Hello,
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is dispatching her deputy minister, David Morrison, to China shortly in an effort to thaw relations with Beijing’s ruling Communist Party, sources say.
It remains unclear whether this is a prelude to Joly visiting China, a country that has been dominating discussions at a Canadian public inquiry into foreign interference deliberating in Ottawa.
Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said he believes the Morrison visit could pave the way for a trip to Beijing by the Foreign Minister.
“It’s part of trying to find some form of accommodation because right now there is almost no exchanges,” Mr. Saint-Jacques said.
“It is the usual pattern,” he said of Morrison’s planned trip. “You send the deputy minister and he will be tasked to find enough to put together to justify the visit by the minister.”
Full story here by Senior Parliamentary Reporter Steven Chase and Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
Economists warn tax hikes are on the table in Tuesday’s budget: Given the minority Liberals’ propensity to spend, their track record on breaking previous fiscal goals, and past challenges finding efficiencies in the federal purse, many expect the government will have to raise taxes. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland acquired a new pair of Canadian-designed shoes today, ahead of tabling the federal government’s 2024 budget.
Canada announces more sanctions on Belarus as opposition leader visits Ottawa: As the exiled opposition leader of the East European country visits Ottawa, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has laid sanctions on 21 people accused on human-rights violations in Belarus since its 2020 presidential election, which was widely denounced as fraudulent.
Canada’s top soldier touts renewed Arctic strategy amid China’s and Russia’s push to deepen ties: General Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff, acknowledged that the $8.1-billion over all committed by the government to defence spending over the next five years falls short of the NATO spending target of 2 per cent of annual economic output. Still, he says the new money will help a military long neglected by governments of various political stripes. Story here.
Parti Québécois leader pledges referendum, claiming Ottawa poses ‘existential threat’: Quebeckers have one “ultimate” chance to secure their language and culture amid what he called an “existential threat” from Ottawa and the province’s declining weight within the federation, says Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
Ottawa focuses on French-speaking economic immigrants – and often bypasses stronger candidates: “What’s the objective here? If it’s about economic growth, then this is not a smart policy,” said Mikal Skuterud, an economics professor at the University of Waterloo. “But clearly, that’s not what this is about. They’re using economic-class programs to achieve different objectives.”
B.C. formally recognizes Haida Nation’s Aboriginal title to Haida Gwaii: In a decades-in-the-making agreement reached outside the courts or B.C. treaty process, the provincial NDP government formally accepted that the Haida Nation has Aboriginal title to all one million hectares of the islands of Haida Gwaii, west of British Columbia’s north coast.
First 2024 Canada carbon rebates to be deposited today for some: Canadians living in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and all four Atlantic provinces will receive the first of four instalments today if they filed their 2023 taxes by March 15.
Ottawa is funding affordable rental projects that aren’t actually affordable: An analysis of rental data reveals 87 of 177 rental projects approved through Ottawa’s Apartment Construction Loan Program exceed what a typical renter household can actually afford to pay.
TODAY’S POLITICAL QUOTES
“Please take the win and make sure that we can work together to bring back peace in the region” - Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, during a news conference on Parliament Hill today, describing her message to her Israeli counterpart following Iran’s missile and drone attack on the country on the weekend.
“We don’t want to overrule the municipalities. They know best. The federal government and the provincial government doesn’t know best. The municipalities know best and we’re going to work with them. ... But let’s all work together. I just want to be collaborative.” - Ontario Premier Doug Ford, during a news conference in Milton today, on federal plans to make billions of dollars available on housing.
“Comfortable. A little bit of a heel. A smaller person, maybe, is helped by that, and really comfortable.” - Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on the new footwear from Maguire Shoes that she acquired today ahead of delivering the federal budget Tuesday in Ottawa.
THIS AND THAT
Visit by Poland’s President: Andrzej Duda will be in Canada from April 18 to 23, with stops in Vancouver, the Vancouver Island community of Esquimalt as well as Edmonton, says an advisory today from the Office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau and Duda are to meet in Esquimalt for talks during which the subjects include Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.’
Today in the Commons: Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, April 15, accessible here.
Deputy Prime Minister’s Day: Private meetings in Ottawa and Chrystia Freeland, in her capacity as Finance Minister, selected a new pair of shoes ahead of Tuesday’s release of the federal budget.
Ministers on the Road: International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen is in Paris attending the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and Its Neighbours.
Commons Committee Highlights: Defence Minister Bill Bair and Caroline Xavier, chief of the Communications Security Establishment, appeared before the defence committee as part of a defence policy update. Mark Hancock, national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, appeared with other witnesses before the human-resources committee on Bill C-58. Jan Simpson, national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, is among the witnesses appearing before the government-operations committee on postal service in Canada’s rural and remote communities. David Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and Nathalie Drouin, deputy clerk and national security and intelligence adviser to the Prime Minister, were scheduled to appear before the Canada-China relations committee. Heidi Yetman, president of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, was among the witnesses appearing before the justice committee on Bill C-273 to amend the Criminal Code.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
In Ottawa, Justin Trudeau met with the visiting opposition leader of Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and he was later scheduled to deliver remarks at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. In the evening, Trudeau will speak at an Eid al-Fitr dinner hosted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at.
LEADERS
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, with Deputy Leader Jonathan Pednault and MP Mike Morrice held a news conference on expectations for the federal budget, and, later, spoke to the eighth annual Break-a-Fast (Iftar) dinner to celebrate the month of Ramadan.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Ottawa, spoke at the Canadian legislative conference of the International Association of Fire Fighters, then held a media availability ahead of Question Period and later met with Burnaby firefighters before speaking at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Canada Iftar event.
No schedules released for Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet or Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
OPINION
In Manitoba, the NDP crosses to the middle
“Manitoba’s new Premier has suspended the province’s fuel tax, questions the wisdom of the federal fuel charge, is aiming for a budget surplus before the next election and is fretting about how to close the prosperity gap with other provinces. For those outside of Manitoba, that agenda might look like an awkward fit for an NDP government. But the vision that Premier Wab Kinew laid out for his first term in a discussion with The Globe and Mail editorial board is a tacking back to Manitoba’s centrist history and traditions.” - The Globe and Mail Editorial Board.
The carbon tax is almost dead, and NDP leaders are helping to kill it
“The carbon price is a dead tax walking. NDP leaders Jagmeet Singh and Wab Kinew are both helping to kill it. We are moving toward a remarkable place in which the New Democrats and the Conservatives have similar positions against the tax. Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alone is prepared to defend it – even to his political death.” - John Ibbitson.
New taxes would be a mistake. Freeland is still likely to hike levies on corporations and the wealthy
“Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland knows hiking taxes would be a mistake. But she’s still likely to raise levies on the country’s largest companies and wealthiest citizens in Tuesday’s budget. Increasing government revenues is the only way to square Ms. Freeland’s repeated pledges to respect the fiscal anchors she set last year and pay for the new programs Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has scattered like candy across the country in recent weeks.” - Andrew Willis.
Trudeau’s pre-budget dance isn’t impressing the audience
“To get his country back on the dance floor, Trudeau must do three things. First, he must reassure voters this level of spending is sustainable – an increasingly tough case to make as debt becomes more expensive to service, and as those who aren’t members of the loosely defined “middle class” brace for new taxes. Second, he must motivate Canadians about the direct benefits to them from all this spending. This, too, will be difficult given the sometimes decades-long timelines involved from announcement to delivery. And third, he must persuade a sufficient number of Canadians they need to vote Liberal again to keep all the programs they’ve been promised.” - Shachi Kurl, The Ottawa Citizen
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Ian Bailey