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The Saskatchewan government is asking the courts to weigh in on the province’s fight with Ottawa over a national carbon price – and the answer could ripple across the country.
Premier Scott Moe has been among the most vocal opponents of the Trudeau government’s climate plan, in particular the threat to impose a carbon pricing system on provinces that don’t meet federal requirements. Saskatchewan is now asking the province’s Court of Appeal whether federal legislation – which Mr. Moe says fails to respect his province’s sovereignty – would be “unconstitutional, in whole or in part.”
Constitutional references cases are non-binding, but the outcome could still have a significant impact on the future of the federal climate plan. New Brunswick is another potential holdout, and Opposition leaders in Alberta and Ontario, which both have elections approaching, are firmly entrenched against carbon taxes.
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CANADIAN HEADLINES
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says she disagrees with the University of Alberta’s decision to grant an honorary degree to David Suzuki, but she says the school’s independence must be respected. The university’s plan to honour Mr. Suzuki, a longtime broadcaster who has emerged as a fierce critic of Alberta’s oil sands, has prompted a flood of complaints, including from two of the university’s own deans.
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is accusing the Liberal government of rigging the review process that ultimately approved the Trans Mountain pipeline.
The British Columbia government will outline the questions it plans to ask the provincial Court of Appeal as it launches a constitutional reference case related to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The province’s NDP government wants the court to rule on whether it has the power to control the flow of heavy oil, whether by pipeline, rail or truck.
The B.C. government is also moving to restrict who can own pill presses as the province seeks to further control the spread of deadly fentanyl. Federal legislation already restricts the importation of such equipment, but the provincial rules – similar to laws already in place in Alberta and Ontario – are designed to give police more power to target illicit drug traffickers.
The Liberal government says they could withhold funding from arts groups if they don’t properly address workplace harassment.
A former director of Canada’s spy agency says the government should stop a Chinese takeover of Canadian construction giant Aecon, but brace for backlash from China.
Federal bureaucrats appeared to place a rush order for 31,000 smartphones in February as they scrambled to use up their annual budgets that end March 31. (The practice is known in Ottawa as “March Madness.”)
Katie Telford, chief of staff to the Prime Minister, gave a public Q&A in Ottawa last night.
An independent senator says he had to quit the Independent Senators Group because he needed to feel truly independent. Novelist David Adams Richards says the co-ordinators never pressured him to do anything, but he just doesn’t like being part of large groups.
The former chief curator of the National Gallery of Canada says the institution was left with no choice but to sell its Marc Chagall when the parish of the Quebec church rejected their first multimillion-dollar offers.
And Ben Harper, son of Stephen Harper, is needling his dad on Twitter for getting photographed at an Ottawa McDonald’s.
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on the David Suzuki’s honorary degree: “Yes, Mr. Suzuki can be strident. He wants the oil sands to be “shut down.” His views on economics are crude. We do not agree with his extreme approach to curbing climate change. But he is also an impressive and accomplished figure.”
Chantal Hébert (Toronto Star) on the political right: “If [Andrew] Scheer does not bring his party to power next year, or at least manage to reduce the Liberals to a minority government, he too will likely be living on borrowed time as leader.”
Andrew Coyne (National Post) on the political left: “ At both the federal and provincial level, the quintessential party of the centre is now engaged in an all-out bidding war with the NDP for the title of party of the left. The Trudeau and Wynne parties — there are strong ties between them — had already ranged so far to the left as to be unrecognizable to previous generations of Liberals.”
Colin P. Clarke (The Globe and Mail) on vehicle attacks: “For governments, it is neither possible nor feasible to completely protect all citizens at all times and make everyone immune from terrorism or random acts of violence, especially when attacks can be carried out by individuals relying on means as commonplace as vehicles. But pro-active efforts can at least help to reduce the threat.”
Janet Mason (The Globe and Mail) on homelessness in Ontario: “As spring begins in earnest, it’s essential for Ontario’s policy makers at the provincial and municipal level to develop a clear strategy to avoid the type of homelessness crisis that we witnessed this winter. We cannot govern by emergency. The province requires a long-term, evidence-based solution to expand access to affordable housing and ultimately to solve homelessness.”
Amanda Dale, Deepa Mattoo and Amy Voss (The Globe and Mail) on new child-abduction guidelines: “From the clinic’s perspective, the disregard for women’s experiences of violence and exposure to risk, as seen in many convention cases, is representative of family courts’ general lack of understanding or willingness to meaningfully engage with complex issues of domestic violence. Even under the new approach, women will have to frame their experiences in reference to the harm to the children.”
Rita Trichur (The Globe and Mail) on pipeline politics: “Although Alberta and B.C. have now called a truce, their trade war could have been avoided entirely if the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, which took effect last July, had real teeth. It was supposed to ensure the free movement of goods, services and labour within Canada by removing the internal trade barriers that have plagued this country since Confederation. Ostensibly, the deal was also meant to keep the provinces from retaliating against one another, too. When the deal was signed, there was big talk of increased co-operation among the provinces. But the Alberta-B.C. trade skirmish has exposed serious problems with the agreement. It’s so full of loopholes and exemptions, they shouldn’t have bothered to sign it at all.”
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INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES
Since assuming office, French President Emmanuel Macron has emerged as the new leader of Europe, pushing France to the forefront of geopolitical issues near and far and forging a unique relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump. The two men have had a rocky relationship at times but have developed a bromance of sorts, with Mr. Macron visiting the White House for the first state dinner of Mr. Trump’s presidency and giving an address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress. It’s unclear whether the relationship will lead to more stability but Mr. Macron is making himself known in some circles as a kind of “Trump whisperer.”
Friday will see a historic summit between North and South Korea. Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un will meet with President Moon Jae-in in a high-stakes political conclave with the peace of the Korean peninsula, and the world, on the agenda. Parts of the summit will be televised live and attire, furnishings and food are expected to be examined in real time. “It’s like the Oscars,” said Bong Youngshik, a research fellow at Yonsei University Institute for North Korean Studies. More than 3,000 journalists have registered to cover the event. That’s more journalists than the number of athletes who competed in Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has been dealt yet another blow on the Brexit file in the House of Lords. Parliament’s upper chamber voted against the Conservative government’s push to adopt wide-ranging powers to amend laws as Britain begins the process of leaving the European Union.
Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, says he would be asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in the Stormy Daniels lawsuit. Ms. Daniels, an adult film actress, says she had an affair with Mr. Trump and sued to end a non-disclosure agreement that involved a $130,000 payment by Mr. Cohen in the days before election day in 2016.. Mr. Cohen’s home, office and hotel room were raided by the FBI in recent weeks.
Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson, Mr. Trump’s nominee for Veterans Affairs secretary, is facing new allegations of drunkenness and questionable drug prescriptions, imperiling his candidacy to head the second-largest federal government agency. He has been a presidential physician for three presidents and is considering withdrawing his nomination.
Thousands of Germans participated in “kippa marches” to support the Jewish community as concerns of rising anti-Semitism continue to grow.
Two men have been arrested in Peru in connection with the death of a Canadian man who is suspected of killing an Indigenous medical healer. Authorities say Sebastian Woodroffe, 41, was dragged by the neck to his death after he was accused of killing Olivia Arevalo, 81.
Chemical weapons inspectors from a global watchdog have collected samples at a second site in Syria’s Douma region, where the U.S. and its allies believe that a chemical weapons attack was conducted on Syrian rebels by Syria’s government, with help from Russia. Both Damascus and the Kremlin insist that there was no chemical weapons attack.
Thousands of people in Armenia are protesting after talks between the acting prime minister and the opposition have been called off. Serzh Sargsyan resigned as prime minister abruptly on Monday amid massive anti-government protests.
Colin Robertson (The Globe and Mail) on the Rohingya: “Helping the Rohingya refugees is a real demonstration of the Trudeau government’s commitment that “Canada is back.” Canada alone cannot solve the Rohingya situation, but by keeping the international spotlight on their plight, as we did at the Commonwealth summit and G7 foreign ministers meeting, we significantly increase chances that they can eventually return home.”
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