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politics briefing newsletter

Good morning,

An emotional Theresa May stood in front of 10 Downing Street and announced June 7 will be her last day as U.K. Prime Minister, ending nearly three years in office that will be defined by her inability to pull Britain out of the European Union.

Ms. May expressed “deep regret” at her failure on Brexit, writes Paul Waldie from London, saying she had done all she could to win approval for a withdrawal agreement with the EU. “I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back that deal ... sadly I have not been able to do so,” she said. As she teared up she added: “I will shortly leave the job that has been the honour of my life to hold. The second female Prime Minister, but certainly not the last. I do so with no ill will but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love.”

Her departure clears the way for the Conservative Party to select a new leader who will become prime minister, expected to be in place by the end of July. The front runner is former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who has been bitterly critical of Ms. May’s approach to Brexit.

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TODAY’S HEADLINES

China’s ambassador to Canada says Beijing is “saddened” that diplomatic relations are at a “freezing point” and called on Ottawa to take steps to repair the damage by allowing Meng Wanzhou to return to China. Ambassador Lu Shaye said Ms. Meng’s arrest is a “political issue” and not one that should be left to the courts. In his speech, the Chinese envoy made it clear that diplomatic relations would not improve until Ms. Meng, who is under house arrest in Vancouver, is free to return home. “It is from the very beginning that the Chinese position has been clear and persistent that the Canadian side should release Madam Meng and let her come back to China safely,” he said.

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna says the federal government will impose a carbon tax on Alberta “as soon as possible” after Premier Jason Kenney’s government kills the provincial tax next week. Ms. McKenna says the requirement that the entire country have a price on carbon is non-negotiable. “Alberta has the largest emissions in the country and we need Alberta to be part of our climate plan," Ms. McKenna said in an interview. Alberta’s current carbon price is set at $30 a tonne and has raised roughly $1.4-billion a year, which was used to fund renewable energy, transit and other green programs, as well as rebates for lower- and middle-income households.

The Supreme Court of Canada could revamp the law of consent in a ruling today and order new warnings to juries about the stereotyping of Indigenous sex-trade workers. The ruling comes in the wake of a jury acquitting Bradley Barton of murder and manslaughter in the death of Cindy Gladue, a 36-year-old mother of three from northeastern Alberta who had agreed to a paid sexual encounter. During the trial, the Crown and defence referred to her more than 50 times as a “native,” “native girl” or “native woman” or as a prostitute. As Sean Fine explains, consent is at issue because Mr. Barton faced a charge of “unlawful act manslaughter;” if the Crown could prove he committed a sexual assault, and that he should have foreseen the risk of harm, he would be found guilty. Hence, the burden is on the judge to ensure the jury didn’t stereotype the victim as more likely to consent because she was Indigenous or a sex-trade worker.

Will George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation in North Vancouver, who is opposed to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, interrupted a speech by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a Liberal fundraiser yesterday calling him a liar and a weak leader. As the protester continued to talk over him, Trudeau calmly asked if he could respond, before saying his government is protecting the environment, including by bringing in a $1.5-billion plan to protect Canada’s oceans.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is vowing to bring in mandatory minimum jail sentences of five years for those convicted of sexually abusing children. He said a Conservative government would ensure that the justice system considered the length and seriousness of the abuse in sentencing decisions, and that anybody who sexually exploits or abuses a child will go behind bars “for a very long time.”

Separately, Mr. Scheer plans to announce today when he gives an economic speech at the Canadian Club in Vancouver, that he is dropping a previous pledge to balance the budget within two years if elected, saying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has made it impossible to do so responsibly.

U.S. President Donald Trump and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi took shots at each other yesterday, adding uncertainty to the congressional ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The back-and-forth insults came after several days of escalating tension, during which the President told the Speaker he would refuse to help her pass a package of infrastructure spending unless she first ensured the passage of USMCA and stopped congressional ethics investigations into him.

Barry Zekelman, a Canadian steel magnate who supports American tariffs, has been accused of breaking U.S. campaign finance law after one of his companies donated US$1.75-million to a Super PAC backing President Donald Trump. Federal Election Commission records show Zekelman Industries subsidiary Wheatland Tube Co., which is based in Sharon, Pa., made donations of US$1-million, US$250,000 and US$500,000 between April and October of last year.

The federal Conservatives said they’re hearing from frustrated canola producers who are still waiting for financial relief recently promised by the Liberal government. Canola producers are expressing concern about funding promised three weeks ago that can’t be accessed, Tory shadow minister for agriculture Luc Berthold said in a letter to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau.

New restrictions on sugary, purified alcoholic beverages took effect yesterday, following several months of federal consultations and at least two deaths over an 18-month span. The alcohol content in what Health Canada described as “single-serve flavoured purified alcoholic beverages” can no longer exceed 25.6 ml for each container of one litre or less. The amount is the equivalent of about one and a half drinks; a single serving could previously contain up to four standard alcohol drinks.

A new survey on gun control has found a majority of Canadians support limiting access to handguns and assault weapons. The survey, conducted by the Angus Reid Institute, found 64 per cent of those polled supported limiting access to handguns, while 27 per cent did not. For assault weapons, support for additional limits was even stronger, at 77 per cent, with 17 per cent opposed.

Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on Mr. Scheer’s tricky climate-policy balancing act: “[The environmental plan] may be the most politically fraught piece of policy Mr. Scheer will unveil in advance of this fall’s federal election. That’s because it will include the party’s blueprint to combat the effects of climate change – for those who believe in such a thing.”

Lawrence Martin (The Globe and Mail) on Donald Trump and the Deep State: “[Donald Trump is] flipping the Russiagate story, seeking to turn it into a scandal that puts Democrats, some of whom are still seeking his impeachment, on the defensive from here to election day. That he just might pull it off is chillingly possible.”

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