Internal government documents show that the value of a contract to build a new software tool for managing IT services across the federal government has grown by nearly 70 per cent, to $55-million – an increase Shared Services Canada has not publicly revealed.
The documents also show that while the original contract required all work to be conducted on-site for security purposes, the department later allowed several people to work on the project from home in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic – provided they took precautions such as keeping their computer screens away from windows so that no one could see what they were doing.
Reporter’s Comment, Mr. Curry:“The federal government has made many pledges to increase transparency and to proactively disclose important information like federal contracting details, but the reality is that journalists and the public regularly face long delays and other hurdles when attempting to obtain these details.
“As this story shows, one IT contract grew from $32.4-million to $55-million two years ago, but this was not proactively disclosed on a website that claims to report quarterly on all contracts and contract amendments worth more than $10,000.
“This information only came to light via a request under Access to Information, a separate avenue for accountability that has been widely criticized as ‘broken’ by experts, [Background available here]
“Reporting to the public on how governments spend taxpayer money is one of the most important functions of journalism. A lack of timely disclosure in relation to multimillion-dollar contracts hinders the media’s ability to do this work.”
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
DIAS UNDER INVESTIGATION – Former union leader Jerry Dias, who abruptly announced his resignation on Sunday citing health issues, is being investigated by Unifor for an alleged breach of the union’s constitution, according to a statement issued by the union Monday. Story here.
DESPITE SOCIAL-MEDIA APPEARANCES, CHIEF NOT SUPPORTING POLIEVRE – The chief of one of Saskatchewan’s most economically successful nations says he is not endorsing Pierre Poilievre even though the front runner in the Conservative party race has been featuring him prominently in social media posts. Story here.
ANAND PLANS ARCTIC TRIP – National Defence Minister Anita Anand is planning a trip to the Arctic, as she gathers her allied counterparts in Arctic countries for a joint discussion on the security of the region in light of Russian aggression in Ukraine. Story here from CBC.
OMINOUS BYELECTION LOOMS FOR PREMIER JASON KENNEY – Political pundits say there will be one clear loser in Tuesday’s byelection in northern Alberta, but it won’t be any of the candidates. No matter the final tally in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche, they say, Premier Jason Kenney faces an unfavourable outcome since the constituency’s three main contenders all oppose his leadership. Story here.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
BROWN’S IN – Patrick Brown has joined the race for the federal Conservative leadership, with a warning that the party needs to broaden its appeal beyond its core supporters if it hopes to wrestle power from Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. Story here.
AND THEN IT’S BROWN VS. POILIEVRE – Patrick Brown, the newest entrant in the Conservative leadership race, kicked off his campaign by blasting opponent Pierre Poilievre over his presence in the party in 2015 when it pushed creating a tip line for “barbaric cultural practices.”’ Story here.
MACKAY RULES OUT LEADERSHIP BID – Peter MacKay says he will not seek the leadership of the Conservative party when one is chosen this September. Story here.
CHAREST NAMES CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIRS – Former Quebec premier Jean Charest has named Tasha Kheiriddin, who considered a run for the Tory leadership, and Mike Coates, co-founder and executive chairman of a government-relations and digital-marketing firm Rubicon Strategy Inc., as co-chairs for his national leadership campaign.
POILIEVRE PROFILED – Shannon Proudfoot of Maclean’s magazine addresses the question of “Why is Pierre Poilievre so angry?” in an expansive profile of the Tory leadership candidate that you can read here.
There’s a Globe and Mail explainer here on the Conservative leadership race.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS -The House of Commons is not sitting again until March 21.
TUESDAY SPEECH BY UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be speaking, by video, to the House of Commons on Tuesday in a ceremony that begins at 11:15 a.m. Commons speaker Anthony Rota has released the schedule, including the order of speakers: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Senate Speaker George Furey, House Speaker Anthony Rota, Official Opposition Leader Candice Bergen, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, and Green Party Member Elizabeth May. The address will be broadcast and streamed live on ParlVU . And The Globe and Mail will have coverage of the speech. Meanwhile, please check here for live updates on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
WELLS AND SMITH EXIT MACLEAN’S – Paul Wells has announced his exit as a senior writer at Maclean’s. “Today I resigned from Maclean’s magazine. The new management team there have a wonderful opportunity to renew a legendary Canadian magazine. I wish them well,” Mr. Wells said in a LinkedIn post three days ago. “In my line of work, people sometimes assume these departures have something to do with disagreements about party politics. That’s not the case here.” He added that he has many ideas about what to do next, but no specific plan. Ottawa-based Maclean’s associate editor Marie-Danielle Smith, a writer in the Maclean’s Parliament Hill bureau, has also announced her departure from the magazine in a tweet. “I’ve decided to leave [Maclean’s]” she wrote. “I’ll miss my colleagues dearly and wish them all the best. On to the next adventure.”
GG HEADED FOR MIDDLE EAST – Governor-General Mary Simon will be travelling to the Middle East from March 17 to 23, with stops in the United Arab Emirates , Qatar and Kuwait. A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office says that in each country, she will meet with Canada’s ambassadors, Canadian Armed Forces members deployed to the region, as well as heads of state and other senior leaders of the three countries.
IEN TO UN STATUS OF WOMEN MEETING – Marci Ien, the federal Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, is leading the Canadian delegation to the 66th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women to be held from Monday to March 25, both virtually and in New York. The delegation includes other ministers, MPs, provincial and territorial representatives and National Indigenous leaders and representatives.
THE DECIBEL
On Monday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn , a senior fellow and director of the defence program at the Center for a New American Security, explains the complexities of the no-fly zone concept. Ukraine wants its allies to set up a no-fly zone in its airspace. They believe it would give them the tactical advantage in the war that Russia started. But NATO, U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders have decisively said no to the idea.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings in the Ottawa area. And the Prime Minister speaks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
LEADERS
No schedules released for party leaders.
OPINION
Rita Trichur (The Globe and Mail)on Ottawa sending mixed messages about wireless competition as it mulls Rogers-Shaw deal: “The federal government needs to get its story straight about the state of wireless competition. Its market assessments of late seem to depend on which way the wind is blowing in Ottawa. And, let’s face it, there’s plenty of hot air gusting through the corridors of power in our capital on any given day. At the start of this year, for instance, the Trudeau government boasted that wireless prices were falling because it had the gumption to put the Big Three carriers in their place. Go ahead and snort. It will make you feel better. Because a nanosecond later, Ottawa was telling us too many Canadians are, in fact, still overpaying for wireless services. Confused? You’re not alone.”
Charles Burton (Contributed to The Globe and Mail)on China’s potential long game – First dominate Russia, then on to the Arctic: “Today’s crisis between Russia and the West, engendered by President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, is seen by Beijing as furthering Mao’s vision of a China-dominated global order – renamed by the current strongman, General Secretary Xi Jinping, as “the community of the common destiny of mankind.” Whatever the outcome of the suffering in Ukraine, Russia will remain shunned by the West, blocked from financial transactions and trade with lucrative European markets. This risks ushering Russia into the arms of Beijing, which will be only too happy to facilitate the dependence of its “strategic partner” on Chinese economic support, under the guise of helping it weather cataclysmic sanctions. It will come at a humiliating cost to Mr. Putin, but make no mistake: Beijing will exploit Russia’s weakness to bring it into subordination to China’s overall geopolitical agenda.”
Thomas Juneau and Vincent Rigby (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on Canada having neglected its national security for far too long: “The most pressing threats to our national security call for a “whole-of-Canada” response, bringing together federal departments, provincial and municipal governments, the private sector, and civil society. The pandemic is illustrative: it was primarily a public health issue, but one with national security implications. Research institutions, for example, became vulnerable as hostile states aggressively sought to steal intellectual property related to vaccines. This pushed the intelligence community to strengthen ties with universities and the pharmaceutical sector. Yet the national security community’s ability to co-ordinate and share information amongst itself, let alone with such a diverse range of partners, is at times lacking.”.
Brian Kelcey (Contributed to The Globe and Mail)on Ottawa’s police board crisis being just the tip of Canada’s police-governance problem: “It’s been a rough year so far for Ottawa’s Police Services Board. After a “trucker convoy” occupation, a council purge, two waves of resignations and the departure of its police chief, it is now so dysfunctional that it doesn’t even have the ability to legally meet quorum right now. This is a problem. But it’s also an opportunity. Ottawa isn’t the only city in Canada that needs help with a broken model of police oversight.”
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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.
