Premier Rachel Notley unveils Alberta's climate strategy in Edmonton on Nov. 22, 2015.AMBER BRACKEN/The Canadian Press
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POLITICS NOTEBOOK
By Jane Taber (@JaneTaber1)
Meetings between the Prime Minister and the premiers can be really messy. In 2004, for example, then Prime Minister Paul Martin had the premiers over to 24 Sussex Drive, in what has been described as a "frat party." Pizza Pizza delivered 16 pizzas at 2 a.m. as premiers stayed up all night to hammer out a 10-year health accord. Danny Williams, then premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, called it a "farce."
Perhaps that's what soured Stephen Harper on first ministers' meetings - that, and the fact that the prime minister is always out-numbered. It's him against 10 premiers and 3 territorial leaders.
Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, doesn't seem worried about being ganged-up on. One of his campaign promises was to bring in a new era of federal-provincial relations. And that new era begins Monday as he sits down with the premiers at the Canadian Museum of Nature to talk about resettling 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year. Climate change is also a focus, and on that subject premiers will have a lot to talk about, especially after Alberta's Rachel Notley released a wide-ranging strategy Sunday. Ms. Notley's plan was immediately embraced by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, who issued a statement congratulating the Alberta government for taking a leadership role, which she says will help further the conversation on pipelines and hydro transmission.
"It will help Canada build a low-carbon economy and harness the economic benefit that comes with it," Ms. Wynne also wrote.
Monday's meeting is in advance of the United Nations climate change conference in Paris that the Prime Minister and most of the premiers will be attending.
Expect Saskatchewan's Brad Wall to be the curmudgeon. He has expressed concern that the other premiers are ignoring the value of the oil sands to Canada's economy, and he has called on Mr. Trudeau to delay bringing in the refugees, fearing security checks will be compromised to meet the political deadline.
Premiers will also attend a private dinner with the Prime Minister; a press conference with reporters is scheduled later in the evening.
How much, or exactly what will be achieved is not clear, but, no matter, this meeting is already considered a victory for federal-provincial relations. Merely sitting down together in one place for a few hours is a win. Mr. Trudeau has vowed this will not be the last, and he will meet with the premiers on a regular basis.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS MORNING
By Chris Hannay (@channay)
> For the first time since January, 2009, the Prime Minister and premiers are convening a first ministers' conference. The meeting comes ahead of a trip the group is making to the Paris climate talks, but provincial leaders say they are wary of the federal government imposing a plan on them.
> Alberta Premier Rachel Notley unveiled the NDP's long-awaited climate policy, which will see a revenue-neutral carbon tax, cap on emissions and a phaseout of coal power.
> The top diplomat for northern Iraq's Kurds says he'd like Canada to continue its air strikes against the Islamic State, but if they must stop, Ottawa should step up with other forms of aid.
> Justin Trudeau's refugee plan, to be unveiled Tuesday, will limit those coming into Canada to women, children and families only, CBC News is reporting.
> The former Harper government made dozens of appointments and early renewals before the election.
> Conservative MPs say it's the beginning of an "entirely new era" for the party.
> And with the Liberal government set to begin the process of a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women next year, The Globe looks at why indigenous women have been more frequent targets of serial killers.
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WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT
"The 25,000 refugees that Canada has agreed to take before the end of the year will not be the last. If British Columbia wants to, it can develop the capacity to share its prosperity with more newcomers across the province. It will require Ottawa and Victoria working together to develop an integrated plan – something that is entirely possible, even if it doesn't happen overnight." – Justine Hunter (for subscribers) on resettlement in B.C.
Paul Heinbecker (Globe and Mail): "We should not let terrorists, however depraved, provoke us into changing our policies on the fly."
Christine Van Geyn (Globe and Mail): "The [Ontario] budget might better be described as fiscal fantasy."
Jen Gerson (National Post): "If Drever is demonstrating one thing, it's that people from unexpected backgrounds have something to bring to the table, too. The machinery of government isn't always best left to lawyers and time-serving partisan volunteers."
Stephen Ewart (Calgary Herald): "It's still going to be a tough sell, but after being stymied by environmental and political opponents at every turn and battered by the historic plunge in oil prices over the past 18 months, the tough new climate rules proposed by Notley's NDP might be the best hope for Canada's oil and gas industry."
Dan Leger (Halifax Chronicle Herald): "Whatever the mission, Canada should fight because it's the right thing to do, not for any other reason."
This newsletter is produced by Chris Hannay and Steve Proceviat.
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