Hello,
On the eve of the federal Conservative policy convention in Quebec City this week, the leader of the federal NDP is sharpening his attacks against the Tory leader.
Although Jagmeet Singh was critical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a speech before an NDP caucus meeting, he focused pointedly on Pierre Poilievre.
The Conservative Leader was in the spotlight Wednesday as Conservatives prepare to gather for the convention, which begins Thursday and runs through to Saturday. Story here.
Mr. Singh, in Ottawa, remarked on Mr. Poilievre living in “a government-funded mansion” namely Stornoway, the official residence of the Leader of the Official Opposition.
And he noted that the veteran Ottawa-area Conservative MP has had government-funded dental care for most of his adult life, but opposes the low-income dental-care program key to the confidence and supply agreement between the NDP and government.
“For Pierre it’s all an act. He pretends to care, but he doesn’t know how regular people live,” Mr. Singh said.
“Pierre Poilievre doesn’t want to help - he just wants power. And he will use that power the same way Conservatives have always used their power - to make the rich richer and to take away every bit of dignity from hard-working Canadians.”
Pollster Nik Nanos, commenting on Mr. Singh’s attack on the Conservative Leader, said that if Canadians think the Conservatives will win the next election – it would be a political calamity for the NDP as progressive voters swing back to the Liberals.
“The NDP could get crushed by strategic voting as progressive vote Liberal to block Poilievre,” the chief data scientist for Nanos Research said in a statement on Wednesday.
Mr. Singh also targeted Mr. Trudeau, saying, in a line that echoed the rhetoric of Mr. Poilievre that, after eight years of Mr. Trudeau ,life is harder with affordable housing out of reach, little overall action on the housing crisis, and affordability issues.
In Quebec City, Mr. Poilievre, at a news conference, chided Mr. Singh for supporting the carbon tax enacted by the government, and the NDP’s general support for government policies as part of what he called a “costly coalition.”.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
Bank of Canada hits pause on rate hikes, leaves door open as inflation worries linger - The Bank of Canada has hit pause on its rate-hike campaign, holding its benchmark interest rate steady at 5 per cent in response to growing evidence that the Canadian economy has begun to stall. Story here. In addition, there are Live Updates here on the Bank of Canada’s interest-rate decision.
New Ontario housing minister pledges open Greenbelt review - Ontario’s new housing minister is promising an open and public review of the province’s Greenbelt and says he is looking at new measures to hold developers accountable for building homes. Story here.
New finance department leadership team announced following Michael Sabia’s departure - The federal government has named a new leadership team at Finance Canada, with veteran public servant Chris Forbes filling the deputy minister post vacated earlier this year when Michael Sabia left Ottawa to head Hydro-Québec. Story here.
Alberta’s ‘war room’ is back with massive ad spending revealed in annual report - New documents outline a massive increase in public funding for the Canadian Energy Centre’s campaign to change attitudes toward Alberta’s oil and gas. Story here.
Indo-Pacific leaders see a partner in Canada, elevating its status within ASEAN-bloc - Some southeast Asian leaders see Canada as an anchor for peace in the Indo-Pacific region, as they launch a new strategic partnership at a time when tensions continue to mount over territorial claims in the South China Sea. Story here. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will open an export development office in Jakarta and has named an Indo-Pacific trade representative to help Canadian businesses enter new markets in the region. Story here.
Trial for Ottawa trucker convoy’s key organizers not about their political views, Crown says - The high-profile trial of two central organizers of the 2022 Ottawa trucker convoy began with a Crown prosecutor arguing the case is not about the political views of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber but about the means they used that “crossed the line” into criminality. Story here.
Scotiabank Giller Prize long list includes Globe journalist Menaka Raman-Wilms, previous nominees - The Scotiabank Giller Prize has released its long list of titles that will compete for Canada’s most prestigious award for fiction. Among the dozen nominated authors is journalist Menaka Raman-Wilms, the host of The Globe and Mail’s daily news podcast, The Decibel. Her first novel, The Rooftop Garden, is a story about a lost childhood friend, rising oceans and a trip to Berlin. Story here.
No new cheques to help Quebeckers with inflation, says Quebec Finance Minister - Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard says the government has done enough to help Quebeckers cope with the rising cost of living, which means Quebeckers should not expect the government to start cutting cheques to tide them through the storm, as happened just before the 2022 general election. Story here from The Montreal Gazette.
Scorecard on past Manitoba elections - As the Manitoba election gets under way, there’s a helpful overview here on Manitoba elections and governments over the past 20 years. There are CBC profiles of Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson here and Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew here.
THIS AND THAT
Summer break – Both the House of Commons and the Senate are on breaks. The House sits again on Sept. 18. The Senate sits again on Sept. 19.
Deputy Prime Minister’s Day - Chrystia Freeland, in the west-end Toronto district of Etobicoke, toured an early learning and child-care facility and delivered remarks on government child-care policy. She was also scheduled to take media questions.
Ministers on the Road - Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, in Hamilton, made an announcement on behalf of Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault regarding the Randle Reef Contaminated Sediment Remediation Project. She was accompanied by Government House Leader Karina Gould.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta for a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, held private meetings. He then held a series of meetings, one after the other, with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. International Trade Minister Mary Ng attended all of the meetings. Mr. Trudeau then participated in the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum Leaders’ Talk, and then attended the ASEAN-Canada Summit. In the evening, Mr. Trudeau attended a dinner given by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet is on a trip to Barcelona for a conference on political self-determination that includes Catalan independence politicians, Scotland and Wales, among other areas. The trip runs through Sept. 11.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a news conference in Quebec City, the site of the policy convention of the Conservative party, and, in the evening was scheduled to attend a fundraising event in the city.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is in Sidney, B.C. in her Saanich-Gulf Islands riding.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Ottawa, attended an NDP caucus retreat and delivered a keynote address to the retreat.
THE DECIBEL
On Wednesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Dr. Deinera Exner-Cortens - an associate professor in the department of psychology at the University of Calgary - talks about being better at a policy level and in schools in helping kids who need more mental-health support. The Decibel is here.
PUBLIC OPINION
Financial struggles impacting mental health, poll finds - Financial struggles brought on by inflation and higher interest rates are damaging the mental health of more than half of Canadians, with many reporting high rates of anxiety over housing and food, according to a poll released Wednesday by Mental Health Research Canada, a charitable organization. Story here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how the Bank of Canada is not an ogre: “If Mr. Ford and Mr. Eby wish to speed the decline in interest rates, they can tend their own (rather overgrown) gardens. British Columbia, for instance, was headed for a $5.7-billion surplus in its last fiscal year, until Mr. Eby embarked on a multibillion-dollar spending spree. That’s part of a broader problem of Ottawa and the provinces, with rare exceptions, making the Bank of Canada’s job harder by running deficits that add to inflationary pressures. Acknowledging this would mean telling Canadian hard truths rather than concocting fairy tales about meanspirited central bankers. If the premiers cannot manage that, then they could at least remain silent and allow Mr. Macklem – evidently the only adult in the room – to get on with his job.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on how, if Canada’s political parties are too hungry for money, let them have less: “Lately there’s been a surge in concern about money in politics. No, not the familiar scourge of Big Money: a handful of well-heeled donors buying influence with hefty political contributions. At the federal level, at least, contributions are strictly limited, while corporate and union donations have been banned since 2004. (The provinces are another story.) The new wave of concern, rather, is over the influence of Small Money: the thousands and thousands of small individual donors on which the parties, thanks to campaign finance reform, now rely.”
Heather Exner-Pirot (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how Canada should develop zeppelin technology for northern resource sector: “The Goodyear blimp. The zeppelin. The Hindenburg. Mention airships, and those icons are the average Canadian’s frame of reference – if they have one at all. But the concept that we thought peaked a century ago is making a comeback, with investors and researchers circling. Airships require very little fuel, can carry heavy payloads, have long ranges, and are able to take off and land vertically, or not land at all. The vast distances, hefty cargo costs and limited infrastructure of Northern Canada are a fantastic setting for airships. A new era for airships is on the horizon.”
Catherine Beaudry (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how Canada can be to electric-vehicle batteries what Switzerland is to watches: “We can take the idea of leasing further and capitalize on Canada’s advantage. If we properly harness and promote this leasing model, we can establish this country not just as a low-level, white-label product or commodity supplier for EV battery manufacturers but a leading brand. What Switzerland is to watches, Canada can be to EV batteries.”
Peter Menzies (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how, with its new focus on the internet, the CRTC has abandoned broadcasting: “Canada’s broadcasting industry has been frozen in time because its regulator is too overwhelmed by its new duties to manage core functions. That reality was brought home in three recent Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announcements – each of which frees up resources and staff to deal with the workload created by the Online Streaming Act. That legislation, known as Bill C-11, amended the Broadcasting Act to give the CRTC authority over the internet and came into law in the spring. But despite reassurances that the Commission was ready for its expanded role, chair Vicky Eatrides has drawn a halt to virtually all its work on the broadcasting side, punting it all into the future. This is likely to present a huge challenge for companies trying to adapt to the rapidly evolving ways in which people choose to be informed, enlightened and entertained.”
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Ian Bailey