Politics Briefing newsletter: Sights set on Sajjan as House returns from break

Share

CANADIAN POLITICS

The House of Commons is back today after a long break, and opposition parties say they have their sights set on Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan. Mr. Sajjan admitted last week that he embellished his role in a significant Afghanistan battle. "While I am proud of the role I played during my deployments to Afghanistan, my comments were in no way intended to diminish the roles of my former superiors and fellow soldiers. To them I offer my sincere apologies," the minister said on Facebook this weekend.

Meanwhile, in procedural warfare, the Liberals say they will walk back some of their contentious proposals for how the House of Commons operates. One that is sticking around, though, is having Prime Minister Justin Trudeau answer every single question in Question Period for one day each week that the House sits.

A massive $667-million shipbuilding procurement that was given out by the former Conservative government, then reaffirmed by the Liberals, has a complicated web of ownership, according to a Globe and Mail investigation. In the end, the Canadian government will end up only leasing the vessel, not even owning it outright.

The Huffington Post reports that their investigations turned up many tales of harassment from former employees against Senator Don Meredith.

And Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil has officially called for an election, set for May 30. The Liberals head into the campaign with 34 of 51 seats in the provincial legislature but their approval rating among decided voters has been dropping throughout the spring.

John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on the leadership race after O'Leary: "Mr. Trudeau's overwhelming priority going forward is to protect the Canadian economy from U.S. President Donald Trump, who is threatening to scrap the North American free-trade agreement if it is not renegotiated to his satisfaction. Voters may hold the Liberal government accountable for any economic damage that results. A non-flashy, competent Conservative alternative might just fit the bill. Right now, the race is Maxime Bernier's to lose. Andrew Scheer or Erin O'Toole could help him lose it, if each doesn't get in the other's way."

Barrie McKenna (The Globe and Mail) on supply management: "There is no serious thinking going on in Ottawa or provincial capitals about what a world without supply management would look like. Without a Plan B, Ottawa risks getting forced into wrenching change by the United States, without properly laying the groundwork. The Trudeau government's official position is that it fully supports the regime. The protective tariff wall. The strict quotas that limit production. The marketing boards. The generous prices paid to farmers. All of it."

Elinor Sloan (The Globe and Mail) on the broken procurement process: "Naval operations are an important and sometimes critical extension and expression of Canadian foreign and defence policy. A navy that has become dependent on allies to sustain itself at sea has effectively ceded part of Canada's ability to support its national interests and defend its sovereignty. The case involving Vice-Adm. Norman appears to be but one chapter in the continuing and sad saga of what is Canada's defence-procurement tragedy."

B.C. ELECTION

The BC Liberals spent the weekend wading into Vancouver city politics, promising to repeal energy efficiency rules that the party insists amount to a ban on natural gas. New City of Vancouver rules take effect today that impose strict energy efficiency requirements on new developments requiring a rezoning — the first phase in the city's plan to become emission free. The city insists it's not a ban, but developers and other critics say the rules are so strict that natural gas heating and stoves will be impossible to include. The BC Liberals now say they'll intervene and repeal the ban if they win the May 9 election. Vancouver-Quilchena candidate Andrew Wilkinson says the new rules would add unfair costs to homeowners and businesses.

A small group of Chinese activists are working to encourage voters in their community to cast ballots in the provincial election. They say Chinese Canadians aren't as engaged in the political process, which translates to relatively few Chinese politicians elected. For example, the riding of Richmond Centre has the highest Chinese population in B.C. and the lowest voter turnout in the 2013 election. The group is using the Chinese social media service WeChat to get the message out, with a goal of increasing participation by 10 per cent.

BC Liberal Leader Christy Clark's call for retaliation in the escalating softwood lumber dispute could put Crown-owned Ridley Terminals Inc. on the northern coast in an awkward spot. Ms. Clark asked the prime minister last week to ban thermal coal exports, the majority of which come from the United States. Thermal coal also accounts for 55 per cent of Ridley's total exports, which means the federal government would need to sacrifice a major part of Ridley's business to make that happen. So far, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not said whether he will give Ms. Clark her coal export ban.

Stephen Quinn (The Globe and Mail) on housing: "While the housing crisis has become an issue in the provincial election campaign, no one is offering much to fix it."

Iain Black (The Province) on the Site C dam: "We can't afford to be reckless when it comes to energy planning in B.C. We need Site C and any debate on the project should be objective and fully informed."

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter. 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. Let us know what you think.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

A telecommunications adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump is warning that Canada's approach to net neutrality may threaten investment in Canadian innovation. Net neutrality is a principle widely supported in Silicon Valley that says all content on the Internet should be treated equally and free from the meddling of corporations and Internet service providers.

There won't be a shutdown of the U.S. federal government, with Congress reaching a deal to keep things running until September. The bipartisan agreement came late last night after Mr. Trump dropped his demand to include federal funds for the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, which he has said Mexico would pay for.

Voters will be heading to voting booths this Sunday to determine the next French president. A new poll shows that they remain skeptical of the ability of both Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen to tackle unemployment and security issues. The poll also showed that Mr. Macron led the far-right Ms. Le Pen with about 60 per cent of votes.

@realDonaldTrump was one of the forces that helped put Mr. Trump in the White House. But a new analysis by the Associated Press shows that the level of engagement by his millions of followers with his tweets has declined since assuming office. 

And heading into his second hundred days, Mr. Trump has a lower approval rating and higher disapproval rating than any other U.S. president in the post-war era.

Sarah Kendzior (The Globe and Mail) on the next 100 days: "For over a year, citizens refused to accept that the unthinkable was not only thinkable, but probable. His win was a lesson in the dangers of complacency. The 100 days have shown Mr. Trump's failures to be not a natural result of incompetence, but of vigilance that citizens and officials must continue to apply if they want to keep their republic."

Katharine Moon (The Globe and Mail) on tension in the Korean peninsula: "The United States and its allies can threaten North Korea with an 'armada' and talk tough until they're blue in the face, but Pyongyang will not give up its nuclear weapons. It has said so repeatedly, and unlike the U.S. President, North Korean leaders don't change their minds often."

SECUREDROP

Did you know you can share information with Globe journalists with much more security and anonymity than traditional means? Read more about SecureDrop and encrypted communication.

PLAYOFFS

After winning the first two games of the series on the road, the Edmonton Oilers dropped game 3 at home against the Anaheim Ducks.

In the NBA, the Toronto Raptors are rested, ready and determined to avenge last year's playoff loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Written by Mayaz Alam in Toronto, Chris Hannay in Ottawa and James Keller in Vancouver.