adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Politics

Politics Briefing: Montreal will host NATO's new climate centre, Trudeau says – The Globe and Mail

Published

 on


Note to readers: Politics Briefing will pause tomorrow for Canada Day and resume Monday.

Hello,

Montreal will host NATO’s new climate centre as radical climate change evolves into a serious security risk for the military alliance, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Thursday.

300x250x1

Canada will also host the new North American headquarters of NATO’s tech centre but Mr. Trudeau declined, at a news conference in Madrid on Thursday to say why the government has not contributed to the novel €1-billon ($1.35-billion) fund associated with the alliance’s innovation project.

“We continue to be in discussions,” Mr. Trudeau said at the close of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Madrid, referring to the talks to set up the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) in Canada and its investment structure.

He would not say where DIANA would be located. Reports have suggested Ontario’s Kitchener-Waterloo area, one of Canada’s top research and development centres, could be high on the list.

Mr. Trudeau also said Canada will send more troops to Latvia as part of NATO’s ambitious effort to shore up its vulnerable eastern flank on, or close to, the Russian border. But he did not say how many more Canadian troops would be stationed beyond the nearly 700 already stationed there. “There will be more,” he said.

Canada has pledged to help Latvia raise the size of the NATO forces in that country to brigade level, roughly 3,000 troops, though the troops would come from many alliance member states.

Mr. Trudeau, who was headed back to Ottawa on Thursday after an international trip that has also included stops in Rwanda and Germany, said Canada is in the final stages of talks to supply Ukraine with up to 39 armoured combat support vehicles to help it fight off Russia.

They had been destined for the Canadian Army but will be diverted to Ukraine. He said all the equipment diverted to Ukraine would be replaced “as quickly as possible” so that the Canadian military would not go short.

European Bureau Chief Eric Reguly reports here.

Reporter’s Comment, Mr. Reguly:The leaders of the NATO countries at the alliance’s summit in Madrid sounded like they had all rehearsed their message together about supporting Ukraine so it won’t lose the war. “As long as it takes” or minor variations of that line were repeated endlessly. No one said whether that would be months or years, how this war might end, or whether their voting publics would tolerate a long war that has already helped to raise food and energy costs to crippling levels for the unrich. If the war is still grinding away during the next summit, in 2023, the NATO leaders may need to retool their message. No one but military contractors wants endless wars.”

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

RAPE SHIELD LAW CONSTITUTIONAL: SUPREME COURT – The Supreme Court of Canada, in a ruling Thursday, has upheld a federal law that expands the privacy rights of complainants in sexual-assault trials, saying that Parliament was justified in trying to protect their dignity and encourage them to report crime. Story here.

ARSENAULT TO BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT ON CBC’S NATIONAL – CBC News is shaking up the anchor roles at The National as it plans to launch a free 24-hour live streaming channel this fall, with the broadcast to be centred around veteran journalist Adrienne Arsenault, who has shared the anchor role in recent years. Story here.

LEGAL CHALLENGE FILED OVER GOVERNOR-GENERAL’s LACK OF FRENCH – A group of Quebeckers has filed a legal challenge of the appointment of Mary Simon as Governor-General on the grounds that her inability to speak French violates constitutional requirements for official bilingualism. Story here.

AIR CANADA CANCELLING ABOUT 150 FLIGHTS DAILY – Air Canada, citing “unprecedented strains” on the airline industry from resurgent travel, says it is cancelling 154 flights per day in July and August, or 15 per cent of its schedule. Story here.

BLAIR DENIES CONNECTING GUN CONTROL TO N.S. MASS SHOOTING IN TALKS WITH COMMISSIONER – Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair says he never linked government gun-control measures to the investigation into the mass killings in Nova Scotia during frequent conversations with RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki. Story here.

LABELLING PROGRAM ANNOUNCED FOR SOME FOODS – Ground meats will not require a warning label under Health Canada’s new nutrition labelling policy, the government announced Thursday. In a press conference, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced that its long-awaited policy – which will require labels on foods that are high in sugar, salt or saturated fat – will come into effect in January, 2026. And following weeks of mounting concerns from the meat industry, Ottawa’s plan announced Thursday marks a reversal on its initial position that would have required such labels on ground meats. Story here.

SNOWBIRDS CANADA DAY FLY-OVER IN OTTAWA CANCELLED – The traditional Canada Day fly-past over Ottawa by the Canadian Forces Snowbirds has been cancelled, following a problem with the aircraft’s emergency ejection parachute that grounded the fleet. Story here from CTV.

ONTARIO NDP INTERIM LEADER PROMISES EFFECTIVE OPPOSITION TO FORD, PCS – The new interim leader of Ontario’s New Democrats said Wednesday that he hopes his political experience and commitment to the party will help them act as an effective Opposition to Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives during the NDP’s hunt for a permanent leader. Story here.

CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE

CAMPAIGN TRAIL – There are no events for Thursday listed on Roman Baber’s web site, but he is holding a Canada Day BBQ in North York. Patrick Brown was in Oakville, Mississauga and Brampton. Jean Charest was in Edmonton on Thursday, and then headed back to Quebec. Leslyn Lewis is in her Haldimand-Norfolk riding. Pierre Poilievre is in Ottawa. There’s no word on Scott Aitchison’s campaign whereabouts.

POILIEVRE ON THE MARCH – Pierre Poilievre joined Canadian solider James Topp as he neared the end of a walk across Canada on Thursday, set to end at the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa. Mr. Topp, an Alberta resident, has said he is on the march, partly to get all vaccine mandates repealed. Video and story here from CTV.

BROWN PRESSED ON WHICH RACE HE WILL FINISH – A city hall opponent is asking Brampton, Ont., Mayor Patrick Brown to confirm what his rivals for the federal Conservative leadership also want to know: which race will he actually finish? Story here from The National Post.

THIS AND THAT

The House of Commons is not sitting again until Sept. 19. The Senate is to resume sitting on Sept. 20.

FREELAND IN NEWMARKET – Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland visited Exco Engineering, a Canadian automotive parts manufacturer on Thursday, met with workers and held a news conference.

FREELAND ON SECURITY DETAILS – “I’m the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Canada. I almost never have any security. When [U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen] was here, she’s the U.S. secretary of the treasury, she needs to be taken care of, she travels in a convoy. And I rode my bike to the [Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto] to meet that convoy and then they asked me to join the convoy for ease of the day. The Secretary said to me, `You rode your bike here, I hear. How does your security detail feel about riding bikes to be with you?’ And I said, `They don’t because I don’t have a security detail. I just rode here by myself and locked up my bike and rode into the ROM. I think that is a great thing about our country.” – Chrystia Freeland at Thursday news conference in Newmarket, Ont.

DOUBLE DOSE OF DUCLOS – In Ottawa, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and officials provided an update on COVID-19. The health minister also made a nutrition-related announcement.

VANDAL IN CALGARY – Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, also responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, announced federal support in Calgary for events and tourism experiences.

GOULD IN BURLINGTON – Families Minister Karina Gould, acting on behalf of Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, in Burlington, Ont., announced support for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Ontario.

THE DECIBEL

On Thursday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, The Globe’s education reporter Caroline Alphonso and Decibel producer Sherrill Sutherland talk about Westview Centennial Secondary School in the northwest of Toronto after spending a day there to find out how students they feel about graduating. On Thursday, about 180 students are crossing the stage to get their diplomas. While this is a common rite of passage for teens across the country, these students had anything but a normal high school experience. The pandemic meant online learning, no sports, taking care of younger siblings and little in-person interaction with friends. Westview is also located in Toronto’s Jane and Finch neighbourhood – one of the hardest hit by COVID-19. The Decibel is here.

PRIME MINISTER’S DAY

In Madrid for the NATO summit, the Prime Minister held a breakfast meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, then met with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. The Prime Minister then participated in the North Atlantic Council Plenary Session, followed by a media availability. The Prime Minister was then scheduled to meet with Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, participate in a working luncheon hosted by Mr. Sánchez, and deliver a joint statement with Mr. Sánchez, and then depart for Ottawa.

LEADERS

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet visited the Quebec riding of Rimouski¬–Neigette–Témiscouata–Les Basques, accompanied by MP Maxime Blanchette-Joncas.

No schedules provided for other party leaders.

PUBLIC OPINION

ONTARIANS SKEPTICAL ABOUT THEIR GOVERNMENT – Ontarians have re-elected a Progressive Conservative government led by Doug Ford , but are skeptical about the government’s ability to deal with the issues, such as inflation and health care, of importance to them, according to new research by the Angus Reid Institute. Details here.

CANADIANS DIVIDED ON CANADA DAY – Nearly half of respondents in a poll by Counsel Public Affairs say the nation should spend Canada Day both celebrating and reflecting while 41 per cent say the holiday is a day for celebrating with reflections on shortcomings left for another day. Details here.

OPINION

Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on how it is time for RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki to tell the whole story:There’s something crucial missing: an explanation from RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki. It can’t wait much longer. The allegation that the Liberal government pressured the RCMP to release information about the investigation into the Nova Scotia shootings of April 18 to 19, 2020, in order to advance their gun-control agenda is now boiling down to two increasingly irreconcilable versions of events – with Commissioner Lucki in between. We need the commissioner to come forward, quickly.”

Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on the Prime Minister credibly accused of interfering in a criminal matter for political purposes? : “And while nothing in either Supt. Campbell or Ms. Scanlan’s record gives us reason to doubt their version of events, everything in this Prime Minister’s does. To take only the most obvious example – obvious, because the accusation of political interference in a criminal matter is so lethally apt – the Prime Minister flatly denied that he had pressured the former attorney-general, Jody Wilson-Raybould, to interfere in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin (“the allegations in The Globe story are false”). Only later, after it became impossible to deny, did he retreat into those strenuous Clintonian attempts to parse how much pressure was too much pressure: as if there really was any ambiguity to the impressive all-government effort to bend Ms. Wilson-Raybould into compliance, or as if the standard we should expect of a prime minister is that he should tiptoe up to the line of interfering in a criminal prosecution, as long as he can plausibly claim he didn’t cross it.”

Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail)on how the institution of police survives if police aren’t seen to put civilian lives before their own: “Policing as an institution functions off of a certain pact with the public. Officers are expected to take risks we wouldn’t ask of the average civilian and, in exchange, they are afforded extraordinary powers (in Canada, to carry handguns for example), protections (against assault as specifically outlined in the Criminal Code) and honour and esteem. In emergency situations, police are expected to run toward the danger while the rest of us run away, which is why the profession is generally held in high regard. But if police are seen running away with the crowd too many times – or hesitating outside a classroom where kids are being slaughtered, or withholding information to protect police during a killer’s rampage – how does law enforcement’s pact with the public survive?”

Peter Misek (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how Ottawa must act fast to avoid another economic catastrophe: “It will take leadership and another act of heroism for Canada’s politicians to be honest with citizens about the facts. Governments cannot continue to fight past pandemic-induced battles while ignoring the economic future. Taxing the rich, as the Trudeau government has pledged to do, is a Faustian bargain because at a 53-per-cent top marginal rate, Canada is already uncompetitive and could face capital and talent flight. The best chance for avoiding economic catastrophe requires swift action in three ways.”

John Michael McGrath (TVO) on how this fall’s municipal elections in Ontario will get interesting everywhere but in one notable city: The biggest exception to the general level of interesting races can be found in the biggest Ontario city of all: in Toronto, Mayor John Tory as yet faces no prominent challenger for a third term. If we’re going to see any compelling contests for Toronto city hall in October, they’ll like involve council seats where progressive stalwarts have either already left or announced they won’t run again; people like Kristyn Wong-Tam and Joe Cressy have moved elsewhere, and North York councillor John Filion has announced he won’t run again.

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.

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Politics

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

Published

 on


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.

300x250x1

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.

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Recall Gondek group planned to launch its own petition before political novice did – CBC.ca

Published

 on


The third-party group helping promote the recall campaign against Mayor Jyoti Gondek had devised plans to launch its own petition drive, as part of a broader mission to make Calgary council more conservative.

Project YYC had planned with other conservative political organizations to gather signatures demanding Calgary’s mayor be removed, says group leader Roy Beyer. But their drive would have begun later in the year, when nicer weather made for easier canvassing for supporters, he said.

Those efforts were stymied when Landon Johnston, an HVAC contractor largely unknown in local politics, applied at city hall to launch his own recall drive in early February. Since provincial recall laws allow only one recall attempt per politician per term, Project YYC chose to lend support to Johnston’s bid.

300x250x1

“Now we have to try to do door-knocking in the winter, and there’s a lot of preparation that you have to contemplate prior to starting. And Landon didn’t do that,” Beyer told CBC News in an interview.

Project YYC has helped gather signatures, created a website and erected large, anti-Gondek signs around town. It has supplied organizational heft that Johnston admits to lacking.

Their task is daunting.

According to provincial law, in order to force a recall plebiscite to oust the mayor before the term is up, they have two months to gather more than 514,000 signatures, an amount equal to 40 per cent of Calgary’s population in 2019.

They have until April 4 to collect that many signatures, and by March 21 had only 42,000.

Beyer criticizes the victory threshold for recall petition as so high that it’s “a joke,” and the province may as well not have politician recall laws.

So if he thinks it’s an impossible pursuit, why is he involved with this?

“You can send a message to the mayor that she should be sitting down and resigning … without achieving those numbers,” Beyer said.

Project YYC founder Roy Beyer, from a Take Back Alberta video in 2022. He is no longer with that provincial activist group. (royjbeyer screenshot/Rumble)

He likened it to former premier Jason Kenney getting 52 per cent support in a UCP leadership review — enough to technically continue as leader, but a lousy enough show of confidence that he announced immediately he would step down.

Gondek has given no indication she’ll voluntarily leave before her term is up next year. But she did emerge from a meeting last week with Johnston to admit the petition has resonated with many Calgarians and is a signal she must work harder to listen to public concerns and explain council’s decisions.

The mayor also told the Calgary Sun this week that she’s undecided about running for re-election in 2025. 

“There used to be this thing where if you’re the mayor, of course you’re going to run for another term because there’s unfinished business,” Gondek told the newspaper.

“And yes, there will be unfinished business, but the times are not what they were. You need to make sure you’re the right leader for the times you’re in.”

The last several Calgary mayors have enjoyed multiple terms in office, going back to Ralph Klein in the 1980s. The last one-term mayor was Ross Alger, the man Klein defeated in 1980.

Beyer and fellow conservative organizers launched Project YYC before the recall campaign. The goal was to elect a conservative mayor and councillors — “a common-sense city council, instead of what we currently have,” he said.

Beyer is one of a few former activists with the provincial pressure group Take Back Alberta to have latched themselves to the recall bid and Project YYC, along with some United Conservative Party riding officials in Calgary. 

Beyer’s acknowledgment of his group’s broader mission comes as Premier Danielle Smith and her cabinet ministers have said they want to introduce political party politics in large municipalities — even though most civic politicians have said they don’t want to bring clear partisanship into city halls.

Although Beyer admits Project YYC’s own recall campaign would have been a coalition effort with other conservative groups, he wouldn’t specify which ones. He did insist that Take Back Alberta wasn’t one of them.

A man in a grey baseball cap speaks to reporters.
Calgary business owner Landon Johnston speaks to reporters at City Hall on March 22 following his 15-minute conversation with Mayor Jyoti Gondek. (Laurence Taschereau/CBC)

Johnston says he was approached by Beyer’s group shortly after applying to recall Gondek, and gave them $3,000 from donations he’d raised.

He initially denied any knowledge of Project YYC when documents first emerged about that group’s role in the recall, but later said he didn’t initially realize that was the organizational name of his campaign allies.

“They said they could get me signatures, so I said, ‘OK, if you can do it by the book, here’s some money.’ And it’s worked,” he said.

Johnston has said he’s new to politics but simply wants to remove Gondek because of policies he’s disagreed with, like the soon-to-be-ended ban on single-use plastics and bags at restaurant takeouts and drive-thrus.

He’s no steadfast conservative, either. He told CBC’s Calgary Eyeopener that he voted for Rachel Notley’s NDP because one of its green-renovation incentives helped his HVAC business.

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Larry David shares how he feels about Trump – CNN

Published

 on


Larry David shares how he feels about Trump

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” star Larry David shares how he feels about former President Donald Trump and the 2020 election. Watch the full episode of “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace,” streaming March 29 on Max.


03:21

– Source:
CNN

Adblock test (Why?)

300x250x1

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending