Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is holding a conference call with Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers on Monday – his 36th on dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The call comes after meetings between Mr. Trudeau and, individually, the premiers of the Northwest Territories, Ontario and British Columbia since the last discussion on Dec. 14.
And it comes as the Omicron variant is challenging health-care systems across Canada, with expectations for increasing calls from the provinces and territories to Ottawa to provide help.
Federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc forecast aspects of the discussion during a Friday news conference that also featured Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer.
“As we regularly do, we will be speaking with all of Canada’s premiers early next week to discuss the changing realities we are seeing and how we can continue to work collaboratively to keep Canadians safe,” Mr. LeBlanc told the news conference.
But the Minister warned there were limits to available federal health-care resources. “So, our job is to take absolutely everything we can and allocate it in the most effective way to support all of our partners and Canadians to come through the other side, particularly of this urgency around the Omicron variant.”
Mr. Duclos said federal assets include health-trained people in the Canadian Armed Forces as well as vaccines, tests – 140 million are being distributed to provinces and territories this month on a per-capita basis – personal protective equipment, and tracing support.
He said he had, Thursday, met with other provincial and territorial ministers to talk about collective efforts to deal with Omicron.
Amid pandemic concerns, provincial governments have called for an increase in the Canada Health Transfer payments that the federal government provides for health care.
Parliamentary reporter Kristy Kirkup reported here on Mr. Duclos views, expressed Friday.
Please check The Globe and Maillater for reports on the talks between Mr. Trudeau and the premiers.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
CALL FOR BARTON PROBE – The federal Ethics Commissioner has been formally asked to investigate whether Canada’s former ambassador to Beijing, Dominic Barton, violated ethics rules when he accepted an offer to becomechair of Rio Tinto, a global mining company that does much of its business in China. Two New Democratic MPs wrote to the commissioner, Mario Dion, on Friday. Story here.
SPORT MINISTER LOOKING AT ABUSE – Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge is reviewing how national sport organizations deal with abuse within their own ranks, following a Globe and Mail investigation that detailed a troubling number of eating disorders among Olympic athletes, and coaches driven by dubious sports science. Story here.
STRIKING A BALANCE FOR CLIMATE-CHANGE ADAPTATION STRATEGY – Climate Change columnist and Feature Writer Adam Radwanski looks at what Canada has to do on the climate change adaptation strategy promised in 2022. Story here.
CANADA OFFERS HELP WITH UKRAINE CRISIS – Canada has told the U.S. that it’s willing to help with potential deterrence measures against Russia, which could include sanctions, to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine, CBC News has learned. Story here from CBC.
FORTIN FIGHT FOR REINSTATEMENT CONTINUES – Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin’s fight for reinstatement as head of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution campaign is proceeding on after a critical decision by the Federal Court of Appeal. Story here from Global News.
MINISTER’S TWEET BRINGS MOCKERY – A Manitoba cabinet minister is making international headlines over a tweet that features his wife shovelling snow in extremely cold temperatures after a 12-hour overnight shift as a front-line health-care worker. Story here from CBC.
THIS AND THAT
The House of Commons has adjourned until Jan. 31 at 11 a.m. ET.
THE DECIBEL – On Monday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Independent Business Reporter Chris Hannay talks about which industries are feeling hardest hit during the pandemic, how the government’s guidelines and support for workers and workplaces have changed, and why, for some, the timing of these new lockdowns really couldn’t have been worse. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings. The Prime Minister hosts a call with the provincial and territorial premiers.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
No schedule released for the Deputy Prime Minister.
LEADERS
No schedules released for party leaders.
PUBLIC OPINION
REGIONAL RESENTMENT NOT ON RISE – Philippe J. Fournier, in Maclean’s, notes that a new survey looking at federal-provincial attitudes suggests that even in Quebec and Alberta, regional resentment is not on the rise. The analysis is here.
OPINION
Kelly Cryderman (The Globe and Mail) on the challenging year ahead for Alberta Premier Jason Kenney: “Even before the leadership review, the next three months will play out like a fast-paced political obstacle course. Besides the Omicron wave, there will be a fraught new session of the legislature come February, with a Throne Speech and then a budget by the end of that month. In presenting a budget that could nearly eliminate the provincial deficit, the UCP will be under immense pressure to make sure the stronger economic numbers — based on higher oil demand — aren’t simply a boost to government and energy companies’ financials. An improving economy must translate into jobs and a wee bit of optimism.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail)on letting cities sprawl as the answer to the housing crisis:“Urban sprawl is blamed for taking prime farmland out of production; for encouraging people to use cars – which contribute to global warming – rather than public transit; for creating dreary, cookie-cutter communities devoid of human connections. But more than two-thirds of us live in suburbs. They are where young people, for generations, have purchased a housing foothold. Limiting growth on the urban fringe limits social mobility and increases inequality.”
Shachi Kurl (The Ottawa Citizen) on how Canada’s relations with China are at a critical crossroads: “New data soon to be released by the Angus Reid Institute show a portrait of self-conflicted Canadians. While a majority say they wish they could trade less with China, a majority are also worried about the economic consequences, and tellingly, are skeptical that any steps Canada takes to protest or push back against the Beijing regime’s various bad actions are unlikely to make a difference. The problem with this kind of public resignation and morass is that it carries the potential of allowing continued political inertia and lack of leadership on a file Canada cannot ignore. And while the appointment of a highly qualified, extremely experienced national security advisor (and let’s be very clear, that’s exactly what Ms. Thomas is) may be helpful, it is not a magic bullet. She is the sixth such adviser since 2008.”
Kathryn May (Policy Options)on the biggest shuffle of federal deputy ministers in memory:“As one senior bureaucrat who was not authorized to speak publicly said, a bank or another large company wouldn’t change the leadership of so many of its operations at once. “This was a long time in coming,” said Michel Vermette, a former CEO of the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada. “You have to wonder why they are so slow to fill these positions. Some of these departures have been known for quite some time. What took so long?”
Jeffrey Simpson (Literary Review of Canada)on “That Ever Governed Frenzy” through the eyes of Jody Wilson-Raybould and Michael Wernick: “Wernick insists there has never been more publicly available information. That is perhaps how matters look to him, but from the outside, the government is like a sound machine on autopilot, spinning the same messages, phrases, and clichés. The Trudeau Liberals, in those pre-2015-election days, promised to do politics differently after the gloomy, tight-lipped Stephen Harper years. The past two minority governments suggest that the Liberals, for many reasons—and only a small one being Wilson-Raybould’s saga—have lost their lustre.”
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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.
