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The pandemic is breaking down political barriers between provincial and federal governments – CBC.ca

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While Canadians are being asked to keep their distance from one another to slow the spread of COVID-19, the pandemic is bringing Canada’s leaders closer together.

On Thursday night, there was a tangible spirit of goodwill around the virtual table when the prime minister and Canada’s premiers took part in a teleconference on the novel coronavirus outbreak. Sources tell CBC News that gratitude and appreciation was expressed at both ends for the collaborative work the two levels of government have been doing.

Meetings of first ministers can be acrimonious but there was no troublemaker at the table this time. One source said that “everyone [was] very sympathetic to Quebec,” the province that has been hit the hardest by the outbreak. In the past, the province has butted heads with other premiers on everything from pipelines to face veil bans.

Speaking on background, a federal Liberal source told CBC News that some premiers were willing to divert deliveries of personal protective equipment (PPE) from their own province to provinces with greater needs.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, normally an inveterate foe of Trudeau, tweeted during the call how he was “impressed by how [Canada] is coming together to fight this invisible enemy” and “moved by strong solidarity for Alberta’s double whammy: the COVID recession [and] the energy price crash.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, another regular sparring partner of Trudeau’s, said in a news conference earlier on Thursday that he would “never break ranks” with the prime minister or his fellow premiers in the midst of a crisis. In an interview with the Toronto Star, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland called Ford her “therapist” and the Ontario premier reciprocated her praise.

It is the kind of unity of purpose among Canada’s first ministers that is almost without precedent.

There are, of course, some obvious incentives for provincial premiers to stay onside with the federal government at a time like this. Ottawa has the fiscal capacity and the jurisdiction to do some things the provinces can’t — such as subsidize wages and restrict movement across international borders.

When Newfoundland and Labrador could no longer find buyers for its provincial bonds, the Bank of Canada swooped in with a program to buy short-term provincial securities. It allowed Newfoundland and Labrador to “make payroll.” It might not be the last province to find itself in such dire straits.

Trudeau has few friends around the table

The political map across the country is not one that should make this kind of collaboration between provincial and federal governments easy.

Only two of the 10 provinces are headed up by Liberals — Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. The other eight have conservative premiers of various stripes or, as in British Columbia, a New Democrat.

Little more than a year ago, Ford and Kenney were featured on a cover of Maclean’s magazine standing beside Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer. Together, they were dubbed “the resistance” and Trudeau’s “worst nightmare.”

Now, Ford says they are all part of “Team Canada.”

Politics didn’t always disappear in past crises

Past prime ministers have had more friends around the premier’s table when facing national crises than Trudeau does today. When Stephen Harper led the country through the Great Recession that began in 2008, he had fewer opponents among the premiers than Trudeau had at the beginning of this year.

Robert Borden, who led Canada into the First World War, had more fellow Conservatives in provincial capitals than opposing Liberals in 1914.

In the early stages of the Great Depression, W.L. Mackenzie King was reluctant to assist the four provinces led by Conservative premiers (there were five led by Liberals or Progressives). He told the House of Commons in 1930 that, while he might work with some friendly premiers, he would “not give a single cent to any Tory government.”

It was a statement that contributed to his defeat in the election he called later that year.

Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King (right) with (from left to right) the Earl of Athlone, Governor General of Canada, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the Quebec Conference in 1944. (Canadian Press)

Back in office when the Second World War began in September 1939, King again had plenty of provincial allies. All but two provinces had Liberal premiers.

But even that didn’t lead to the kind of united front we’re seeing today. Maurice Duplessis, who led a conservative Union Nationale government in Quebec, bristled at restrictions imposed by the War Measures Act and called an election for that October. He campaigned against the federal government’s encroaching power and on fears that conscription would be imposed.

With the assistance of the King government, the Liberals under Adelard Godbout defeated Duplessis.

In Ontario, the premier might have been a Liberal but Mitchell Hepburn didn’t see the prime minister as an ally. He instead teamed up with the leader of the Ontario Conservatives and together they criticized King’s early prosecution of the war in both the press and on the floor of the Ontario legislature. It was enough to spur King into calling a federal election in 1940 as a show of strength against his provincial critics.

At the moment, that kind of partisan jockeying between the different levels of government seems unthinkable. But it wasn’t long ago that the kind of cooperation we have seen between premiers and between them and the prime minister would have been just as unthinkable.

It’s one of the many ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented. It’s also a good reason for confidence.

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‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

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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.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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