Hello,
The federal Conservatives will force a vote in the House of Commons on expanding the government’s carbon price carve-outs to all home-heating fuels – a day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ruled out any other concessions.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced the move at a speech to his caucus this morning. The motion was placed on the House Notice Paper, with the vote expected to take place Monday, he said.
The motion is non-binding. Mr. Poilievre’s office said it will be debated in the House tomorrow ahead of the Monday vote.
The move will put more pressure on the minority Liberal government and the fourth-place NDP, who support the Liberals in the House. The vast majority of Liberal and NDP MPs last year voted against a similar Conservative motion to exempt the carbon fees on all forms of home-heating fuel.
Full story here by Senior Political Reporter Marieke Walsh.
This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Ian Bailey. It is available exclusively to our digital subscribers. If you're reading this on the web, subscribers can sign up for the Politics newsletter and more than 20 others on our newsletter signup page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.
TODAY'S HEADLINES
Auditor-General to probe conflict-of-interest, governance breach allegations at Sustainable Development Technology Canada – Karen Hogan is launching a probe into Ottawa’s main funding agency for green technology after a third-party report detailed evidence of conflict-of-interest breaches and lax governance.
Conservatives bring in double the money than Liberals in third quarter – The federal Conservatives continue to hold a sizable fundraising advantage over the Liberals, collecting twice as much money from donors as the governing party did in this year’s third quarter. Story here.
Saskatchewan gas utility could face steep fines and jail for not remitting carbon levy – The utilities’ executives may also face jail for failing to remit the carbon tax to the federal government, legislation says. Story here.
IT staffing firms accused of misconduct in their federal contracting say they didn’t know documents contained errors – The two companies said they take responsibility for submitting false work records to the government, but told MPs they had simply passed on documents provided by their subcontractor, GCStrategies, and didn’t know about the errors.
Manitoba mother to lay wreath at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Remembrance Day – This month, Gloria Hooper will represent all the mothers who have lost a son or daughter serving in Canada’s Armed Forces as she lays a wreath in her role as this year’s National Silver Cross Mother, an honour given by the Royal Canadian Legion. Story here.
Biden to welcome Trudeau to Washington this week, U.S. ambassador says – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to be in Washington on Friday as part of U.S. President Joe Biden’s push for greater economic integration across the Western Hemisphere.
Federal immigration plan includes path to permanent residence in small Canadian towns – Immigration Minister Marc Miller has unveiled a blueprint to better align Canada’s immigration system to the country’s needs, with changes that include a program to encourage newcomers to settle in small towns, francophone communities, rural areas and the North.
Fortin retires from Canadian Forces after reaching settlement in lawsuit – Dany Fortin, who recently settled a lawsuit over how the Canadian military and federal government handled an allegation of sexual misconduct against him, has retired from the Forces.
Ontario expands Holocaust education in schools – Ontario is expanding mandatory Holocaust education in Grade 10, including to add learning about contemporary effects of rising antisemitism.
Ottawa to join talks concerning Toronto’s long-running finance issues – The federal government has agreed to join efforts by Toronto and Ontario to tackle long-running budget problems at the country’s biggest city.
Canadian flag absent from Saskatchewan government’s media room throughout 2023 – The Canadian flag has seemingly not been on the display in the radio room at the Legislative Building, where the Saskatchewan government holds announcements and news conferences, for almost a year now. The move has many questioning its intent.
THIS AND THAT
Horgan headed for Germany – Former B.C. premier John Horgan has been named Canada’s new ambassador to Germany. The Prime Minister’s Office announced the appointment today. Mr. Horgan, a New Democrat, was premier of British Columbia from 2017 until 2022.
Dubourg departing – Emmanuel Dubourg, the Liberal MP for the Montreal riding of Bourassa since 2013, announced his exit from politics today. The former member of the Quebec National Assembly told the House of Commons ahead of Question Period that, “With great emotion, I informed the Prime Minister that I will not be running for another term.” Dubourg, who noted he is the only MP of Haitian origin, did not elaborate on why he is leaving.
DeLorey’s podcast debut – Fred DeLorey, a veteran of Conservative politics who was national campaign manager for the Conservative Party in 2021, has joined the podcast universe. Delorey has launched On Background – a production of the iPolitics news website – with a first episode that features Alex Kohut, a former staff member of the office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau whose final assignment there was as a senior manager of research and advertising. DeLorey said, in an e-mail exchange, that he is ultimately a storyteller. “That’s my real passion and there’s so much amazing stories about politics that go untold. So many people have no idea what really goes on behind the scenes, so our podcast aims to both educate and entertain those who are interested.” DeLorey said he will have a different guest each week, though Kohut, now a senior director at the spark*advocacy marketing firm, will be a regular.
Today in the Commons – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, accessible here.
Deputy Prime Minister’s day – Chrystia Freeland delivered remarks at Ottawa’s Sustainable Finance Forum. She also attended the weekly national caucus meeting and held private meetings.
Ministers on the Road – Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne is at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, Britain, for an AI Safety Summit through tomorrow. Story here. Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, with Michael Parse, Ontario’s Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, made an announcement in Toronto on the implementation of the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence in Ontario. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, in Montreal, delivered a speech to the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations luncheon on Canadian diplomacy, and then participated in a discussion with Frédéric Ménard, director of the University of Montreal political science department.
Senate committee – Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem was scheduled to appear at 4:15 p.m. ET before the Senate committee on banking, commerce and the economy on matters relating to banking, trade and commerce generally.
Commons committees – Cathy Maltais, director of the Canada Border Services Agency, appears before the public safety and national security committee on Bill C-20, an act to establish the Public Complaints and Review Commission. Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez appears before the transport, infrastructure and communities committee on Bill C-33, an act to amend customs and transportation acts.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Justin Trudeau attended the weekly Liberal caucus meeting and held private meetings.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves François Blanchet was scheduled to hold a media scrum in the House of Commons foyer regarding immigration thresholds.
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre addressed the Conservative caucus, with media invited to attend.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May participated virtually in Parliament from her Saanich-Gulf Islands riding. She also participated as a panelist for the Equal Voice Campaign School.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Ottawa, attended the NDP caucus meeting, and spoke with journalists before attending Question Period.
THE DECIBEL
Today’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast features the voices of those surviving inside the Israel-Hamas war and looks at how things have changed in this current phase of the conflict. It features civilians in Gaza, emergency workers, aid officials and people in Israel who are mourning their loved ones or pleading for their safe return. The Decibel is here.
PUBLIC OPINION
PQ Leader preferred as Quebec premier, poll suggests – Quebeckers believe Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon would make the best premier of the province, according to new polling. The research also suggests the governing Coalition Avenir Québec would drop to a minority government were an election held now.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on why Canada needs another Clarity Act: “The Canada Pension Plan Act allows for a province to unilaterally set up its own plan if it gives Ottawa three years’ notice, passes legislation to that effect within a year after that, and satisfies the federal government that its plan will be comparable to the CPP. But there is nothing in the law setting out what “comparable” means, and there is no fixed formula for how much of the existing CPP fund would be transferable to the exiting province. Ottawa can and should fix those issues.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on how the Liberals’ heating-oil gambit has blown up in their face, and the carbon tax may be collateral damage: “Whether Atlantic Canadians will be impressed by a bribe that expires in three years remains to be seen. But meanwhile the flip-flop, on the government’s marquee policy, has not only made hash of years of Liberal messaging – wait, you mean people can’t afford the tax, even with the rebates? – but more or less destroyed the Prime Minister’s remaining credibility with progressives.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax exemption may be a fatal miscalculation: “The federal Liberals have undermined their highest environmental priority, the carbon tax, because they simply cannot afford to lose their Atlantic base.”
Tammy Mackenzie and Kai-Hsin Hung (Policy Options) on moving toward regulating AI: a natural, labour and capital resources perspective: “Policy makers who are looking at artificial intelligence (AI) applications are thinking about what we as a society want to achieve and what we need to protect, yet it is not commonly known that AI apps require intensive natural resources, labour and capital. Decision-makers – including citizens, the civil service and politicians – should not be misled regarding AI’s regulation and its potential consequences. So how can policy makers acquire the knowledge they need?”
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.