Hello,
Former federal cabinet minister Jim Carr, the Liberal MP for Winnipeg South since 2015, has died a week after he saw the passage of a private members’ bill he had advanced.
There were gasps of surprise in the House of Commons at news of Mr. Carr’s passing, announced on Monday afternoon by Kevin Lamoureux, the Liberal MP for Winnipeg North.
That was followed by a moment of silence for 71-year-old Mr. Carr, who served as natural resources minister and international trade diversification minister until stepping down from that post in 2019 after a diagnosis of multiple myeloma.
And then, by unanimous consent, and in Mr. Carr’s memory, the Speaker adjourned the House until Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Following the diagnosis of his illness the day after being re-elected in 2019, Mr. Carr accepted a role as the Prime Minister’s special representative for the Prairies. For much of that time he was also a minister without portfolio.
Mr. Carr’s family issued a statement on Monday afternoon, saying he had died at home, surrounded by his family and loved ones
They said he had been battling multiple myeloma and kidney failure since 2019, which included receiving dialysis treatments, chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
Mr. Carr’s family also said he was pleased that his private member’s Bill C-235 - Building a Green Prairie Economy had passed in the House of Commons on Dec. 8.
Deputy Speaker Chris d’Entremont referred to that bill in responding, in the House, to the news of Mr. Carr’s death.
“He was only in here last week passing his bill. So it just shows how quickly things can change in our lives, and then we lose friends and family in that way,” Mr. d’Entremont told the House.
Last week, Mr. Carr appeared on the CBC’s Power & Politics, and was asked how he was doing.
“Physically not great, " he said. “But emotionally? Really, really solid. And grateful for the chance to continue to contribute to my country. I said it in my speech yesterday, ’I love every square metre of this country in English, en francais, in Indigenous languages - I wish I spoke more of them - and the language of the newly arrived and all that that represents to Canada and Canadians.”
Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson paid tribute to Mr. Carr, noting that she and the MP had worked together on many projects. “I always admired his unfailing commitment to the betterment of Winnipeg, Manitoba & Canada. Thank you Jim,” she said in a tweet.
His family said his constituency office would remain open to keep serving the needs of residents of Winnipeg South Centre until a new MP is elected.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
NDP PREPARED TO PULL SUPPORT FOR LIBERALS: SINGH - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party is prepared to withdraw from the supply and confidence agreement he signed with the Liberals to support its minority government if there is no federal action to address the health-care crisis. Story here.
TORONTO-AREA BYELECTION - Voters in the Greater Toronto Area riding of Mississauga-Lakeshore go to the polls Monday in a byelection whose candidates include Charles Sousa, Ontario’s former finance minister, for the Liberals, and Conservative candidate Ron Chhinzer, an officer with the Peel Regional Police Service. Story here from CBC.
WEALTH DOWN; DEBT UP FOR CANADIANS - Canadians saw their wealth tumble and their debt obligations rise substantially during the summer as the Bank of Canada hiked interest rates in aggressive fashion. Story here.
PM PRESSED TO DISAVOW CALLS FROM INDIA’S ENVOY - A secessionist Sikh group is pressing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to disavow calls from India’s envoy for Canada to crack down on funding of a movement to create a separate state in Punjab. Story here.
OTTAWA MOVING TO CHANGE ANTI-TERROR LAW - Ottawa is preparing to bring forward a change to an anti-terror law in the new year to make it easier for humanitarian organizations to operate in Afghanistan, while not lifting the Taliban’s designation as a terrorist organization. Story here.
IMPASSE ON TALKS AROUND GENERIC PHARMACEUTICALS - Negotiations between government and industry on access to generic pharmaceuticals have reached an impasse over whether drug prices should go lower despite rising production costs. Story here.
NEW CANDIDATES NAMED FOR HOCKEY CANADA BOARD - Hockey Canada has named its slate of candidates to fill the nine vacant positions on its board of directors on a one-year term. Story here. Meanwhile, as former Supreme Court justice Thomas Cromwell prepares to testify at hearings probing Hockey Canada this week, MPs are expected to ask for more details on several troubling findings he uncovered during a recent governance review of the organization. Story here.
RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM OPENS T0 APPLICANTS- Starting this week, low-income Canadians will be able to apply for a one-time, tax-free $500 government top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit program aimed at supporting an estimated 1.8 million renters, including students. What you need to know about applying is here.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, Dec. 12, accessible here.
MINISTERS ON THE ROAD - Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, in Montreal, announced Canada’s commitment to the Bonn Challenge to restore degraded and deforested landscapes.
BANK OF CANADA GOVERNOR SPEAKS IN VANCOUVER - Tiff Macklem, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, delivered a speech and participated in an audience Q&A at an event held by the Business Council of British Columbia. Mr. Macklem also held a press conference.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Ottawa, held private meetings, and participated in a G7 leaders’ meeting, hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Mr. Trudeau also did an interview with RED FM Toronto that aired on RED FM Calgary and on RED FM Vancouver.
LEADERS
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was scheduled to hold a media availability on health care on Parliament Hill.
No schedules released for other parties.
THE DECIBEL
Monday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast features Siegfried Modola, a photojournalist and documentary photographer, who spent weeks inside Myanmar for The Globe traveling with one of the rebel forces in a war that resulted after the military staged a coup following a democratic election in February, 2021. Mr. Modola talks about the state of the civil war and what it means for the population.
PUBLIC OPINION
SUPERVISED DRUG-USE SITES - A majority of Canadians believe supervised drug-use sites save lives, but almost half say resources would be put to better use treating addiction, according to a new poll. Story here.
B.C. POLITICS - A new study from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds nearly half of voters - 47 per cent - say they would vote for the incumbent New Democrats if an election were held compared to 32 per cent who say they would support the newly named BC United Party, formerly the BC Liberals. Details here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how the deal for Canada’s biggest bank to get bigger points to the need for a big rethink of competition rules: “When the CEO of the biggest bank in Canada announced a deal to get even bigger, he faced obvious questions about competition. He said he didn’t see reason for worries. “We are not aware of any areas where the [Competition] Bureau is likely to have concerns,” Dave McKay, Royal Bank of Canada CEO, said in late November, as RBC laid out plans to buy HSBC Bank Canada for $13.5-billion in cash. Mr. McKay is most likely correct – based on the current Competition Act. The act favours such deals, as a matter of (outdated) policy. The act was written in the mid-1980s, when the idea of bigger is better reigned.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on Liar’s poker, the state of health care talks: “The bad news is that we are still at the liar’s-poker stage of federal-provincial negotiations on health care. That’s the part where everybody bluffs and bluffs to try to gain an advantage before having to show what they’re really going to put on the table. The premiers had a group news conference on Friday to tell us, again, that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must hold a meeting to discuss forking over an additional $28-billion a year to the provinces to fund health care. But the preems are not, at least collectively, willing to discuss anything other than their demand for money.”
Kelly Cryderman (The Globe and Mail) on how most Albertans don’t like the sovereignty act, but its sentiments have economic roots: “All that being the case, many Albertans are on board with pushing back against the federal government, especially when it comes to climate and energy policy. If the act were to cease to exist, that wouldn’t change. In many respects, political leaders in the resource-focused province are only debating the most effective strategy in its dealings with Ottawa and other provinces.”
David Parkinson (The Globe and Mail) on how Alberta will pay for playing the role of constitutional problem child: “Imagine you’re Alberta. You’re wealthy. You’re successful. You’ve grown quite used to both. Your current generation was born on third base and assumed it hit a triple. And now, you feel that your good fortune is threatened. You feel more vulnerable than you have in a generation. You have felt the harsh sting of bad times, and you don’t want to feel it again. So what do you do? Apparently, you pick a constitutional fight with Ottawa. One that has the potential to do more harm than good for a provincial economy that, despite all the bluster, is not in crisis.”
Wade Davis (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on whether we will finally be listening at COP15 as Indigenous cultures hold the keys to sustaining the planet: “In Montreal at COP15, Indigenous voices will be heard. Not as vestigial icons having at best a vague advisory role to play in contemporary life, but rather as nations very much alive and fighting not only for their cultural survival but also to take part in a global dialogue that will define the future of life on Earth. Eighty per cent of the world’s remaining biodiversity is found on lands primarily inhabited by Indigenous peoples. Ninety per cent of the protected areas established in Canada in the past two decades have involved Indigenous partnerships and leadership. Indigenous peoples do not stand in the way of conservation. On the contrary, it is only with their support and engagement that we have any chance of achieving a key goal of COP15: protection for 30 per cent of the land and ocean surface of the planet by 2030. Their presence and authority remind us that there are indeed alternatives – other ways of orienting human beings in social, spiritual and ecological spaces.”
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