Good morning,
In for a penny, in for a pound: The federal Liberal government is outright buying the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project from energy company Kinder Morgan for $4.5-billion. The extraordinary move that amounts to a nationalization of the pipeline is sure to face strong opposition from politicians, environmentalists and First Nations in British Columbia. Trudeau cabinet ministers Bill Morneau and Jim Carr said this morning that the move is necessary to save jobs. The ministers also said the government does not want to be in the project for the long term and plans to flip the pipeline to a new owner once a potential buyer emerges.
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CANADIAN HEADLINES
The Library of Parliament says changes to its touring and school visit program won’t affect the ability of groups to watch Question Period and other proceedings of the House. The Library says groups can still reserve seats – space permitting – from their MPs or show up for spots first come, first served.
Jim Balsillie, former co-CEO of Research In Motion, the creator of the BlackBerry, says Canada must do more to insure the intellectual property created by taxpayer-funded research institutions stays in the country. A Globe investigation published on the weekend showed how Huawei, a Chinese telecom giant, has established a network of relationships with Canadian universities that have led to numerous patents.
The Canadian Space Agency says it can’t participate in a NASA telescope project because of a lack of funding.
Bill Blair, former Toronto top cop and the Liberal government’s point person for pot, told senators not to delay implementation of marijuana legalization.
Advocates in Vancouver say the municipal, provincial and federal governments need to step in to address the city’s notorious single-room hotels in the Downtown Eastside following a Globe and Mail investigation into a family that owns some of the region’s most derelict housing. The Sahota family’s buildings have been the target of investigations and fines stretching back decades, and tenants have recently attempted to launch class-action lawsuits.
Young people transitioning out of government care in British Columbia were five times more likely to die than their peers, according to a new report from the BC Coroners Service. The agency calls for changes to how young people are supported, particularly as they reach adulthood and age out of government care — a time when they appear to be most at risk.
Negotiations to renew the Columbia River Treaty between Canada and the United States are set to begin today. The treaty co-ordinates flood control and hydro power generation along the 1,930-kilometre Columbia River, which flows from B.C. into Washington state.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has delivered a formal apology for the province’s role in the Sixties Scoop, when thousands of Indigenous children were seized from their birth families and relocated to non-Indigenous homes. “For the loss of families, stability, of love, we are sorry,” the Premier said. “For the loss of identity, language and culture, we are sorry. For the loneliness, the anger, the confusion and the frustration, we are sorry.”
And federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says he has not and will not campaign for Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford because of scheduling issues.
Margaret Wente (The Globe and Mail) on high housing prices: “For politicians and policy makers, tackling house-price inequality should be on top of the to-do list. If we don’t do it, the middle class will gradually lose out on its single most effective means of wealth accumulation. The upper middle class will keep pulling away from everybody else.”
André Picard (The Globe and Mail) on cannabis: “For all the rhetoric about the potential harms of legalized cannabis – especially from the Canadian Senate – the objective evidence from the jurisdictions that have lived with it for years is that we don’t have much to fear. The kids will be all right. So will their parents and grandparents – who will actually be the consumers of legal cannabis. ”
Parisa Mahboubi (The Globe and Mail) on demographics: “Further, the aging population has some implications for government finances since it dampens revenue growth and puts pressure on government spending that is sensitive to aging, such as health care and public pensions.” (for subscribers)
Stephanie Carvin (The Globe and Mail) on national security and foreign investment: “While no one is calling for a massive renationalization in the name of security, it is also true that the government may have to take new and creative steps to protect the well-being of our economy. ”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on changes to parliamentary tours: “These restrictions also suggest a less-than-complete dedication to ensuring public access to Parliament. In a time when people feel increasingly disconnected from government and public institutions, closing House and Senate business to the public is the last thing we need.”
Tim Kiladze (The Globe and Mail) on the Ontario NDP’s Hydro One plan: “The NDP says it could use the dividends the utility pays to the province every quarter. Which sounds nice, because it means Ontario could repurchase the utility without adding any debt. But it does not really make much sense. These dividends help finance the province’s annual spending. Stockpiling them to buy back shares bit by bit would lead to a budget shortfall, or new debt would need to be added every year to make up for the financial hole.” (for subscribers)
Chris Selley (National Post) on the NDP and labour: “If Horwath wanted to reassure centrist voters, she could point to evidence of various unintended consequences when governments bigfoot collective bargaining — from higher wages to establishing intervention as the norm. Instead she has suggested better government-labour relations are simply a matter of ‘respect’ (which only gets you so far) and of more money for key services (which is exactly what some centrist voters fear about an NDP government).“
Richard Florida (The Globe and Mail) on a Premier Ford: “Ontario’s recent economic success is the product of longer-run investments in universities, arts and culture; advanced research in key fields like artificial intelligence; openness to immigrants; and a growing commitment to place-making and city-building. This economic advantage will be significantly diminished if Doug Ford becomes premier of Ontario.”
Chantal Hébert (Toronto Star) on Scheer and Ford: “The last thing Scheer probably needs next year is for the federal election in Ontario to turn into a plebiscite on a potentially polarizing Ford-led provincial government.”
Lynn Dollin (The Globe and Mail) on Ontario’s municipalities: “The province dictates and regulates municipal services. And municipal governments often deliver and help fund key provincial government programs. So far, no party has offered a clear plan to support municipal governments. All have made expensive promises. And all have remained silent when asked if municipal property taxpayers will have to pay for them.”
Jamil Jivani (The Globe and Mail) on identity politics: “Wherever we see identity politics emerge on the political spectrum, we need to call it out and ask if it’s positively facilitating – or tragically sabotaging – a more unified Canada.”
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INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES
Just days before Italy’s populist, Euroskeptic government was set to be sworn in, things went up in flames. Sergio Mattarella, the President of Italy, sent shock waves through the political system when he decided to reject the far-right League and anti-establishment Five Star movement’s pick for economy minister. But there’s a chance the decision could backfire and become a boon for the Euroskeptic parties if and when a new election is held.
Authorities in China have been actively deleting and suppressing posts made to social media services by embassies in Beijing. China has cracked down on free speech though its censorship regime and fears are growing that foreign governments, including Canada’s, are adapting to the climate by self-censoring.
Steel from China, Vietnam and South Korea is facing greater scrutiny from Canada, after it launched a dumping investigation just days before an exemption on U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum is set to expire.
Business leaders in Mexico are calling out the government over a recent surge in criminal activity, which has prompted prominent firms in Latin America’s second-largest economy to scale back operations with just over a month left until the July 1 election.
Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s Prime Minister, will face a confidence vote on his leadership on Friday following a series of corruption convictions that rocked his centre-right People’s Party.
Nasir-ul-Mulk has been named the caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan in the tense run-up to a pivotal general election on July 25. The vote is expected to lead to just the second-ever democratic transition in the country of more than 200 million people. He is a former chief justice and is seen as “neutral.”
Commercial salmon fishing in Greenland and the Faroe Islands will be put on hold for the next 12 years, to enable adult wild Atlantic salmon to make their way back to waterways in North America and Europe.
And rumours that Duke and Duchess of Sussex could be planning a honeymoon in the Alberta mountain resort of Jasper set off a flurry of excitement in the community and speculation among royal watchers. The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge quickly denied reports that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, were poised to visit, though one city councillor, Rico Damota, says the international publicity can only be good for the town.
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