Hello,
Ontario’s Housing Minister violated violated ethics rules during the government’s decision to remove 15 parcels of lands from the Greenbelt, and his actions led to the interests of certain developers being “furthered improperly,” the province’s Integrity Commissioner says.
In a report released Wednesday, Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake recommended Steve Clark be sanctioned by members of the Legislature for failing to comply with two sections of the Members’ Integrity Act.
The province’s removal of the 3,000 hectares from protection in order to allow for development has been met with significant criticism from opposition politicians and environmental groups. Mr. Wake found that the minister failed to properly oversee the process.
Dustin Cook and Laura Stone report here.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
Military dropping policy ordering members to report sexual misconduct or racism - The Canadian military plans to scrap a controversial policy that requires its members to report all incidents of sexual misconduct or racism – regardless of whether they were directly affected by them – says the Defence Department. Story here from CBC.
Trudeau to visit Indonesia, Singapore and India next week as Canada seeks trade deals - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is headed to Asia next week for a whirlwind tour of Indonesia, Singapore and India that includes the G20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi. Story here.
A million more non-permanent residents live in Canada than official figures, ministers told - A leading economist warned federal ministers at their cabinet retreat last week that there are around one million more non-permanent residents living in Canada, including foreign students, than government estimates suggest. Story here.
Canadian economists predict steady interest rates, falling home prices in 2023 - The Bank of Canada is expected to hold its key interest rate steady at 5 per cent on Sept. 6 and stay at that level through at least the end of March 2024, according to a majority of economists in a Reuters poll. A small but growing minority expects one more rate rise. Story here.
Conservatives dig in on message against carbon pricing while Liberals point to wildfires - Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are digging in on their campaign to nix the Liberal carbon pricing plan and say the government’s approach amounts to a tax that will not stop wildfires playing out in parts of Canada this summer. Story here.
Pierre Trudeau’s office ran secret intelligence unit to quell separatist movement in Quebec, researchers find - New research based on previously classified documents has revealed a secret operation within the office of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau to gather intelligence about Quebec separatists after the 1970 October Crisis. It was done through a task force that was strongly opposed by a senior RCMP official at the time. Story here.
Newfoundland and Labrador picks wind farm projects to power hydrogen plants - Newfoundland and Labrador selected four companies on Wednesday to develop wind farms to supply power for new hydrogen plants, conditional on further approvals. Story here.
Montreal won’t return toppled John A. Macdonald statue to downtown pedestal - Montreal’s John A. Macdonald statue, damaged in a 2020 demonstration, won’t be put back on its pedestal in Place du Canada, the city’s executive committee decided on Wednesday. Story here from CBC.
Bid to oust Higgs fails - Dissident members of New Brunswick’s Progressive Conservative party have failed to trigger a leadership review for Blaine Higgs. Story here.
B.C. on pace for deadliest year in drug crisis - British Columbia is on pace for the deadliest year in its toxic-drug crisis, with the BC Coroners Service saying another 198 deaths were reported in July. Story here.
Protester arrested after paint splashed on Thomson piece in National Gallery - An artwork by renowned Canadian artist Tom Thomson at the National Gallery in Ottawa was splattered with paint on Tuesday as part of a protest against the federal government’s response to wildfires. Story here.
Two women assaulted in Parliamentary Precinct - A man is facing charges after two women suffered non-life-threatening injuries in a Wednesday morning assault in Ottawa’s Parliamentary Precinct, near the Supreme Court of Canada building, police say. Story here from CTV.
Moe makes cabinet shuffle, major portfolio changes - Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe shuffled his cabinet Tuesday, changing the representation of many major portfolios – including an education file that’s been subject to controversy over pronouns. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
Summer break – Both the House of Commons and the Senate are on breaks. The House sits again on Sept. 18. The Senate sits again on Sept. 19.
Ministers on the Road - Housing Minister Sean Fraser, in Pictou, N.S., announced federal tourism support for a destination in the Nova Scotia town. Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, also minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, in Sudbury announced FedNor support for the Northern Ontario economy. International Trade Minister Mary Ng, in Toronto, spoke at the launch of the newly formed Canada Association of Southeast Asian Nations Business and Trade Association. Filomena Tassi, minister for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, in Thorold, Ont., announced $300,000 in federal investments for the electric-vehicle sector in the Niagara region. Also, in St. Catharines, Ont., Ms. Tassi announced federal support for a local manufacturer that will support the electric-vehicle supply chain. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, in Quebec City, announced about $30-million in federal funding to deliver more than 1,500 electric-vehicle chargers in Quebec.
Slett appointment at pilotage authority - Marilyn Slett, the Heiltsuk First Nation Chief in British Columbia, has been appointed to a four-year term as a member of the Pacific Pilotage Authority, federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez said Wednesday. The authority is a federal Crown corporation that manages issues around navigating on B.C. coastal waters as well as the Fraser River.
Minister breaks wrist - Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc says in a posting here on X, the former Twitter, that he broke his wrist in a weekend accident.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in the Ottawa region, held private meetings and spoke with North Macedonia Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski.
LEADERS
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Victoria, and joined by area MP Laurel Collins, discussed housing affordability with post-secondary students, presented a plan on the issue and later toured the Nigel Valley Housing redevelopment project with NDP MP Randall Garrison.
No schedules released for other party leaders.
THE DECIBEL
On Wednesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Rita Trichur – The Globe’s senior business writer and columnist – talks about her reporting on how former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi has had billions sitting in Canadian bank accounts for almost 12 years after his death. The Decibel is here.
TRIBUTE
Chris Axworthy - The former Saskatchewan NDP MP who also had a run in provincial politics has died, aged 76. Story here.
PUBLIC OPINION
Liberals losing support among younger voters - The federal Liberals are seeing a dive in popularity among younger voters, once the core of their base, falling 23 points behind the Conservatives by the end of August, according to new polling from Nanos Research. CTV reports here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how Canada’s foreign aid is in decline: “Canada’s insufficient military spending has garnered widespread attention this year. The country’s longstanding shortfall in foreign aid has generated less concern. The grinding war in Ukraine and potential threat of China have rallied widespread support, including from this space, to reach the NATO spending target of 2 per cent of GDP. In 2022, Canada’s defence spending was 1.29 per cent of GDP. But there’s a similar, yet lesser known, international yardstick on which Canada also falls well below the collective goal: spending 0.7 per cent of gross national income (another measure of a country’s economy) on official development assistance.”
Kelly Cryderman (The Globe and Mail) on the UCP president not seeking re-election to her position: “Cynthia Moore, the United Conservative Party president who has decided she won’t run again for the position this fall, is the first to acknowledge that keeping the UCP’s members on the same page is hard sometimes. “It’s been difficult because as conservatives, we’re more likely to be outspoken,” she said in an interview with The Globe and Mail. This is an understatement in the wild world of Alberta’s governing party. In its six years of existence, the UCP has been a hotbed of open fractiousness – the kind that exists when tear-it-down movements are forced to exist alongside establishment conservatism.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on how politicians should stop using confusion over trans issues as a dog whistle for intolerance: “Scott Moe’s conservative government in Saskatchewan is emulating Blaine Higgs’s conservative government in New Brunswick by requiring teachers to obtain the consent of parents before a student may change their name or pronoun at school. Polls suggest a large majority of Canadians support the measures. The majority is wrong. The politicians are wrong. Conservative politicians are using confusion over trans issues as a dog whistle for LGBTQ+ intolerance. They should stop.”
John Vaillant (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how, as our forests burn, oil companies are doubling down on their old business models: “Wildfire is not just a public health and safety issue – it is fast becoming a national security threat that is overwhelming emergency response, destabilizing provinces and affecting their GDPs. Here, in Canada’s own “Black Summer,” we are battling a new kind of domestic terror. Like gun violence in the United States, its causes and sources are well understood, and its damage – so frightening and disruptive in the moment – lingers on for years in ways that can break lives and bank accounts.”
Fred Delorey (iPolitics) on how a Justin Trudeau-less Liberal party would be catastrophic for the Liberals at the polls: “So, what happens if Trudeau heeds the clarion call to step down, knowing that his chances of re-election are close to non-existent? First, let’s acknowledge a fundamental truth: Trudeau is a proven campaigner. While I’ve often criticized his governing abilities, even I must concede that winning three elections in a row is a feat that can’t be ignored. Also, the ideological vacuum he leaves behind could be perilous for the Liberal Party.”
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