Hello,
MPs have been meeting in Washington today with their counterparts from Congress on issues of shared concern, particularly China.
The gathering brought together the seven members of the Commons Special Committee on Canada-China Relations with members of the U.S. House committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
A statement from the Canadian committee said both groups of legislators have undertaken parallel work on important issues such as addressing the forced labour and human-rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region, and supporting Taiwan.
“Relations between Canada, the United States and the People’s Republic of China are at an inflection point,” Commons committee chair Ken Hardie, a Liberal MP, said in a statement today.
“By co-ordinating with our U.S. counterparts, we can ensure that the work of our committee is amplified. I hope that this discussion with the U.S. select committee will mark the beginning of an ongoing dialogue between both committees.”
The full list of Commons committee members is here.
The MPs also met with senators and other members of the House of Representatives engaged on issues related to China and Taiwan, and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden plans to meet this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco at this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Forum.
Biden said today that nations must get “on a normal course corresponding” once again even as they have sharp differences on no shortage of issues. “We’re not trying to decouple from China, but what we’re trying to do is change the relationship for the better.”
In Canada, an inquiry into foreign interference from China, Russia and other hostile states recently began. In an interview, China’s ambassador to Canada said Ottawa’s allegations of foreign interference in Canadian elections are hurting economic ties – but he insists his country isn’t punishing Canada.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
Two thousand attend Pierre Poilievre rally on Vancouver Island – The crowd turned up Monday for the event in the city of Duncan, which is part of the Cowichan-Malahat-Langford riding the NDP won in the 2021 election with 42 per cent of the vote compared to 28 per cent for the Tories.
Canadian peace activist Vivian Silver confirmed dead in Israel – In a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, Idit Shamir, Toronto’s Israeli Consul-General, said the 74-year-old activist had been killed by the militant Islamist group Hamas in Kibbutz Be’eri, where she lived. Until now, it had been thought she had been taken hostage into Gaza. Story here.
New Ontario Lieutenant-Governor sworn into office – Edith Dumont is the province’s 30th lieutenant-governor and first francophone to hold the office. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Ontario’s longest-serving lieutenant-governor, has departed the post. Story here.
Ottawa’s opioid crisis – French state-owned TV network France 24 has a report here on the opioid emergency in Ottawa, noting “a national health crisis has landed in Canada’s capital only a few steps away from Parliament.”
Police investigating after 16 Montreal metro stations covered overnight with pro-Palestinian posters – A spokesperson for Montreal’s transit authority says posters with the message “genocide in Palestine, Canada complicit” were affixed in stations across the city and discovered this morning.
Heritage Minister says quick action needed to enact Online Streaming Act – “Things are happening rapidly and time is of the essence,” Pascale St-Onge told The Globe and Mail. “We want to make sure that we still have creators and a system to save.”
Northern cod numbers may have moved out of critical zone, says federal scientist – “We can now say, between 2016 and 2021, cod moved into the cautious zone,” says Paul Regular, who leads the Department of Fisheries and Ocean’s northern cod assessment. Story here.
Residents in Northwest Territories voting today in election delayed by wildfire – The election had been scheduled for Oct. 3, but was delayed because of a wildfire season in which about 70 per cent of the territory’s population faced evacuation orders. Story here.
Russia circumventing Canadian sanctions to buy mine detonators: report – The World Liberty Congress, an alliance of pro-democracy activists from authoritarian countries, is sounding the alarm on the extent to which Russia is assembling new supply chains through Central and South Asian countries to feed its war machine.
THIS AND THAT
Commons and Senate on a break – The House of Commons is on a break until Nov. 20. The Senate sits again on Nov. 21.
Deputy Prime Minister’s day – Chrystia Freeland has private meetings in Toronto, and a housing announcement and media availability with federal Justice Minister Arif Virani and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.
Ministers on the road – Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree and Chief Alice Thompson of Leq’á:mel First Nation, in the Fraser Valley community of Deroche, announced a settlement agreement. Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne participated in Vancouver in an armchair discussion hosted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and later participated in an announcement with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In Toronto, Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, announced $325,000 for programs to shift mindsets on the economic value and investment potential of women’s professional sport and enhance capacity to embed intersectional gender equity into women’s professional sport. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is in San Francisco through Friday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation annual ministerial meeting. International Trade Minister Mary Ng is also attending the APEC ministerial meeting through Wednesday. Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier, in the Quebec municipality of Newport, announced support for the Quebec fishing industry. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay, in the Manitoba hamlet of Glenlea, announced over $9-million in funding for the Canola Council of Canada. Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan, in Windsor, Ont., held a town hall with union members on the recent introduction of legislation to ban replacement workers.
Commons committee highlights – Minh Doan, chief technology officer for the Government of Canada, appeared before the committee on government operations and estimates on the subject of the ArriveCan application.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Justin Trudeau with B.C. Premier David Eby visited Molicel, a clean-technology plant in Maple Ridge, east of Vancouver, accompanied by Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, Citizens Services Minister Terry Beech, and B.C. Economic Development Minister Brenda Bailey. Trudeau and Eby made an announcement and took media questions. Later, Trudeau visited a grocery store, then a local business.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves François Blanchet is in Quebec on a tour of Rimouski and the Gaspé Peninsula from today through Thursday. Stops today include a meeting with the mayor of the parish municipality of Sainte-Flavie and a private meeting with the CEO of Novarium, which supports startups in the blue economy to conserve marine and freshwater environments.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre attended a party fundraising breakfast in Victoria.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, also in Victoria, is doing an question-and-answer event with the University of Victoria Greens.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Toronto, met with the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, and later met with tenant organizers in Pape Village.
THE DECIBEL
On today’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, B.C.-based reporter Justine Hunter talks about efforts by scientists to pull out ice cores as quickly as they can from a glacier called Combatant Col. The cores offer clues about what the region’s climate was like years ago that could provide information on today’s climate challenges. The Decibel is here.
PUBLIC OPINION
Carbon tax pricing shift – Abacus Data says its research on public reaction to the carbon pricing policy shift on home-heating oil has found the net impact of the policy shift has been positive among key groups the Liberals need to engage and win over if they hope to be competitive again. Details here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on who we are and must be, as Canadians: “It is a sad fact that antisemitism exists in Canada, and that those who hate Jews are feeling emboldened to act out their hate as criticism grows over Israel’s actions in Gaza, and civilian casualties mount. Mr. Trudeau (and other Canadians) may wish that were not so, that the bile directed against the Jewish community were somehow foreign to this country. But that hate is, unfortunately, part of Canada – though it must be resisted and rooted out.”
André Picard (The Globe and Mail) on whether Danielle Smith’s overhaul of Alberta health care is restructuring or revenge: “Drawn and quartered was a medieval form of execution in which the victim was hanged, cut into four pieces, and the parts scattered. Last week, Premier Danielle Smith dispatched Alberta Health Services, the quasi-independent agency that oversees the delivery of health care in the province, to the gallows. In its stead will be four chopped-up pieces, responsible for acute care, continuing care, primary care, and mental health and addictions.”
Andrew Steele (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how the Liberal Party cannot return to its era of infighting: “Based on my own network, if a leadership review were to be held today, Mr. Trudeau would win. Some grassroots Liberals may not think he should stay but most believe he’s earned the right to decide if he should step down. And if a week is a lifetime in politics, two years – the next general election is likely to come on Oct. 20, 2025, barring an unexpected event – is an epoch. Liberal campaign guru Keith Davey said that all elections boil down to a single issue, and no one is ever sure at the start what it will be. Whether that issue favours Mr. Trudeau two years out is anyone’s guess.”
Murray Mandryk (Saskatoon StarPhoenix) on how the unpopular carbon tax is an effective distraction for Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe: “Again, the carbon tax has worked as an issue here because it does disproportionally affect Saskatchewan … even if people don’t necessarily view it as their most top-of-mind issue. It’s also highly politically advantageous for the Sask. Party to blame the federal carbon tax as the root of all our problems as a way to distract from other issues, including housing availability, the economy, health care and education, all of which are provincial responsibilities.”
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Ian Bailey