Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is fending off criticism from Canada’s premiers and territorial leaders, saying he is ready to negotiate on increased health care funding, but that any new dollars must go to health care.
At a news conference in Kingston, Ont., Mr. Trudeau was responding on Wednesday to the outcome of the Council of the Federation meeting of premiers and territorial leaders in Victoria this week.
He was asked by a journalist if he was “ghosting” the leaders on health care, a reference to a suggestion by council chair John Horgan, the premier of British Columbia, that Mr. Trudeau is avoiding their calls for substantive talks on increasing federal health care funding.
“I don’t think there is a prime minister in Canadian history who, over the entire scope of their time in office, has met with the premiers and sat down to talk about health care as much as I have over the past two years,” Mr. Trudeau said, in his first comments on this week’s high-profile exchange between Ottawa and the provinces on the perennial funding issue.
He said the government will invest more in health care, but is intent on ensuring that funding delivers real, tangible results for Canadians in shorter wait times, better services and access to a family doctor.
“There have been huge investments in health care made by provinces and governments in the past that haven’t always delivered the improvements to health care that is necessary,” he said. “We are going to make sure that those investments deliver for Canadians.”
The premiers say that health care funding began as a 50-50 split between the federal government and provinces and territories, but that Ottawa’s share has dwindled to 22 per cent.
Vancouver Reporter Andrea Woo and Queen’s Park Reporter Dustin Cook report here on the meeting of premiers and territorial leaders, which featured jabs between the provinces and Ottawa, but concluded with no resolution on health care.
During the news conference in Kingston, Mr. Trudeau also defended the Canadian government’s recent agreement to import and repair Russian pipeline turbines for up to two years, calling it “a very difficult decision.” Story here from Senior Parliamentary Reporter Steven Chase and Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
BANK OF CANADA HIKES INTEREST RATE – The Bank of Canada increased its benchmark interest rate by one percentage point on Wednesday, the most aggressive rate hike since 1998 and a larger move than investors and private-sector economists were expecting. Story here.
KING IN COURT – “Freedom Convoy” organizer Pat King is expected to appear in an Ottawa court today for a bail review. Story here.
COVID-19 BENEFITS BOLSTER CANADIANS 2020 AFTER-TAX INCOME: CENSUS – Fewer Canadians received employment income in 2020 as COVID-19 upended the labour market, but pandemic support programs more than offset losses for many households, leading to a drop in income inequality, according to census results published Wednesday. Story here.
SCHEDULES CONFOUND GUILBEAULT TRAIN TOUR – Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s promise to travel by train across Canada to talk to people about emissions was derailed by the lack of rail routes available to cross the country. Story here from the National Post.
FIVE-DAY SERVICE CREDIT FROM ROGERS – Rogers Communications Inc. says it will credit its customers with the equivalent of five days of service as it faces a litany of questions from Canada’s telecom regulator regarding a nationwide service outage that left millions without cellphone, home phone and internet service last Friday. Story here.
NO CHARGE FOR SOME RCMP COSTS: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT – The federal government says it won’t bill provinces and municipalities for the retroactive portion of Mountie salaries while it considers whether to help shoulder some of the burden of a steep pay-raise package. Story here.
QUEBEC SETS FRENCH DEADLINE FOR FEDERALLY REGULATED SECTORS – The Quebec government is giving companies in federally regulated sectors one month to begin complying with new requirements to guarantee the use of French in their workplaces. Story here from CBC.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL – Scott Aitchison is in West Vancouver. Roman Baber has a meet-and-greet event in Lloydminster, Sask. Jean Charest is in Quebec. Leslyn Lewis is in Whitehorse. Pierre Poilievre is in Vancouver and Surrey.
BROWN BACKING CHAREST – Patrick Brown says he is unlikely to overturn a disqualification from running for Conservative leader in time to compete in the race, so he will vote for former Quebec premier Jean Charest. Story here.
BROWN ON THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY – “I’m not going to make any commentary about the Conservative Party, but obviously I didn’t find it democratic and if they want to follow a route that is extreme and not inclusive, I am not sure they will be on the right side of Canadians” – Patrick Brown, as Brampton mayor, in a telephone town hall with city residents on Monday night.
NO PIVOT PLANNED: POILIEVRE – Pierre Poilievre tells Rick Bell of the Calgary Sun that he does not plan to pivot. Story here. Also, more than 1,000 people reportedly attended a rally in Grande Prairie, Alta., featuring Mr. Poilievre. Story here from MyGrandPrairieNow.
THIS AND THAT
The House of Commons is not sitting again until Sept. 19. The Senate is to resume sitting on Sept. 20.
NO THANKS TO BEING B.C. PREMIER: CULLEN – Former NDP MP Nathan Cullen , now British Columbia’s Municipal Affairs Minister, is ruling out a bid to succeed British Columbia Premier John Horgan. Details here. In another province, another high-profile New Democrat is also saying he won’t seek his party’s leadership. It’s Joel Harden, the Ottawa Centre NDP MPP, who was seen as a possible contender for the leadership role vacated by Andrea Horwath. Mr. Harden now says he’s not interested for reasons explained in a story here from CityNews..
FREELAND DEPARTS FOR MEETING IN BALI – Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland departed Toronto for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
ALGHABRA IN WINNIPEG – Transport Minister Omar Alghabra was scheduled to make a funding announcement at the CN Intermodal Terminal in Winnipeg and take media questions.
BOISSONNAULT IN EDMONTON – Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault, appearing for Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, was scheduled to make a health-related funding announcement in Edmonton, and take media questions.
DUCLOS IN ST. JOHN’S – At Memorial University in St. John’s, N. L., Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos makes an announcement on support for patient-oriented research in the province.
IEN IN SCARBOROUGH – Marci Ien, the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, announces investments in training for young Canadians at an event in Scarborough.
RODRIGUEZ IN ST. JOHN’S – Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez and the Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism Minister Steve Crocker were scheduled to co host a news conference in St. John’s on Wednesday at the conclusion of three days of meetings for federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for culture and heritage.
WILKINSON IN BURNABY – Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, in Burnaby, announces support for electrical vehicle charging infrastructure in British Columbia.
THE DECIBEL
On Wednesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Duncan Dee , a former chief operating officer for Air Canada, talks about what should be done to help with delays and bottlenecks at airports. On Monday, 70 per cent of flights from Canada’s largest carrier Air Canada were delayed – the highest percentage in the world. Mr. Dee worked on a panel that reviewed the Air Transportation Act in 2016, looking closely at what could be improved at Canada’s airports. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
In Kingston, Ont., the Prime Minister made an announcement, with Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Ontario’s Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli also present.
LEADERS
No schedules released for party leaders.
OPINION
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on a turbine tussle and a warning to allies against complacency in backing Ukraine for the long haul: The international tussle over a turbine that saw Canada stuck in the middle should serve as a warning to Ukraine’s allies about complacency – because Mr. Putin will keep testing them for weaknesses. There was an outpouring of support for Ukraine when Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February, and the waving of yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flags was accompanied by stiff sanctions by both Canada and the U.S. and shipments of aid and arms. But that might be easy to forget months later in the Canadian summer.”
Don Braid (Calgary Herald)on whether Danielle Smith already has a lock on the Alberta premier’s office: “Pierre Poilievre is widely considered a cinch to win the federal Conservative Party leadership on Sept. 10. If that’s true, Danielle Smith’s chances for the premier’s office look very good on Oct. 6. Her campaign, equally aggressive, is aimed at a narrower, more reachable band of voters than Poilievre faces in the far-flung federal party. Smith also appeals to many UCP members who are increasingly angry at Ottawa, while adding dramatic Alberta responses inspired by Quebec’s march to autonomy. It’s working for her so far.”
Thomas Mulcair (CTV)on how Stephen Harper clearly has a preferred candidate in the Conservative race: “Conservative skullduggery in booting out Patrick Brown as a candidate reflects very badly on a Party prone to lecturing others about probity, ethics and integrity. Based on the single, untested word of a longtime party operative, Brown was given the heave-ho. Problem is, he landed on Jean Charest, whose chances of winning will go from slim to none if the Conservatives get away with it. The people who made and profited from that decision were very much aware that what they were doing would effectively decide the outcome of the race. Pierre Poilièvre was being handed a victory not by Conservative members but by Party functionaries. When you look at their connections to the Harper era, this whole manoeuvre appears even more troubling.”
Katłįà (Catherine) Lafferty (Policy Options)on the need for Indigenous-led housing: “Providing a place one can truly call home, surrounded by family in a safe, healthy environment, should be viewed as a reclamation of sovereignty as part of the land-back movement. There is an immediate need for recognition of Indigenous culture within the housing system to move toward true reconciliation. Canada also needs to follow through on Indigenous legal orders – the pre-colonial Indigenous legal system – under the provisions of UNDRIP to find ways of creating a “braiding” of laws at the national and international law that will recognize Indigenous rights at a government-to-government level.”
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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.
