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politics briefing newsletter

Hello,

“Busy day,” U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi muttered as she started a news conference in Washington this morning.

Is it ever.

The Democrats made two major announcements this morning, one that President Donald Trump was looking forward to and one he wasn’t.

The good news was that the renegotiation of the renegotiation of NAFTA may be over, clearing the way for a ratification of the trade deal. The Democrats, who control the House of Representatives, say that labour provisions that most affect Mexico have strengthened to the point that they now support the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement. Canada had been holding off on ratified the deal until the Democrats were on board, so the trade deal may now be clear to be ratified by all parties soon.

The bad news for Mr. Trump was that the Democrats also unveiled articles of impeachment against him. The charges concern both Mr. Trump’s efforts to get the Ukrainian government to investigate a political opponent, and the Trump administration’s work to obstruct the congressional committee investigating him. The House seems sure to vote in favour of impeachment next week, which would make Mr. Trump just the third president in history to have such charges brought against him. (A fourth, Richard Nixon, resigned before he could be impeached.) The matter would move on to the Republican-controlled Senate, where Mr. Trump may face a friendly audience.

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Chris Hannay. 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

One year after Chinese authorities arrested Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, they are moving one step closer to bringing the two Canadian men closer to trial. The move may mean the men may finally have access to lawyers. Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor were arrested in what was widely seen as retaliation by the Chinese government for Canada’s arrest of a Chinese businesswoman.

Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi is in The Hague today defending her country’s military from accusations of genocide against the Rohingya people.

David Mulroney, the former deputy minister responsible for Afghanistan Task Force, says a review of the Canadian military’s actions in Afghanistan is “overdue.” His comments come after a bombshell Washington Post report that showed the extent to which senior members of the U.S. military themselves think there were serious errors made in the international mission.

The Liberal government have made their first policy move in the new Parliament, tabling a ways-and-means motion to enact their promised change to the lowest income tax bracket.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Alberta Premier Jason Kenney this afternoon. Mr. Kenney has a host of things, from the fiscal stabilization fund to environmental assessments, that he would like to see the federal Liberals change. Yesterday, Mr. Kenney said he was disappointed to hear comments from the federal Environment Minister that liquefied natural gas exports may not count towards emission reduction targets.

The federal privacy commissioner says privacy should be enshrined as a human right.

Canada’s new ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, is being drawn into a legal battle in Texas because of his former role at the global consulting firm McKinsey and Co.

Some of Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s defenders are starting to set up their own groups to counter the anti-Scheer organizers.

As a possible royal succession looms, the federal government has once again appointed a secretary to the Queen.

And former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne has had her portrait unveiled at Queen’s Park. “It’s really important to me that young girls see themselves reflected,” said Ms. Wynne, the province’s first female premier.

John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on Alberta, Ottawa and the Trans Mountain pipeline: “What matters is what happens in May, when the weather warms and the protesters come out. If Ottawa throws its hands in the air and goes on about social licence, then expect Albertan anger to explode. But if the federal government acts firmly to protect the construction schedule by arresting and dispersing protesters, that will prove that Mr. Trudeau meant what he said when he promised ‘the pipeline will get built.’”

Rob Breakenridge (Calgary Herald) on Alberta’s economy: “According to Statistics Canada, 18,000 jobs were lost in Alberta last month. It’s safe to say — depending on how loosely we’re defining this term, I suppose — that a “fair deal” with Ottawa would not have saved a single one of them.”

Steve Ambler and Jeremy Kronick (The Globe and Mail) on what the Bank of Canada is watching in the economy: “This combination of more rapid wage growth and slow productivity growth indicates that nominal wage increases have less to do with rewarding workers for being more productive, and more to do with labour-market tightness. High productivity tends to result in lower prices as it becomes more efficient for businesses to produce goods or supply services. Therefore, if productivity has been weak, this wage growth is more likely to feed through to increases in headline inflation.”

Bob Rae (The Globe and Mail) on Canada-China relations and the rule of law: “It is clear that what is being challenged is the architecture of international law that has steadily evolved over the centuries, which China and Myanmar see as an expression of Western imperialism. We need to understand the deep significance of the shift in the balance of power from Europe and America to Asia more broadly and to China in particular. Canada faces two imperatives – the need to maintain our deep commitment to human rights, the rule of law and our own freedom to speak the truth, and at the same time to practise a diplomacy that engages with adversaries and attempts to find solutions to intractable conflicts.”

Guy Saint-Jacques (Vancouver Sun) on the anniversary of the two Canadians’ arrest: “While Canada is not the first country to be on the receiving end of China’s displeasure and bullying tactics, this is the first time that a targeted country has rallied support from allies. I believe this has taken China by surprise as the reaction affects its image abroad.”

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