Politicians love pretending there’s no place for politics in pandemics. Except when they play politics.
Most of the political players across the country are mostly doing the right thing — whether right-wing, left-wing or down the middle. Yet it’s only too human for politicians to revert to their partisan and parochial instincts, even with COVID-19.
Whether soothing us or scaring us, uniting us or upsetting us, it’s hard to take the politics out of the politician. That said, the most blatant example of parochialism trumping public safety came this week when Quebec’s François Legault visited Premier Doug Ford in Toronto.
Legault boasts one of the highest approval ratings among premiers, despite his province bearing Canada’s highest rate of infections and deaths per capita. Perhaps that’s because he knows how to play off Quebec’s insecurities and blind spots — belatedly embracing face coverings (medical masks) this year after bashing face coverings and head coverings (the hijab and niqab) last year.
Ford had publicly urged his “good friend” Legault to embrace the “COVID Alert” contract tracing app for smartphones. Approved by privacy experts, it’s a no-brainer that should be pitched by every serious politician — yet Legault wouldn’t be caught dead trying to save lives this way.
Exhausted by his exhortations, Ford quietly passed the microphone to Legault at their joint news conference — and watched him duck rather than stick his neck out: “For now, there’s a kind of consensus at the National Assembly in Quebec that we don’t want to go this way because of personal data,” Legault mused.
If there are genuine privacy concerns, why would Ontario and federal officials (not to mention their privacy commissioners) have given it the green light without complaint weeks ago? Legault had no good answer, because this is a question of Quebec chauvinism versus safety.
In truth, the premier had pinned his hopes on a homegrown Quebec app that has been stalled by serious privacy problems. In the same breath as he erected barriers to COVID Alert, he waxed eloquent about the need to fight trade barriers across the continent.
Tariff-free exports of Quebec products may be critical, but freer cross-border transmission of COVID-19 without the life-saving app is hypocritical.
Never mind that Legault is the incoming chair of the Council of the Federation, a fancy title for the annual forum of provincial premiers that makes customary monetary demands of Ottawa. After shutting out the pan-Canadian COVID Alert, Legault reverted to shaking down the federal government for more health-care funding amid rising COVID-19 costs.
Yet he inadvertently hurt his own case by reminiscing about how he used to compare notes on funding shortfalls with Ontario’s Tony Clement when they both served as health ministers for their respective provinces. What he didn’t say was that Clement went on to serve federally with former Ontario finance minister Jim Flaherty — whereupon they both put a lid on federal transfers to the provinces. The point is that in all the sterile quarrels about who pays what, where you stand not only depends on where you sit, but where you run (for office).
A similar blame game over funding shortfalls — and political fundraising — is taking place against the backdrop of back-to-school and the deadly serious work of protecting lives. Much has been written — and there will be more to be said next week — about the strengths and weaknesses of Ontario’s plan.
But how it looks depends on where you’re watching from. Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has asked tough questions of Ford’s classroom plan — fair enough, it’s part of her job description in the Official Opposition — but that doesn’t mean parents and teachers shouldn’t also put her comments in context.
Would an NDP government in Ontario do much better? One way to answer that question is to look at how B.C.’s New Democrats have done in power — not as strict on mandating masks, and not any better in terms of keeping teachers or parents happy.
Equally, Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca has attacked the government for not adopting his own alternative plan, which calls for billions of dollars in additional funding. Whether or not they’d be any better in power than Ford’s Tories, it’s worth noting that Quebec’s Liberals are seriously envious of Ontario’s plan — as evidenced by a tweet last month from MNA Gregory Kelley:
“Ontario is taking #backtoschoolsafely seriously,” the Quebec Liberal observed. Ford “is miles ahead of us in protecting kids, teachers & support staff. Money has been invested for distance learning, school ventilation and PPE for staff.”
That’s not to say Ford’s plan is perfect — far from it, and very much a work in progress. Opposition critics have every right to point out the wrongs they see.
That’s not making a mountain out of a molehill, but when you try to make mountains of money out of it, the context changes. Much like Ford’s Tories, all major parties are making increasingly blatant fundraising pitches and sending out emails urging people to write in with their concerns and reactions — thus capturing their contact details for followup donations.
That politicians are slowly returning to business (and fundraising) as usual isn’t the end of the world. To the contrary, it may be a precursor to a post-pandemic world.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
