants, such as Facebook and Google, to compensate Canadian media outlets for the news content that appears on the global platforms.

Bill C-18, tabled by Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez in the House of Commons Tuesday, would create a framework for news outlets to collectively negotiate deals with tech companies to share online advertising revenues in the case that the parties cannot reach a privately-negotiated agreement. The bill, known as the Online News Act, aims to compel tech giants, which dominate the online advertising market, to contribute to the sustainability of Canada’s struggling news sector.

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Reporter Michelle Carbert covers the introduction of the legislation 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

ADDITIONAL FEDERAL FUNDING FOR IBM WORK ON PHOENIX – The federal government will pay IBM an additional $106-million for a one-year extension to the company’s contract work on the troubled Phoenix pay system, bringing the total cost of Ottawa’s Phoenix-related outsourcing with the U.S.-based tech giant to more than $650-million. Story here.

NORTHERN PREMIERS TALK SECURITY WITH PM – Yukon’s premier says he and the other two premiers of Canada’s northern territories met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the national Defence Minister on Monday to discuss Arctic sovereignty and security in light of the war in Ukraine. Story here.

JOLY ACCUSES MOSCOW OF WAR CRIMES – Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly accused Moscow of committing war crimes by murdering civilians in Ukraine and is urging International Criminal Court investigators to travel to locations of alleged atrocities as soon as possible. Story here.

FEDS CONSIDER BOOSTER SHOT PLAN IN WORKERS VACCINE MANDATE – The federal government will consider whether to include booster shots in the next version of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its workers, the Treasury Board said as it reviews the rules. Story here.

MANITOBA’S FIRST MUSLIM MLA – Tory Obby Khan has been sworn in as Manitoba’s first Muslim member of the legislative assembly after he won a by-election in a Winnipeg riding last month. Story here from CBC.

MAN FACING CHARGES IN FIRE AT MP’S OFFICE – A Mississauga man is facing multiple charges in connection with a fire at a Liberal MP’s constituency office that Peel Regional Police say was targeted. Story here from CBC.

CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE

LEWIS APPROVED AS LEADERSHIP CANDIDATE – Leslyn Lewis is the first Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate to officially make her way to the final ballot. Story here from the National Post.

RUNCIMAN BACKS CHAREST – Former Tory senator Bob Runciman says he supports Jean Charest’s bid to become the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. “I think he’s far and away the best candidate,” the former member of provincial parliament and provincial cabinet minister said this week. More here from The Belleville Intelligencer.

THE FEDERAL BUDGET

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will table the federal budget – the first since the 2021 federal election – on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. There’s a Globe and Mail preview here on what to expect.

DEFENCE SPENDING LOOMS AS ISSUE IN THIS WEEK’S BUDGET – Canada could overcome middling defence spending with plans to fulfill NATO promises and protect Arctic sovereignty. Story here.

THIS AND THAT

TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, April. 4, 2022, accessible here.

FEDERAL POST FOR CADIEUX – Stephanie Cadieux, who announced her departure this week as B.C. Liberal member of the legislature, has a new job. Employment and Social Development Canada has announced Ms. Cadieux is the first chief accessibility officer for a four-year term. Ms. Cadieux will, in her new role, serve as a special adviser to the federal minister of employment, work force development and disability inclusion, provide advice on accessibility issues, and monitor and report on progress made under the Accessible Canada Act. The statement on Ms. Cadieux’s appointment is here. Ms. Cadieux has been a member of the B.C. legislature since 2009, served in cabinet posts including labour and was the first woman using a wheelchair elected to the legislature.

LIBERAL GUEST ON O’TOOLE PODCAST – As leader of the federal Conservative party, Erin O’Toole went after the federal Liberal record. But the former Tory leader welcomed a Liberal MP as guest on the latest edition of his Blue Skies podcast. Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York) and Mr. O’Toole dwelled on an interesting topic for two partisans: the informal Liberal-NDP deal that will see the NDP support the Liberals to stay in power until 2025 in exchange for a pledge to act on dental care, pharmacare and other key issues advocated by New Democrats. Despite the ominous episode title “Coalition or Collaboration,” the conversation is cheerful. Mr. Erskine-Smith has his own podcast – details here – and Mr. O’Toole commits to appearing on it in return – the fourth Conservative – ”all reasonable Conservatives,” says Mr. Erskine-Smith –to do so. Among other points, Mr. Erskine-Smith says he doubts the NDP will go easy on the Liberals despite the agreement. “I think [NDP MP] Charlie Angus is still going to go to town on us at committee where he sees fit, where there are opportunities…This idea that you’re going to have [NDP MP] Matthew Green or Charlie Angus not hold us to account is a bit silly.” The latest Blue Skies is here.

THE DECIBEL

On Tuesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast: With PCR tests not as widely available as they once were, scientists and public health officials have found another way to track COVID-19: wastewater, or sewage. Dr. Lawrence Goodridge is a professor of food microbiology at the University of Guelph who is leading a team of people testing wastewater. He’s part of Ontario’s wastewater Surveillance Initiative which samples 170 locations across the province accounting for more than 75 per cent of the population. He tells us what the samples are telling him right now, and why this tool is an important one for this pandemic and for the future. The Decibel is here.

PRIME MINISTER’S DAY

Following private meetings, the Prime Minister spoke with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The Prime Minister also spoke with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and was scheduled to attend question period.

LEADERS

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet attends question period.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh holds a media availability on Parliament Hill, is scheduled to participate in Question Period and to meet, in person, with firefighters from Burnaby, B.C., visiting Ottawa.

No schedules released for other party leaders.

OPINION

The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on why Doug Ford (and Jason Kenney, Scott Moe and John Horgan) should hit the brakes on taxpayer money to subsidize drivers: Several other provinces have done likewise in recent weeks – responding to higher pump prices by giving money to drivers. Saskatchewan will issue a rebate of $100 for each vehicle registered to a provincial resident. British Columbia plans a refund of public insurance fees worth $110 for individuals and $165 for commercial drivers. Alberta is temporarily suspending its 13 cents-a-litre gasoline-excise tax. The problem with these policies? For starters, you have to own a car to get the benefit. In Alberta and Ontario, the more gasoline you use, the bigger your tax break. In Saskatchewan, the more vehicles you own, the bigger your break.”

Wesley Wark (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on why it’s time for Russian diplomats in Canada to go home: Canada must now close the Russian embassy to protest the country’s war crimes and invasion, offering selected asylum to any Russians courageous enough (and with an unblemished record) who want to defect. We should also recall our ambassador from Moscow and voluntarily reduce our staff there to a small consular establishment that can take care of Canadians in distress. It is repugnant that we pretend to any normalcy in diplomatic relations with Russia. Not while the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, and his servants at the United Nations claim that evidence of war crimes is fake news, staged by the Ukrainians with the U.S. pulling the strings. As Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the UN said: “The Russians have a credibility problem. We know they’re lying because their lips are moving.”

Margaret Zeidler (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on why Ontario Place should be renamed Any Place: Imagine there was an urban park on the waterfront in Montreal called Quebec Place. Do you think for one second there would be a single thing at Quebec Place that wasn’t created, sourced, grown or invented in Quebec? Not on your life. Yet Ontario Place, which opened 51 years ago this summer as a shining beacon for Ontario and its people, has not only fallen into sad disrepair, the new one in its place has nothing to do with Ontario. It could be Any Place, and in many ways, its rebirth is worse than its death.”

Vaughn Palmer (Vancouver Sun) on how B.C. Premier John Horgan will be very tough to beat if he chooses to run again:The premier’s comments came as an opinion poll again showed his remarkably favourable rapport with British Columbians. An Angus Reid poll found Horgan with an approval rating of 55 per cent, second highest in Canada and in territory he has occupied for most of his almost five years in office. I’ve covered 10 B.C. premiers in close to 40 years on the provincial political beat. None of the others had this favourable an approval rating for this long. Then again, six of the 10 didn’t even survive five years in office. As a measure of the sustainability of Horgan’s approval rating, 88 per cent of those interviewed in the same survey said the New Democrats were doing a poor job dealing with housing affordability. Improving housing affordability was one of the NDP’s main promises in the 2017 and 2020 elections. Most everyone told the pollster that the New Democrats were doing a poor job, yet it didn’t seriously dent Horgan’s approval rating.”

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.

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Michael Taube: How a eulogy for a father made one political career — and perhaps another – National Post

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The similarities between Caroline Mulroney’s eulogy for her father and Justin Trudeau’s homage to his ‘Papa’ were impossible to ignore

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There were many heartfelt tributes to former prime minister Brian Mulroney during his state funeral at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica on March 23. One that caught significant attention was the eulogy by his daughter, Caroline, a cabinet minister in Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government.

The legion of family, friends and political cohorts that day had a good laugh over a particular remark that Mulroney made. “Speeches were such a major part of his life,” she said, “that he told us that when it was his turn to go up to what he called that great political rally in the sky, he wanted us to bury him with his podium.”

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Indeed, it’s a great line — and it rings true in every fibre of its being!

That’s not what struck me about Mulroney’s speech, however. Rather, it was the passionate words, raw emotion and cadence she employed when describing her late father. She had lived in his massive (and unavoidable) shadow. His formidable presence followed her in every step she took — but in a good way. What he specifically meant to her, the family and our country was mapped out on one of the biggest stages she’ll ever encounter in her life.

So much so, that one person sitting in the Basilica — who also gave a eulogy — may have felt, if but for a fleeting moment, that he was experiencing déjà vu: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (We’ll get to him shortly.)

“There was a destiny attached to my father, that even in his youth, no one could deny,” Mulroney said in one poignant moment. “Even prime minister (John) Diefenbaker at the peak of his powers, wrote a letter to my grandfather, extolling his son’s potential after his first encounter with my dad.”

She continued, “My dad saw the world in a bigger way than most. His humanity defined him. Which is why he transcended politics and connected with people in a way that left an indelible mark on their hearts and souls. In our grief, our family is comforted and so grateful for the universal outpouring of affection and admiration for what my father meant to them and to Canada.”

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Her concluding lines tugged at the heartstrings of one’s soul. “We are heartbroken by our loss. We adored him. I miss you daddy.”

It was a wonderful eulogy that her father — who I knew, admired and respected — would have been proud of. Words mattered to him. He loved language and prose, and mastered them to perfection. The art of writing, speaking and storytelling were gifts from God.

When I watched Mulroney speak at the state funeral of her beloved father, I was instantly reminded of Trudeau’s eulogy at the state funeral of his beloved father.

The man who would become Canada’s 23rd prime minister was a relatively unknown figure when he walked to the lectern on Oct. 4, 2000. There had been various images of him in the media, but he had largely avoided the spotlight. His father’s massive shadow and formidable presence, much like Caroline Mulroney’s father, was always there — but in a good way.

When Trudeau spoke that day, it was the biggest audience of his young life. He did extremely well. His speech was emotional, powerful and deeply personal.

“Pierre Elliott Trudeau. The very words convey so many things to so many people,” he said. “Statesman, intellectual, professor, adversary, outdoorsman, lawyer, journalist, author, prime minister. But more than anything, to me, he was dad. And what a dad. He loved us with the passion and the devotion that encompassed his life. He taught us to believe in ourselves, to stand up for ourselves, to know ourselves and to accept responsibility for ourselves. We knew we were the luckiest kids in the world. And we had done nothing to actually deserve it.”

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Recommended from Editorial

  1. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney with his wife Mila and Mikhail Gorbachev, at 24 Sussex Drive on May 29, 1990.

    Michael Taube: From trade to personal liberties, Brian Mulroney stood for freedom

  2. Caroline Mulroney speaks during the state funeral of her father, late former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal on March 23, 2024.

    ‘There was a destiny attached to my father’: Read Caroline Mulroney’s eulogy for Brian Mulroney

There’s also this passage which perfectly encapsulates Trudeau’s love for his father and what he believed he did for the nation. “My father’s fundamental belief never came from a textbook. It stemmed from his deep love for and faith in all Canadians and over the past few days, with every card, every rose, every tear, every wave and every pirouette, you returned his love … He left politics in ’84, but he came back for Meech, he came back for Charlottetown, he came back to remind us of who we are and what we’re all capable of.”

And finally, this concluding sentiment. “But he won’t be coming back any more. It’s all up to us — all of us — now. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. He has kept his promises and earned his sleep. Je t’aime, Papa.”

Mulroney and Trudeau, much like their fathers, are different people with different strengths, weaknesses and political ideologies. The similarities are equally impossible to ignore. Scions of two impressive public figures. Children who walk in the giant footsteps their fathers left behind. Two impressive eulogies at different points in their lives and careers that will be remembered forever.

There’s one other similarity that could be on the horizon. Trudeau used his eulogy to springboard into the public eye, politics and leadership. Mulroney is already in the public eye and politics. She unsuccessfully ran for the Ontario PC leadership in 2019, but didn’t have the presence, confidence or speaking ability that she did during her eulogy. That moment has finally arrived, and it’s up to her to use it as wisely as Trudeau did.

National Post

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Holder bows out of politics ahead of election – Telegraph-Journal

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Former cabinet minister is the latest Tory rebel to exit politics

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Progressive Conservative stalwart Trevor Holder, the province’s longest-serving MLA in the legislature, is bowing out of politics, becoming the latest Tory rebel to make that call ahead of the provincial election.

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In the legislature Thursday, Holder, who has served the Saint John riding of Portland-Simonds for the last 25 years and was a cabinet minister under three premiers, made the announcement, thanking all his colleagues “regardless of political stripe” who later rose in the House to give him a round of applause.

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“All I ever wanted – along with all of you – was a chance to help make (New Brunswick) better than it already is,” said Holder, who described himself as a “north-end kid” from Saint John.

Holder didn’t make himself available to the media after his announcement. He also didn’t formally resign on Thursday, sending a note out to reporters that he “won’t be back in May” but hasn’t “set the official date yet” for his resignation.

News of his exit comes less than a year after Holder resigned as the province’s minister of post-secondary education, training and labour, citing the impact of Premier Blaine Higgs’s top-down leadership style on caucus decision-making.

Holder was the second minister to resign from cabinet last June amid Tory caucus infighting over changes to the province’s gender identity policy for public school students.

Fellow Saint John MLA and Tory stalwart Dorothy Shephard was the first to resign from cabinet last summer, giving up her post as minister of social development before announcing last week she won’t reoffer in the upcoming election this fall.

Shephard also cited Higgs’s leadership style in her decision to leave cabinet.

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During his speech Thursday, Holder made a point to thank Higgs “for the conversations over the last number of days leading up to my decision here.”

Higgs later told media he didn’t know Holder’s exact plans for the future but knew the Saint John MLA had “opportunities.”

“He’s a great statesman in the legislature and certainly his care for his community is genuine,” the premier said.

When asked if he had addressed Holder’s concerns about caucus decision-making, Higgs said he thought so but acknowledged he’s “always struggled with things not getting done at a certain level of pace.”

“It’s rare if you ever come out of caucus or cabinet with unanimous decisions,” he said.

“There’s always a degree of differences, and that’s not going to change, but leadership requires real decisions and you’re not everything to everybody, so you do what you believe is right and you do with it conviction and you hope it’s just the right thing to do.”

Holder ‘a truly progressive conservative’: Coon

Both opposition leaders spoke glowingly of Holder’s commitment to provincial politics.

“He was a real asset to the legislature, he was a real pleasure to work with, so it’s a loss to see him leaving the legislative assembly,” Liberal leader Susan Holt told media Thursday.

That was echoed by Green leader David Coon.

“(Holder’s) very committed to improving our system of government and he’s made real contributions to doing so,” Coon said. “I’m sad to see him go. He’s truly a progressive conservative in the truest meaning of that term.”

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In his 16-minute speech, Holder spoke of the importance of bipartisanship, describing his relationship with former Liberal cabinet minister Victor Boudreau.

They used to “tear each other” up in the House, Holder recalled, but “when I was in opposition, (Boudreau) helped me with my constituents, and when I was in government, I did my best to do the same for him – and this is how this legislature needs to work.”

First elected at the age of 25 in June 1999, Holder has won a total of six elections over the course of his 25-year provincial political career. He’s a former minister of environment and local government, tourism and parks, wellness, culture and sport, and tourism, heritage and culture. He also served as deputy speaker.

Holder thanked his wife Brenda Thursday, along with their two daughters, Margaret and Katherine, for their support over the course of his political career.

Holder’s and Shephard’s departure announcements are the latest in a string of changes within the Tory caucus ahead of the election.

In February, fellow Saint John colleague Arlene Dunn abruptly resigned from her ministerial and MLA duties. Meanwhile, colleagues Daniel Allain, Jeff Carr and Ross Wetmore – who were part of the Tory rebels who supported a Liberal motion on Policy 713 changes – have announced they won’t reoffer in the next election.

Wetmore had announced his retirement intentions before the Policy 713 kerfuffle.

Fellow rebel Andrea Anderson-Mason, MLA for Fundy-The Isles-Saint John West, has yet to announce her plans.

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Opinion: Canada's foreign policy and its domestic politics on Israel's war against Hamas are shifting – The Globe and Mail

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The vote in the House of Commons last week on Israel’s war against Hamas represents a shift in both Canada’s foreign policy and its domestic politics.

The Liberal government is now markedly more supportive of the rights of Palestinians and less supportive of the state of Israel than in the past. That shift mirrors changing demographics, and the increasing importance of Muslim voters within the Liberal coalition.

Both the Liberal and Conservative parties once voiced unqualified support for Israel’s right to defend itself from hostile neighbours. But the Muslim community is growing in Canada. Today it represents 5 per cent of the population, compared with 1 per cent who identify as Jewish.

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Although data is sparse prior to 2015, it is believed that Muslim Canadians tended to prefer the Liberal Party over the Conservative Party. They were also less likely to vote than the general population.

But the Conservative Party under Stephen Harper deeply angered the community with talk about “barbaric cultural practices” and musing during the 2015 election campaign about banning public servants from wearing the niqab. Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was promising to bring in 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada if elected.

These factors galvanized community groups to encourage Muslims to vote. And they did. According to an Environics poll, 79 per cent of eligible Muslims cast a ballot in the 2015 election, compared with an overall turnout of 68 per cent. Sixty-five per cent of Muslim voters cast ballots for the Liberal Party, compared with 10 per cent who voted for the NDP and just 2 per cent for the Conservatives. (Telephone interviews of 600 adults across Canada who self-identified as Muslim, were conducted between Nov. 19, 2015 and Jan. 23, 2016, with an expected margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points 19 times out of 20.)

Muslim Canadians also strongly supported the Liberals in the elections of 2019 and 2021. The party is understandably anxious not to lose that support. I’m told that Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly often mentions the large Muslim community in her Montreal riding. (According to the 2021 census, 18 per cent of the people in Ahuntsic-Cartierville identify as Muslim.)

This is one reason why the Liberal leadership laboured so mightily to find a way to support last week’s NDP motion that would, among other measures, have recognized the state of Palestine. The Liberal caucus was deeply divided on the issue. My colleague Marieke Walsh reports that dozens of Liberal MPs were prepared to vote for the NDP motion.

In the end, almost all Liberal MPs ended up voting for a watered-down version of the motion – statehood recognition was taken off the table – while three Liberal MPs voted against it. One of them, Anthony Housefather, is considering whether to remain inside the Liberal caucus.

This is not simply a question of political calculation. Many Canadians are deeply concerned over the sufferings of the people in Gaza as the Israel Defence Forces seek to root out Hamas fighters.

The Conservatives enjoy the moral clarity of their unreserved support for the state of Israel in this conflict. The NDP place greater emphasis on supporting the rights of Palestinians.

The Liberals have tried to keep both Jewish and Muslim constituencies onside. But as last week’s vote suggests, they increasingly accord a high priority to the rights of Palestinians and to the Muslim community in Canada.

As with other religious communities, Muslims are hardly monolithic. Someone who comes to Canada from Senegal may have different values and priorities than a Canadian who comes from Syria or Pakistan or Indonesia.

And the plight of Palestinians in Gaza may not be the only issue influencing Muslims, who struggle with inflation, interest rates and housing affordability as much as other voters.

Many new Canadians come from societies that are socially conservative. Some Muslim voters may be uncomfortable with the Liberal Party’s strong support for the rights of LGBTQ Canadians.

Finally, Muslim voters for whom supporting the rights of Palestinians is the ballot question may be drawn more to the NDP than the Liberals.

Regardless, the days of Liberal/Conservative bipartisan consensus in support of Israel are over. This is the new lay of the land.

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