Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Russian President Vladimir Putin has “launched the greatest threat to European stability since the Second World War” with his invasion of Ukraine, and announced new sanctions in response.
“Canada is unequivocal in our condemnation of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on the sovereign, democratic state of Ukraine,” Mr. Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa.
He said he had just spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and told him about the “strong action” announced in Ottawa.
The Prime Minister said new sanctions will target 58 individuals and entities, including “members of the Russian elite” as well as the Wagner Group, a private Russian military contractor with close connections to the Kremlin, as well as major Russian banks.
He also said Canada will sanction members of the Russian Security Council, including the ministers of defence, finance and justice.
Mr. Trudeau also said Canada is ceasing all export permits for Russia – a measure that Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says is worth $700-million – and cancelling existing permits.
The Prime Minister said the “wide-reaching” sanctions “will impose severe costs on complicit Russian elites and they will limit President Putin’s ability to continue funding this unjustified invasion.”
Asked about directly sanctioning President Putin, Mr. Trudeau turned the question over to Ms. Joly, who did not directly answer, but said more sanctions are coming. “It is important for us to act as one,” she said.
Canada is also moving to arrange safe passage for Canadians and permanent residents and their families at land borders with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldava and “urgently issuing” travel documents for affected Canadians, permanent residents and their immediate family members.
Mr. Trudeau also said Canada is prioritizing immigration applications for Ukrainians who want to come to Canada.
In a statement, Conservative Party Leader Candice Bergen, leader of the official opposition, said President Putin’s “contemptible aggression” and invasion of Ukraine is unacceptable.
“Autocrats like Putin should and will be judged harshly. Conservatives stand ready to defend the rules-based international order against these grievous violations of international law.”
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
UKRAINE
CANADIAN DIPLOMATS EVACUATED – Canada has evacuated all its diplomats from Ukraine, including ambassador Larisa Galadza, as Russia’s invasion proceeds. Story here.
UKRAINIANS FLEE AS INVASION BEGINS – The highways out of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities were jammed with traffic on Thursday, as thousands of Ukrainians fled their homes in the first hours after a Russian invasion of their country began. Story here.
UKRAINE INVASION FUELS INFLATION – The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sent energy and agricultural prices soaring, adding to global inflationary pressures and putting central banks around the world in a delicate position as they embark on a much-anticipated rate hike cycle. Story here.
CANADA’S SANCTION TOOLKIT – Earlier this week, Canada warnedit had a package of additional sanctions ready to impose on Russia if Moscow proceeds with a further invasion of Ukraine. Story here.
PLANNED SANCTIONS BOOST SOME FORTUNES – Planned sanctions against Russia are boosting the fortunes of domestic farmers, miners and fertilizer producers. Story here.
UPDATES – Watch here for the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
PROTESTS
USE OF THE EMERGENCIES ACT ENDS – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is ending the use of the Emergencies Act because the federal government has been assured that police have sufficient tools to deal with any further challenges. Story here.
BANK ACCOUNTS UNFROZEN – Canada’s banks have unfrozen most accounts belonging to customers who were linked to illegal blockades, an industry group said, restoring access to financial services that was cut off for dozens of people under emergency powers last week as a tool to put pressure on protesters to leave downtown Ottawa. Story here.
MEANWHILE
MILITIARY OFFICER FACES SEX-ASSAULT CHARGES – A senior military officer in Ottawa has been charged with five counts of sexual assault against at least four alleged victims, according to court documents obtained by The Globe and Mail. The documents say Lieutenant-Commander Robert Waller is charged in connection with alleged incidents in Ottawa and the United States between April, 2016, and the spring of 2018. Story here.
CALL FOR MEETING AFTER ATTACK ON B.C. PIPELINE WORKERS – A group of nearly 120 members of the Wet’suwet’en Nation in British Columbia are calling for an emergency meeting with hereditary leaders after last Thursday’s attack on workers at a construction camp for a controversial natural gas pipeline in the north of the province. Story here.
MORE MONEY FOR ALBERTA HEALTH: KENNEY – Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says the provincial budget will include an unprecedented blitz of health-care spending powered by a roaring, re-energized economy. As he announced $1.8-billion in long-term spending Wednesday to increase beds, operating rooms and labs at the Red Deer Regional Hospital, he said the announcement is the vanguard of a monumental health-spending package coming Thursday in the 2022-23 budget. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – The House is adjourned until Feb. 28, 2022 at 11:00 a.m.
SUPREME COURT JUSTICE STEPS DOWN – Justice Michael Moldaver is retiring from the Supreme Court of Canada on Sept. 1. “Justice Moldaver has made exceptional contributions to Canadian jurisprudence, particularly in the area of criminal law,” Chief Justice Richard Wagner said in a statement announcing the resignation. “Canadians have benefited from his humanity and deep commitment to fair and just results. His colleagues and I have profited from his wisdom, warm collegiality and wit. We wish him a very happy retirement.” Justice Moldaver was later appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in October, 2011.
JOHN TURNER BIOGRAPHY IN THE WORKS – TVO anchor and host Steve Paikin has finished the first draft of a biography of former prime minister John Turner, who died in September, 2020, and turned it in to his publishers Sutherland House Press. The book is to be released later this year. “In a nutshell, the book tries to make the point that Turner was so much more than the 70-odd days that he was PM, particularly in the last decade of his life when he became one of Canada’s great champions of democracy,” Mr. Paikin, anchor of The Agenda on TVO, said in an e-mail exchange. “He had an utterly unique political career and life. Not three acts as most politicians have but more like six. I hope I’ve done his story justice.” Mr. Turner, who served as a cabinet minister under Pierre Trudeau, was prime minister himself from June to September, 1984. He was succeeded, as prime minister, by Brian Mulroney. Mr. Turner was also official opposition leader from 1984 to 1990. Mr. Paikin said there is no confirmed title yet for his biography. He noted that he knew Mr. Turner fairly well. “Our birthdays were two days apart so we celebrated together at an annual lunch. I covered his 1984 comeback into politics and was at the convention. So I have first person observations I think others may not have had.”
THE DECIBEL – On Thursday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Atlantic Canada reporter Greg Mercer talks about the the inquiry into the mass shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia, that killed 22 people. Mr. Mercer will explain the criticism families and politicians have of the inquiry and what we’ve learned about the shooting and its perpetrator since it happened. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings. The Prime Minister participated in a G7 Leader’s meeting hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and held a news conference on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Thursday evening, the Prime Minister was scheduled, in Edmonton, to participate in a roundtable with leaders from the Black community. Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault and Women’s Minister Marci Ien were also scheduled to attend.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves François Blanchet, in Quebec City, meets with Mayor Bruno Marchand, then holds a news conference at city hall.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Toronto, toured a United Association Local 46 Training Facility, held a press conference, and met with the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association. He was also scheduled to speak to a meeting of the NDP federal council.
No schedule released for other party leaders.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Boardon the Emergencies Act ending not with a bang, but with a whimper: “The Trudeau government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act, nearly a week and a half ago, may have been a mistake. It may have been unconstitutional. It may have been an attempt to turn crisis into political opportunity, and it may have gone beyond what was required to keep the peace and uphold the law. For years to come, people will debate whether there was an emergency on Feb. 14. But there can be no doubt that, by the start of this week, it was over. As such, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did right by the country, and saved himself a world of political pain, by abruptly revoking powers his government had given itself nine days earlier, and which it had pushed through the House of Commons just 44 hours earlier.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is eager to stop talking about the Emergencies Act and talk about blockades instead: “From a purely political perspective, it was obvious that Mr. Trudeau had to revoke the Emergencies Act orders quickly. With each passing day, the political debate was more about the Emergencies Act, and potential overreach, and less about what the Liberals want it to be about: the blockades and whether they had to be broken up. Most Canadians, opinion polls told us pretty convincingly, were against the blockades, and wanted police to shut them down. But using the Emergencies Act? That’s likely to have more opponents. Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, the front-runner for the party’s leadership, has de-emphasized his support for the convoys while working up social-media attacks on the Emergencies Act.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail)on the Emergencies Act as nine days that didn’t really shake the world all that much: “Federalizing the operation seemed to set in motion things that were not moving under either the city or the province. That’s unfortunate – we shouldn’t be invoking the Emergencies Act unless strictly necessary. Had the police acted before, it would not have been necessary. But they didn’t, so it was. Perhaps in the mandatory inquiry to follow we will learn why they did not act before; remedies can be put in place to ensure the feds do not have to step in again. But in the here and now that option was unavailable.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on how, ready or not, Canada must face the crisis in the Ukraine head on: “When Mr. Trudeau became Prime Minister in 2015, he could not possibly have imagined that he would preside over the greatest crisis since the Second World War: a pandemic that forced us into our homes and took tens of thousands of Canadian lives. In the main, his government handled that well. Now he faces a new crisis, one that challenges the unity of the Western alliance and our commitments under the North Atlantic Treaty, as we face a rogue Russia with nuclear weapons and bent on restoring its sphere of influence. Hard times are ahead.”
Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail) on where the anger goes now that the trucks are gone: “Anger left unchecked tends to metastasize. The resentment that festered over U.S. President Barack Obama’s expansion of government programs and spending, most notably through the Affordable Care Act, birthed the Tea Party movement, which morphed into the Donald Trump movement (which is ironic, since Mr. Trump went on to massively increase government spending as president). The Yellow Vest protests of 2018 and the United We Roll convoy of 2019 can be viewed in hindsight as precursors to the recent trucker convoy; Tamara Lich, who was recently denied bail for her organizational role in the convoy, was also involved in both prior events.”
John Manley (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on Canadian collectivism prevailing in the midst of cries for individual `freedoms’: “I was proud of my fellow citizens for blocking the protest on a street not far from my home. But it should not be necessary that brave citizens risk personal harm to do what we have authorized and empowered law enforcement agencies to take care of. The confrontation could have ended badly, and vigilantism is not something we want to encourage. But this is what can happen when governments – which we elect and empower to make the rules, and to which we bestow the right to use reasonable force when necessary – fail to act.”
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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.
