The Ontario government plans to dispute a move, announced Monday, to call Premier Doug Ford and former solicitor-general Sylvia Jones to testify before the inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act.
Mr. Ford and Ms. Jones are thought to have evidence relevant to the inquiry’s mandate to assess whether the use of the act last winter was justified, according to commission lawyers. Story here.
But a spokesperson for the Attorney-General of Ontario says it will seek a judicial review to set aside the summons and receive a stay under the grounds the summons are inconsistent with the members’ parliamentary privilege.
“We believe that questions about Ontario’s institutional response will be sufficiently addressed by the testimony from the two senior officials already selected by the commission,” said the statement from Andrew Kennedy, released on Monday afternoon. “Overall, our view has always been that this was a policing matter and the police witnesses that are testifying can best provide the commission with the evidence it needs.”
Mr. Kennedy’s statement said Ontario has worked with the commission by providing an extensive report outlining all key actions taken by Ontario, producing hundreds of documents including key cabinet documents that informed decision making and by making senior Ontario officials available to be called as witnesses.
The public inquiry, which began earlier this month, is tasked with investigating the Trudeau government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act in February as the convoy protest paralyzed the national capital’s downtown core.
Mr. Ford last week told journalists that he had not be asked to appear. However, lawyers for the Public Order Emergency Commission say they asked Mr. Ford and Ms. Jones to sit down for an interview on Sept. 19, but the pair refused several requests.
Meanwhile, in testimony on Monday, interim police chief Steve Bell said that, in the days leading up to the mass protest in Ottawa last winter, police didn’t have intelligence suggesting the “freedom convoy” would use local citizens as a “leverage point.” Story here.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
INTEREST RATE INCREASE LOOMING – The Bank of Canada is expected to deliver another large interest rate increase this week, as central bank officials remain more concerned about doing too little to combat inflation than doing too much and causing a recession. Story here.
EMERGENCIES ACT VERDICT WON’T AFFECT NDP SUPPORT OF LIBERALS: SINGH – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will likely continue to keep the Liberals in power even if an inquiry finds the federal government was not justified in its February decision to invoke the Emergencies Act. Story here.
GROCERY SECTOR TO BE PROBED BY COMPETITION WATCHDOG – The federal competition watchdog is launching a study of Canada’s grocery sector, but says it is not investigating any specific allegations of wrongdoing, and has no power to compel companies to provide information. Story here.
ONTARIO MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS – On Monday, voters in all 444 of Ontario’s municipalities are heading to the polls to choose their local leaders (mayors or reeves, councillors and regional councillors) and school-board trustees. There are some high-profile races across the province, including former provincial party leaders Andrea Horwath and Steven Del Duca seeking to become mayors in Hamilton and Vaughan, respectively. Patrick Brown, who sought to become federal Conservative party leader, is trying to win a second term as mayor of Brampton. Story here. A story here traces 10 races to watch.
SUZUKI SIGNING OFF THE NATURE OF THINGS – After 44 years of hosting CBC’s The Nature of Things,David Suzuki is retiring, and CBC management is poised to announce new hosting plans for the series. Story here from CBC.
CBSA ACKNOWLEDGES INACCURATE INFORMATION ABOUT ARRIVECAN CONTACT – The Canada Border Services Agency has acknowledged it provided inaccurate information to Parliament about a $1.2-million ArriveCan contract and is launching a full review of its list of companies that received federal funding to work on the app. Story here.
NEW ALBERTA CABINET – Alberta’s new cabinet is scheduled to be sworn in on Monday at a ceremony at Government House in Edmonton. Story here.
NO THREATS IN BRITISH TRADE TALKS: ENVOY – Canada’s envoy to Britain says Ottawa will not make “a veiled threat” and suspend trade talks over concerns Britain may be breaching the agreement that stopped decades of conflict in Ireland. Story here.
ABSENT POILIEVRE IN SPOTLIGHT AT PRESS GALLERY DINNER – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre did not attend the press gallery dinner over the weekend, but was nonetheless much of the focus of a long-standing political tradition of lobbing light-hearted shots at political rivals during speeches at the event. Story here.
PROSPECTS CONSIDERING RUN FOR ONTARIO LIBERAL LEADERSHIP – At least three Liberal MPs and one former Liberal MP who is now a member in the Ontario legislature are testing the waters of the Ontario Liberal Party leadership race. Story here from The Hill Times.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected order of business at the House of Commons, Oct. 24, accessible here.
DAYS SINCE CONSERVATIVE LEADER PIERRE POILIEVRE TOOK MEDIA QUESTIONS IN OTTAWA: 40
ST-ONGE IN TORONTO – Minister Pascale St-Onge, in Toronto, announced $25.3-million in funding over three years for gender equity in sport.
DUCLOS IN OTTAWA – Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced new support for patient-centred research in Ontario during a news conference at the general campus of Ottawa Hospital.
JOLY ANNOUNCES NEW DIPLOMATS – Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has announced new ambassadors and high commissioners to Greece, Trinidad and Tobago and Ghana. Details here.
CONSERVATIVE CONVENTION – The federal Conservatives will hold their 2023 national convention in Quebec City, Sept. 7-9. This will be the party’s first convention in Quebec City since the formation of the current iteration of the party.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Ottawa, held private meetings, spoke to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and met, on Parliament Hill, with Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok. Mr. Trudeau also met with Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi. And the Prime Minister was scheduled to vote in the Ottawa municipal election.
LEADERS
No schedule released for party leaders.
THE DECIBEL
On Monday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, The Globe’s Atlantic Canada Reporter Greg Mercer talks about how residents of Prince Edward Island are recovering from post-tropical storm Fiona and huge amounts of devastation linked to it. In PEI, thousands of trees came down, houses were destroyed, and people remained without power for weeks. Amidst a labour shortage, recovery efforts in the province are moving slowly. The Decibel is here.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
