TORONTO —
Political and security experts are “astounded” that armed rioters managed to breach one of the most secure buildings in the U.S., disrupting congressional deliberations over challenges to Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, making history in the process.
“I’m humiliated for my country today, this is really a low point in American history,” Tom Nichols, U.S. Naval War College University Professor, told CTV News Channel Wednesday as images of Capitol police, guns drawn, barricading the doors of the House Chamber emerged online.
Lawmakers were rushed from the chamber Wednesday afternoon after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building in a chaotic protest aimed at thwarting a peaceful transfer of power.
Footage showed “unprecedented chaos” unfolding inside the Capitol as rioters smashed windows, vandalized lawmakers’ offices, put their feet up on desks, and replaced the American flag with Trump banners.
Though some described the scene as an attempted coup, experts say the protest was egged on by President Donald Trump who continued to falsely claim electoral victory.
“I think we’re just witnessing mob violence. To call it a coup would mean it would have direction,” Nichols said Wednesday.
Others note that continued protest and threats of violence over the results of the 2020 presidential election have been fuelled by disinformation and unfounded claims of voter fraud, much of which the president himself has shared.
“[Trump] was in several instances inciting these types of protests that are really undermining democracy,” Keesha Middlemass, associate professor of political science at Howard University, told CTV News Channel Wednesday.
“It is an attack on the very heart of democracy in the United States.”
Middlemass noted that to end violent shows of support for the outgoing president, the incoming president must work with the Republican party to dispel the disinformation Trump has been spreading.
“Because of the lies, the disinformation, the conspiracy theories, there are millions of people in the United States right now that believe the election was stolen from President Trump,” she said.
“We have to figure out how to change people’s beliefs. Biden and Harris are really going to have to do a lot of explaining and talking about the validity of the election. But also you have to have more Republicans, elected officials particularly on the Republican side, stand up and disavow the lies that is instigating this type of process.”
Security experts marvelled at how the mob managed to breach the Capitol, one of the most secure buildings in Washington, next to the White House.
“We have to remember how difficult it is to get into a state building like that with firearms. It’s near impossible, I don’t know how they did it,” said Black Lives Matter Canada co-founder Sandy Hudson.
“People have decided, ‘we don’t care about the democratic process, we don’t care that we lost.’”
Jeanne Meserve, senior fellow at the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute and CTV News international security correspondent, noted there were distinct differences between the reaction to Wednesday’s riot and the Black Lives Matter protests last summer.
“It seems almost incomprehensible to me that the authorities knew that there were thousands of people descending on the Capitol; there were threats of violence; there were promises that they were going to try to bring guns,” Meserve told CTV News Channel Wednesday.
“They were not quiet about what their intentions were, and yet the authorities seem to be totally unprepared for the strength and numbers of people on capitol hill today.”
She noted there is a “direct contrast” between Wednesday’s events and the summer’s protests.
“The official reaction was much more harsh, and the vast majority of those protests were also peaceful,” she said.
President-elect Joe Biden addressed the nation Wednesday afternoon, decrying what he described as an “attack on democracy and an assault on the rule of law.”
“[Today’s events] do not reflect a true America… do not reflect who we are,” said Biden, calling on Trump to demand an end to the protests immediately.
“To storm the capital, to smash windows… threatening the safety of duly elected officials is not protest its insurrection.”
Shortly after, Trump posted a video to his Twitter account telling supporters to “go home,” while continuing to claim the election results were fraudulent.
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.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
