Hello,
After a tempestuous week that saw, among other things, the election of a new Speaker, the House of Commons will be on a break next week.
Friday marked the last day for MPs and senators before a week-long break from Parliament.
However, expect to see federal politicians make headlines in locations across Canada as MPs return to their constituencies, ministers make spending announcements and party leaders head out on the road.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to be travelling within Canada next week, with details to be announced in the days ahead.
Meanwhile Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will be heading to British Columbia late in the week for rallies in the town of Oliver and downtown Vancouver, plus a fundraising event in Vancouver.
And, at the end of the week, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh will be in Hamilton for a party convention, described as the largest gathering of New Democrats in three years.
Meanwhile, this newsletter will be taking Thanksgiving Monday off, but will be back on Tuesday. See you then.
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 sign-up page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.
TODAY'S HEADLINES
Canada’s jobs growth higher than expected; unemployment rate at 5.5% – Canada’s jobs growth more than tripled expectations while wages continued to soar, data showed on Friday, upping the chances for another Bank of Canada rate hike. Story here.
Ottawa looks at limiting number of Airbnbs to free up rentals – The federal government is planning limits to Airbnbs to free up more rental units as part of a broader political strategy to counter Mr. Poilievre’s campaign to win over Canadians who are upset about the rising cost of living, federal officials say. Story here.
Opposition to press for public hearings on federal outsourcing after CBSA allegations – Opposition MPs say they will push to hold new public hearings on federal outsourcing after The Globe and Mail reported both the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency have launched investigations into allegations of misconduct. Story here.
Contents of USB stick found at condo of former RCMP civilian shown in court – Jurors at the trial of a former RCMP civilian, who allegedly leaked classified information to targets of international criminal investigations, have been shown a series of secret documents located on a specialized USB stick found at his condo after his arrest. Story here.
Liberal MP votes again against carbon tax, says Guilbeault is wrong messenger for policy – A Liberal member of Parliament has broken ranks with the government on its carbon tax for the second time, saying federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is the wrong person to sell the party’s environmental messaging in Atlantic Canada. Story here from CBC.
Supreme Court of Canada rules pre-trial publication bans are automatic – Publication bans like the one that blocked the news media from reporting on more than a year of pre-trial hearings in the cyberbullying case of Aydin Coban, until a jury retired to consider its verdict, are automatic and judges must impose them, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Friday. Story here.
B.C. rolls back drug decriminalization policy – British Columbia, facing pushback from municipalities that expressed concern over public drug use, has announced major changes to its drug decriminalization policy. Story here.
Freeland hires veteran Liberal insider as new chief of staff – Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has hired a top adviser to former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne and a long-time Liberal Party insider as her new staff of chief. Story here.
Liberal MP apologizes for comparing Conservatives to Nazi leader – A Liberal MP apologized Thursday after comparing Conservative MPs’ attacks in Question Period to the work of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. Story here from the National Post.
Grocery chains will freeze some prices under federal plan to fight rising food costs: minister – The federal government is promising to closely scrutinize the grocery market and bring more transparency to pricing, announcing Thursday that grocery chains have promised discounts and price-matching as part of a plan to “stabilize” grocery prices. Story here.
Checking in on Ken Sim – A year into his tenure as mayor, Vancouver magazine profiles Ken Sim, looking at how he is faring after winning power on a platform that included reducing waste, making streets safer and bringing Vancouver’s “swagger” back. Story here.
B.C. politician copes with memory loss after accident – Ellis Ross, a member of the B.C. legislature, is dealing with memory loss incurred in a biking accident that has, among other issues, left him thinking every day is Friday. “I just wake up and say wow Friday, man, what are we going to do this weekend? No, it’s Monday,” he said. Story here from Northern Beat.
Blow-up at Quebec legislature – A member of the Quebec National Assembly who inflated and deflated a balloon during Question Period to illustrate the fortunes of the governing Coalition Avenir Québec is under fire. Story here from CTV.
THIS AND THAT
Today in the Commons – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, Oct. 6, accessible here.
Deputy Prime Minister’s day – Private meetings in Toronto.
Ministers on the road – In the Quebec City of Thetford Mines, Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada, with Quebec Economy Minister Christopher Skeete, made an announcement on the fertilizer business KSM Inc. Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez, in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, announced the signing of two agreements to launch the first calls for a tender of the Lac-Mégantic rail bypass project
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Ottawa, met with Marcus Wallenberg, the chair of Wallenberg Investments AB, which owns companies including Ericsson and AstraZeneca. Later in Southwestern Ontario, Mr. Trudeau attended a local community festival and visited a local grocery store.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet is in Europe, on a work trip to Paris, Edinburgh and Belfast through Oct. 11. On Friday, in Edinburgh, Blanchet visited the Scottish parliament.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is participating in the Commons virtually from her Vancouver Island riding. May is unable to fly pending an MRI after recently having a stroke.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Montreal, held a news conference on grocery prices in Mr. Trudeau’s riding, and was scheduled to attend the joint nomination meeting for Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie and Laurier-Sainte-Marie.
THE DECIBEL
On Friday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Barry Hertz – The Globe’s deputy Arts editor – speaks about the recent success of PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie and how a Canadian toy company struck gold with this kids franchise. The Decibel is here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how, when it comes food price inflation in Canada, grocery stores aren’t the only issue: “The Liberals are not the only politicians to pose as defiant watchdogs of the grocery industry. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh loudly accuses the chains of “greedflation,” in spite of evidence to the contrary. But while high corporate concentration in grocery retail bears government scrutiny, the current focus on it overlooks a more complex truth – that there is high corporate concentration in almost every part of Canada’s agri-food economy.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on how the government dug a deep hole for itself with Bills C-11 and C-18 and it’s only digging deeper: “So let’s just review the bidding. Bill C-18, the Online News Act, is not even in effect yet, and already it has prompted Facebook to stop linking to Canadian news articles; Google looks certain to follow. The government had hoped to force the platforms to pay the Canadian news media for linking to their content or, in the shamelessly Orwellian language of the publishers’ lobby, “stealing” it: as if sending millions of readers our way every day, for free, was somehow a form of theft. Instead they have complied with the law by ceasing to link to us – rather than, as the government evidently intended, to go on providing us with free advertising but to pay us a fee for doing so.”
Jana G. Pruden (The Globe and Mail) on why we must talk openly about domestic violence without shame and stigma: “Working on stories of domestic homicide and intimate partner violence has changed my own life in many ways. It has made me so watchful, so aware of red flags, of signs of danger. I’ve seen how domestic violence can affect every kind of family, every kind of person. Rural women and Indigenous women are at even greater risk. I’ve also seen how complex domestic violence is – that sticky cycle. I’ve seen how helpless families and friends feel, how much shame and stigma there still is to have this happening in your life, in your family, and how powerless people feel to stop it. I’ve felt this myself. There are times I’ve asked, “Are you afraid of him?” Times I’ve said: “I worry one day he will kill you.” It’s personal for me. But it’s personal for you, too. Even if you don’t know it.”
Marc Garneau (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how Canada is a latecomer to the Indo-Pacific – and we need to prove we’re serious players: “Canada’s relationships with other countries are driven by various priorities, including the shared challenge of climate change, the need for collective security, and, yes, trade. After all, as a trading nation, our prosperity depends on our ability to sell our goods to the rest of the world. Historically, Canada has done so by focusing on our neighbour to the south and countries across the Atlantic. And while Canada moved assertively in the 1990s to be part of the rapidly growing Asia Pacific economic community, that effort fell away in the decade that followed. Now, we find ourselves playing catch-up in the Indo-Pacific, the most dynamic economic region in the world – and to put it bluntly, we are late coming to the table. We must now double down in our efforts to build lasting partnerships with governments and businesses that will create new markets for our goods and services.”
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Ian Bailey