Prince Edward Island’s Premier is welcoming newly announced help from the federal government as the province grapples with the fallout from a month-long potato export ban to the United States.
The money will be used to support the diversion of surplus potatoes to food banks, help dispose of surplus potatoes in an environmentally sound way, and open new markets.
“These supports will be critical in diverting world-class potatoes to food banks, food-aid groups and those who can use them instead of destroying these perfectly good nutritious potatoes,” the Progressive Conservative Premier said in a statement.
“These types of creative solutions are exactly what we need to do in the interim to move our excess potatoes until the U.S. market is reopened.”
In announcing the fund at a news conference Monday, Ms. Bibeau said the federal government is working with stakeholders in PEI on details around implementing the assistance program, and also trying to resolve the ban. She also said Ottawa is trying to resolve the situation.
“We are really doing everything possible to reassure the Americans, working with the industry, working with the province,” she said. “Our hope is to reopen the market for fresh potatoes as soon as possible.”
Since Nov. 22, farmers in PEI have been barred from exporting potatoes to the United States because of the discovery of a fungal potato wart on two fields in the province. The wart poses no threat to human health or food safety.
When the Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced the move, it confirmed high levels of the fungus in two PEI farms – a first in 21 years. The PEI potato crop is worth more than $1-billion annually to the province’s economy.
Reporter Greg Mercer explored the struggles of Prince Edward Island potato farmers earlier this month in a story here.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
BREAKING– Amid rapidly growing COVID-19 cases, Quebec’s Health Minister says bars, theatres and entertainment venues will close as of 5 p.m. Monday, while restaurants will be allowed to remain open at reduced capacity between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. Story here.
$400M FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR PHOENIX COMPENSATION – Ottawa paid out $400-million to federal public servants last year as part of continuing compensation for damages related to the Phoenix pay system, which caused major payroll disruptions across the government. Story here.
TORIES RULE OUT CANADA-CHINA COMMITTEE – The federal Conservatives say they will not launch a bid to resurrect a parliamentary committee that probed Canada-China relations for more than 18 months. Story here.
CHALLENGE TO MANITOBA PREMIER’S ELECTION REJECTED – A judge has rejected a court challenge of the vote that made Heather Stefanson leader of Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives and the province’s Premier. Shelly Glover, who came up just short with 49 per cent of the ballots on Oct. 30, alleged there were several problems with the way the race was run, but the justice ruled Ms. Glover did not produce evidence of any irregularities that could have altered the outcome. Story here.
MONTREAL/OTTAWA MAYORS HAVE COVID-19 The mayors of two major Canadian cities have tested positive for COVID-19. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson disclosed his diagnosis, but says he is not experiencing symptoms. Story here from CTV. Montreal Mayor Mayor Valerie Plante also says she has tested positive so is working remotely in isolation. Story here , from CBC.
FEDS DEPOSIT MILLIONS INTO WRONG ACCOUNTS – The federal government deposited nearly $26-million into the wrong bank accounts during the last fiscal year – and more than $10-million of it may be gone for good. From CBC. Story here.
OMICRON STALLS RETURN OF FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVANTS – Plans for federal public servants to return to work have been thrown into doubt by the Omicron variant. “There’s no blueprint for the return,” Kathryn May reports in Policy Options. “Departments will muddle through, adapt as they go, much like they did when employees were first sent home to work in March 2020. The eventual return will expose what rules and policies will have to be updated.” Story here.
THIS AND THAT
The House of Commons has adjourned until Jan. 31, 2022, at 11 a.m ET.
FOREIGN MINISTERS CONCERNED ABOUT HONG KONG ELECTIONS – Foreign ministers from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America have issued a statement, noting the outcome of the Legislative Council elections in Hong Kong, and expressing “grave concern” over the erosion of democratic elements of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s electoral system. “We urge the People’s Republic of China to act in accordance with its international obligations to respect protected rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, including those guaranteed under the Sino-British Joint Declaration,” says the statement issued by Global Affairs Canada.
THE DECIBEL – On Monday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, science reporter Ivan Semeniuk explains what the latest science says about how Omicron is different from other variants like Delta, in three important ways: its transmissibility, how well it can escape the vaccines we have now, and how sick it can make us. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Personal, in Montreal.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
No schedule released for Deputy Prime Minister.
LEADERS
No schedules released for party leaders.
OPINION
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole’s winter of MP discontent: “Andrew Scheer didn’t get this far. Now Erin O’Toole faces the long cold winter of a losing Conservative leader. Making sure that the many Tory MPs who are still ambivalent about his leadership don’t turn cold on him in the next few months will be key to his survival. Already he has seen a handful of current and former officials try to kick-start moves to have an early vote on his leadership – he booted Conservative Senator Denise Batters from the party’s caucus, but Tory senators chose to keep her in their group, anyway. Now, Conservative MPs are heading back to their ridings, back to constituents and party members and holiday cheer, and Mr. O’Toole doesn’t know how much of their conversations will be grumbling about the state of the party and the Leader.”
Kelly Cryderman (The Globe and Mail)on Brian Jean returning to politics, with his sights set on his former UCP leadership rival, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney:“Is this a real thing? Until now, internal party frustration with Mr. Kenney has failed to lead to any major turning point, despite many times in 2021 when it seemed possible. The most recent example, at the UCP AGM in November, was a mixed bag of internal party votes that went both for and against Mr. Kenney. But there was not much in the way of visible dissent, and the Premier came out of the weekend looking buoyed and confident. But now there is an actual thing – the leadership review – for the Premier’s opponents to organize around. Mr. Jean – who was leader of the Wildrose party in the 2015 election that saw the NDP win power after more than four decades of Progressive Conservative rule – has an advantage of being able to campaign full-time while Mr. Kenney still has to do the difficult work of governing through an Omicron wave of the pandemic.”
André Picard (The Globe and Mail)on the need for a strong pandemic response now, despite Omicron being discouraging: “Don’t fall for the cynical rhetoric of the selfishly unvaccinated, such as failed politician Maxime Bernier, who tweeted recently that “both the vaccinated and unvaccinated can spread the virus.” While that is superficially true, it reeks of false equivalency. As American professor Dr. Sarah Parcak responded in a now viral tweet: “Both Serena Williams and I can play tennis.” The point here, masterfully made, is that the unvaccinated are still far more at risk of poor outcomes if they contract the coronavirus. Vaccines aren’t the only tool in our pandemic tool box either. We’ve gotten much better at treating COVID-19, with the arrival of antivirals, and a better understanding of how to best use monoclonal antibodies and other drugs.”
Sheema Khan (Contributed to The Globe and Mail)on the proof of systemic racism in Quebec Premier François Legault’s own Bill 21: “Defenders of the bill assert that it is the natural outcome of the Quiet Revolution, during which Quebec removed the entrenched influence of the Catholic Church. Yet, as Melinda Meng points out in the Harvard International Review, the Catholic Church designed the provincial curriculum to indoctrinate children, with priests and nuns central to its delivery. Today, teachers are hired to deliver a religiously neutral curriculum designed by the state. Their personal belief has no correlation with the curriculum.”
André Pratte (The Montreal Gazette) on how the anti-Bill 21 initiative of some mayors from outside Quebec is already backfiring: “I have no doubt that the mayors and councillors think they are usefully supporting freedom of religion. But, believe me, as someone who is fighting Bill 21 from within Quebec, this does not help at all. If this debate becomes a Quebec vs. ROC issue, Quebecers will rally behind their government, and the Quebec-based opponents of Bill 21 will have an even harder time being heard.”
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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.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
