Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ruling out any negotiations with representatives of the protests that shut down most of downtown Ottawa over the weekend and continued for a third day on Monday.
As MPs returned to Parliament after the Christmas break, Mr. Trudeau told a news conference that he has attended protests in past, but chosen not to go anywhere near any that have expressed “hateful rhetoric” or perform violence toward fellow citizens.
Scores of trucks have filled the core of the nation’s capital in a protest that began last week to denounce the vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers by the Canadian and American governments, but has come to involve various issues around pandemic restrictions.
Referring to various incidents over the weekend, Mr. Trudeau said, “Over the past few days, Canadians were shocked and frankly disgusted by the behaviour displayed by some people protesting in our nation’s capital. I want to be very clear: We are not intimidated by those who hurl abuse at small-business workers and steal food from the homeless.”
“We won’t give in to those who fly racist flags. We won’t cave in to those who engage in vandalism, or dishonour the memory of our veterans.”
Mr. Trudeau, who earlier Monday disclosed that he had tested positive for COVID-19, also said during the news conference that two of his three children had tested positive for COVID-19.
This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Ian Bailey. It is available exclusively to our digital subscribers. If you’re reading this on the web, subscribers can sign up for the Politics newsletter and more than 20 others on our newsletter sign-up page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.
TODAY’S HEADLINES
TRUDEAU COUNTS ON BLOC AND NDP SUPPORT – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is counting on the Bloc Québécois and the NDP to help his minority Liberal government get things done in the face of what he anticipates will be systematic obstructionism by the Conservatives. Story here.
KENNEY DENOUNCES TRUCK CONVOY – Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says a truck convoy that’s blockaded a highway at a busy U.S. border crossing as part of a protest against vaccine mandates violates the province’s Traffic Safety Act and must end immediately. Story here.
LIBERALS FACE TIGHT TIMELINE TO MEET 100-DAY DEADLINE – As the 44th edition of the Canadian Parliament returns Monday after its winter break, the federal Liberal government has only a few days to deliver on its promises for its first 100 days in office. Among legislation promised but not yet introduced are bills to combat online hate; to regulate foreign web giants; and to better protect Canada’s critical infrastructure, including 5G networks. Story here, from CBC.
BC LIBERALS LEADER CHOICE LOOMS – A new leader will be chosen by British Columbia’s Liberals on Saturday after a months-long campaign that often focused on renewal and a new course for a party that has lost successive elections after 16 years in power. Story here from CBC.
UKRAINE
ANAND DETAILS TROOP MOVEMENT – Defence Minister Anita Anand says all Canadian troops stationed in Ukraine have been moved west of the country’s Dnieper River as worries about a possible Russian invasion continue to grow. Story here.
NATO THINK-TANK HEAD WARNS OF RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION – The head of a NATO think tank that studies Russian information warfare says the country has ramped up disinformation campaigns that are playing a significant role in the Ukraine crisis, as Moscow tries to refashion the narrative of the conflict. Story here.
UKRAINIAN CIVILIANS HONE MARTIAL SKILLS – Ukrainian civilians are training to to defend their northern border with skills learned from Canada. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
LE COUTEUR TO CTV – Michael Le Couteur is taking on a new assignment as senior political correspondent for CTV News Channel this month, ending a 21-year run at Global National.
THE DECIBEL –On Monday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Kate Taylor, a cultural columnist and visual arts critic for the Globe, talks about how people are feeling in the arts industry given it has been decimated by COVID-19 lockdowns with – according to the Canadian Association for Performing Arts – one in four workers having lost their jobs in 2020. She also talks about hopes for a comeback, and how the artistic community might one day look back and reflect on this unprecedented time. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings. The Prime Minister speaks with Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King. The Prime Minister holds a news conference. He also virtually attends Question Period, participates in a debate on the Ukraine and participates in a virtual celebration of the Lunar New Year. An interview with the Prime Minister appears on Vancouver’s Fairchild Radio 96.1 FM and 1470 AM.
LEADERS
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks virtually to the media, attends Question Period, and delivers a speech in honor of the late NDP leader Alexa McDonough, and participates in a debate on the situation in the Ukraine.
No schedule released for other party leaders.
PUBLIC OPINION
O’TOOLE TRAPPED – Philippe J. Fournier of 338Canada writes in Maclean’s about how federal Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole is trapped, with his latest personal popularity numbers bleak inside and outside his party. Story here.
OPINION
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on how a protest that’s focused on truckers poses a bigger question for politicians who want to embrace it: “But now that it is clear the protests are not just about cross-border rules for truckers, the question is whether Conservatives, and premiers other than Mr. Moe, will still embrace them. Part of that answer might depend on how the protests end. Mr. Trudeau isn’t going to do an about-face. Parliament is to resume sitting Monday. The protesters’ numbers were dwindling Sunday, but it’s not clear how the protest will evolve. From Day One, it wasn’t mostly about the truckers.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail)on how Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole is taking a big gamble by siding with trucker-convoy protesters: “The cynical might believe that the Conservative Leader is simply trying to outflank opponents within his own party. Former leader Andrew Scheer, deputy leader Candice Bergen, finance critic Pierre Poilievre, MPs Leslyn Lewis and Mark Strahl and several others have declared their solidarity with the protesters. Many of them also publicly or privately oppose the Durham MP’s continued leadership. Is Mr. O’Toole hoping to accommodate conservative populists who have grown impatient with his more progressive stands on the environment and minority rights by catering to anti-vaxxers? He says no.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail)on how the trucker convoy has evolved into something far more dangerous: “There is likely a faction of those involved in the trucker convoy, now making its way to the capital, who believe they are part of a legitimate protest. But as well-meaning as some of these people may be, it’s now clear that this demonstration has been hijacked by a fringe element that sounds an awful lot like the “freedom fighters” and “patriots” who gathered at the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, and ended up storming the premises in a poorly organized coup d’état. In fact, some of those involved have called for precisely this type of action. It’s something the RCMP, I hope, is taking seriously, regardless of what organizers are saying about this being a non-violent demonstration. Not-so-funny things happen when mobs gather and are incited by outside elements.”
Kelly Egan (The Ottawa Citizen)on how the truckers convoy has lost the room – now how do we lose the trucks?: “In the course of a couple of hours, the “movement” was being blamed for disrespecting the two things in Canada that cannot ever be disrespected – the memory of Terry Fox and the graves of our war dead. If that wasn’t bad enough, there came news a pair of protesters were harassing the homeless, being aggressive, even racist, toward a shelter security guard and taking food set aside for street people. And this is how your “message” gets – not just lost – but reversed. Freedom? Freedom to do that?”
Alison Shaw (Policy Options)on how, to climate-proof public infrastructure, we must reconsider the conventional emissions-intensive approaches that got us here in the first place: “But here is the truth. We cannot repair and replace climate-damaged or destroyed infrastructure the same way we built it in the first place. Emissions- and capital-intensive solutions that involve pouring more concrete and building more roads are maladaptive. In other words, resorting to the same approaches that got us into this mess won’t get us out of it. It is a classic negative feedback loop. The more we build defensively with high-carbon solutions, working against natural systems, the less resilient our social systems, services and communities become, and the higher the costs of repairing them will be the next time.”
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
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.
