BREAKING: HORGAN DISCLOSES CANCER DIAGNOSIS - In a statement today, B.C. Premier John Horgan says he has cancer. Mr. Horgan, who underwent a biopsy last week, said in the statement that a growth in his throat has been determined to be cancerous. “My prognosis is good and I expect to make a full recovery. In the next couple of weeks I will need to start radiation treatment, which will conclude toward the end of December,” said Mr. Horgan, British Columbia’s NDP premier since 2017. “During that time, I will continue to participate virtually in briefings, cabinet meetings and other important meetings like the Council of the Federation. For in-person events, Minister Mike Farnworth and other cabinet ministers may attend in my place.”
Hello,
Air Canada’s president and chief executive officer is vowing to learn French after a faux pas that has drawn the ire of provincial and federal politicians.
Michael Rousseau delivered a major speech in English to the Montreal Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, then said, in response to a question by a journalist from Quebec news channel LCN, that he has never learned French despite living in Quebec’s largest city for 14 years.
“I apologize to those who were offended by my remarks,” Mr. Rousseau said in a statement today.
“I pledge today to improve my French, an official language of Canada and the common language of Québec, while tackling the serious commercial challenges facing Air Canada as we move from surviving the pandemic to rebuilding to normalcy.”
Today, the Official Languages critic for the Bloc Québécois linked the situation to ongoing complaints over decades about Air Canada’s inability to provide adequate services in French.
“We ask the government to use its position as a shareholder of Air Canada to demand the resignation of Mr. Rousseau,” Mario Beaulieu said in a statement.
Mr. Beaulieu also said Ottawa should allow Quebec to apply its French-language charter, adopted in 1977, to federal undertakings. An upgrade of the charter is part of ongoing language-policy reform in Quebec.
Pablo Rodriguez, the federal Heritage Minister, said in a tweet that the situation was “unacceptable.”
The Montreal MP noted that “Air Canada owes explanations to Quebecers and Francophones across the country. This is a lack of respect for our language.”
Ginette Petitpas Taylor, the federal Official Languages Minister, also tweeted about the situation, linking to an article in Le Journal de Montréal that noted that Mr. Rousseau’s predecessor “spoke impeccable French.”
“Air Canada offers an important service to Canadians. It must do so in both official languages – and its leaders must be an example,” said Ms. Petitpas Taylor.
In today’s statement, Mr. Rousseau said he reiterated Air Canada’s commitment to show respect for French, adding, “as a leader, I will set the tone.”
Nicolas Van Praet reports here on Mr. Rousseau’s speech on Wednesday.
This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Ian Bailey. 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
ANAND ANNOUNCES REFORM - Defence Minister Anita Anand has accepted a recommendation from retired Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour to transfer all criminal cases involving allegations of sexual misconduct in the military to civilian authorities. There’s a continuing list here of which top Canadian military officers are accused of sexual misconduct.
NO VACCINE MANDATES - Quebec and Ontario will not be mandating health care workers to be vaccinated, with both provinces citing significant concerns about staffing levels. Story here.
DISCRIMINATION SURVEY - A significant proportion of the Canadian population experiences discrimination at least occasionally because of their race or ethnic background and has witnessed other people encounter similar treatment, according to a new survey. Story here.
MANITOBA PREMIER RESPONDS TO RIVAL - Manitoba’s new premier, Heather Stefanson, says she’s disappointed her rival in the leadership for the province’s governing Progressive Conservatives is challenging the validity of the vote, but is turning her attention to managing COVID-19 in a province that became a deadly hot spot for infections earlier in the pandemic.
CONSERVATIVE CHALLENGES - Global News reports here that the federal Conservative caucus is in “wait and see” mode for leader Erin O’Toole’s next moves to maintain his hold over the party, while CBC reports here that a few Conservative MPs remain unvaccinated as the reopening of Parliament looms.
JEAN PLANS RETURN - Brian Jean, defeated by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney in a bid to lead the United Conservative Party, wants to return to elected politics and is seeking the UCP nomination in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche. He explains why here to The Calgary Sun.
THIS AND THAT
JOLY MEETS VIRTUALLY WITH U.S. COUNTERPART - Melanie Joly, the new Foreign Affairs Minister, has had her first official discussion with her U.S. counterpart. A spokesperson for U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a succinct readout of their conversation this week, accessible here. Ms. Joly’s team had much more to say here, setting the stage for her approach to the U.S. files associated with her new cabinet post.
CANADIANS AT COP26 - The list of Canadians who are registered participants of COP26 is available here (scroll down to the entry for Canada).
CHIEFS OF STAFF LEAVING - The Hill Times newspaper reports that six chiefs of staff for federal ministers are set to leave, creating a massive change in the new Liberal government. Story here.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
In Toronto, the Prime Minister attends a memorial service to celebrate the life of former Ontario Premier William G. Davis. In Brampton, Ont., the Prime Minister visits a local Indian restaurant on the occasion of Diwali.
LEADERS
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is in Glasgow, Scotland, for the COP26 conference. No schedules released for other party leaders.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how the Canadian Dairy Commission has picked a terrible time to milk consumers: “And now, in a period of uncertainty and rising prices, Canadians are being told the cost of a litre of milk will rise dramatically next year, so that dairy farmers can be kept whole while everyone else just has to make do. Canadians have largely supported supply management and dairy farmers in the past; there is no widespread call to open up the dairy market to foreign producers, and there isn’t a viable political party that would dare propose doing so. At least, not yet. Choosing this particular moment to jack the price of milk could change a lot of people’s minds.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on how new research sheds some light on who would refuse the COVID-19 vaccine: “Many public-sector and private employers set the end of October as the deadline for workers to prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, on pain of dismissal. It appears that nine-in-10 or better have complied. The remainder, research suggests, have such a heightened sense of self-importance, and such a diminished capacity for empathy, that they are willing to become pariahs.”
Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on the diminished Quebec Liberal Party fighting to survive: “Dominique Anglade has the most thankless job in Quebec politics. Acclaimed Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party 18 months ago, after the only other candidate in the race dropped out, Ms. Anglade made history as the first Black woman to lead the province’s oldest political party – one that had, since 1867, been led by a succession of white men. Liberals had good reason to believe she might be able to give Coalition Avenir Québec Premier François Legault a run for his money. She possessed an impressive resume, with degrees in engineering and business, and a solid track record as a former minister of economic development in the Liberal government of premier Philippe Couillard. She had proved a strong debater, articulate and poised, with an ability to talk circles around Mr. Legault.”
Kathryn May (Policy Options) on what we are losing with the elimination of our digital government minister: “Joyce Murray, Canada’s fourth digital government minister, was shuffled to Fisheries and Oceans with no one appointed to replace her. Her job appears to have been carved up between Treasury Board President Mona Fortier and Public Services and Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi. The loss of digital cabinet clout is being criticized as a significant setback. It takes away much-needed political leadership, a single voice at the cabinet table and a focus to navigate a responsibility that is already fractured among too many players.“ We’re now living in a world where every policy issue is a digital issue,” said Ryan Androsoff, director of digital leadership programs at the Institute in Governance. “Government can have the greatest policy ideas in the world, but if they can’t execute on them, it gets them nowhere,” he said.”
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Ian Bailey