Politics Briefing: Politics and promise in South Korean Olympics

Share

Good morning,

The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, start this week. Are you excited?

The Globe's Nathan VanderKlippe writes that the Pyeongchang Winter Games have been pitched as a chance to bring harmony to the Korean Peninsula, but some worry the sporting spectacle will just offer an illusion of peace without leading to any concrete gains. "I don't believe the nuclear problem will be solved through the Olympics. But when there's an opportunity for peace, it's important to do our work to keep opening the doors," South Korean Sport Minister Do Jongwhan told The Globe.

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Chris Hannay in Ottawa, Mayaz Alam in Toronto and James Keller in Vancouver. If you're reading this on the web or someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, you can sign up for Politics Briefing and all Globe newsletters here. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.

We also have a new weekly newsletter called Amplify that will inspire and challenge our readers while highlighting the voices, opinions and insights of women at The Globe and Mail. Amplify will have a different guest editor each week - a woman who works at The Globe - highlighting a topic of the author's choice. Sign up today.

TODAY'S HEADLINES

Saskatchewan's right-wing government. Alberta's NDP government. The federal Liberals. In some ways, all three represent different segments of the political spectrum. But when it comes to pipeline politics in Canada, all three find themselves mostly on the same side.

The federal Liberal government will announce sweeping legislation this week to change how energy projects are assessed, including, they say, more robust consultation with First Nations.

Speaking of consultation, the Canadian Construction Association says the federal government should be seeking more input from the construction industry as it considers the implications of a Chinese state-owned giant's takeover of a major Canadian firm.

When the Conservative campaign was told about sexual-assault allegations against Rick Dykstra in the 2015 election campaign, it all came down to a conference call in which then-leader Stephen Harper said the MP should remain a candidate, three sources told The Globe. The Conservative Party says they'll now start asking prospective candidates whether they've been accused of "improper sexual behaviour."

A former top aide to Brian Mulroney has written a tell-all book that doesn't quite tell all.

The field of contenders for the Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership is becoming clear. Caroline Mulroney has just announced her run, and she joins former veteran MPP Christine Elliott – runner-up in the 2015 leadership vote – and Toronto city councillor Doug Ford. (As David Reevely at the Ottawa Citizen points out, that means all the candidates are from Toronto.) The party's even more pressing concern at the moment, however, may be figuring out how many members it actually has. The 200,000 figure touted by Patrick Brown last year may be more like 130,000. "Any way you look at it, the 200,000 number was wildly out of whack with reality," PC MPP Randy Hillier told The Globe.

The BC Liberals have chosen their new leader. Andrew Wilkinson, a former minister under the Christy Clark government, won the leadership race, besting five rivals in the process. He took 53 per cent of the vote in the preferential ballot, narrowly edging out Dianne Watts, a former Surrey mayor and former Conservative, in the fifth and final round. Ms. Watts led through the first four rounds of voting but Mr. Wilkinson ultimately leapfrogged her on the last ballot. He says that he is planning on fighting the governing NDP over the Trans Mountain pipeline.

And Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould says she's concerned about the under-representation of Indigenous people on juries.

Adam Radwanski (The Globe and Mail) on Caroline Mulroney: "Accomplished in her own right, having grown up in the family she did, she presumably understands what she is getting herself into. For all that advice, she's the only one who could really know now if she's ready – or ready enough, at least.She was being groomed to be a cabinet minister, maybe a leader taking over in calmer times. Instead she's being asked to be a saviour. It's a useful reminder, if an extreme one, that in politics you never quite get to pick your moment."

Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on Andrew Wilkinson: "He is who is. His résumé is impressive – a lawyer, doctor and Rhodes Scholar – and he should make no apologies for that. He will run a tight and efficient ship and not be especially kind or tolerant of avoidable mess-ups. From here on, Mr. Wilkinson must demonstrate he was the right choice to lead a party through a period of profound change, with all the heartache and headaches that entails. With all the promise, too." (for subscribers)

Former B.C. premier Christy Clark on #MeToo: "We are watching history being made right now. Women are stepping forward to claim their right to be treated with respect. My hope is that we can translate this moment into permanent change. That is going to require that a new crop of women decide, not just to make their voices heard in the media, but that they want to lead. It is not easy, but no job in the world lets you make as much positive change as you can in politics. You'll have to grow a tough hide, your social-media feeds will get downright ugly, you will be judged on a different standard than men, but you will be getting stuff done. Making a difference. Doing the best job you can with quiet determination. Pushing on through the criticism. Isn't that always the way women usually get it done?"

Carol Off (The Globe and Mail) on women in politics: "Men on the Hill would proposition, tease and harass. They shook hands with other men and then indulged in the quaint custom of a kiss on each cheek for the women. And if they could cop a feel mid-peck, all the more fun. I met a senior bureaucrat at a reception and asked him for an interview. He sent word to me later: Yes, please come by – but wear a shorter skirt. Women were tolerated, many even respected, for their work. But Ottawa was a shark tank. A number of women learned to swim with the sharks without being bitten. But they were fair game. You accepted that or you moved on. I escaped from Ottawa in the same time machine in which I had arrived. As the decades went by, I just presumed things had changed. How could it still exist in that warp? But all the stories I'm hearing now are the same. Young women in politics – whether they're reporters, staff members, aides or MPs – say they have to watch where they go, with whom they talk, what they wear, what they say – just as we did."

Vicky Mochama (Metro) on Parliament Hill work culture: "Bill C-65 has a way to go before it becomes law. While all the parties have indicated their support for changing the law, they must now decide how they will also change their cultures."

Doug Saunders (The Globe and Mail) on strong leadership: "Strongman mythology has effectively replaced democracy as the most potent and visible export of the United States – to an extent not seen since the Cold War. This isn't just because the executive branch has been seized by a reality-TV personality with nothing good to say about democratic institutions, but more importantly because there has been a quietly growing consensus, by the United States and its allies (including, often, Canada), that international relations are best served by having iron-handed leaders stay in power in vulnerable states."

Shree Paradkar (Toronto Star) on marijuana legalization: "As the banned substance begins to burgeon into a multi-billion-dollar industry, the once-petty crooks, many of them Black, with the grassroots know-how of how to run the business and who could become contributing members of society, are once again being shut out because they have criminal records."

Bessma Momani and Jillian Stirk (The Globe and Mail) on Trump, Norway and Canada: "Norwegians may not be interested in outward migration to the United States or anywhere else. But we found a country grappling with how to prepare for the challenges of a declining population with little experience in pluralism. We heard a genuine desire to move from diversity to inclusion and to learn from Canada. As a leader on gender equality, perhaps Norway could apply some of the same tools and approaches it has used so successfully here, to advance the goal of achieving racial harmony. Then, there may be lessons to share in both directions."

Gerald Caplan (The Globe and Mail) on Trump and Africa: "Mr. Trump knew exactly what he was saying. As former president Lyndon Johnson pointed out, 'If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best coloured man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket.' That's what the devious Mr. Trump instinctively grasps: He's got to give his backers 'somebody to look down on,' in Johnson's phrase. As if Mexicans, Muslims and immigrants weren't enough, Mr. Trump has served them up an entire continent."

Diana Neille (The Globe and Mail) on Day Zero in Cape Town: "With 12 weeks to go to a potentially precedent-setting humanitarian crisis, the whole world will now be watching to see what we do. We may be the first city to run out of water, but we definitely won't be the last, and the manner in which we see this crisis through could make a tremendous difference to how other cities learn to cope in the not-too-distant future. We've already figured out that politicians are lousy at contingency, because their terms only last so long and their budgets only stretch so far. That's going to need to change, because it turns out crisis prevention and disaster management end up being a lot more costly than taking a more cautious, long-term view, for both the public coffers and the party ratings."

Got a news tip that you'd like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com.  Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop