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Green Leader Annamie Paul rejected a call for her to immediately resign Tuesday, suggesting it was an undemocratic effort that ignored the will of the party’s membership.
Over the weekend, the Quebec wing of the party called for her ouster following the defection of Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin last week. Ms. Atwin was the only Green MP outside of B.C. and just one of three members of the caucus.
Ms. Paul won the leadership in October with 54 per cent of the vote on the eighth ballot, 2,009 votes separated her and runner up Dimitri Lascaris.
“I believe that I have been given a strong mandate. I believe that I have been given the instructions to work on behalf of Canadians for a green recovery,” Ms. Paul said at a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday.
“There are those that are going to continue to support others including some of the other candidates who ran and I would just encourage them again to respect the will of the members who made it very clear who they were seeking to have lead them at this point,” she said.
The full story on Tuesday’s developments, by Parliamentary Reporter Marieke Walsh and me is here.
TODAY’S HEADLINES
MILITARY GOLF FALLOUT- Lieutenant-General Michael Rouleau resigned from his role as second-in-command of the Canadian Armed Forces on Monday after he and the commander of the navy went golfing with former chief of the defence staff Jonathan Vance, who is under military police investigation. Separately, Major-General Dany Fortin filed an application for judicial review of the government’s decision to publicly terminate him as the head of Canada’s vaccine rollout over an allegation of sexual misconduct.
LIBERALS SHUT DOWN BUDGET BILL DEBATE - The Liberal government moved Monday to shut down debate over its budget bill, with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland warning that unless it is approved, some pandemic support programs could expire at the end of the month.
CALL FOR CLINIC REINSTATEMENT - A number of high-profile women from Quebec – including federal cabinet minister Mélanie Joly – are urging the provincial government to reinstate a fertility clinic’s licence in the wake of news its physicians may no longer be able to perform in vitro fertilization.
WARNING ON PROTEST CHARGES - Canadian immigration officials warned the federal government in an internal memo last year against assuming protest-related charges faced by Hong Kongers seeking entry to Canada are bogus accusations fabricated by the city’s Beijing-backed authorities.
RATANSI IN CONFLICT - Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion says MP Yasmin Ratansi violated the Conflict of Interest Act while she was a member of the Liberal caucus by employing her foster sister in her constituency office for years. From CBC. Mr. Dion’s report is here.
BQ PUSHES CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE - The Bloc Quebecois is taking a second stab at getting MPs to recognize Quebec’s right to unilaterally change the Constitution in line with proposed reforms to the province’s language law.
DISPUTE ON TRIBUNAL ORDER -Two orders from a human rights tribunal on discrimination against Indigenous children are unreasonable, a lawyer for the Attorney-General of Canada said on Monday.
NAMES CAN BE RECLAIMED - First Nations, Inuit and Métis people can reclaim their Indigenous names on passports and other government documents, the federal government has announced.
UPPAL APOLOGIZES - A former Conservative cabinet minister, currently an MP, is apologizing for not pushing against his party’s culturally divisive policies of the Stephen Harper era, including an effort to ban face coverings during citizenship ceremonies. From The Canadian Press.
EASTER STANDING DOWN - Wayne Easter, the Liberal MP for the P.E.I. riding of Malpeque, has announced he will not be reoffering for federal politics, ending a 28-year run that began in 1993. “When I first started in politics, there was no internet, and that’s a long, long time.” From CBC.
LAYTON LEGACY LAUNCHED - Family and friends of Jack Layton are launching the “Layton Legacy” project to mark the federal NDP leader’s untimely death 10 years ago.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings. The Prime Minister holds a joint press conference with Charles Michel, president of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. He tours a facility at Pfizer Manufacturing Belgium, and then meets with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, The Prime Minister meets with his majesty, the King of the Belgians, and then departs for Ottawa.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet holds a news conference on its opposition-day plans.
Green Party Leader Annamie Paul holds a press conference in Ottawa on the Canada Emergency Student Benefit and the Canada Recovery Benefit.
OPINION
Tanya Talaga (The Globe and Mail) on why she has accepted an honorary doctorate from a school named after Egerton Ryerson: “But I decided to accept the doctorate from the school that bears Ryerson’s name for the Indigenous faculty members, staff and all the people I spoke to last week at the Ryerson Aboriginal Student Services graduation and awards ceremony, all of whom were so proud of what they had achieved. I did it for the students who paid money out of their own pockets to choose this school because they wanted the education that was denied to so many of their relatives. And I did it for my mom, for every late night she worked as a grocery clerk or sold Tupperware from her car while my young brother and I waited for her at home, so she could fulfill her dream of getting a college education.”
Aurel Braun (Contributor to The Globe and Mail) on a Biden-Putin summit that could be a triumph of progress or a triumph of low expectations: “Yes, Geneva should produce some progress. The Russian leader might allow his politicized courts to reduce Mr. Navalny’s sentence and improve the conditions of his incarceration. Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin will likely pursue a strategic dialogue on a range of arms control and emerging security issues, building on the extension of the “New START Treaty.” All beneficial to a point. Mr. Putin might, however, be inflexible on his red lines and angry at the NATO communique that designates Russia “a threat.” The G7 declared goal of promoting democracy and respect for human rights is anathema to Mr. Putin. He already made it clear that he would brook no Western interference in Russia’s domestic affairs and his courts declared Mr. Navalny’s political movement unlawful.”
Alidad Madinezam (Contributor to The Globe and Mail) on how the London attack highlights the urgent need for Canadians to reach out beyond their own communities: “Since the attack, many prominent Canadians have opined that we must more openly acknowledge and better detect Islamophobia and other forms of hate and racism in this country, then work together to contain and defeat these maladies through greater vigilance and more effective communication. Law enforcement, all levels of government, workplaces and schools must become more inclusive and must provide new plans and programs to better protect Canada’s immigrant and racialized communities. Yet while pushing back forcefully against hate, becoming more vigilant and embracing a robust defensive posture are all necessary, they are not sufficient. We also need a pro-active national outreach strategy involving the public, non-profit and education sectors, including places of worship, to build bridges between diverse and disparate communities and promote respectful intercultural and interfaith dialogue and deeper engagement.”
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