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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is criticizing Hockey Canada for its intransigence amid questions about the organization’s handling of alleged sexual assaults and funds paid out in lawsuits.

“It boggles the mind that Hockey Canada is continuing to dig in its heels. Parents across the country are losing faith or have lost faith in Hockey Canada,” Mr. Trudeau, heading into the weekly Liberal caucus meeting, told journalists on Wednesday

“Certainly, politicians here in Ottawa have lost faith in Hockey Canada.”

At a Commons committee hearing on Tuesday, interim Hockey Canada board chair Andrea Skinner defended the national federation. Ms. Skinner said hockey shouldn’t be made a “scapegoat” for a toxic culture that exists elsewhere in society.

Hockey Canada sought to change public narrative on sexual assault case: board meeting notes

However, Hockey Quebec says it has lost confidence in Hockey Canada and will not transfer funds to the national organization – a development Mr. Trudeau suggested was inevitable.

The Prime Minister said it was no surprise that provincial organizations are questioning whether or not they want to continue supporting an organization that doesn’t understand the serious nature of the situation it is linked to.

“I really hope they understand, because hockey is a really important sport to a lot of Canadians and a lot of kids, and right now this mess is doing no favours to kids across the country.”

On Monday, The Globe and Mail reported that Hockey Canada created a second multimillion-dollar fund, built by registration fees, to shield its various branches from sexual-assault claims, without disclosing to parents and players how their money could ultimately be used. This follows a Globe investigation in July that showed Hockey Canada used a financial reserve called the National Equity Fund, also fed by registration fees, to settle a $3.55-million lawsuit filed by a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by several members of the 2018 national junior team.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said, on Wednesday, that the culture that allows for violence against women should not be allowed to continue or dismissed as normal. “We need to do everything we can to put pressure on Hockey Canada to change. It’s clear right now that the leadership doesn’t get it,” Mr. Singh told a news conference on Parliament Hill. “We want to see action to end a culture that thinks it’s okay to see violence against women continue.”

Heading into the Conservative caucus meeting, MP John Nater who is a member of the Commons heritage committee that held the hearings on Hockey Canada issue this week said there is a pressing need for meaningful change at the top of Hockey Canada.

“What we have seen over the past few months is a complete unwillingness to be transparent, and a complete unwillingness to make the changes necessary so Canadians have trust and faith in the leadership,” he told journalists on Parliament Hill.

Mr. Nater also said the Conservatives support some form of an independent inquiry into safe sport in Canada to ensure that all sports organizations are safe, acceptable places for all people at all levels of play.

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

LEGAULT RULES OUT ELECTORAL REFORM - When a reporter asked François Legault on Tuesday about his 2018 promise to reform Quebec’s electoral system – a pledge he has since broken – the province’s Premier turned the question on its head. He pointed out that during this year’s election campaign he had made the opposite promise: not to reform the electoral system. This time, he said, he planned to “respect that promise.” Story here.

OTTAWA AND WASHINGTON AT ODDS OVER NEXUS - Ottawa and Washington are at loggerheads over the popular Nexus trusted-travel program that allows citizens of both countries to cross the border more quickly, leaving several hundreds of thousands of Canadians waiting in the queue to get their applications approved. Story here.

U.S. STUDIOS RAISE C-11 CONCERNS - Big U.S. movie studios including Netflix have warned that Bill C-11 could allow Ottawa to meddle in the menu of films offered to Canadians to watch at home. Story here.

JOLY SEEKING HAITI PLAN - Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Wednesday she is trying to help broker a plan to get Haiti on its feet after a gas shortage that has sparked violence. Story here.

SPEAKER CALLS FOR CLEAR RULES ON HYBRID PARLIAMENT - House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota is calling for clear rules on when MPs can participate in hybrid sittings of Parliament to avoid a “willy-nilly” status quo where members just decide they would prefer to stay in their ridings and not show up in person for work. Story here.

B.C. A-G SKEPTICAL ABOUT MORE ARRESTS AS CRIMEFIGHTING TOOL - More arrests are “futile,” British Columbia’s attorney-general says more arrests are “futile” to fight a wave of violent crime in the province. Story here.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SEEKS DISMISSAL OF CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT - The federal government has filed a court motion calling on a judge to dismiss a class-action lawsuit filed by Black civil service employees on jurisdictional grounds. Story here from CBC.

DIAGOLON LEADER SCHEDULED FOR BAIL HEARING - The leader of the controversial Diagolon movement is scheduled to be back in a Saskatoon court later this week for a bail hearing, after making his first court appearance on multiple gun-related charges in Saskatoon provincial court on Monday. Story here from CBC.

THIS AND THAT

TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, Oct.5 accessible here.

DAYS SINCE CONSERVATIVE LEADER PIERRE POILIEVRE TOOK MEDIA QUESTIONS IN OTTAWA: 22

CENTRE ICE CANADIANS IN HALIFAX - The former Centre Ice Conservatives group now titled Centre Ice Canadians are convening an Oct. 28 conference in Halifax. The group was created to provide a platform and voice for centrist Canadians. “We’re continuing to advance ideas and discussions that resonate with centrist Canadians,” Rick Peterson, co founder and director of the organization, said on Wednesday. The Halifax gathering will feature former federal Conservative cabinet ministers Peter MacKay and Chris Alexander in a panel on Canada’s military and foreign policy. New Brunswick Education Minister Dominic Cardy will be part of a panel on challenges and opportunities for Atlantic Canada. Tasha Kheiriddin, who was co chair of Jean Charest’s bid to lead the federal Conservatives, will be among Liberal and NDP partisans in a panel about how politics can interfere with policy.

THE DECIBEL

Wednesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast looks into U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss’s ‘mini-budget’, which initially included a cut in personal income tax for the top earners, sent markets into a panic and sent the pound plummeting to near parity with the U.S. dollar — something that hasn’t happened since the mid-1980s. Lucille Perreault, a researcher at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, explains the economics at work in the situation and what Canada can learn from the fallout. The Decibel is here.

PRIME MINISTER'S DAY

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Ottawa, attended private meetings as well as the Liberal caucus meeting, Question Period, and was scheduled to deliver remarks at the Ottawa premiere of “Steadfast: The Messenger and the Message,” featuring former federal cabinet minister Jean Augustine.

LEADERS

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet was scheduled to hold a scrum in the foyer of the House of Commons.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre attended the Conservative caucus meeting.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Ottawa, attended the NDP caucus meeting, held a media availability, and attended Question Period.

No schedules released for other party leaders.

OPINION

The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on François Legault: The divisive premier of all Quebeckers: When François Legault took to the podium at his victory celebration Monday night, the newly re-elected premier of Quebec had a simple message: I will be premier of all Quebeckers who fear immigration and think too much English is spoken in Montreal. Okay, that’s not at all what he said. His exact words, spoken in French and English, were: “Quebeckers make up a great nation. And when I say [that], I mean all Quebeckers, from all regions, of all ages, of all origins. I’m going to be the premier of all Quebeckers.” Those were nice words. Those were the expected words. But they were words very much at odds with two laws Mr. Legault’s government adopted in its first term, and with things he said and did during the election campaign.”

Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on how Quebec’s election offers fresh evidence of how broken our electoral system is: How was the CAQ able to win 72 per cent of the seats with 41 per cent of the vote? Because the non-CAQ majority was split almost perfectly evenly between four other parties – and because our electoral system translates votes into seats in ways that wildly misrepresent the actual level of support for each party. This election turned up some particularly egregious examples. The Liberals, who finished fourth with an all-time low 14.4 per cent of the vote – just a shade ahead of the fifth place Conservative Party – were nevertheless rewarded with 21 seats and the title of Official Opposition. The Conservatives, with roughly the same support, got no seats. The Parti Québécois and Québec Solidaire, both of whom did better than the Liberals, got 3 seats and 11 seats, respectively.”

Kelly Cryderman (The Globe and Mail) on how Danielle Smith is `confident’ as the race for the UCP leadership nears its end: There will be no political pivot before the provincial election next May, says Danielle Smith. She will not back down from the policies that have made many Albertans uneasy but have brought her within reach of winning the UCP leadership race: a restructuring of the province’s centralized health care authority, a promise of no more COVID-19 lockdowns, and new, bigger battles with Ottawa. “We’re going to double down,” Ms. Smith says in an interview. But her ideas will be more palatable to Alberta voters as a whole than many predict, she argues. Three days before the new United Conservative Party leader is announced – and despite the fickleness of a preferential balloting system – Ms. Smith says she’s feeling “pretty confident” as she lays out her near-term plans should she become Alberta’s next premier.”

Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on how B.C’s NDP leadership candidates face the hurdle of filling John Horgan’s shoes: As a general rule, British Columbians don’t hold political leaders on their way out in very high regard. Long-time Liberal leader Gordon Campbell polled in the single digits before he exited stage right. His successor, Christy Clark, saw her support plunge to the low 30-per-cent range before she gave way to an NDP government. Now the person who followed her into the premier’s office, John Horgan, is getting ready to depart politics himself. But here’s the difference: he’s leaving on his terms and as one of the most popular premiers in B.C. history, not to mention the country. His current approval rating is 53 per cent, according to a new poll by Angus Reid. At various times during his five years on the job, that number has been in the high 60s. Meantime, 43 per cent of British Columbians polled say he’ll be remembered as an outstanding or above-average premier. That’s rare.”

Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail) on how the Trudeau government must explain why Iran’s Revolutionary Guard isn’t listed as a terrorist entity: “At the very least, the Canadian government owes the 50,000 people who marched in Richmond Hill over the weekend – and many more who have been watching with horror as the Iranian regime violently cracks down on protesters – an explanation. The IRGC plays an essential role in training, financing, and carrying out domestic and foreign terrorist activity and functions less as a legitimate parallel military force than the extended muscle of the corrupt Iranian regime, tasked first and foremost with its preservation. Parliament voted to designate the IRGC a terrorist entity, but so far, the government has both declined to act and declined to explain why it has declined to act. Surely the architects of Canada’s “feminist foreign policy” have more to offer than a shrug – or in the case of Ms. Joly, the repetition of a canned non-sequitur. The Iranian diaspora and their allies have asked for specific action; if the Canadian government won’t take it, it must at least explain why.”

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