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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Tofino vacation is over.
Earlier this morning, Mr. Trudeau’s office issued an advisory saying he would also be in Ottawa today for “private meetings” and to speak with Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister of Australia.
Mr. Trudeau’s return to the nation’s capital ends his break in the Vancouver Island community that caused sustained political controversy because it began last week on Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Over the weekend, Mr. Trudeau apologized to the chief of a B.C. First Nation after choosing to vacation in Tofino rather than attend the community’s Truth and Reconciliation Day event.
Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc had sent the Prime Minister two invitations to attend its ceremonial event near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, where the remains of about 200 children were discovered at the site in late May. Story here.
Victoria-based national correspondentJustine Hunter sends the following Reporter’s Commentfrom Tofino, B.C.:“Standing in the drizzle on a surfing beach near the resort town of Tofino on Saturday morning, I could make out about two dozen surfers bobbing, indistinguishable in their black wetsuits, out where the surf breaks. One of them was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, some were part of his security detail, and the rest were tourists and locals. Surfing protocol is all very democratic – you are supposed to wait your turn, no matter who you are. But Lyla Enns, a teenager from North Vancouver, later explained that she deferred to the Prime Minister when deciding who would get to catch the next wave. “I didn’t get up because I didn’t want to hit him,” she explained to me. Another young woman, Leila Nabavi, laughed as she described a near miss with Mr. Trudeau when he caught a wave and just about crashed into her as she paddled out into the break zone.
“Mr. Trudeau is a regular visitor to Tofino and lots of locals here have had the chance to share the surf, and to take away stories like these. While the controversy swirled around his decision to come here instead of marking his newly declared National Day for Truth and Reconciliation last Thursday, the local etiquette calls for leaving him be when he is on the beach. But at some point during the day, he called the chief of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation to apologize for opting to fly to Tofino for a holiday rather than to attend Thursday’s ceremonial event near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, where the remains of about 200 children were located earlier this year.
“He also could have attended a local truth and reconciliation ceremony in Tofino on Thursday, but didn’t. The locals I spoke with were unimpressed with that decision.”
Vacation consternation – Mr. Trudeau is not the first Canadian politician to face trouble lately for their vacation choices.
Earlier this year, B.C. Premier John Horgan faced political turmoil, detailed here, for taking a break. And Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was under fire for a recent vacation, in a situation detailed here. Former Manitoba premier Brian Pallister faced political pressure for his regular vacationing in Costa Rica, chronicled here in Maclean’s by Nancy Macdonald, now with The Globe and Mail. Vacation choices have also been a challenge for U.S. presidents, as detailed here.
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail)on why the Tofino trip may hasten Mr. Trudeau’s political departure:“In political terms, the timing is especially unfortunate for Mr. Trudeau, because it reminds Liberal supporters of something they must already have been wondering: whether it is time to change horses… While the Prime Minister typically brazens through his misjudgments, this time Mr. Trudeau apologized. No doubt he was genuinely sorry. But also, he must have realized he was starting to run out of political lives.”
GOVERNMENT URGED TO EXTEND EMERGENCY COVID-19 BENEFITS – The federal government is facing calls from business and labour leaders to extend emergency COVID-19 benefits before they expire on Oct. 23, a move that was not explicitly promised in the Liberal Party’s election platform.
ONTARIO PROMISES CAUTIOUS COVID-19 REOPENING – Ontario remains committed to “the most cautious reopening in Canada” to avoid future COVID-19 lockdowns, the provincial government said in a Throne Speech on Monday, while promising an economic recovery fuelled by growth and not “painful tax hikes or spending cuts.”
THE CURRENT STATE OF CANADA’S KABUL EMBASSY – Senior international correspondent Mark MacKinnon checks out Canada’s abandoned embassy in Kabul under Taliban rule. Islamist militants now guard the former headquarters of Canada’s diplomatic mission in the Afghan capital – and they say the Canadians can come back any time. Story here.
AFGHAN WOMEN SOUGHT CANADA’S HELP – Afghan women ministers made pleas to Canadian politicians for help – and shared warnings about atrocities and the erosion of women’s rights – two months before the Taliban took control of Kabul. The desperate request was made during a Zoom meeting of the Canada-Afghanistan Parliamentary Friendship Group, attended by Canadian ministers, MPs and senators. Story here.
PAUL HURTING GREENS: MAY – Saanich-Gulf Islands Green Party MP Elizabeth May, the party’s former leader, says departing leader Annamie Paul is hurting the Green Party by remaining in control of its communications. From CTV.
HOW TO BE A PRIME MINISTER
From Governing Canada, A Guide to the Tradecraft of Politics by Michael Wernick (Published by On Point Press, an imprint of UBC Press)
As clerk of the privy council from 2016 to 2019, Michael Wernick was the head of the federal public service with responsibility for advising the prime minister and elected government officials. It was a key role in a public-service career that included senior roles serving four prime ministers.
Mr. Wernick has now written a newly published book about the operation of government. Governing Canada, A Guide to the Tradecraft of Politics occasionally reads like the manual that would be given to a rookie prime minister, cabinet minister or deputy minister – which makes it a very interesting book. (Parliamentary reporter Kristy Kirkup reported on the project here.) It is not a tell-all – it is, at 212 pages, succinct, evocative, blunt and never dull.
This week, the Politics Briefing newsletter will include short excerpts from a key chapter in the book, Advice to a Prime Minister. We’ll begin with Mr. Wernick’s observations on an aspect of being a prime minister that may be timely in light of current events:
“Being a prime minister is all about continuous multitasking, which won’t stop until you leave the job…Time for family, for exercise or relaxation, and for old friends outside of politics will be squeezed to the margins unless you work to protect it. By now, you have figured out what seems to work for you – your own approach to exercise and relaxation and to work. Do you prefer to finish up as much as you can at the office, or do you like to take work home?
“Try to consciously create a structure and a routine that work for your family so that you can return to that routine any time you are knocked off stride. It isn’t easy to fit spouses, children and parents into the grind of your new job. Work will tend to crowd out time for things that you used to do, like watching sports, binge-watching television series, or staying current on pop culture. Reading anything other than work-related documents will soon start to feel like a luxury. If your past pursuits are important to you, you will have to force time for them into your schedule.”
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings in Ottawa, and the Prime Minister talks with Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Andrew Cohen (Contributor to The Globe and Mail)on how Justin Trudeau became Lester Pearson:“Today, Justin Trudeau is in an eerily similar position. Like Mr. Pearson, he rebuilt a shattered party and led it back to power. Like Mr. Pearson, he called a snap election that gave him only two more seats, 11 short of a majority.Like Mr. Pearson, he has weathered scandal. Like Mr. Pearson, he faces a second minority government, navigating the shallows of a hung Parliament. But in calamity, opportunity. If Mr. Trudeau learns from his mistakes, rallies progressives and puts policy before politics, he can do much. Rather than spending the next three years contemplating his place in Parliament, he can find his place in history.”
Erica Ifill (Contributor to The Globe and Mail) on why Annamie Paul’s leadership never really had a chance: “There will be those who insist that race wasn’t a factor in the Green Party’s marginalization of Annamie Paul. But of course race is a factor when the first Black woman to lead a federal party doesn’t actually get a real chance to lead over a short term, and is instead bogged down by internal attacks, leadership questions and a lack of support that wasn’t evident before she arrived. This is misogynoir – and it’s the status quo in our political structures.”
Tasha Kheiriddin (National Post)on why rebuilding the Tories `big tent’ starts with new Canadians: “Ironically, at the same time the Tories curbed family reunification, they aggressively sought to capture the votes of so-called “cultural communities,” notably in the suburbs of Vancouver and Toronto. However, then-immigration minister Jason Kenney’s infamous “curry in a hurry” strategy produced little more than indigestion. The lesson here is that opportunism will not build connection. There has to be more on offer than the promise of a say in government, or the implicit benefits of siding with the “winning” party. That something is making conservatism – the worldview, the philosophy, the vision – relevant to new Canadians. It is allowing them to identify with and see themselves in its future. To do this, the party has to both talk the talk, and walk the walk.”
Send along your political questions and we will look at getting answers to run in this newsletter. Please note, it is not possible to answer each one personally. Questions and answers will be edited for length and clarity.
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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.
