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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is looking at using legislation to ensure a woman’s right to a safe and legal abortion will be permanently protected in Canada.
Mr. Trudeau spoke, on Wednesday, to reporters before the Liberals’ weekly caucus meeting in Ottawa.
He says the ministers of health and the status of women are tasked with looking at the existing laws around abortion to make sure the rights of women are protected both now and under any future governments.
During the election, the Liberals promised to introduce regulations under the Canada Health Act to ensure abortion services were clearly medically necessary and to be publicly funded.
Mr. Trudeau’s comment comes two days after an unprecedented leak of a draft decision from the United States Supreme Court that would strike down the right to legal abortions in that country and leave it up to state governments to make abortion laws.
Abortion is decriminalized in Canada because of a 1988 Supreme Court decision here, but no bill has ever been passed enshrining that right into law.
Government House Leader Mark Holland, asked about legislative plans on the issue, said on Wednesday that work is under way to figure out how to proceed.
“I think we are all taking a step back and looking at how we enshrine protection for women and their bodies and to make choices about their bodies and about their futures,” he told journalists on Parliament Hill.
“The events that have unfolded recently have underscored that. So we’re engaging internally on how we can make sure that those rights are enshrined not just in the immediate term but over the long term so that we don’t see an infringement of that.”
Meanwhile, parliamentary reporter Marieke Walsh reports here that the Conservative caucus was ordered not to talk about the news on abortion rights from the United States, a sign of the Canadian party’s continued struggle to navigate the issue. Health reporter Carly Weeks looks here at what access to abortion looks like across Canada, and justice reporter Sean Fine looks here at the implications for the United States Supreme Court and Roe v. Wade after the leak the the draft court ruling.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
ONTARIO ELECTION CAMPAIGN UNDERWAY - Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the provincial election campaign is a choice between his Progressive Conservative Party’s plans for prosperity and opposition parties he charges have “destroyed” the province. His NDP and Liberal challengers say it’s about the need to shore up health care and protect the environment after what they call Mr. Ford’s failures over the past four years. Voters go to the polls on June. 2. Story here.
SABIA DEFENDS GOVERNMENT FINANCING MEASURE - Finance Canada Deputy Minister Michael Sabia defended the government’s unprecedented decision to reopen last year’s books and backdate nearly $10-billion in new spending, telling MPs on Tuesday the move resulted in a more accurate description of the federal accounts. Story here.
LINE 5 FACES NEW SHUTDOWN THREAT - The Line 5 energy pipeline is facing another threat of shutdown: a Wisconsin Indigenous band has asked a U.S. court for a quick judgment on an application to evict the pipeline from its land. Story here.
COMMONS DEBATES VOTING AGE OF 16 - The House of Commons will debate Wednesday on whether to lower Canada’s legal voting age to 16 years old. Story here.
BANK OF CANADA STEPS UP EFFORTS TO DEFEND CREDIBILITY - The Bank of Canada has ramped up efforts to defend its credibility amid soaring inflation and pointed criticism from Conservative politicians who say it has lost its independence from the government. Story here.
RODRIGUEZ REVIEWS FILM, TV CRITERIA - Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez is set to review what qualifies as a Canadian film or TV program as part of a move to modernize the country’s broadcast laws. Story here.
FORMER LIBERAL MP SEEKS TO BECOME WINNIPEG MAYOR - For the second time, former Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette is running for the mayor’s office in Winnipeg. Story here from CBC.
$16M COST FOR CYBERATTACK ON NEWFOUNDLAND - A cyberattack on Newfoundland and Labrador last fall, targeting the health-care system, cost the province nearly $16-million, says the Health Minister. “We have had expenditures related to the cyberattack which are just fractionally under $16 million,” Health Minister John Haggie told a legislative committee this week. Story here from CBC.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CHAREST ANNOUNCES HOUSING PLAN - Conservative leadership candidate Jean Charest says he’ll address Canada’s housing affordability crisis by boosting the supply of new homes — essentially the same pitch being offered by his main leadership rival and the Liberal government itself. Story here from CBC.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, May.4, accessible here.
JOLY ON REALITIES OF CANADIAN OFFICIAL VISITING UKRAINE - Given visits to Ukraine by such world leaders as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly was asked Wednesday about the prospect of such a visit by a Canadian representative. She said, " Well, we want to make sure that a security assessment is done, and also, we know that as of today, there were airstrikes in Lviv, also in — in — in Kiev, near Kiev, and it — you know, military operations on both sides are continuing in the eastern part of Ukraine and southern part of Ukraine. So we know that the security situation is evolving and we need to assess it and make sure that we take good decisions.”
THE DECIBEL
On Wednesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Queen’s Park reporter Jeff Gray sets the scene for this month’s Ontario election campaign, discussing the offers of major parties to voters. Election Day is June 2nd. The campaign promises have been coming in thick: $1 per ride transportation from the Ontario Liberals, new highways from the Progressive Conservatives, and hiring more nurses and personal support workers from the NDP, to name a few. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
After private meetings, the Prime Minister attended the Liberal caucus meeting, then met with women’s health care professionals and advocates to highlight World Maternal Mental Health Day and Mental Health Week. He was scheduled to attend Question Period.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet held a media availability on Parliament Hill, and then participated in Question Period.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh attended the NDP national caucus meeting, then held a media availability, and was scheduled to participate in Question Period.
No schedule released for other party leaders.
OPINION - ONTARIO ELECTION
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on how Doug Ford has learned co-operation with Justin Trudeau has benefits as Ontario election campaign begins: “The Doug Ford of today is much easier for Mr. Trudeau to get along with than the Doug Ford of three years ago. Mr. Ford had only served a single term as councillor at Toronto City Hall before winning the PC leadership and the 2018 election on a populist “for the little guy” platform. He was, for all intents and purposes, a stranger to the party he led. At first Mr. Ford performed badly, warring with other levels of government and shedding popular support. But the single most important quality in a politician is the ability to learn.”
Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail) on how buck-a-fare is better than buck-a-beer, but neither makes much sense: “In the abstract, significantly reducing one barrier to public transit use should be a net social good. We know that healthy cities have robust, accessible public transit systems, and reducing the cost for riders – especially at a time when the price of just about everything else has gone up – should theoretically entice greater usage. But Mr. Del Duca’s promise is a temporary one – reduced fares only until 2024 – which may not be enough to change transportation behaviours in a sustainable way.”
OPINION - OTHER SUBJECTS
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on how today’s budgets are a secret even after they’ve been presented: “Once, budgets were conceived of as fairly straightforward exercises in disclosure – of the current state of the nation’s finances, and of the government’s future plans for spending, taxing and borrowing. That has gradually given way to a new idea of their purpose: misdirection and confusion. When no one can even understand what’s in the budget, what need is there to keep it secret?”
Elizabeth Renzetti (The Globe and Mail) on how the looming reversal of Roe v. Wade is unjust - but it should be no surprise: “If you’re surprised by the leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion that seems to indicate that Roe v. Wade is set to be overturned, then you haven’t been paying attention. This is the culmination of a decades-long campaign by conservatives and Christian evangelicals to gut the landmark abortion decision, and take control of women’s bodies. Be horrified. Be angry. But don’t be shocked. The war has been fought in plain sight, in courtrooms and state legislatures across the United States.”
Kasari Govender (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how B.C.’s new anti-racism legislation allows us to turn intersectional data into systemic change: “For decades, racialized communities, scholars and activists have been calling for this kind of legislation. Over the last two years, the public calls for disaggregated-data collection have grown louder. Protests against police brutality, a growing awareness of the ways in which racism impacts health outcomes, including those of COVID-19, and a movement to push back on the mainstream emergence of white nationalism have brought systemic racism into the consciousness of the masses. While data may not be the most glamorous call to action, they may be one of the most fruitful. The new legislation is an important marker of our growth toward a more equal society.”
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Ian Bailey