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Ontario Premier Doug Ford says measures taken by the federal government to clear the trucker convoy protests this year were justified.

At a news conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, the Progressive Conservative Premier said he stood “shoulder to shoulder” with the Liberal PM on dealing with the protests in Ottawa and at Canada’s border crossings with the United States.

“These folks were camping out, everything from whirlpools, disrupting the lives of the people of Ottawa,” Mr. Ford said, referring to the protesters opposed to government-mandated COVID-19 safety measures who parked trucks in the downtown streets of Ottawa, causing chaos, last winter.

“Over at the borders, they were holding up a billion dollars of trade every single day, getting across our borders. We were getting phone calls from [U.S.] governors. It’s unacceptable,” said the Premier.

As Mr. Trudeau, standing behind the Premier, nodded, Mr. Ford said he and the Prime Minister believe in free speech, and welcomed protesters who want to come to Queen’s Park “and do cartwheels” at the provincial legislature.

“But if you disrupt the lives of the people of Ottawa every single day, if you disrupt the economic flow across our borders, I have zero tolerance for it.”

Mr. Ford made his comments as the public inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act to quell the demonstration entered its second week.

Parliamentary Reporter Marieke Walsh and Reporter Marsha McLeod report here on how the inquiry was told Monday that the city of Ottawa was warned three days before the trucker convoy arrived that protesters were planning to stay for more than 30 days and planned to block access to the city.

Asked why he was not testifying at the inquiry, Mr. Ford said he had not been asked.

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Ian Bailey. It is available exclusively to our digital subscribers. If you're reading this on the web, subscribers can sign up for the Politics newsletter and more than 20 others on our newsletter signup page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.

TODAY'S HEADLINES

NEW CANADIAN SANCTIONS ON RUSSIANS – The Canadian government is slapping sanctions on more than 30 individuals it blames for spreading lies in service of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Story here.

CANADIAN LEGISLATION COMING TO FLAG SEX OFFENDERS – Ottawa plans to introduce legislation that would allow the federal government to routinely notify Washington when Canadians convicted of sexual offences against children travel to the United States. Story here.

NEW MAYOR IN VANCOUVER; LIBERAL MP FAILS TO WIN IN NEARBY SURREY – Kennedy Stewart has been defeated in a bid to win a second term as Vancouver mayor. Businessman Ken Sim was elected over the weekend – the first person of Chinese descent to be elected to the city’s highest office. Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal also failed in a bid to win the mayor’s job in Surrey, British Columbia’s second most populous city. City councillor Brenda Locke, a former member of the B.C. legislature, won the post. Story here.

FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS BACK NOKIA DEVELOPMENT – Finnish telecommunications giant Nokia Corp. has reached a deal with the federal, provincial and municipal governments to tear down its Canadian facility in Ottawa and build a new, 26-acre research and development centre with residential towers and commercial spaces in its stead. Story here.

MISSING OFFENDERS SPUR QUESTIONS TO FEDS – Ministers are facing questions on the whereabouts of almost 500 foreign criminals facing deportation, including offenders convicted of multiple sexual offences. Story here.

SPIROS PAPATHANASAKIS RE-EMERGES IN TOROTO ELECTION – A key figure in several public-sector scandals in Ontario, who has touted his ability to influence the awarding of multimillion-dollar government contracts, has re-emerged in Toronto’s municipal election, forging close ties with the politician who has presided over the city’s $15-billion operating budget. Story here.

SUZUKI RANT OVER FEDERAL POLICY – Environmentalist David Suzuki ranted about climate change inaction to federal government ministers, media and tourism industry workers at a news conference Friday afternoon in Vancouver. Story here from CTV.

DEPARTED N.B. CABINET MEMBER HOPING FOR OTHER CABINET EXITS – Former New Brunswick education minister Dominic Cardy says other cabinet members are frustrated, and he hopes they will also consider resigning as he did. Story here from CBC.

CREDIBILITY GAP AFFECTED NDP DURING ELECTION – The NDP suffered from a credibility gap with voters during the 2021 federal election, says an internal party campaign review document. Story here from CBC.

THIS AND THAT

TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, Oct. 17, accessible here.

DAYS SINCE CONSERVATIVE LEADER PIERRE POILIEVRE TOOK MEDIA QUESTIONS IN OTTAWA: 33

CARNEY AND McKENNA ON OTTAWA MAYORAL RACE - Mark Carney, the former Bank of Canada governor, is taking sides in the race to win the mayoralty in Ottawa, joining other key political players offering endorsements a week before voters go to the polls. The front-runners in the race to lead Ontario’s second most populous city are councillor Catherine McKenney – profiled here by CBC – and entrepreneur and journalist Mark Sutcliffe – profiled here. On Sunday, Mr. Carney endorsed Mx. McKenney in a tweet and video here. Former federal environment minister Catherine McKenna is also supporting the councillor, explaining her endorsement here. In a story here, the Ottawa Citizen tracks the endorsements the mayoral front-runners have picked up as the finish line looms.

MENDICINO IN SASKATCHEWAN – Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, in Prince Albert, Sask., made an announcement on strengthening community safety with the Prince Albert Grand Council, which represents a dozen First Nations in the province.

MOMENT OF SILENCE – On Monday, members of the House of Commons observed a moment of silence for two slain police officers from the South Simcoe Police Service in Innisfil, Ont. There’s a story here on the fatal shootings.

GREEN PARTY EXITING OTTAWA OFFICE – The Green Party says it is leaving its downtown Ottawa office because, according to a statement, “We don’t need a space for 35 people to show up every day” because of the benefits of working from home and remotely. The party, now in the process of electing a new leader, says it will make an announcement on next steps once it has concluded its search.

PRIME MINISTER’S DAY

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Ottawa, held private meetings and, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, made an announcement on federal and provincial support for a plan by Nokia to expand its Ottawa facility. Mr. Trudeau will also chair a meeting of the Incident Response Group on the situation in Haiti.

LEADERS

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet is in Lac-Saint-Jean and Chibougamau as part of a two-day tour in Quebec, travelling to meet regional players on the issue of the protection of woodland caribou. Mr. Blanchet, who is available for media interviews, will also visit Les Chantiers Chibougamau, which processes trees to create building materials.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Ottawa, held a news conference on dealing with affordability issues and the grocery sector and spoke to a Canadian Labour Congress Canadian Council meeting.

THE DECIBEL

On Monday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, finance reporter and columnist Tim Kiladze talks about the Buy Now, Pay Later payment option online to spread out the purchase in installments. It’s popping up all over Canada with companies like Amazon, Adidas, Samsung and Sleep Country. Mr. Kiladze explains where it came from, how it affects credit, and how it encourages people to spend more money. The Decibel is here.

TRIBUTE

Marion Boyd, Ontario’s first female and non-lawyer attorney-general, has died at the age of 76. Ms. Boyd was elected as a New Democrat member of the provincial legislature in London when Bob Rae’s government swept to power in 1990. She defeated David Peterson, premier at the time. Story here from CBC. Ms. Boyd’s obituary notice is here.

PUBLIC OPINION

Canada, once heralded as an outlier in a world gripped by controversial politicians such as former U.S. president Donald Trump, Brexiteer Nigel Farage and France’s Marine Le Pen, has fully joined the club of angry, polarized countries. Pollster Nik Nanos explores the situation in a new Data Dive available here.

OPINION

Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on Chrystia Freeland issuing a clarion call from Canada’s foreign-policy void: ”The Canadian government works on two world stages. In one, a decisive Canada identifies the developing dangers of the globe and acts boldly to deal with them. Unfortunately, that exists only in the imaginary world of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland’s foreign-policy speeches. In the other one, the real world, Canada vacillates aimlessly on tough choices without much of a foreign policy. We saw this last week, when Ms. Freeland went to Washington to deliver a highly-touted speech.”

Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail) on Canada sliding down a slippery slope on MAID: “Consent requirements have already loosened somewhat in Canada. Those whose death is reasonably foreseeable may now waive the requirement for final consent immediately before receiving MAID if they are at risk of losing the capacity to do so. Still, that’s much different from never requiring consent from the individual at any point in the assisted dying process. Skeptics may say this discussion is all for naught – that MAID in this country would never evolve to the point of never requiring consent. But members of Canada’s Supreme Court couldn’t imagine we would get where we are now, either.”

Sanjay Ruparelia (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how winner-take-all elections can erode trust in democracy: ”But the fact that we describe a first-past-the-post electoral system as winner-takes-all underscores its majoritarian character. In an era of growing executive overreach, social discontent and ideological polarization, where many citizens feel their votes do not count in the end, political majoritarianism poses a genuine hazard for our democracies. We should take it seriously.”

Hugh Segal (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how, in a changing world, Canada cannot continue to ignore its defence spending commitments: “Between now and the next expected federal election in 2025, there will be much public debate on an array of issues. But what is also required, now more than ever, is a serious national discussion around Canada’s defence priorities and independent military capacity. The need for this debate stems from significant changes in the global balance of power, and the extent to which Canada’s security is affected by those changes.”

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