Hello,
Foreign interference in 2019 and 2021 undermined the right of Canadian voters to have an electoral system “free from coercion or covert influence” and may have affected results in a small number of ridings, a public inquiry has concluded in the first of two reports.
While foreign meddling did not alter the overall outcome of those elections, Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue, a justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal, issued a call to action today for the government to vigorously enact measures to tackle this “malign” threat to Canadian democracy.
She identified China as the “most persistent and sophisticated foreign interference threat to Canada” at the moment.
The acts of foreign interference that occurred, or are suspected to have occurred, “are a stain on our electoral process and impacted the process leading up to the actual vote,” she wrote.
Full story here by Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife and Senior Parliamentary Reporter Steven Chase.
There are five takeaways here from the commission’s report.
BREAKING: Police have made three arrests in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader who was gunned down last June, sources confirm to The Globe and Mail. RCMP will be holding a news conference today at 3:30 p.m. ET at their B.C. headquarters in Surrey. Nijjar was a leader at the Guru Nanak temple there. He was killed at the temple as he attempted to leave the parking lot. The shooting took place in full view of soccer players and the shooters fled on foot. In September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the House of Commons on the death of Nijjar, announcing that Canadian authorities had credible intelligence that Nijjar’s killing could be linked to Indian government agents.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
Prime Minister says universities must be trusted to manage campuses as encampments crop up: Trudeau, asked about the encampments today while making a housing announcement in Hamilton, said that universities are places of learning where ideas can be exchanged and debated, but at the same time, everyone must feel safe on campus.
Progressive Conservatives win two Ontario byelections: They were held in Milton, just west of Mississauga, and the riding of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex.
Conservatives don’t rule out using notwithstanding clause beyond criminal-justice matters: The Official Opposition says its proposed use of the notwithstanding clause to override Charter-protected rights and freedoms is focused on criminal-justice matters but the Conservatives did not rule out applying it to other policy areas as well, should they form government.
Gordon Campbell’s and Joy MacPhail’s paths cross as both receive the Order of Canada: The pair were sharply at odds in the B.C. legislature as premier and opposition leader between 2001 and 2005, when MacPhail, the leader of the opposition New Democrats, left politics.
Newfoundland faces health care staffing crunch after private agency won’t release its travel nurses: Toronto-based Canadian Health Labs had two contracts to send registered nurses from other parts of Canada to hospitals and nursing homes in Newfoundland that were left severely short-handed because of the pandemic. Story here.
Can floating nuclear power plants help solve Northern Canada’s energy woes?: The nuclear industry is seeking to establish a beachhead in Canada’s North – literally – with a proposed floating nuclear power plant to serve remote Indigenous communities.
Sherbrooke mayor won’t seek re-election, says municipal politicians need more support: Évelyne Beaudin, ruling out a bid for a second term leading the Quebec city, said today that “being an elected official in 2024 isn’t appealing. There is a lot of division, dissatisfaction, aggression. CBC reports.
TODAY’S POLITICAL QUOTES
“Bit of a rant” - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, during a news conference in Hamilton today, referring to his extended answer to a journalist’s question on increased housing costs.
”It’s a delight to see that we can actually, as a country, do these kind of nation-building projects once again.” - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, at a news conference in Calgary today, on the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
THIS AND THAT
Today in the Commons: Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, May 3, accessible here.
Deputy Prime Minister’s day: In the Greater Toronto area and Hamilton, Chrystia Freeland held private meetings and joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with students and young professionals to discuss the government’s housing measures, then made a housing announcement.
Ministers on the road: In Winnipeg, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree announced a partnership to improve the response on missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people. National Revenue Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau made an infrastructure announcement in the Quebec town of Stanstead. Defence Minister Bill Blair, in Toronto, delivered a keynote speech to the Economic Club of Canada and participated in a fireside chat with. Janice Stein, founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault made an infrastructure announcement in Edmonton.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne is in Nebraska to meet with business and political leaders, and will also be keynote speaker at an event organized by the Yeutter Institute (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and take part in a reception alongside Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen. International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen, in Montreal, announced humanitarian and development assistance funding for Lebanon. During an event in Halifax, Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings, also Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, announced support for the continuing partnership between 19 pan-Atlantic universities and colleges and Springboard Atlantic. Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier, visiting the Magdalen Islands, announced federal support for businesses, organizations, and communities following Hurricane Fiona.
THE DECIBEL
Registered dietician Christy Harrison, also a certified intuitive-eating counsellor and author, is on the podcast today to discuss diet-culture’s presence on social media, the harms of nutrition trends and how to maintain a safe relationship with food. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Trudeau, in the greater Toronto and Hamilton, met with students and young professionals to discuss the government’s measures to help renters buy their first home, then talked about federal housing policy.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, accompanied by three members of his caucus, is touring the Magdalen Islands through Monday. Commitments today include a meal with fishermen, meeting with workers and attending a mass.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May participated virtually in House of Commons sitting from her Saanich-Gulf Islands riding in British Columbia.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is in Winnipeg to knock on doors in the federal riding of Elmwood-Transcona, which was held by Daniel Blaikie who left politics to serve as a senior adviser on intergovernmental affairs to Premier Wab Kinew
No schedule released for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
OPINION
Burning down the House as Canada fumes
“There are any number of pressing matters that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Official Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre could have debated on Tuesday. The sorry prospects for Canada’s economic growth. The continuing housing crisis. The lack of opportunities for Indigenous youth. The dilapidated state of national defence. Or, if you’d like, the Conservatives’ growing enthusiasm for using the notwithstanding clause. Instead, the two leaders chose to trade frat-boy-calibre insults.” -The Globe and Mail Editorial Board.
A glass half-full of emissions reductions
“The good news is that Canada’s progress on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions is a glass half full. But there isn’t much chance the Liberal government will get a lot of political credit for it. The official report on emissions from 2022, released Thursday, found they are up slightly. But that is not, as economist Dave Sawyer of the Canadian Climate Institute put it, the “big picture.” - Campbell Clark.
Narendra Modi’s threat to kill foreigners ‘in their homes’ can’t simply be ignored
“Mr. Modi is not attacking a threat harboured within Canada, as he claims; he is attacking Canada’s fundamental values of freedom of speech, pluralism and physical security. The United States has realized this – which is why Canadians know about it – and is taking legal action. No Canadian leader, of any party, should tolerate or dismiss Mr. Modi’s violent threats.” - Doug Saunders.
Would a future Poilievre government face a hostile Senate?
“This raises serious questions about how the Senate would operate under a future Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre. With only a sprinkling of Tory senators, a future Poilievre government could see its legislative agenda stalled, if not derailed entirely, by a Senate stacked with a huge majority of Trudeau appointees for years to come.” - Konrad Yakabuski
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Ian Bailey