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Hello,
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked Canada for its support of the embattled country as it is invaded by Russia, and asked for continued help.
“Canada has always been steadfast in their support. You have been a reliable partner to Ukraine and Ukrainians and I am sure this will continue,” Mr. Zelensky told the House of Commons in a 12-minute virtual speech on Tuesday.
Parliamentary Reporter Marieke Walsh and Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife report here.
Meanwhile, please check here for live Globe and Mail updates on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Also, the House of Commons website has provided an overview here that covers addresses to Parliament by distinguished visitors.
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 signup page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.
TODAY’S HEADLINES
CONCERNS ABOUT MILITARY SEXUAL ASSAULT INVESTIGATION APPROACH – Police chiefs and provincial officials are challenging Defence Minister Anita Anand’s plans to have civilian law enforcement take over military sexual assault investigations, in some cases raising questions about who will fund the work. Story here.
CRITICISM OF FEDERAL PROGRAM TO UPGRADE SMALL BUSINESS TECH – Ottawa’s new $4-billion program to upgrade the technology of small businesses amounts to a subsidy for foreign-owned tech giants, industry leaders say. Story here.
BERNIER MUST PAY $132,000 IN DEFAMATION CASE – The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ordered Maxime Bernier to pay $132,000 in legal costs after his defamation lawsuit against political columnist and consultant Warren Kinsella was dismissed. Story here.
NUNAVUT GOVERNMENT WON’T RELEASE TUBERCULOSIS STATS – The Government of Nunavut is declining to release detailed statistics about tuberculosis, including the number of cases identified annually in each of Nunavut’s communities, despite the territory’s information and privacy commissioner calling for more transparency in response to an appeal by The Globe and Mail. Story here.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
ONTARIO PREMIER/TORIES TO STAY ON THE SIDELINES IN FEDERAL CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE – Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he will not be taking a stand for any candidate in the continuing federal Conservative leadership race, and that he expects members of his Progressive Conservative caucus to also remain on the sidelines. “I have my hands full moving forward,” Mr. Ford told a news conference on Tuesday. Referring to provincial Conservative members of the Ontario legislature, he said, “I believe they will have their hands full so, no, they won’t be supporting anyone.”
CHAREST HAS COVID-19 – Conservative leadership candidate Jean Charest has tested positive for COVID-19 so will be campaigning from home for the next few days until he tests negative. Story here.
CAUCUS ENDORSEMENT FOR LEWIS – Leadership contender Leslyn Lewis has picked up a caucus endorsement. New Brunswick MP Richard Bragdon says he is backing Ms. Lewis. The member for Tobique-Mactaquac told the Fredericton Daily Gleaner Ms. Lewis is in the best position to grab voters “that have been harder for us to reach historically.” He added, “This lady shares the hard-working, loyal, faithful and common-sense values of our rural areas while, at the same time, also understands firsthand, the needs of the GTA and other urban areas in Canada.” As the Daily Gleaner noted, Mr. Bragdon was the first federal MP to endorse Ms. Lewis in the last leadership race where she finished third.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS -Despite the assembly of MPs for the speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the House of Commons is not sitting again until March 21.
ANAND HEADED TO BRUSSELS – Defence Minister Anita Anand is travelling to Brussels to participate in an meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization defence ministers on Wednesday.
NEW IPOLITICS EDITOR – Jessica Smith Cross is the new editor of ipolitics – a digital newspaper that covers stories in Canadian politics – as well as QP Briefing, which covers Ontario politics.
THE DECIBEL – On Tuesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, the Globe’s Kathryn Blaze Baum talks about the story of Kasia Smith, a Polish-Canadian living in Konstancin, just south of Warsaw, with her husband and three kids. They have welcomed three Ukrainian families to stay with them for as long as they want. Ms. Blaze Baum interviewed Kasia along with the families and she’s on the show to tell their story.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings. The Prime Minister delivers remarks in the House of Commons. An address to Parliament from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, will follow.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet held a news conference in the foyer of the House of Commons after the speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Conservative Party Leader Candice Bergen speaks in the House of Commons to respond to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s, address to Parliament.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh held a news conference to respond to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s, address to Parliament.
PUBLIC OPINION
OTTAWA PROTEST IMPACT – Pollster Nik Nanos takes a Data Dive, and finds that while the Ottawa protests are over, their political fallout is not. Story here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how the world can find what it used to get from Russia – in Canada: “Can you name this country? It is a major exporter of oil and natural gas, wheat and fertilizer. Big in gold, iron, aluminum, lumber. Coal, too. If you picked Russia, you are correct. If you picked Canada, you are also correct. In the first weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, global fossil fuel markets were the top story, as already-high prices shot higher. Europe is particularly vulnerable, being dependent on Russia for almost half its gas imports. Canada isn’t in an immediate position to help – our country has exactly zero natural gas export terminals – though in the years ahead Canadian fossil fuels could replace some of those from Russia.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on federal Conservatives tearing each other down to get to the top: “There are some people who say that Conservative politicians are liars who will say anything to get elected, govern unethically, or flirt with racial discrimination to win votes. But those are just the people running for the leadership of the Conservative Party. The things Tory leadership candidates are saying about each other are downright scathing. To Canadians outside the Conservative tent, that’s bound to send an ugly message about the folks squabbling inside.”
Rob Shaw (The Orca) on how B.C. Premier John Horgan’s sarcastic remarks about a planned protest at the legislature by anti-vaxx, anti-science, anti-authority truckers demonstrates his political value to the B.C. NDP: “It would not have been possible to recreate this moment with a staged answer by Horgan, looking directly into the phone of a staffer or reading from a script prepared by a pollster. It had to come from both the sleeve and the heart. That authenticity is a major key to Horgan’s success – the magic sauce if you will. Very few politicians have it. BC New Democrats are once again thanking their lucky stars a reluctant John Horgan decided to run for party leader in 2014. The party has ridden his Premier Dad brand like a surfboard over an orange wave the last two elections. He’s regularly polled as one of the most popular premiers in the country for an astounding five consecutive years. Without him, and little populist moments like the one he created on the trucker convoy, none of the BC NDP success would have been possible.”
Natasha Tremblay (The Ottawa Citizen) on the question of whether the influencer approaches of Pierre Poilievre or Jean Charest will prevail in the Conservative leadership race: “The Poilievre campaign is using all its social media might to stop Charest. Graphics calling the Mulroney-era cabinet minister a Liberal are circulating in the most right-wing depths of Canadian Twitter, betting on the base’s inability to comprehend the subtleties of Quebec politics. Initial polls placing Poilievre as the race’s clear front-runner suggest that this strategy is effective. Yet it is widely known that social media echo chambers can mislead web users into believing that their ideas have more traction than they do in the real world. Extreme voices dominate social media, but not everyone is listening. The Poilievre campaign would be wise to bear this in mind.”
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