NDP MPP Jagmeet Singh speaks to the media in this undated photo.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
CANADIAN POLITICS
On the House of Commons' order paper: the Liberals will table their long-awaited transportation bill that will include an airline passenger bill of rights.
The Liberals will release a draft plan for their carbon tax this week as they seek feedback before crafting legislation in the fall. The policies would only cover provinces that do not craft their own carbon pricing.
As the federal public service prepares for an impending retirement crunch among its workers, most new people hired to work for the government are casual or term employees.
Canadian universities are seeing a surge of interest from foreign students and academics.
Ontario MPP Jagmeet Singh is set to launch his leadership campaign for the federal NDP tonight in Brampton, Ont. The telegenic 39-year-old, currently the deputy leader of the Ontario NDP, is poised to inject new life into a leadership race that has been largely tepid so far and his candidacy could also pose a unique threat to the Trudeau Liberals come 2019.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz are feeling 'positive' about NAFTA renegotiations after meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at the mini-G7 meeting in Italy. International Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne also said that Canada is ready for talks with the U.S., which are expected to begin in some capacity at this week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
And a longer read for your lunch break: how Maxime Bernier, booted from cabinet almost a decade ago, made his long, slow climb to become the frontrunner in the Conservative leadership race.
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on Bernier vs. Scheer for Conservative leader: "Both represent ideological constituencies that are political minorities in Canada. Both are trying to tone down some of their views. But both represent brands of conservatism that in some ways clash – a live-and-let-live, laissez-faire emphasis on personal freedom versus a focus on values, morality and tradition."
Sophia Banks (The Globe and Mail) on trans rights in Canada: "Many provinces have adopted policies protecting trans people, ensuring their rights and protections but, to date, there is no federal policy in Canada regarding trans people. This means federal agencies, such as airlines and prisons, can often legally discriminate against trans people, and that a violent attack on trans people will never be seen as a hate crime under the Canadian Criminal Code. As a trans woman, I listen to the debate in the Senate with a great deal of frustration."
Malinda Smith, Kisha Supernant and Nancy Bray (The Globe and Mail) on attempts to close the diversity gap in research chairs: "Voluntary efforts by universities to improve the diversity of the Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP) have proven to be inadequate. That's why new rules issued by the federal government last week in an attempt to boost representation are welcome news. But they don't go far enough."
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B.C. POLITICS
From the weekend: With B.C.'s provincial election potentially ending in a minority legislature, Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver is suddenly the most popular person in Victoria. The BC Liberals and NDP will both be courting Mr. Weaver, a renowned climate scientist, who has already earned a reputation for using his lone seat in the legislature to push the Green agenda. Now, he has two more MLAs at his side and, more importantly, the potential to hold the balance of power.
Of course, Mr. Weaver's influence will hinge on whether the legislature remains in minority territory. The May 9 provincial election ended with the BC Liberals winning 43 seats -- one shy of a majority -- but that could change next week when more than 170,000 absentee ballots are counted. That has focused attention on the riding of Courtenay-Comox, where the NDP's victory of just nine votes leaves open the possibility it could flip to the Liberals. The riding, which is home to a military base and a population considerably older than the rest of the province, straddles an urban-rural divide that has stretched across B.C. It's also a riding where the Greens and the BC Conservatives, who were otherwise a distant fourth across the province, have each been syphoning off votes from the left and right.
Elections BC has approved recounts in two ridings -- Courtenay-Comox and Vancouver-False Creek, where the BC Liberals defeated the NDP by more than 500 votes. The parties actually requested recounts in five of the closest ridings, but only Courtenay-Comox met the first requirement for a recount: a margin of victory of less than 100 votes. The only other way to get a recount of election day results is to prove problems with the voting process, and in Vancouver-False Creek there was a discrepancy in the number of advanced polling ballots. The two recounts of election day ballots will happen next week when absentee ballots are also counted.
Andrew Coyne (National Post) on electoral reform: "A concession on this pipeline or that dam is one thing, but a fundamental change in how B.C. elections are conducted holds the promise of transforming the Greens into a major, and permanent, force in B.C. politics, opening the way for many more such policy gains in future. That's the prize worth playing for."
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INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
In an increasingly protectionist world, China is attempting to reshape global trade. The latest move came this weekend at the 'One Belt, One Road' conference, where the world's second largest economy laid out its vision for a new economic order. The move is being described by some as China's next step in attempting to build a new empire and establish itself as the hegemon of the Asia-Pacific region — the name harkens back to the Silk Road that tied together Eurasia thousands of years ago.
In April, the White House made the decision to keep its visitor logs secret, reversing an Obama-era policy. With the information no longer public, Politico set out to figure out who Mr. Trump has been interacting with. The results, which will continue to be updated on this database, paint a remarkably homogenous portrait: 78 per cent are men, 80 per cent are white and 63 per cent are white men.
Emmanuel Macron has officially been inaugurated as the new president of France. Today, he heads to Berlin to meet with his German counterpart Angela Merkel. He now has one month to galvanize support for his nascent political party En Marche! ahead of France's legislative elections.
And the recent release of a biography of former president Barack Obama has spurred a renewed interest in a genre that has shown enduring appeal: Presidential biographies.
Barrie McKenna (The Globe and Mail) on the prospect of a trade war: "A real trade war with Canada's largest trading partner would be catastrophic. Imagine the carnage of a nuclear war between the United States and North Korea, and you have some idea of the relative distribution of the carnage in a Canada-U.S. trade war." (for subscribers)
Gerald Caplan (The Globe and Mail) on Jeremy Corbyn and the U.K. election: "Some starry-eyed leftists still cherish the dream that Mr. Corbyn will pull off a miracle. Don't bet your house on it. Ms. May wants badly to be prime minister. And Mr. Corbyn, as he repeatedly demonstrates, is happiest in opposition, repeating the stale left-wing nostrums of a lifetime. It appears both are likely to get their wish on June 9."
Written by Chris Hannay in Ottawa, Mayaz Alam in Toronto and James Keller in Vancouver.