Hello,
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she is looking forward to working with the federal government on dealing with climate change.
Ms. Smith made the commitment Friday as she unveiled a post-election cabinet in Edmonton, naming 25 members. Story here. There is a full list of ministers here.
She was also asked in an interview this week - story here - whether she believes in human-caused climate change.
Ms. Smith said she does. “We have to reduce emissions. That is one of the commitments we have made as a government, and that is one of the commitments I have made to the Prime Minister, that we will work with him on getting to carbon neutrality by 2050.”
But she said she is concerned that the Prime Minister wants to move much faster on two initiatives that would not allow us to achieve our goal and would, she said, “hamstring our economy” and devastate the lives and livelihoods of Alberta family.
Ms. Smith has been opposed to both the federal government’s plan to force provinces to slash emissions from their electricity grids, starting in 2035 and an emissions cap for the oil and gas sector that is to take effect in 2030.
“I will work collaboratively with the federal government on the objective they have set, and I have put out a hand of goodwill to ask him to work with us on that, and I am hoping that happens.”
Earlier this week, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault told journalists on Parliament Hill that, once an Alberta cabinet was named, he would reach out for talks on climate-change policy “as we have done despite what the public perception might be.”
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
SECRET CANADA - Freedom-of-information (FOI) laws are supposed to let Canadians see how governments and public servants work. Yet at every turn, the process gives institutions incentives to keep records hidden. For the past 20 months, The Globe and Mail has been investigating how and why the system has come apart, as part of a project called Secret Canada. Initial story here. Also, Globe editor-in-chief David Walmsley writes about the project here.
LEOPARD TANKS FROM CANADA DEPLOYED TO UKRAINE - Leopard battle tanks donated by Canada and other Western countries are now in action in southern Ukraine, a top security official said on Friday, as evidence mounted that a long-anticipated counteroffensive to liberate Russian-occupied territories has begun. Story here.
NEW NAME FOR KEY OTTAWA ROADWAY - The National Capital Commission’s board of directors will be asked to confirm Kichi Zibi Mikan as the new name for the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in Ottawa at the board’s quarterly meeting later this month. Story here from The Ottawa Citizen.
WILDFIRES, SMOKE HAVING HUGE IMPACT ON SOME CANADIAN TOURISM OPERATORS - Raging wildfires and smoky skies across much of Canada have put a damper on travel this summer, resulting in cancelled plans and closed businesses. Story here. There are live wildfire updates here.
N.B. PREMIER FACES CAUCUS REVOLT OVER EDUCATION POLICY - Teachers in New Brunswick will no longer be obligated to use the preferred pronouns or names of transgender or non-binary students under age 16, under a policy change that led to a revolt among Premier Blaine Higgs’ Progressive Conservatives after it was introduced this week. Story here.
CORRECTIONAL SERVICE DEFENDS PAUL BERNARDO’S PRIVACY RIGHTS - The Correctional Service of Canada is defending Paul Bernardo’s privacy rights, as the federal Public Safety Minister says the country is owed an explanation for why he was moved. Story here.
GOVERNMENT PARTNERS WITH AGENCY TO SEEK OUT LGBTQ REFUGEES - Canada has partnered with a non-profit to seek out LGBTQ people fleeing violence all over the world and refer them to Canada as government-assisted refugees. Story here.
COMMONS PASSES LIBERAL BUDGET - The House of Commons has passed the Liberal government’s budget bill despite a Conservative attempt to hold it up. Story here.
TWELVE-YEAR-OLD TO GRADUATE FROM UNIVERSITY - A 12-year-old girl in Ottawa is about to make history as Canada’s youngest-ever university graduate. Story here.
VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION BY MPS TO BECOME COMMONS FIXTURE - The federal Liberal government says it wants to make the option for MPs to virtually participate in House business, including committees, a permanent feature. Story here.
KEY FIXTURE OF NATION’S CAPITAL SUBJECT TO REVITALIZATION PLAN - Ottawa’s Byward Market, one of the national capital’s most powerful economic engines, is the focus of a revitalization plan amid concerns about crime, drug use and parking that have deterred some people from visiting. Story here from The Ottawa Citizen.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, June 9, accessible here.
MINISTERS ON THE ROAD - Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, in Laval, made an announcement on protecting and restoring the habitat of species at risk in the Greater Montréal area.
RAPPORTEUR NEEDED FOR TYPOS? - The first report of Special Rapporteur David Johnston features a Canada at odds with reality. On one page of the document on foreign interference, Canada has a Canadian Security Establishment instead of the existing Communications Security Establishment - the agency that provides information technology security and foreign signals intelligence to the federal government. And there’s a Privy Council’s Office instead of the actual Privy Council Office that supports the Prime Minister and cabinet. There’s also the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, not the actual Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The errors are on page. 7 of the PDF version of the report. The Politics Briefing newsletter has reached out for comment, but received none by mid afternoon.
STILL WEARING GLASSES - Despite his eyeglasses-free appearance in a news conference in Toronto, federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre still wears eyewear. Sebastian Skamski, media-relations director of the Opposition Leader’s Office, says Mr. Poilievre removed his glasses because it was raining when the media availability began.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in the Ottawa region, held private meetings.
LEADERS
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre held a news conference in Toronto.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh - No public events scheduled.
No schedules provided for other party leaders.
THE DECIBEL
On Friday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Globe investigative reporters Robyn Doolittle and Tom Cardoso discuss their year’s reporting on the state of the access-to-information system, and what’s behind all the bottlenecks providing information. The Decibel is here.
TRIBUTE
LOUIS LE BEL - Louis LeBel, a former Supreme Court of Canada justice, has died, according to a statement from the court. Mr. LeBel was 84. The former member of the Quebec Court of Appeal joined the Supreme Court in 2000, and served for 14 years. Chief Justice Richard Wagner, in a statement Thursday, said Mr. Lebel’s legal legacy lives on in his eloquently-written decision in areas, including administrative, labour and international law. “Louis LeBel was kind and respectful of colleagues and employees and always demonstrated the highest regard for the Supreme Court of Canada,” said the statement.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on keeping Canada’s promise to migrants of a better life: “The implicit bargain of Canada’s immigration system is that this country will offer bigger and brighter possibilities to newcomers, and Canadian life will be enriched by the past, present and future packed in their suitcases. This country’s self-image is based on the notion that it wants to welcome the world, and that the world in turn is clamouring for the opportunity and openness here that they might not have had in the land where they were born. But when it comes to immigrants being able to use their skills and education to build a better life, that promise is too often more of a bait-and-switch.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on Mr. Poilievre’s Hollywood filibuster: “Indeed, by the time Mr. Poilievre suggested on Wednesday that he would talk as long as it takes to stop the budget bill, he already knew he wouldn’t be able to speak past midnight, and it wouldn’t do anything to block the legislation. The Liberals, with the support of the NDP, had passed a motion to end debate on the budget bill at midnight. The Conservatives’ insistence earlier in the week that they would fight the bill with every tool in the book was never going anywhere. The book was so short the budget bill was passed on Thursday. But no matter. This wasn’t a real filibuster. It was a Hollywood filibuster. And it worked.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on how, after this season of fire, the Conservatives must make their peace with carbon pricing: “Or put it this way. The lesson of the past three elections is that carbon pricing has become table stakes in federal politics, at least among voters in the regions and demographics the Conservatives need to reach: the sign of whether you’re serious about climate change, and therefore fit to govern. After this season of fire, that is only likely to be more true. For the Tories, then, to have any chance of repealing the “no more pipelines” bill or the Clean Fuel Regulations or the emissions cap or any of the rest of the litany of Liberal awfulness, they are going to have to come to terms with carbon pricing. Surely the best way to do that is to make it their own.”
Duncan Dee (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how Canada is a laggard on airport screening: “But the more significant question is this: Why has it taken Canada so long to catch up? As Canada joins the 2010s with the introduction of these new screening procedures, airline-industry observers and frequent travellers alike are left wondering when Canadians can expect to see other innovations that have become commonplace at airports worldwide.”
Cheryl Oates (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how the Alberta NDP are still standing: “It could very well be that many lifelong conservative voters need to see a Danielle Smith government at work to convince them it’s time for a change. But the days of conservative dynasties in the province are over, and four years from now, the NDP will be primed to take on the UCP again. If the UCP has learned anything from the too-tight-to-call campaign, it’s that to ignore Alberta’s NDP is to ignore nearly half of Alberta.”
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Ian Bailey