Some Conservatives are breaking away from the federal caucus’ support for the Freedom Convoy that has led to chaos in Ottawa.
The dissension comes after parliamentary reporter Marieke Walsh reported here that the Conservative Party’s new interim leader, Candice Bergen, advocated in internal discussions against asking the protesters to go home, according to an e-mail obtained by The Globe and Mail.
On Friday, Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson, a lifelong Conservative appointed to the senate in 2009 on the recommendation of former prime minister Stephen Harper, announced he’s quitting the Conservative senate caucus over the issue though he will hold on to his party membership.
“This is no longer a caucus I want to belong to,” Mr. Patterson said in an interview. “I do not support this approach, and I hope it will change.”
He said he has been disappointed at the absence of a Conservative condemnation of the continued “lawless occupation” of the downtown core of Ottawa. “It’s uncharacteristic for a party I always considered stood for law and order.”
“I was absolutely appalled at members of our caucus and even our new leadership associating themselves in any way with the racist, hateful, misogynist, white-supremacist hooligans in the so-called Freedom Convoy. That was what motivated me to finally make the step of realizing that these caucuses no longer represent the party I know,” he said, referring to the senate caucus and national caucus.
Meanwhile, Quebec MP Pierre Paul-Hus, the Conservative public-services critic, tweeted Friday that action against the protest is necessary after a week “undergoing the Siege of Ottawa.”
He suggested the motivation of truckers is unclear. “I ask that we clear the streets and that we stop this occupation controlled by radicals and anarchist groups.”
Ontario Conservative MP Dean Allison said he respects and values his colleague Mr. Paul-Hus, “but on this issue, I would have to strongly disagree with him.” He did not elaborate.
Amid the back and forth, Ms. Bergen called for a “peaceful resolution” to the impasse in a statement released by her office. She said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should “provide a clear plan” to end the situation in Ottawa. “Let’s work together to find solutions,” said the statement “To the truck drivers in Ottawa: please remain peaceful. Call out and denounce any acts of hate, racism, intolerance or violence.”
Meanwhile, Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly said Friday that 150 additional police officers will be deployed throughout downtown Ottawa as part of a new strategy to manage the occupying demonstrators and restore a shaken trust with residents as thousands more are expected to arrive this weekend.
Parliamentary reporters Janice Dickson and Ms. Walsh report here on this development.
Elsewhere, more than 100 vehicles taking part in a protest convoy arrived in Quebec City Thursday ahead of a rally planned this weekend in front of the National Assembly. Story here from CBC.
And in Saskatchewan, the provincial legislature was closed Friday in advance of expected protest against COVID-19 restrictions while a protest against restrictions began in Winnipeg, outside the main entrance of the Manitoba legislature grounds.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
EMPLOYMENT PLUMMETS – Canadian employment plummeted in January and work absences because of illness soared to record levels as the Omicron variant drove a steep uptick in COVID-19 infections. The country lost 200,000 jobs last month, the first decline in employment since May, Statistics Canada said Friday. Story here.
TRUDEAU AND FREELAND MAKE APPEALS TO UKRAINE GOVERNMENT – Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland made personal appeals to persuade the Ukrainian government to not arrest and imprison former president Petro Poroshenko when he returned home in mid-January, two sources in Ottawa and one in Kyiv say. Story here.
TORIES LOOKING TO QUICKLY REPLACE O’TOOLE – Federal Conservatives say they have to move quickly to find a permanent replacement for Erin O’Toole,because the minority government means Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could trigger an early election. Story here.
MPS SUMMON GOFUNDME REPS – A committee of MPs has voted to summon representatives of GoFundMe to Parliament “as soon as possible” to answer questions about the California crowdfunding company’s ability to screen out hate campaigns. Story here.
HORGAN FEELS “PRETTY GOOD” AFTER CANCER TREATMENT – B.C. Premier John Horgan says he’s “feeling pretty good” after treatment for cancer diagnosed in November, and has lost 25 pounds in the process. “I had a couple of jackets taken in, so I’m ready to go,” Mr. Horgan said outside the B.C. legislature this week. Story here from City News 1130. Meanwhile, voting to elect the next leader of British Columbia’s Liberals is under way. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
The projected order of business at the House of Commons, Feb. 4 is here.
PARLIAMENTARY BLACK CAUCUS SPEAKS OUT ON PROTESTS – The Parliamentary Black Caucus, representing MPs and senators, is denouncing protests in Ottawa and Gatineau. “We strongly support the right of Canadians to protest. Regrettably, we believe that this protest became a venue for extremist elements to intimidate Members of Parliament, Senators, and the residents of Ottawa and Gatineau,” said a statement issued on Friday. The full text, including proposed actions, is here.
DEFENCE MINISTER TRIP TO EUROPE CONCLUDED – Defence Minister Anita Anand has concluded a week-long trip to Europe that included stops in Ukraine, at NATO headquarters and in Latvia. In Ukraine, Ms. Anand’s meetings included talks with Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, and Canadian Armed Forces personnel deployed on the Operation UNIFIER training mission. During the tour, she also met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
FEDERAL LIBERALS GATHER IN ONTARIO – The Liberal Party of Canada’s Ontario wing is holding a virtual convention on Friday and Saturday, with party leader Justin Trudeau expected to join 1,300 party members. Other speakers include Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Defence Minister Anita Anand and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.
COLLEGIALITY IS POSSIBLE – Amidst turmoil across the aisle during the week, the federal Transport Minister here records a moment of collegiality with a member of the Official Opposition.
THE DECIBEL – On Friday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Asia Correspondent James Griffiths is in Beijing as the 2022 Winter Olympics begin in China’s capital. Mr. Griffiths talks about what it’s like to be inside the Olympic bubble and how politics are playing into these Games. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings. The Prime Minister was scheduled to speak with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store. The Prime Minister was also scheduled to virtually meet with students from Smallwood Academy in Gambo, Newfoundland and Labrador.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet holds a media availability at Parliament Hill.
No schedules provided for other leaders.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Boardon how protest is a legal right, but a blockade isn’t a legal protest: “Canadians have the right to protest – regardless of whether the cause is left, right, centre, trucker, whatever. But any time that interferes more than minimally and temporarily with the rights of others – and particularly when it moves from persuasion by words to physical interference – it ceases to enjoy the protection of the law. It becomes instead a threat to law and order. Police always have every reason to show patience, and to lean on negotiation rather than force. But at some point, one way or the other, the law and the rights of others must ultimately be upheld against illegal protests – be they left, right, centre, trucker, whatever.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on why it already looks like no Conservative will be able to challenge Pierre Poilievre for the party leadership: “He is a love-him-or-hate-him politician who garners tub-thumping applause from those who agree and revulsion from those who don’t. He made his name as a partisan pitbull and placed his flag on the right wing of his party. He is probably the best communicator the federal Conservatives have, but will nonpartisans learn to like him? That’s a question that gnaws at some in his party, and at some in the caucus of MPs around him, who fear that he will shrink the blue tent to a hard core, and turn off broad swaths of moderate suburban Canada. But a lot of them think he will win the leadership.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail)on how Erin O’Toole pushed around the Conservative caucus, as leaders always have but didn’t count on caucus pushing back:“Mr. O’Toole’s leadership was not the only problem facing the party – its internal divisions, as I wrote recently, are the real issue, of which his uncertain leadership was more consequence than cause – nor will it necessarily fare any better under a new leader. But the decision to remove him could have highly salutary effects in the long-term, and not only for the Conservative Party. After this, any future Conservative leader will be on notice: treat the caucus with respect, or face the same fate as Mr. O’Toole. The example having been set, it is not inconceivable that members of other party caucuses may one day demand a similar measure of respect. It was one thing when all caucuses were under the same yoke, seemingly in perpetuity. But now that the Conservatives have broken free, there is at last the potential for a “backbench spring,” a fundamental change in the balance of power between leader and caucus.”
Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail)on why theConservatives need an affable, relatable new leader more than a right-wing one: “In theory, it was probably the right approach – tactically speaking – for Mr. O’Toole to campaign for the Conservative leadership as a true blue, then pivot to the centre for the general election in order to be as palatable as possible to the widest swath of Canadians. But his change was so stark that it left the membership feeling duped and betrayed, and he never quite found a way to relay to Canadians what his centre-right vision would look like. Constantly changing your mind will do that. The Conservatives need a normal, affable, relatable new leader far more than they need one who will bring the party back over to the right. But they might be too busy laughing at Mr. Poilievre’s jokes to come to that realization.”
Kelly Egan (The Ottawa Citizen) on how it’s time for Ottawa police to stop saying “all options are on the table” to deal with protest, and instead pick one and try it: “Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly seems like a nice guy. Here’s the problem. We don’t need a nice guy right now. We need a strong leader, someone not afraid to pick the right fight. At the end of his initial presentation to the police services board Wednesday, Sloly dramatically took off his glasses, stared into the camera and said one of the most dispiriting things we’ve heard all week: “There may not be a policing solution to this demonstration.” You know, the truckers must be laughing at us. We’ve basically admitted we think it’s too risky to attempt to forcibly remove them, one by one, because someone might get hurt or even killed.”
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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
