Protesters blockading downtown Ottawa for almost three weeks were issued orders to leave immediately by patrolling police officers.
“You must leave the area now,” reads the flyer given to protesters on Wednesday, the 20th day of the capital-city blockade. “Anyone blocking streets, or assisting others in the blocking streets, are committing a criminal offence and you may be arrested.”
The notice was updated from one issued by police last week that was less forceful. It warns that a criminal charge could mean they are denied entry to the United States, their licences could be revoked and vehicles seized.
Police dropped the flyers on the windshields of trucks, campervans and other vehicles jamming the Ottawa core. Parents with children in the blockade are also being warned that they could be separated from their kids if police action begins.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
PROTEST
FEDS PROCEED WITH EMERGENCIES ACT POWERS – The federal government is pushing ahead with sweeping Emergencies Act powers that could ban gatherings around legislative buildings and national monuments, even as police announce resolutions of border blockades in Alberta and Manitoba. Story here.
CANADA BANKS TAKE MEASURE OF EMERGENCY POWERS – Canada’s largest banks held a flurry of meetings and calls on Tuesday as they tried to grasp how far the federal government expects them to go in wielding emergency powers to cut off financial support for blockades that have disrupted Ottawa and major border crossings. Story here.
RCMP HAS A MESSAGE FOR CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGES – The RCMP is asking cryptocurrency exchanges to stop facilitating transactions with cryptocurrency accounts connected to convoy protests. Story here.
TOW-TRUCK INDUSTRY PREDICTS RESISTANCE TO FORCED RECRUITMENT TO CLEAR BLOCKADES – The tow-truck industry says the federal government will be met with resistance if it tries to use Emergencies Act powers to force operators to clear blockades and protest sites against their will. Story here.
THIRTEEN PEOPLE FACE MURDER, WEAPONS, MISCHIEF CHARGES IN ALBERTA PROTEST – Four Alberta men are in custody accused of plotting to murder RCMP officers and nine other people are facing weapons and mischief offences as part of what RCMP say was a significant and organized threat by a heavily armed group at the Coutts border protest – and the first public steps in a continuing RCMP investigation into illegal activity at the blockade. Story here.
CROSBIE SUPPORTS FREEDOM CONVOY -The former leader of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Progressive Conservative party has donated money to the protest movement gripping parts of Ontario, saying he supports the Freedom Convoy’s calls for reduced public health restrictions. Story here from CBC.
MEANWHILE
INFLATION HITS THREE-DECADE HIGH – Canadian inflation hit a new three-decade high in January, heaping more pressure on the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates for the first time since the COVID-19 crisis started. Story here.
OTTAWA EASING BORDER RESTRICTIONS – Ottawa is easing border restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers, who soon will no longer be required to take a molecular COVID-19 test before arriving in the country, and dropping its recommendation that Canadians avoid international travel for non-essential purposes. Story here.
KENNEY CALLS BYELECTION – Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has called a by-election that will feature his own candidate campaigning to topple him as leader. Story here.
FORMER QUEBEC CABINET MINISTER COMES TO CHAREST’S DEFENCE – Former provincial cabinet minister Lise Thériault on Wednesday passionately defended the reputation of former Quebec premier Jean Charest, telling reporters that neither she nor her colleagues were “corrupt.” Story here from The Montreal Gazette.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, Feb.16, accessible here.
SENATE RETURNS – In a statement, the Senate speaker says the Senate is being recalled to sit on Friday, Feb. 18 at 10 a.m. for the consideration of public business and, in particular, the declaration of emergency made pursuant to the Emergencies Act. The Senate was supposed to return on Feb. 22.
BYRNE TAKING A BREAK FROM CURSE – Jenni Byrne is taking a break from the Curse of Politics podcast to help MP Pierre Poilievre’s bid to win the leadership of the federal Conservative Party. “For the first time in a while, I am actually back working on a campaign,” Ms. Byrne said in a video posted online. She said she thought it unfair to many people, including listeners and her co-hosts if she stayed on the podcast while she is more in a “campaign mode” than a “Jenny mode.” She added, “It’s not forever. It’s for the next few months.” The video is here.
JOLY TO GERMANY AND FRANCE – Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is travelling to Germany and France to reiterate Canada’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity with international partners. Her trip, which begins Feb. 17 includes attendance at the Munich Security Conference, the world’s largest conference on security, and meetings with French Foreign Minister Le Drian. Ms. Joly returns on Feb. 22.
Q&A -FORMER RCMP DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ON THE CHALLENGE FOR POLICE IN OTTAWA – Pierre-Yves Bourduas, a former RCMP deputy commissioner of federal, international and protective policing, who lives in the nation’s capital, speaks to the challenge facing police in Ottawa as they move to deal with protesters.
Q-What challenge do the police face dealing with these protesters in Ottawa that they may not have faced elsewhere in Canada?
A-It’s the urban environment first and foremost. If you recall, the Windsor police took 48 hours to clear a large street. It was pretty much an open area. They had lots of officers. They managed to control the crowd. Ottawa? It’s a whole different dynamic. You don’t have a single leader. You have different leaders, with different profiles, and that is what is going to be the challenge tactically and strategically for police who are going to deploy and eventually have to clear these areas.
Police officers have to factor in extremist views that have been expressed by some of the organizers. And you have an additional layer of complexity because you have children involved. Things could become volatile and could be out of the control of parents or police officers.
Q-What challenge will the children present?
A-Tear gas, for example. This could create a problem. It’s volatile. All over the country, people will be watching the way this unfolds. Police will have to be as diplomatic as possible, avoid confrontation.
Q-How will police deal with some of the challenges you mentioned in terms of moving through this urban environment filled with trucks?
A-Intelligence. They have had 20 days to observe who are the movers and shakers in this siege, and now they will have to act on hopefully very accurate intel and decide what kind of action they should put in place to bring this to a successful and hopefully peaceful solution.
Q-The West Block of Parliament is full of MPs, staff, journalists, probably into the wee hours. What complication does Parliament Hill raise in all of this because people are coming and going?
A-If I were in charge of the strategic deployment, I would deploy when you have the least number of people around, for a number of reasons. You want, maybe, to resort to the surprise element. If you need to act, you need to act quickly. The problem is the big trucks that are jamming the Parliament. That should have never ever been allowed. These trucks should have never been allowed to move on Wellington.
Q-How concerned are you about the volatile nature of the whole thing?
A-I am very concerned. I will not hide that fact. There are some elements that are quite radical there. It’s the fragmentation and the elements within this siege that trouble me because there are elements that have clearly and publically declared they wouldn’t hesitate to resort to violence if need be. That’s why I am deeply concerned about what I am looking at.
Q-As someone who lives in the Ottawa region, how has this protest affected you? Have you been down to see it yourself?
A-Every weekend, since it started. The first weekend, I skated down the Rideau Canal to observe what was going on. I was completely baffled by seeing police officers not reacting to the anarchy to a certain point. This thing started going sideways from the first weekend. Police were never able to regain any control because of passive policing.
Last weekend, I gave a television interview for the Telejournal, and we did it on the street in front of CBC on Queen Street. I was with a seasoned journalist. And we had two bodyguards. We were yelled at around the issue of fake news. One of the protesters approached me, yelled in my face while I was doing the interview. He came about two or three inches from my face to yell at me. I experienced first-hand how this has been a total loss of control and anarchy for the downtown people. I empathize with them and this thing needs to come to an end, hopefully peacefully.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
THE DECIBEL – On Wednesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Globe sports reporter, Rachel Brady, in Beijing covering the Olympics, talks about why the Canada and the U.S women’s hockey teams keep meeting in the finals – it’s the sixth time these teams have met in an Olympic final – what needs to be done for women’s hockey to continue to grow and why there are still so few opportunities outside of the Olympics for these elite athletes.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings. The Prime Minister attended the national caucus meeting, was scheduled to attend Question Period, and also chair a meeting of the Incident Response Group on the continuing blockades.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet held a news conference, and attended Question Period.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh attended the NDP national caucus meeting, then held a news conference. He also attended Question Period.
No schedule released for other party leaders.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Boardon how, if this is a national emergency, make it limited, localized and brief: “The Ottawa occupation must be resolved and removed. But reasonable people can ask whether police already have enough legal tools to do that. To the extent the use of the Emergencies Act is carefully tailored to the time, place and scope of the illegal activity targeted, it may be justified. The threat currently appears relatively small, and highly localized. Within seven sitting days, the Trudeau government must come before Parliament with a motion to confirm the declaration of emergency. It could be in a position to close the book on the act even sooner.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on how, in Question Period, an unprecedented step meets routine politics: “It’s high time that something be done about the blockades. But you would expect the opposition to demand to know the basis on which this extraordinary step had been taken. You might think the Prime Minister would make a stirring statement to justify it. You should hope the Justice Minister, David Lametti, would be forced to stand up to defend, in detail, the legal basis for this move. You might expect the opposition to grill the government about those important legalistic things because the answers have to be heard. But Parliament didn’t live up to those expectations.”
Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail)on how, by invoking the Emergencies Act, the feds go from no action to the nuclear option: “It is true that the situation in downtown Ottawa is much more complicated. There are kids among the protesters, and potentially, also a cache of deadly weapons. The police are outnumbered, and it’s not easy to clear a site where protesters are holed up in 10-tonne semis, especially when tow truck operators have refused to haul away the trucks out of concerns over retribution. No one should be under any illusions that there is a simple solution to an occupation that has been years in the making, particularly when extremists have committed to staying put until the government has been ousted and replaced. But the complexity of the situation doesn’t in and of itself justify the federal government’s decision to opt for one of the most extreme options it has at its disposal.”
Irwin Cotler and Yonah Diamond (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how Beijing’s Games of Shame show how far China’s government has fallen: “What we were already witnessing in 2001 and 2008 was China’s pervasive assaults on human rights, which fly in the face of the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.What we are seeing today, as China hosts the games for a second time in 14 years, is the utter betrayal and abandonment of the Olympic Charter.”
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NEW YORK (AP) — In a new video posted early Election Day, Beyoncé channels Pamela Anderson in the television program “Baywatch” – red one-piece swimsuit and all – and asks viewers to vote.
In the two-and-a-half-minute clip, set to most of “Bodyguard,” a four-minute cut from her 2024 country album “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé cosplays as Anderson’s character before concluding with a simple message, written in white text: “Happy Beylloween,” followed by “Vote.”
At a rally for Donald Trump in Pittsburgh on Monday night, the former president spoke dismissively about Beyoncé’s appearance at a Kamala Harris rally in Houston in October, drawing boos for the megastar from his supporters.
“Beyoncé would come in. Everyone’s expecting a couple of songs. There were no songs. There was no happiness,” Trump said.
She did not perform — unlike in 2016, when she performed at a presidential campaign rally for Hillary Clinton in Cleveland – but she endorsed Harris and gave a moving speech, initially joined onstage by her Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland.
“I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” Beyoncé said.
“A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided,” she said at the rally in Houston, her hometown.
“Imagine our daughters growing up seeing what’s possible with no ceilings, no limitations,” she continued. “We must vote, and we need you.”
Harris used the song in July during her first official public appearance as a presidential candidate at her campaign headquarters in Delaware. That same month, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, publicly endorsed Harris for president.
Beyoncé gave permission to Harris to use the song, a campaign official who was granted anonymity to discuss private campaign operations confirmed to The Associated Press.
Outside of sports and a “Cold front coming down from Canada,” American news media only report on Canadian events that they believe are, or will be, influential to the US. Therefore, when Justin Trudeau’s announcement, having finally read the room, that Canada will be reducing the number of permanent residents admitted by more than 20 percent and temporary residents like skilled workers and college students will be cut by more than half made news south of the border, I knew the American media felt Trudeau’s about-face on immigration was newsworthy because many Americans would relate to Trudeau realizing Canada was accepting more immigrants than it could manage and are hoping their next POTUS will follow Trudeau’s playbook.
Canada, with lots of space and lacking convenient geographical ways for illegal immigrants to enter the country, though still many do, has a global reputation for being incredibly accepting of immigrants. On the surface, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver appear to be multicultural havens. However, as the saying goes, “Too much of a good thing is never good,” resulting in a sharp rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, which you can almost taste in the air. A growing number of Canadians, regardless of their political affiliation, are blaming recent immigrants for causing the housing affordability crises, inflation, rise in crime and unemployment/stagnant wages.
Throughout history, populations have engulfed themselves in a tribal frenzy, a psychological state where people identify strongly with their own group, often leading to a ‘us versus them’ mentality. This has led to quick shifts from complacency to panic and finger-pointing at groups outside their tribe, a phenomenon that is not unique to any particular culture or time period.
My take on why the American news media found Trudeau’s blatantly obvious attempt to save his political career, balancing appeasement between the pitchfork crowd, who want a halt to immigration until Canada gets its house in order, and immigrant voters, who traditionally vote Liberal, newsworthy; the American news media, as do I, believe immigration fatigue is why Kamala Harris is going to lose on November 5th.
Because they frequently get the outcome wrong, I don’t take polls seriously. According to polls in 2014, Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives and Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals were in a dead heat in Ontario, yet Wynne won with more than twice as many seats. In the 2018 Quebec election, most polls had the Coalition Avenir Québec with a 1-to-5-point lead over the governing Liberals. The result: The Coalition Avenir Québec enjoyed a landslide victory, winning 74 of 125 seats. Then there’s how the 2016 US election polls showing Donald Trump didn’t have a chance of winning against Hillary Clinton were ridiculously way off, highlighting the importance of the election day poll and, applicable in this election as it was in 2016, not to discount ‘shy Trump supporters;’ voters who support Trump but are hesitant to express their views publicly due to social or political pressure.
My distrust in polls aside, polls indicate Harris is leading by a few points. One would think that Trump’s many over-the-top shenanigans, which would be entertaining were he not the POTUS or again seeking the Oval Office, would have him far down in the polls. Trump is toe-to-toe with Harris in the polls because his approach to the economy—middle-class Americans are nostalgic for the relatively strong economic performance during Trump’s first three years in office—and immigration, which Americans are hyper-focused on right now, appeals to many Americans. In his quest to win votes, Trump is doing what anyone seeking political office needs to do: telling the people what they want to hear, strategically using populism—populism that serves your best interests is good populism—to evoke emotional responses. Harris isn’t doing herself any favours, nor moving voters, by going the “But, but… the orange man is bad!” route, while Trump cultivates support from “weird” marginal voting groups.
To Harris’s credit, things could have fallen apart when Biden abruptly stepped aside. Instead, Harris quickly clinched the nomination and had a strong first few weeks, erasing the deficit Biden had given her. The Democratic convention was a success, as was her acceptance speech. Her performance at the September 10th debate with Donald Trump was first-rate.
Harris’ Achilles heel is she’s now making promises she could have made and implemented while VP, making immigration and the economy Harris’ liabilities, especially since she’s been sitting next to Biden, watching the US turn into the circus it has become. These liabilities, basically her only liabilities, negate her stance on abortion, democracy, healthcare, a long-winning issue for Democrats, and Trump’s character. All Harris has offered voters is “feel-good vibes” over substance. In contrast, Trump offers the tangible political tornado (read: steamroll the problems Americans are facing) many Americans seek. With Trump, there’s no doubt that change, admittedly in a messy fashion, will happen. If enough Americans believe the changes he’ll implement will benefit them and their country…
The case against Harris on immigration, at a time when there’s a huge global backlash to immigration, even as the American news media are pointing out, in famously immigrant-friendly Canada, is relatively straightforward: During the first three years of the Biden-Harris administration, illegal Southern border crossings increased significantly.
The words illegal immigration, to put it mildly, irks most Americans. On the legal immigration front, according to Forbes, most billion-dollar startups were founded by immigrants. Google, Microsoft, and Oracle, to name three, have immigrants as CEOs. Immigrants, with tech skills and an entrepreneurial thirst, have kept America leading the world. I like to think that Americans and Canadians understand the best immigration policy is to strategically let enough of these immigrants in who’ll increase GDP and tax base and not rely on social programs. In other words, Americans and Canadians, and arguably citizens of European countries, expect their governments to be more strategic about immigration.
The days of the words on a bronze plaque mounted inside the Statue of Liberty pedestal’s lower level, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” are no longer tolerated. Americans only want immigrants who’ll benefit America.
Does Trump demagogue the immigration issue with xenophobic and racist tropes, many of which are outright lies, such as claiming Haitian immigrants in Ohio are abducting and eating pets? Absolutely. However, such unhinged talk signals to Americans who are worried about the steady influx of illegal immigrants into their country that Trump can handle immigration so that it’s beneficial to the country as opposed to being an issue of economic stress.
In many ways, if polls are to be believed, Harris is paying the price for Biden and her lax policies early in their term. Yes, stimulus spending quickly rebuilt the job market, but at the cost of higher inflation. Loosen border policies at a time when anti-immigrant sentiment was increasing was a gross miscalculation, much like Trudeau’s immigration quota increase, and Biden indulging himself in running for re-election should never have happened.
If Trump wins, Democrats will proclaim that everyone is sexist, racist and misogynous, not to mention a likely White Supremacist, and for good measure, they’ll beat the “voter suppression” button. If Harris wins, Trump supporters will repeat voter fraud—since July, Elon Musk has tweeted on Twitter at least 22 times about voters being “imported” from abroad—being widespread.
Regardless of who wins tomorrow, Americans need to cool down; and give the divisive rhetoric a long overdue break. The right to an opinion belongs to everyone. Someone whose opinion differs from yours is not by default sexist, racist, a fascist or anything else; they simply disagree with you. Americans adopting the respectful mindset to agree to disagree would be the best thing they could do for the United States of America.
PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president.
Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.
Kennedy made the declaration Saturday on the social media platform X alongside a variety of claims about the heath effects of fluoride.
“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, “want to Make America Healthy Again,” he added, repeating a phrase Trump often uses and links to Kennedy.
Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken to Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible.”
The former president declined to say whether he would seek a Cabinet role for Kennedy, a job that would require Senate confirmation, but added, “He’s going to have a big role in the administration.”
Asked whether banning certain vaccines would be on the table, Trump said he would talk to Kennedy and others about that. Trump described Kennedy as “a very talented guy and has strong views.”
The sudden and unexpected weekend social media post evoked the chaotic policymaking that defined Trump’s White House tenure, when he would issue policy declarations on Twitter at virtually all hours. It also underscored the concerns many experts have about Kennedy, who has long promoted debunked theories about vaccine safety, having influence over U.S. public health.
In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. Though fluoride can come from a number of sources, drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say.
Officials lowered their recommendation for drinking water fluoride levels in 2015 to address a tooth condition called fluorosis, that can cause splotches on teeth and was becoming more common in U.S. kids.
In August, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.
A federal judge later cited that study in ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.
In his X post Saturday, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in that lawsuit, the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.
Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization has a lawsuit pending against news organizations including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy is on leave from the group but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.
What role Kennedy might hold if Trump wins on Tuesday remains unclear. Kennedy recently told NewsNation that Trump asked him to “reorganize” agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and some agencies under the Department of Agriculture.
But for now, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump’s top surrogates. Trump frequently mentions having the support of Kennedy, a scion of a Democratic dynasty and the son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy traveled with Trump Friday and spoke at his rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Trump said Saturday that he told Kennedy: “You can work on food, you can work on anything you want” except oil policy.
“He wants health, he wants women’s health, he wants men’s health, he wants kids, he wants everything,” Trump added.
