Politics Briefing newsletter: Trudeau meets premiers in Ottawa

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Good morning,

If you're the Prime Minister or a premier (and who knows, maybe you are?), you're reading this in Ottawa right now, because today is a meeting of first ministers -- the fourth since Justin Trudeau was elected -- and it is focused on Indigenous issues and the economy.

Premiers say they want to make the Liberal government's proposed tax changes a major point of discussion today, because of the knock-on effects it could have on their budgets and doctor-province relations. Read our explanation of the tax changes for a refresher.

Indigenous leaders will also be participating in today's meetings, though they say all the important issues of health and employment will be hard to get to in the short time allotted.

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Chris Hannay in Ottawa and James Keller in Vancouver. If you're reading this on the web or someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, you can sign up for Politics Briefing and all Globe newsletters here. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.

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TODAY'S HEADLINES

At least two Canadians are among the at least 59 who were killed at a mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert late Sunday night. They've been identified as Jessica Klymchuk, a school librarian and mother of four from Valleyview, Alta., and Jordan McIldoon, a construction worker from Vancouver. Las Vegas, a city known for celebrations and recreation, is still reeling from the attack as hundreds remain injured. Little is known about the shooter's motives so far -- some things are known about how he carried out the attack -- though, as Doug Saunders writes, any killing like this could be considered an act of terror.

Former cabinet ministers and senior government staffers in B.C. will be barred from lobbying for two years under new rules proposed by the New Democrats. The legislation comes two weeks after a bill to ban union and corporate donations, as the NDP seeks to restrict corporations' access to power. Attorney-General David Eby says the proposed legislation would prevent people who work in public office from later using their inside information to influence policy. The government says at least three current lobbyists would be affected.

B.C. is struggling with a teacher shortage after a rush to hire thousands of educators over the summer. The hiring blitz followed a Supreme Court of Canada decision last year that settled a long-running labour dispute. The B.C. Teachers' Federation says the situation is  turning into a "crisis" that has left some students without permanent instructors a month into the school year. Education Minister Rob Fleming acknowledges some districts still have more hiring to do, but he says they're doing everything they can.

And Governor-General Julie Payette spoke in Algonquin briefly at her swearing-in ceremony in Ottawa yesterday. "Reconciliation must succeed for the well-being of our communities and for the future of our children," she said. "I thought that was awesome," said Assembly of First Nations national chief Perry Bellegarde.

Tony Keller (The Globe and Mail) on Canadian resiliency: "There are those who aim to set us against one another, using religious or racial difference – our diversity – as a spark for conflict. But Canadians of all races and faiths are largely united in a desire to live in a country of peace, order, good government and equality before the law, and in wanting to ensure that Canada remains a place where people of many origins and beliefs can be neighbours without fearing one another. Much of the rest of the world is not like that, and most Canadians oppose anyone who seeks to undermine this rare thing we have."

John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on the role of governor-general: "Donald Trump's words and deeds have been so controversial that some people now refuse to meet with him. This is disturbing. The office of president deserves the respect of every American. Mr. Trump, by his actions, has debased that office. The legitimacy of the state suffers because of the actions of a politician. In Canada, the two roles are kept separate. At all times Canadian sovereignty resides, not on the front bench of the House of Commons, but in the Crown, represented in Canada by the governor-general."

Margaret Wente (The Globe and Mail) on NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh: "Mr. Singh's appeal transcends his party. His turbans are a brilliant (if unintentional) branding device. They make him stand out in a crowd. They mark him as exotic. Yet as soon as he opens his mouth, it's clear that he is as much a son of Canada as anyone in the room – not the wimpy, white-bread Canada of our past, but the dashing, muscular Canada we long to be. He's no trust-fund kid, like you-know-who. He's a self-made guy from the suburbs. He has the posture of a warrior – brash, worldly, fearless and also supermanly. Not a beta male, as Justin sometimes tends to be. He's an alpha, with a full luxuriant beard and a serious kirpan to match."

Barrie McKenna (The Globe and Mail) on reconciliation and the Canadian economy: "Reconciliation shouldn't just be about righting past wrongs. It's about making a place for a massive generation of young Indigenous people in the economy of tomorrow."

Andrew Coyne (National Post) on Liberal tax changes: "If anything, Canada suffers from having too many small businesses, which generally have much lower productivity than larger firms. Far from the growth-oriented dynamos of myth, most never grow beyond the tiny shop they started out as."

Rachel Curran, a former senior aide to prime minister Stephen Harper, writes in Policy Options about how to make public policy on a polarized issue: "In a post-fact era, when reasoned arguments are not always sufficient to secure support, the perception of a government's presumed motive is critical and sensitive policy changes must be presented without an overtly political agenda. Voters do not always have the time or inclination to study complicated policy frameworks; if they believe the government is acting for good reason, or has good intentions, that trust can provide an effective shortcut to policy acceptance. Acting from an obvious political agenda, by contrast, can sow cynicism and suspicion even if particular policy changes are warranted."