Hello,
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned to the public eye today, after a summer vacation. The holiday was the first he and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, embarked on as co-parents, since announcing their separation on Aug. 2.
While Mr. Trudeau was off for private family time, vast swathes of the Northwest Territories and British Columbia were burning. With states of emergency being declared, residents of Yellowknife, Kelowna and other cities and towns fled from the destruction of the worst wildfire season on record.
Mr. Trudeau, in Prince Edward Island for meetings before kicking off his cabinet retreat this afternoon, had a delicate needle to thread politically. The rhetoric around the retreat was that it would be all about refocusing on affordability and housing – the two issues causing the greatest consternation among the public, and areas where Mr. Trudeau’s government is facing criticism from Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.
But with smoke blanketing massive areas of the country, exhausted firefighters still battling to limit the destruction and tens of thousands of emotional residents far from homes they can only hope are still standing, there was an obvious shift in top-line priorities required.
“People are facing horrific situations, people are fleeing for their lives, they’re worried about their communities,” Mr. Trudeau said of the wildfires. “And Canadians from coast to coast to coast are watching in horror the images of apocalyptic devastation, and fires going on in communities that so many of us know and so many of us have friends in. This is a scary and heartbreaking time for people.”
Mr. Trudeau announced that the Incident Response Group – a round table of relevant ministers who meet when a major crisis is afoot – would meet Monday afternoon, before the cabinet retreat kicked off. He highlighted that his government is trying to provide emergency supports for the current moment – including Service Canada capacity and accelerating Employment Insurance payments – but also looking “towards the moment” when the people who have fled can return home and rebuild their lives.
The Prime Minister also took aim at the tech giants who have blocked access to news in Canada in response to Bill C-18, saying it is “inconceivable that a company like Facebook is choosing to put corporate profits ahead of ensuring that local news organizations can get up-to-date information” in an emergency situation.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
More detail on the target of former RCMP officer facing security charges - The Mounties say a retired RCMP officer charged this summer with conducting foreign interference on behalf of China was targeting a wealthy Vancouver real estate entrepreneur named Kevin Sun as part of his alleged activities for Beijing. Robert Fife and Steven Chase report.
Lightning rod candidate, former Manning Centre president wins Conservative nomination - A former outspoken Ontario advocate for community opportunities, Jamil Jivani, has won the federal Conservative candidacy in the Greater Toronto Area riding of Durham, replacing former party leader Erin O’Toole since his departure from politics. Kristy Kirkup has the story here.
Long legal delay in Indigenous child welfare settlement may be nearing an end - The Federal Court of Canada will review this fall a $23.3-billion compensation agreement on First Nations child welfare that could see money flowing to communities as soon as next year after a fight of more than 15 years. Kristy Kirkup offers the details here.
Possible breathing room for B.C. on the wildfire front - Four relentless days of firefighting and some co-operative weather is offering some cautious hope that the ferocious blaze that has consumed neighbourhoods in B.C.’s Kelowna area and forced tens of thousands of people out of their homes has been beaten back. Alanna Smith and Nancy MacDonald report.
THIS AND THAT
Today in the Commons – Summer vacation continues for most MPs, while the Liberal cabinet gathers in Prince Edward Island for a pre-return retreat.
Big shoes to fill – Chantal Hébert announced on the website formerly known as Twitter that she’s ending her regular political column for the Toronto Star. “To give myself some much needed breathing room, I have decided to relinquish my weekly column in The Star,” she wrote. “I will be back for special occasions, including the next election campaign.”
THE DECIBEL
Fears of a recession have been looming since the worst days of the pandemic. And as inflation persists, central banks around the world have tried to increase interest rates to cool things down. It’s easy to think that all of this means we might actually have avoided the worst.
But Report on Business columnist and reporter Tim Kiladze says it’s too early to declare victory: We may not actually have achieved that mythical “soft landing” after all. He’s watching a few warning signs that could spell economic trouble for us later.
You can listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Justin Trudeau was in Cornwall, PEI, this morning to talk to parents and families about child care, before making an announcement alongside PEI Premier Dennis King. Accompanied by newly-minted Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jenna Sudds and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay, the Prime Minister announced that over the next year and a half, the province will create 300 new licensed child care spaces as part of its funding deal with the federal government.
Afterward, Mr. Trudeau and Mr. King had a one-on-one meeting, before the Prime Minister joined his cabinet for the kickoff to their three-day retreat at 4:30 p.m.
LEADERS
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held an afternoon news conference in Ottawa “responding to Trudeau’s housing retreat in Charlottetown.”
OPINION
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) wonders if six more years of Trudeau is really the path the Liberals plan to take: Mr. Trudeau is telling the country he intends to serve out his term for another two years, and run for re-election asking for four more. And his party, his caucus of MPs, seem to accept that’s the plan. But the arithmetic doesn’t add up.”
Dave Sommer (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) highlights the worrying effects of tech platform changes that surface in an emergency: “Imagine what happens when governments share vital information and “verified” trolls post random contradictory or made-up garbage directly beneath it in the comment section. Which post is the most authoritative? Can the average user even tell?”
Jason Ellis (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) suggests a history lesson in compromise in Ontario schools to inform the response to drag queen story hours: “They can permit parents, who (rightly or wrongly) claim religious or moral objections, to opt their children out of drag queen storytime. This still respects trans and queer children, who will see themselves represented and celebrated in public schools through these events.”
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