Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown says he ‘categorically' denies ‘troubling allegations’ about his conduct.Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press
Good morning,
#MeToo may have finally, truly, arrived for Canada politicians.
Two provincial party leaders – Patrick Brown of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives and Jamie Baillie of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservatives – resigned or were forced out of their jobs yesterday over allegations of sexual harassment.
The allegations against Mr. Brown (first reported by CTV) were made by a former staffer and another woman who says she was in high school at the time of the incident. Mr. Brown denied the stories in an emotional press conference last night, but with his senior staff quitting around him and the entire PC caucus urging him to go, he resigned overnight. Mr. Brown had been leading in the polls before then and the PC party must find a new leader in time for the Ontario election this summer.
In the case of Mr. Baillie, an independent investigator hired by the Nova Scotia Tories found that he breached workplace harassment rules.
These may be the first Canadian party leaders brought down by sexual harassment, but it's hard to believe they will be the last. The RCMP say a second doctor who worked with them in Toronto is facing a flood of sexual-assault complaints, after the Globe revealed the case of a Nova Scotia doctor earlier this week. The selection committee trying to find the next top Mountie says they are taking into account how that person would deal with sexual-harassment complaints.
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on the #MeToo movement and conservatism: "Rightly or wrongly, conservatives in Canada and elsewhere are tagged with accusations that they diminish women's rights, that they would bring back laws against abortion, that they drag their heels when confronted with demands for full equality. Unless conservatism can respond to the challenge of defending the rights of women and minorities in our time, this tidal wave of change will sweep the movement out to sea."
Adam Radwanski (The Globe and Mail) on Patrick Brown: "It's anyone's guess how many of the people Mr. Brown brought into the tent will now choose to exit it. So with a couple of months at most to prepare for the election and introduce himself or herself to Ontarians, his successor will either have to start virtually from scratch, or work with an apparatus custom-built for a leader last seen literally fleeing the building."
Robyn Urback (CBC) on Patrick Brown: "Brown has always been the wrong guy to finally get the PCs their victory: he's a bit too awkward, far too enigmatic and he's never really given the impression that he will govern by conviction, instead of convenience. Say what you will about Wynne, she appears to genuinely believe in the things she's doing. Brown rarely gave off the same sort of impression."
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CANADIAN HEADLINES
The federal government says it has hit "the pause button" on allowing arms to be exported to Saudi Arabia, following concerns that Canadian-made armoured vehicles were being deployed against Saudi citizens.
NAFTA talks continue in Montreal and the three countries remain stuck in gridlock. Canadian negotiators are proposing new ideas to help break the stalemate including a series of "periodic reviews" to assess the free-trade agreement as an alternative to the U.S. demand for a "sunset clause."
Parents of children whose names are similar to those on the "no-fly list" are asking the Prime Minister to create a redress system.
The federal government is handing out $1.4-million to researchers across the country to study the impact of marijuana legalization.
Investigators believe that an alleged cyberattack started in North Korea, was routed through Russia and ultimately tried to penetrate Metrolinx, the Ontario transit provider. The allegations may open up a "frightening new chapter" in cybersecurity that includes state-sponsored attacks on public infrastructure.
When Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall retires, he'll leave behind a province that is in far better economic shape then when he took power a more than a decade ago. But he's also watched as the province's relationship with neighbouring Alberta — once a key partner in pushing a Western Canadian agenda— has become more strained than ever. Mr. Wall, who has publicly feuded with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley on everything from pipelines to licence plates — acknowledges the West is now "less united."
British Columbia taxpayers just deposited $2.4-million into the bank accounts of the province's three main political parties — the first instalment of a subsidy designed to wean them off corporate and union donations. The governing New Democrats and BC Liberals each received nearly $1-million, a contrast from traditional donations in which the Liberals significantly outraised the NDP. The third-place Greens got $415,000.
B.C.'s top medical official is retiring after a career that saw him pioneer aggressive — and at times controversial — approaches to the opioid crisis, which are now being replicated across the country. Dr. Perry Kendall, who was appointed in 1999, helped usher in North America's first supervised drug-use site, Insite, in 2005. He declared the opioid crisis a public-health emergency two years ago and has expanded supervised drug use while pushing for prescription opioids and other innovative treatments.
A former BC Liberal cabinet minister has launched a grenade into the party's leadership race, blaming former finance finance minister and current leadership candidate Mike de Jong for the party's defeat last year. Bill Bennett, who was once in cabinet with Mr. De Jong, says he doesn't trust him.
And Chatelaine has worked with some designers to suggest what kind of socks Justin Trudeau should wear in 2018.
Barrie McKenna (The Globe and Mail) on Canada Post: "The federal government has saddled the incoming CEO with a seemingly impossible task after ducking the post office's main predicament – reconciling financial self-sufficiency with a vanishing core business."
Globe and Mail Editorial Board on tax cuts: "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a speech in Davos on Tuesday that has largely been interpreted as a signal that his government will not lower the federal corporate income tax rate or cut environmental regulations to keep pace with similar moves in the United States. If that proved true, it would not be a credible position for the government to take. As it is, it's a bad message to send."
Sylvain Charlebois (The Globe and Mail) on the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership: "For Canada, this is a significant gain on the world stage. If the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was an opportunity for Canada to become a trading platform between two continents, CPTPP is a clear statement that Canada wants to become a relevant player worldwide. This can only make our agrifood sector much stronger. Our grain and livestock industries will now have the chance to make a dent in many Asian markets. But for our supply-managed sectors, which believe that serving Canada's population of 36 million is enough, signing CPTPP represents a new challenge."
Ian McGugan (Report on Business Magazine) on cutting the small-business tax rate: "This is a bad idea. It's founded on the notion — energetically advanced by the small-business lobby — that entrepreneurs deserve to pay less tax than others because of their economic importance. But their case for special treatment is riddled with errors. It deserves to be challenged."
Denise Balkissoon (The Globe and Mail) on the Quebec mosque shooting: "The nation was shocked, for a minute. Politicians pontificated about standing up to hate. Then, slowly, most of us backed away. The Quebec City community is still reeling, but Canada has moved on. No politicians visited Aymen Derbali in all of 2017. The 41-year-old father of three was paralyzed after purposely getting shot in order to save others. The Muslim non-profit Dawanet has raised almost $300,000 to help make his home accessible, but as of now, he's still in rehab. Mr. Derbali is a hero. It's hard to believe that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard couldn't just pick up the phone and call."
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INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES
What happened to Poland? The Globe's Paul Waldie reports from Warsaw that Poles have drifted from a once-progressive corner into populist authoritarianism. The far-right party is tightening its grip and risking a suspension from the European Union over its anti-democratic policies. We explore how the sentiment shifted and why some in the country want to go even further.
"Trump's raising of tariffs this time, to me, is like a Chinese saying: 'Kill a thousand enemies at the cost of 800 of your own soldiers,'" is how an international trade specialist described the United States' decision to slap a new tariff on solar panels and washing machines originating in China. The Chinese government decided to respond to the U.S. by doing nothing. The decision, The Globe's Asia Correspondent Nathan VanderKlippe writes, is part of a more complicated reality on the trade file for China.
"I'm looking forward to it, actually. I would do it under oath." U.S. President Donald Trump says he is willing to be interviewed under oath by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. His lawyers say that "he's ready to meet with" Mr. Mueller's team but said that the president was speaking hurriedly while conducting an unplanned press gaggle of sorts with reporters.
The White House slapped a new set of sanctions against North Korea, targeting its business interests in China and Russia.
An appeals court unanimously upheld a conviction against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the former president of Brazil. The decision puts any thoughts of another presidential run in doubt. Lula, as he is commonly known, was the country's first leader to emerge from the working class. He is set to serve 12 years in prison on corruption charges.
Pope Francis condemned fake news and its use for political gain. "Fake news is a sign of intolerant and hypersensitive attitudes, and leads only to the spread of arrogance and hatred. That is the end result of untruth," the pontiff said in a new document, the first issued on the subject by a pope.
And Britain has appointed its first minister for loneliness. The position, meant to address a problem that acutely affects older Britons, was created in honour of the late MP Jo Cox, who was murdered in 2016.
Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on Stephen Miller as Steve Bannon: "It is Mr. Miller who embodies the seething hard-right resentment toward illegal immigrants that propelled Mr. Trump's campaign. He was the main author of Mr. Trump's ugly inaugural address, which vowed to end the 'American carnage' of 'rusted-out factories' and 'the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives.' He was also the architect of Mr. Trump's travel ban from majority-Muslim countries, which faces a U.S. Supreme Court challenge." (for subscribers)
Nina Khruscheva (The Globe and Mail) on Trump and Davos: "For the global business, financial and political leaders who gather in Davos every January, the news that Mr. Trump would be joining them this year must have come as a shock, to say the least. Much of the global elite, exemplified by the Davos crowd, feel deep contempt for Mr. Trump – and their disdain has likely been deepened by his recent racist rants about 'shithole countries.' Yet the conference will undoubtedly have its share of obsequious displays designed to appeal to Mr. Trump's vanity, with participants by turns fawning over him and propping him up as he clumsily attempts to defend the indefensible, starting with his 'America First' approach."
David Parkinson (The Globe and Mail) on currencies and trade: "The United States may have just unpacked a new weapon in its protectionist trade war: its own currency. The U.S. dollar slid to three-year lows against a basket of leading global currencies on Wednesday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told a news conference at the annual gathering of global economic heavyweights in Davos, Switzerland, that 'obviously, a weaker dollar is good for us as it relates to trade and opportunities.' While there is certainly some truth to his assertion, it's nevertheless a shock to hear it from the mouth of such a high-ranking official. It's been more than two decades since the U.S. government has expressly supported a weak dollar. Unless he was talking totally out of school – which itself would be an unnerving faux pas – this could represent a tectonic policy shift." (for subscribers)
Chris Hannay