Hello,
The continuing inquiry into foreign interference has agreed to look into the assertion of a recent intelligence watchdog report that said some federal politicians are collaborating with foreign powers.
Today, the public inquiry took note, in an advisory, that the majority of political parties in the House of Commons had supported a Bloc Québécois motion to expand the inquiry’s mandate to address some of the findings in the report.
In a statement posted on its website, the inquiry under Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue said it will conduct the examination of the work of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.
“It should be noted that the Commission has access to all of the documents reviewed by the NSICOP and on which it based its conclusions,” said the statement.
“The Commission will examine these issues within the framework it has already established for executing its mandate, and in accordance with the rules and principles applicable to any independent commission of inquiry.”
Despite taking on this new commitment, the commission statement said it will make every effort to complete its work by the Dec. 31 deadline already set for its final report.
“The Commission understands that this deadline has been set to allow the government to put in place any measures that may be appropriate to protect the integrity of elections before the next federal general election, which must be held no later than Oct. 20, 2025.”
Trudeau interview today: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be doing an interview on CBC’s Power & Politics at 5 p.m. ET today, according to the public broadcaster.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
Ottawa to spend $1.2-billion on hospital for First Nations in Northern Ontario, after weeks of pressure: The funding will go toward the construction of a new hospital facility in Moosonee, Ont., administrative offices, staff accommodations and a dedicated ambulatory care centre on Moose Factory Island. Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu said today the new facility will serve the 12,000 people in the Weeneebayko region.
Ottawa set to stop open-net salmon farms in B.C., giving the industry five years to transition: The federal cabinet made the decision last week and an announcement is expected on Wednesday in British Columbia, three sources say.
Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan restricts some teachers to buying from in-house pharmacy: The arrangement from the Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan is an example of patient steering, which has drawn renewed attention since an exclusivity deal between Manulife and Shoppers Drug Mart brought the practice into the spotlight earlier this year.
Calgary residents cut water consumption to record low as city placed under state of emergency: The city’s water woes are just the tip of the iceberg and stand to be repeated across Canada without major investments in aging infrastructure, warned Tricia Stadnyk, Canada Research Chair in hydrologic modelling and a University of Calgary professor.
Ottawa, Saskatchewan step in to prevent sale of Canadian rare earth metals to Chinese buyer: The move by both levels of government to intervene in the public markets is another example of the Canadian government taking an increasingly activist stance in bolstering the domestic critical minerals industry and rejecting Chinese investment.
Quebec eviction disputes more common in diverse areas with more visible minorities, immigrants: A Globe and Mail analysis, which compared data from Quebec’s housing tribunal with the 2021 Statistics Canada census, found areas with the highest rates of evictions appealed to the tribunal tend, on average, to be more diverse.
TODAY’S POLITICAL QUOTES
“We’re less than a year and a half from an election. The closer we get to an election, I think the harder it’s going to be to pull together and, as Canadian leaders of the various political parties, actually work together to take the steps that need to be taken urgently to ensure that we preserve and protect our democracy against hostile actors.” – Green Party Leader Elizabeth May during a news conference on Parliament Hill today.
“It was exactly the right time for us to be in Havana,” – Defence Minister Bill Blair, during a news conference on Parliament Hill today, defends his decision to send a Canadian ship to Cuba where it docked alongside some of Russia’s fleet.
THIS AND THAT
Today in the Commons: Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, June 17, accessible here.
Deputy Prime Minister’s Day: In Washington, Chrystia Freeland attended a working dinner with members of the U.S. administration focused on Canada-U.S. economic co-operation.
Ministers on the Road: In Toronto, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne participated in a discussion at the Canadian Telecom Summit.
Commons Committee Highlights: The government-operations committee was scheduled to hear Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux on government spending. Health Minister Mark Holland and Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks were among the witnesses appearing this afternoon before the health committee on government spending. This evening, Jennifer May, Canada’s ambassador to China, was scheduled to appear before the committee on the relationship between Canada and China.
Board concerned about other subs: The Transportation Safety Board, updating its investigation into the 2023 destruction of the Titan submersible near the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic, says there has been other submersible traffic in Canada’s waters and Canada’s Exclusive Economic Zone, both before and after the Titan incident. “Some are registered in Canada; some are registered outside of Canada; and some are not registered,” says an update available here.
New ambassadors: Canada is sending Ioanna Sahas Martin to Costa Rica as our new ambassador and Julie Sunday is the new high commissioner in Australia. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced the appointments today. Biographical details here.
Annual Caribbean Development Bank meeting: International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen is hosting the annual meeting of Caribbean Development Bank in Ottawa this week, with the gathering running from today through Thursday. More than 300 invitees from the Caribbean and elsewhere in the world are expected.
New deputy health minister: Greg Orencsak, who has been the deputy minister in the Finance Department, has been named the new deputy health minister as of Aug. 19. He replaces a retiring Dr. Stephen Lucas. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment today.
Tax court chief justice: Gabrielle St-Hilaire, a judge of the Tax Court of Canada, has been named the new Chief Justice of the Tax Court of Canada. St-Hilaire replaces Eugene Rossiter. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment today.
Fillmore exits: Andy Fillmore said today that he is stepping down as MP for the riding of Halifax. The Liberal was first elected in 2015. In remarks to the Commons, Fillmore said he had informed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau he would not be back after the summer break. There has been speculation the former city planner, who served as a parliamentary secretary to four ministers, will run to become the next mayor of Halifax, but he did not specifically touch on that possibility in his remarks.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
In Ottawa, Justin Trudeau was scheduled, this evening, to deliver remarks at a reception for National Indigenous History Month. Later, Trudeau was expected to deliver remarks at a Filipino Heritage Month reception.
LEADERS
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, in Ottawa, held a news conference, attended the House of Commons and, in the afternoon, travelled to attend an all-candidates meeting in Toronto-St. Paul’s in support of Christian Cullis, the candidate in the by-election there.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh attended Question Period.
No schedules released for Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet or Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
THE DECIBEL
On today’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, The Globe’s corporate law reporter, Robyn Doolittle, breaks down the rift within the Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University after an open letter called for the law school to drop its neutral position on the Israel-Hamas war. The Decibel is here.
PUBLIC OPINION
Bank of Canada interest-rate cut: Seventy-four per cent of Canadians say a recent Bank of Canada interest-rate cut had little to no impact on their confidence in Justin Trudeau and the Liberals, according to new research by Abacus Data.
OPINION
Build the cities of the future
“As Canada embarks on a generational change, some new policies are already a success – and some old policies continue to undermine the goal of building a lot of new housing. There’s political agreement on the left and right, from Liberals to Conservatives, but in these first years of change it’s crucial to keep pushing forward, rather than accept a few initial adjustments as all that’s needed. The goal is abundant housing, where people can afford to move to Vancouver, Toronto and other large cities, rather than be forced by high costs and lack of housing to move away.” – The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
To turn the tables on Russian mis- and disinformation, we need to start with Silicon Valley
“One evening in 1987, Dan Rather of CBS News reported that an increasing number of people around the world believed the AIDS virus had been engineered by American scientists at a military facility in Fort Detrick, Md. The story prompted fury from the White House, and for good reason: It was part of a Russian “active measures” campaign to discredit the United States. The story was disinformation. Operation Denver, as it became known, is the most famous example of how the KGB seeded mis- and disinformation during the Cold War using its proxies and allies. It’s concerning that we are not fully absorbing this history lesson in our new digital age.” – Andrew MacDougal
Justin Trudeau promised to stop junk food companies from marketing to kids – but that was nine years ago
“On Nov. 12, 2015, newly minted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote a mandate letter to his new minister of health, Jane Philpott, outlining what he expected her to achieve. The second of the many priorities he listed was, in part, “introducing new restrictions on the commercial marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children, similar to those now in place in Quebec.” That was not achieved by that health minister, nor was it achieved by the following three federal health ministers who came and went.” – Dr. Tom Warshawski and Manuel Arango.
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Ian Bailey