Hello,
And finally, there’s Elizabeth May.
Ms. May, a Green MP who recently stepped down as leader of the party after more than a decade, met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this morning. Mr. Trudeau has been meeting with all the opposition party leaders this week as he charts a path forward for his Liberal minority government. He will require the support of an opposition party to pass bills and survive confidence votes. However, the Greens do not have enough MPs to hold the balance of power in the House of Commons.
Ms. May emerged from the meeting to say there are some things on which the Greens and Liberals could agree, such as pharmacare and measures to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. However, she said she and her two fellow Green MPs are not likely to express confidence in the Liberals as long as they are building pipelines, such as Trans Mountain.
Ms. May also said she was pleased to hear Mr. Trudeau say he would bring forward a bill to require new legislation incorporate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). An NDP private member’s bill passed the House in the previous Parliament, but was killed by Conservative senators earlier this year.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
The U.S. House Intelligence Committee is holding a second day of televised hearings for the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. Mr. Trump is accused of pushing a quid pro quo, wherein he withheld military aid for Ukraine until that country’s government launched an investigation into Democrat Joe Biden and his family’s business ties. The star witness today is former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.
Business groups are urging the Trump administration to fight a proposal from the Canadian federal government to tax foreign Internet companies such as Facebook and Amazon.
The head of Alberta’s public inquiry into concerns that foreign money is backing environmental groups is coming under fire. The New Democrats have asked the province’s ethics commissioner to look into whether commissioner Steve Allan violated conflict-of-interest laws by giving a sole-source $905,000 contract to Dentons Canada LLP, a law firm at which his son is a partner. Mr. Allan said his son is not involved in the work. The commission’s total budget is $2.5-million. The NDP also point out that Mr. Allan has donated to a United Conservative Party leadership campaign.
And British Columbia is set to unveil the country’s toughest laws to combat youth vaping. The smoking products have come under fire in recent months over concerns of severe lung disease. “In a short number of years, vaping has shifted from being a smoking-cessation tool for adults to an addictions trap for our youth,” B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix told reporters.
Michael Crothers, president of Shell Canada (The Globe and Mail) on climate change: “Companies such as Shell have a strong understanding of the energy system and unique capabilities to support the energy transition. But our sector must do much more to build trust with Canadians and translate our ambitions into actions. Shell has publicly stated its ambition to reduce the carbon intensity of the energy products we sell, in step with society as it moves toward the goal of the Paris Agreement. That means fewer greenhouse gases emitted on average with each unit of energy we sell – by around 20 per cent by 2035 and by around half by 2050. Senior executive pay, including my own, is now tied to our ability to meet unconditional interim reduction targets.”
Murray Sinclair (The Globe and Mail) on reconciliation and business: “In my travels across the country, I often ask lawyers whether they have read the Truth and Reconciliation Committee report – or even the summary of the report. Most have not. And yet, lawmakers, judges and lawyers are the gatekeepers to the justice system. Until they understand the truth of our history and their role in making change, our country will not be able to move forward.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on Alberta v. the Bloc: “When Alberta Premier Jason Kenney picked up on things the Bloc Québécois Leader said on Wednesday about the oil patch and started blasting back at Quebec, it was no skin off [Yves-François Blanchet] Blanchet’s nose. He is a separatist. When it comes to the parts of Canada getting along, he’s not here to help.”
Don Braid (Calgary Herald) on Alberta v. the Bloc: “Kenney’s points about Quebec reflect Alberta thinking. They crank up the existing anger. But that mood can hardly get any hotter. What’s the use? Kenney should brush off Blanchet as a separatist crank who’s poking a stick into Canadian divisions. That’s only the truth.”
Goldy Hyder (The Globe and Mail) on the disrepair of 24 Sussex as a metaphor: “More specifically, successive governments, both Liberal and Conservative, have calculated it would be politically unpopular to move ahead with the repairs and renovations needed to keep the home livable. Few disputed significant restorations were urgently required, various engineering reports confirmed it; it was just the political optics. Tragically, we’re seeing similar neglect in relation to critical infrastructure assets across the country. Successive governments, again Liberal and Conservative, have calculated it wouldn’t be politically popular to move ahead with the repairs and renovations to our energy and export infrastructure needed to keep Canada competitive.”
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Chris Hannay