All parties' supporters disapprove of Saudi arms deal: poll

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POLITICS BRIEFING

By Chris Hannay (@channay)

In a new poll, nearly half of respondents – 48 per cent – disapprove of the Liberal government's decision to stick by an arms deal with Saudi Arabia, according to the Angus Reid Institute. Only 19 per cent of those surveyed said the decision was a good one, and 33 per cent said they weren't sure.

The $15-billion deal for light-armoured vehicles that are equipped with weapons and made for combat was done under the previous Conservative government, but the now-governing Liberals have stuck by it. Poll respondents of all partisan stripes were against the deal, though Conservative supporters were more inclined to view the deal as a good thing (27 per cent), compared with Liberal (21 per cent) and NDP (12 per cent) supporters.

The Angus Reid Institute also asked about how those taking the survey viewed the governments of other countries. Saudi Arabia and Iran were "condemned" by 54 and 55 per cent of respondents, respectively, while the governments of Egypt, Turkey, Israel and Lebanon were seen negatively by about a third of respondents. Israel also had the highest score of those who "respected" it, with 29 per cent, followed by Jordan, where both measures were tied at 24 per cent. For Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, about half of respondents weren't sure how they felt.

The Angus Reid Institute conducted the online survey among 1,507 Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum from Feb. 2 to 5.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS MORNING

> Former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler says Canada should reconsiders its $15-billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. "My position as a matter of general principle – that would apply to Saudi Arabia – is that we should not sell arms to a country that engages in a persistent pattern of human-rights violations," he said.

> The Liberal government is planning to pardon men who were imprisoned simply for being gay, which was Canadian law until 1969. The Prime Minister's Office made the decision after being receiving questions from The Globe and Mail's John Ibbitson as he worked on a profile of Everett Klippert, the last man imprisoned for homosexuality. (for subscribers)

> Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with premiers in Vancouver later this week to work on a national climate strategy, though some provincial leaders are voicing concerns about setting a minimum carbon price.

> The 25,000th Syrian refugee has arrived in Canada.

> A strong majority of Canadians support legalization of marijuana, according to a new Nanos poll, which large numbers saying it should be sold in special pot dispensaries or in pharmacies.

> A Saskatchewan MP's private member's bill has some Conservatives worried about reopening the abortion debate, The Hill Times reports. (Sources also tell the newspaper more about misgivings in the Liberal caucus over forcing MPs to vote the party line on upcoming assisted-dying legislation.)

> Meet Dominic Barton, the global corporate fixer that the Prime Minister has tapped to help the government with its economic challenges. (for subscribers)

> And Globe reporter Laura Stone writes about having breakfast with Kevin O'Leary. "I'm an opportunist," Mr. O'Leary said, adding that he wanted to have an impact on Canadian politics in any way he could: "It's not clear to me the path is through Conservative leadership – it may be the Liberal leadership. It's going to end very badly for Justin Trudeau."

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WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT

"And yet in some ways, the most telling indicator to come out of South Carolina['s primary] was not [Hillary Clinton's] strength among black voters, nor her cumulative margin of victory – nor even the notion that she prevailed in a state she lost by 29 points to Mr. Obama eight years ago. It was the fact that in 2016, she captured seven out of 10 of the South Carolina voters who considered themselves moderates, according to network exit polls. These moderate voters will almost certainly be the margin of victory for the winning candidate in the general election, and it was clear even in her victory remarks on Saturday night that Mrs. Clinton is already pointing toward November." – David Shribman (for subscribers).

Konrad Yakabuski (Globe and Mail): "This shared view of the United States as an opportunity society is all but absent from the 2016 presidential race."

Christopher Ragan (Globe and Mail): "Carbon pricing need not lead to higher taxes overall and a larger government; instead, it can be an instrument of a smarter government that collects its revenues in a way more conducive to economic growth."

Chris Selley (National Post): "Failing to advance one's philosophy, and the solutions that derive from it, is an alarmingly basic failure for any movement. For conservatives at [the Manning conference] to suggest they should now simply start doing it overlooks the burning question of why they haven't been doing it for the better part of a decade."

Tim Harper (Toronto Star): "[Kevin O'Leary] is playing to anger that is not there. There isn't the bottled up hostility that Trump has uncorked south of the border. There wasn't even any anger in the room here when he spoke. And that's a good thing for a Conservative party that appears set to make a leadership decision based not on anger or shiny objects, but as part of a fundamental rethink of where it is going."

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