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Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has returned Ottawa-area MP Pierre Poilievre to the high-profile role of finance critic, but excluded leadership rival Leslyn Lewis from the list of shadow cabinet members released Tuesday.
As the sitting of the 44th Parliament looms on Nov. 22, Mr. O’Toole unveiled the list amid questions about his party’s policies on the vaccination of MPs.
Naming Mr. Poilievre as finance critic, Mr. O’Toole said he has been impressed by the MP’s warnings about the risk of inflation over the past year, a concern that the Conservative Leader said he shares as annual price gains hit 4.4 per cent in September. “Inflation is a huge risk to our future, so I am putting a strong and principled voice to hold this government to account on inflation and our economic performance,” Mr. O’Toole said at a news conference Tuesday.
Mr. O’Toole said Mr. Poilievre is an effective communicator, noting, “He’s tough in the House. I see the Liberals quiver when he rises on his feet, whether it’s on the WE Charity scandal or other issues.”
Mr. Poilievre is a six-term member of Parliament and former cabinet minister in Stephen Harper’s government. He was most recently the Conservative shadow minister for jobs and industry.
The full story is here. The full list of Conservative critics is here.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
NDP SAYS NO DEAL - The Globe’s parliamentary reporter Kristy Kirkup tweeted Tuesday afternoon that NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said there will be no coalition between his party and the Liberals to prop up the minority government, as had been speculated in recent days. “Singh says the government should not take his party’s support for granted. He says they will work together if proposals help people and they won’t work together if it hurts people,” Ms. Kirkup tweeted. Watch The Globe for more details.
HONG KONG ACTIVISTS REPORT HARASSMENT - For many Hong Kong activists, a fresh start in Canada does not mean an end to harassment and attacks from the Chinese Communist Party and its proxies. Each day, Alison Lai is subjected to a torrent of abuse when she checks her non-profit’s social media accounts. She is the first Hong Kong refugee to allow The Globe and Mail to publish their name and city of residence, hoping to draw attention to what is happening to critics of China’s authoritarian government who now live in Canada. Story here.
‘TRUSTED PARTNERS’ ONLY FOR AI: MINISTER - Canada only wants to deal with “trusted partners” in future artificial intelligence ventures, says Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne – a possible signal that the country’s rejection of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei as a 5G provider is at hand. Story here.
NOVA SCOTIA NDP LEADER QUITS - A little more than two months after the last Nova Scotia election, the leader of the province’s New Democrats has announced that he is stepping down from his post to allow for renewal in the party. Story here, from CBC..
TORY NATIONAL COUNCIL MEMBER URGED TO DISCLOSE RECORDS - The Conservative party is pushing a member of its national council to turn over e-mails and phone records related to his petition to force Erin O’Toole into an early leadership review. From Global News. Story here.
TRUDEAU ATTACKS TORIES, RALLIES LIBERALS IN CAUCUS SPEECH - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attacked the federal Conservatives on Monday for their stand on COVID-19 vaccinations while also urging Liberal MPs to work with other parties to deliver concrete results in the minority Parliament.
AIR CANADA CEO HIRES FRENCH TUTOR - Air Canada’s embattled CEO has hired a private tutor in order to learn to speak and understand the French language, according to a letter written to employees of the company. Story here, from CTV.
INDIGENOUS VETERANS HONOURED - Federal leaders marked the sacrifices of Indigenous veterans on Monday, as well as the discrimination they faced after returning from war.
THIS AND THAT
NG IN GENEVA - International Trade Minister Mary Ng meets this week in Geneva with her World Trade Organization partners to participate in bilateral meetings and roundtable events with representatives from WTO member nations. According to her office, the focus will be on advancing a rules-based international trade system, and Canada’s interest on the economic recovery.
FORMER B.C. CABINET MINISTER TAKES STAND ON DIVERSITY - British Columbia radio host Jas Johal, a former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister once considered a possible leader of the party, has lashed out at the issue of diversity in the ranks of the provincial Liberals in a blunt Twitter thread.
RUBIK’S CREATOR THINKS OUTSIDE THE CUBE - Erno Rubik, the inventor of the Rubik’s Cube, is in Ottawa this week, appearing Tuesday at an event to promote creativity and innovation at the National Arts Centre co-hosted by Spin Master and the Hungarian embassy in Canada. The 77-year-old Hungarian inventor of the 3D puzzle will also participate in a student competition and discussion at Carleton University on Wednesday.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Private meetings.
LEADERS
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole holds a news conference on Parliament Hill.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks to the media following a caucus meeting.
No other leader schedules released.
PUBLIC OPINION
A new study from the Angus Reid Institute finds Canadians voicing overwhelming climate pessimism, both for current COP26 efforts and for the future of the planet. For example, more than four in five respondents said that they have little confidence that meaningful progress against climate change will emerge from the two-week summit. Details here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how Canada has kicked its coal addiction while the rest of the world has not: “The “end of coal is in sight,” declared a press release last week from the United Kingdom, host of the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow. That statement is true in some places, such as Canada – but elsewhere, seeing the end of coal requires magic binoculars that can peer decades into the future. Ahead of Glasgow, there had been hopes of making momentous gains against the oldest and dirtiest of fossil fuels. But without agreement from China, India and the United States, coal won’t be banished to the slag heap of history any time soon.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on Erin O’Toole having to make the Conservative Party his own: “It almost seems as though Mr. O’Toole leads two Conservative parties: the one he would like to lead and the one he’s got. Mr. O’Toole would like to lead a Conservative Party focused on critiquing the leftward drift of the Liberals, on the size of the deficit, on supporting the rights of workers, on avoiding confrontations with provinces, on fighting global warming without damaging the economy. He has some MPs like that – such as newcomers Melissa Lantsman in Thornhill and Adam Chambers in Simcoe North; re-elected MPs Eric Duncan in Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry and Raquel Dancho of Kildonan-St. Paul; and veteran Michelle Rempel Garner in Calgary Nose Hill. Others obsess over God, guns, gays (some Tory MPs opposed anti-conversion therapy legislation), and now vaccines.”
Elizabeth May (Canadian Policy and Public Policy) on “cautious optimism at the weirdest COP ever”: “At this writing, we are halfway through the conference, so it could still go either way – produce meaningful progress toward saving the planet prompting the start of the big shift away from fossil fuels, or be remembered as the missed opportunity of our last, best hope. I am not out of sympathy with Greta Thunberg’s denunciation of “greenwashing.” But it is too soon to decide COP26 was a failure. It is not easy or intuitive to understand what’s happening here.”
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