Good morning,
Jagmeet Singh is likely feeling a bit of relief today. The Leader of NDP won Tuesday’s Burnaby South by-election with 39 per cent of the vote, securing a seat in the House of Commons and clearing a critical hurdle for his troubled leadership.
“I know it’s been a long slog, but I hope you have more left in the tank." Mr. Singh said in his victory speech. "We have just eight more months to let the people know they can choose a government that stands up for people and not corporations, that doesn’t give handouts to SNC-Lavalin,” he said, referencing to the scandal currently enveloping the Liberals.
Mr. Singh’s victory will help quell rumblings within his party over his future. The former Ontario provincial politician has faced criticism about his seeming unfamiliarity with federal issues and his handling of internal caucus matters − particularly his decision to kick Saskatchewan MP Erin Weir out of caucus for alleged misconduct, which infuriated many NDP stalwarts in the province.
Despite Mr. Singh’s win, the party’s troubles were evident in another by-election result Monday: In a loss heavy with symbolism, the NDP was defeated in the Outremont riding they have held since 2007. Liberal contender Rachel Bendayan held more than 42 per cent of the vote with two-thirds of the riding’s polls reporting results, with the NDP’s Julia Sanchez running second with just over 25 per cent. The riding had been a Liberal stronghold until former NDP leader Tom Mulcair scored an upset in a 2007 by-election.
And Conservative Scot Davidson handily won the York-Simcoe by-election with 54 per cent of the vote. The riding, which sits on on the northern edge of Greater Toronto, has been reliably Conservative since 2004. Perhaps even better news for the Tories, Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party sat at only 2 per cent in the riding, suggesting they won’t be a factor in the fight for the 905 during the federal election.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
Justin Trudeau has agreed to a request from former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, opening the door for her to speak about government pressure to influence the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. The PM lifted most constraints over solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidences ahead of her expected testimony before the House of Commons Justice Committee this week.
SNC-Lavalin is facing new legal action over a possible lack of disclosure. Investors are questioning why the Canadian engineering giant waited several weeks to disclose publicly that it would not be invited to strike a deal to settle criminal corruption charges related to its business dealings in Libya.
The RCMP are watching a Yellow Vest Facebook group where recent posts have advocated for the hanging of Justin Trudeau.
Ontario will not appeal a judge’s decision to abandon a charge of first-degree murder against Adam Capay, the 26 year old from Lac Seul First Nation who spent more than 1,600 days in solitary confinement before a public furor over his plight forced officials to send him to a secure hospital.
The Ontario government will announce its long-rumoured health-care system overhaul on Tuesday, unveiling a plan that could see nearly 20 agencies gradually collapsed into a single organization.
And the B.C. government will continue with plans to expand its ferry routes even though the National Energy Board concluded last week that ship noise, including that generated by BC Ferries, is threatening the endangered southern resident killer whales.
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) asks what impact the Liberal Party’s troubles in Ottawa had on Tuesday’s by-elections: “How much did Ms. Wilson-Raybould’s resignation, and that of principal secretary Gerald Butts, push down the Liberal vote in Burnaby? That is a very large question.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on the role of justice committee hearings in informing the public: “The [Jody Wilson-Raybould] matter is unlikely to go before the criminal courts. ... That is why the Commons justice committee is pretty important in all this. It can provide a forum for the key witnesses, notably Ms. Wilson-Raybould, to put their side of the story, and more facts, on the record. It is an open forum that allows the public to make some of its own judgments – something that the ethics commissioner’s closed-door interviews would not do."
André Picard (The Globe and Mail) on the problems with mandatory vaccination: “How do you ensure compliance from the more than five million babies, children and youth who attend daycare, primary and secondary school? And what do you do if they don’t comply? After all... 20 per cent of parents say that vaccination should be their choice, not mandatory.”
Angela Wright (CBC News) on Andrew Scheer’s troubling embrace of the United We Roll campaign: “United We Roll had also become a space for far-right groups to spew racism and xenophobia. Signs denouncing open borders, protesting Canada signing on to the global migration pact and accusing the prime minister of treason hung alongside signs supporting pipelines. ... Because the convoy has become affiliated with such unsettling rhetoric, unwavering support from high-profile Conservative politicians — such as Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, who addressed the group last week — is troubling, and could potentially hurt the party’s chances in the upcoming fall election.”
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Editor’s note: Feb. 27, 2019: An earlier version of this article referred to an author as Angela Write. It is actually Angela Wright.