Hello,
Canada’s Emergency Preparedness Minister says British Columbia is not the only area of Canada vulnerable to catastrophic earthquakes.
As the federal government released a national disaster risk assessment report Thursday, both the report and Bill Blair warned that parts of Ontario and Quebec are also vulnerable to major quakes.
The report includes the observation that a severe quake in British Columbia could result in $75-billion in losses “and a similarly probable event” in the Quebec City-Montreal-Ottawa corridor could result in $61-billion in losses.
The report also says Montreal and Vancouver - Canada’s two most active port cities - are at high risk of experiencing a large earthquake in the next 25 years.
“Rail lines and highways to these ports as well as the ports themselves are also at risk, and lengthy disruption to these transport corridors could have major economic impacts on the regional economies of Western/Central Canada,” it says.
Mr. Blair referenced earthquakes in Turkey that killed thousands of people earlier this year, and said Canada is not immune to such events. “It’s equally important for us to be prepared in Canada for what is, admittedly, a low-frequency event but which can have enormous effect,” he said.
That means addressing building codes, making sure officials are prepared to respond through search and rescue teams.
Mr. Blair said there are six heavy search and rescue units across Canada. “And we have to make sure that they have the training and equipment they need because if we need them then we’re going to need them very badly.”
The National Risk Profile report, available here, examines disaster risks from earthquakes and wildland fires, with an additional section on other effects such as COVID-19.
During Thursday’s news conference, Mr. Blair noted that the federal government is working closely with Alberta as the province deals with wildfires and that resources from the Canadian Armed Forces are being deployed to the emergency. Story here.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
CONTROVERSY IN QUEBEC OVER REPLACING MOTHER’S DAY - The controversial decision by teachers at a Quebec school to replace Mother’s Day events with a celebration of parents has caused ripples all the way to the provincial legislature, but supporters say such moves can benefit children. Story here.
OPP OFFICER KILLED - One police officer has died and two others are in hospital after they were shot at a home in a village east of Ottawa, Ontario Provincial Police said Thursday. Story here.
NEW MEASURES ANNOUNCED TO DEAL WITH POOR SPORT ORGANIZATION GOVERNANCE - Ottawa is introducing new measures to confront poor governance at Canada’s national sport organizations, including the creation of a compliance office that can penalize them for not meeting targets set out by the government. Story here.
BERNIER APPEARS HEADED FOR BY-ELECTION RUN - People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier appears set to announce his candidacy in a coming by-election for a federal seat in Manitoba formerly held by Candice Bergen, who served as interim Conservative leader last year before stepping down in February. Story here.
CENTRE-ICE CANADIANS CONSIDERING TRANSITION TO FEDERAL PARTY - The advocacy group Centre Ice Canadians, headed by former Conservative leadership candidate Rick Peterson, is thinking about jumping into the electoral arena with a new federal party. Story here from CBC.
DUCLOS WARNED ABOUT PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES - Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos was warned that pharmaceutical companies had steadfastly refused to engage on drug-price reforms before he urged a federal agency to pause those reforms in favour of more consultation, a 2021 memo shows. Story here.
SALARY HIKE COMING FOR QUEBEC LEGISLATORS - The Quebec government has tabled a bill that would see members of the National Assembly receive a $30,000 salary hike. “It’s a catch-up that was due,” Premier François Legault said before question period Thursday. Story here from CBC.
CRTC ACCUSED OF PARROTTING GOVERNMENT TALKING POINTS - The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is being accused of parroting government talking points, after it published a document on its website that rebuts “myths” about the federal government’s new online streaming law. Story here.
TURNER WINS SHAUGHNESSY COHEN PRIZE - Chris Turner has won the $25,000 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing for his book How to Be a Climate Optimist: Blueprints for a Better World. Story here.
BYRNE CALLS FOR MORE ACTION ON FOREIGN INTERFERENCE - Jenni Byrne, the former deputy chief of staff to Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, says the Liberal government isn’t doing enough to combat foreign interference, echoing similar testimony from experts who study the matter. Story here from CTV.
LALI CHANGES PARTIES - Former B.C. New Democrat cabinet minister Harry Lali says he is joining the Opposition BC United, saying his former party no longer champions rural British Columbia. Story here from The Prince George Citizen.
COMMONS ASKS FOR COMMITTEE PROBE INTO CHONG INTIMIDATION - The House of Commons has unanimously asked a parliamentary committee to look into allegations that the Chinese government waged an intimidation campaign against Conservative member of Parliament Michael Chong. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, May 11, accessible here.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER’S DAY - Chrystia Freeland, in Niigata, Japan is attending the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, with an agenda that includes a working dinner hosted by Shunichi Suzuki, who is Japan’s finance minister, as well as Kazuo Ueda, the Bank of Japan governor.
IN OTTAWA - Defence Minister Anita Anand and defence department and armed forces officials updated the media on initiatives to support survivors of sexual misconduct and efforts to deal with the issue. (Story here.) International Trade Minister Mary Ng was scheduled to host a virtual media availability following the visit to Canada of Piyush Goyal, India’s commerce minister. Sports Minister Pascal St-Onge announced new measures on accountability in sport.
Governor-General Mary Simon, in Ottawa, was scheduled on Thursday evening to deliver a keynote address at the Canadian Bar Association’s Aboriginal Law Conference.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Ottawa, held private meetings and hosted a working lunch with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, also attended by Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Defence Minister Anita Anand. Mr. Trudeau was also scheduled to attend the official portrait unveiling ceremony for Senate Speaker George Furey.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet was scheduled to deliver a speech to the Commons on his party’s opposition motion, then take questions from journalists in the Commons foyer.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Ottawa, was scheduled to take media questions in the Commons, then participate in Question Period.
No schedules available for other party leaders.
THE DECIBEL
On Thursday’s edition of The Globe and Mail, Asia correspondent, James Griffiths, explains how the current escalation in tensions between China and Canada are viewed in China. On Tuesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry strongly condemned Canada’s expulsion of Chinese diplomat, Zhao Wei for allegations of foreign interference. In response, China expelled a Canadian diplomat in Shanghai. The Decibel is here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on the Liberals’ eight days in May: “After eight days – or is that 657 days? – the Liberals have finally acted against China’s meddling in Canada’s politics. It took Ottawa a long time to come to the necessary conclusion to expel diplomat Zhao Wei for his role in targeting Conservative MP Michael Chong’s family members in Hong Kong, in order to punish the Canadian politician for opposing Beijing’s oppression of its Uyghur minority. Starting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and moving on from there, the Liberals have tried to sidle past the controversy over China’s interference in two successive federal elections by trying to create uncertainty and doubt about what, if anything, happened. Sure, there’s foreign interference all the time, they have said, from many different directions. Who’s to say what happened? And what about Russia”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on how Justin Trudeau’s government machinery broke down in Chong case: “None of this is a sign that, as some wild-eyed critics allege, Mr. Trudeau and his government are in cahoots with Beijing. A national-security official who provided information to The Globe tried to draw that line clearly in a March article about why they blew the whistle: They didn’t think any elected leader was a traitor; they were frustrated that the government still wasn’t taking serious action to address the threat.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on how Alberta’s own Tea Party movement is a deeply troubling development: “I get there are conservatives in Alberta who may not like the NDP, but holy smokes, can they defend this type of ideology? Who wants to be associated with a party, or a government, being influenced behind the scenes by someone like this? This video has been in wide circulation for a few days now. It almost certainly has been brought to the attention of Ms. Smith. How has she not denounced the absolute vileness of these remarks? In one sense, it partly explains the many bizarre and offensive comments Ms. Smith has made herself. Maybe it has something to do with the company she keeps.”
Dennis Kwok and Sam Goodman (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how business in China just got riskier for Canadians – but this was going to happen anyway: “Newly heightened tensions between China and Canada are but a drop in the vast ocean of deteriorating relations between the East and West. Given all that and the looming prospect of conflict in the Taiwan Strait, many foreign companies are already reviewing future investments in China. They are looking instead for bases of operations, including Canada, as an alternative to China for the production of critical minerals needed for electric cars and the green transition, or moving supply chain operations to Vietnam. The crackdown on foreign companies will accelerate this trend.”
Don Braid (The Calgary Herald) on the veteran activist who says Alberta’s Danielle Smith is not a conservative and should not have been allowed to run the United Conservative Party: Ken Boessenkool says the UCP would have disqualified Danielle Smith long ago if she were only a riding candidate for the party. The poppy comment, equating vaccinated people with Hitler followers, denying child deaths in residential schools — all that and much more should not have passed muster, according to Boessenkool, a longtime conservative activist.In fact, at the very beginning of the UCP leadership race last year, he tried to get Smith kicked out. “I talked to numerous party officials about whether Danielle Smith should be allowed as a candidate, and was rebuffed at every turn,” Boessenkool says. “My argument then was no different than it is now. I think she represents things that are not conservative. She represents things that will ultimately harm the party. Everything we’ve learned about her since has borne that out.”Boessenkool’s views carry weight in conservative circles. A founding partner of Meredith Boessenkool Policy Advisors, he has worked for Preston Manning, Ralph Klein, Stephen Harper, Stockwell Day, Ric McIver and Rajan Sawhney.”
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Ian Bailey