Hello,
Doug Ford is calling on the federal government to get tougher on such justice files as bail instead of being “weak” in the face of concerns about crime.
The Progressive Conservative Premier of Ontario made the comment on Friday during an unrelated news conference when asked about safety concerns at the York Memorial Collegiate Institute in Toronto. Story here from CTV. Mr. Ford said his government doesn’t have the jurisdiction to dictate actions to school boards.
“This goes back to the federal government. They’re weak when it comes to making sure that when someone gets charged, that there’s mandatory sentences out there,” Mr. Ford told journalists in Clarington, Ont.
Mr. Ford said that he has heard police express frustration about the quick release of those accused in such crimes as shootings.
“We know that the federal government controls the Criminal Code. So they need to toughen up rather than being weak and letting these people back out on the streets and saying they’re going to be reformed, and there they are, they are shooting up the streets again.”
As Mr. Ford made his comments, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in British Columbia for meetings and an announcement with the province’s new Premier, David Eby, who has also expressed concerns about the justice system, particularly bail reform. Justice reform did not come up as an issue during a news conference the two leaders held.
At issue for B.C. has been Bill C-75, enacted in 2019, that called on police and judges to exercise a “principle of restraint” in setting bail conditions. Combined with Supreme Court of Canada rulings, the B.C. government has said it has become more difficult to keep repeat offenders awaiting trial in custody.
Asked for comment on Mr. Ford’s remarks, Chantalle Aubertin, the press secretary for federal Justice Minister and Attorney-General David Lametti, replied with a statement on Friday that echoed the department’s response to Mr. Eby’s concerns.
“Our government will always work to ensure that our criminal laws, including the law of bail, effectively meet their objectives, keep all Canadians safe, and are consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” said the statement.
“As Premier Ford knows, Canada’s criminal justice system is a shared responsibility of the provinces and the federal government. The federal government is responsible for the criminal law and the provincial governments are responsible for the administration of justice, including investigating and prosecuting most Criminal Code offences, conducting bail hearings and enforcing bail conditions within their respective jurisdiction.”
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
NEW SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN – Canada has issued additional sanctions against Iran over its denial of rights for women and girls and for cracking down on peaceful protests, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly said Friday. Story here.
CHILDREN ATTACKED AS THEIR FAMILY AWAITS ACCESS TO CANADA – The children of a former guard at Canadian embassy in Kabul have been attacked in Pakistan as their family waits for help from Ottawa. Parliamentary reporter Janice Dickson reports here from the city of Rawalpindi in Pakistan.
EMERGENCIES ACT INQUIRY OPENS TROVE OF NOTES – Take good notes. That’s what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told his staff as he decided to invoke the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history. Through the inquiry, reams of government records have been released, resulting in a rare look inside the most powerful public offices in Canada. The thousands of pages of text messages, e-mails, meeting minutes, and hand-scribbled notes detail ministers’ personal fears, private conversations and comments not meant for public consumption. Story here.
DOCUMENTS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE – Lawyers for “Freedom Convoy” organizers have won their bid to get access to unredacted versions of 20 documents at the Public Order Emergency Commission. Story here. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s national security adviser says senior officials are planning ahead for the possibility of another protest in early 2023. Story here.
VETERANS OFFERED FORMER PARALYMPIAN ASSISTED DEATH – A paraplegic former member of the Canadian military shocked MPs on Thursday by testifying that the Department of Veterans Affairs offered her, in writing, the opportunity for a medically assisted death – and even offered to provide the equipment. Story here from CBC.
MINISTER, MPS REACT TO RECEPTION WITH EDITOR – Transport Minister Omar Alghabra and several other MPs have issued statements after going to a reception in Parliament attended by the editor of a publication that has called the Holocaust a hoax and referred to Judaism as a terrorist religion. Story here.
SMITH RIVALS SUPPORT SOVEREIGNTY ACT – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative leadership rivals are publicly supporting her controversial sovereignty act after issuing harsh critiques during the campaign period where they questioned its constitutionality and warned it could create economic chaos. Story here.
POLICE ORDERED TO PAY DAMAGES IN METROPOLIS SHOOTING – Montreal police and the Sûreté du Québec have been ordered to pay about $292,000 in damages to four stage technicians who survived the 2012 Métropolis election night shooting. Story here from CBC.
FURTHER RATE HIKE LOOMING FROM BANK OF CANADA – The Bank of Canada is expected to conclude a historic year marked by high inflation and aggressive monetary policy tightening with one more interest rate hike on Wednesday. Story here.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT APPROVES MINE – The federal government is giving the go-ahead to the construction of a new Ontario critical minerals mine that should help Canada establish a bigger foothold in a key automotive metal largely controlled by Russia. Story here.
WORK UNDER WAY ON POSSIBLE FOREIGN AGENT REGISTRY – The federal government is preparing to consult the public on the possible creation of a foreign agent registry as a means of preventing outside interference in Canadian affairs, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, Dec. 2, accessible here.
DAYS SINCE CONSERVATIVE LEADER PIERRE POILIEVRE TOOK MEDIA QUESTIONS IN OTTAWA: 80
ONTARIO PREMIER DOUG FORD ON THE ALBERTA SOVEREIGNTY ACT – “That’s up to Alberta. I am not going to get involved in Alberta politics. I’ve had an opportunity to speak to [Alberta Premier Danielle Smith] once or twice. I don’t interfere in other provinces’ jurisdictions.” – Mr. Ford, on Friday, at a news conference in Clarington, Ontario.
MINISTERS IN OTTAWA – Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller and Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, provided an update on the work of the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee and the Inuit-Crown Co-Development Principles.
MINISTERS ON THE ROAD – Immigration Minister Sean Fraser and Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault, in Edmonton, made an announcement regarding open work permits. International Trade Minister Mary Ng, in Candiac, Que., was scheduled to hold a joint news conference with European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis. Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, in Stratford, Ont., announced a $160,000 federal investment in the City of Stratford to install 23 EV chargers in public places across the city by January, 2025.
NEW TERM FOR PAROLE BOARD CHAIRPERSON – Jennifer Oades has been appointed to a second term as the chairperson of the Parole Board of Canada. Ms. Oades was first appointed as chairperson in January, 2018. The appointment, announced in a statement from Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, is for a term of five years and effective Jan. 31, 2023.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Vancouver, held private meetings, met with British Columbia’s new Premier, David Eby, made a child-care announcement with Mr. Eby, and took media questions. Mr. Trudeau was also scheduled to attend a Liberal fundraising event in Surrey.
LEADERS
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Calgary, hosted a round table discussion on workers’s rights, held a media availability, met with unionized Starbucks workers and was scheduled to speak with Tsuut’ina Nation Chief Roy Whitney.
No schedules provided by other party leaders.
THE DECIBEL
On Friday’s edition of the Globe and Mail podcast, Alanna Smith, a Globe reporter in Calgary, explains how Alberta’s sovereignty act will work and what it means for Alberta. The Globe’s writer-at-large John Ibbitson discusses how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other federal officials might respond.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on billions of dollars piling up in B.C. and Alberta while the fiscal boom nears its end: “For all the unexpected money – B.C. and Alberta being the latest examples – the pending end of good fiscal luck is real. The economy is slowing, fast. The Bank of Canada in October predicted the country’s 2023 GDP growth at 0.9 per cent, half an earlier forecast. Economists see the provinces in similar positions – above zero but below 1-per-cent growth in 2023, at best. Alberta might be out in front but with growth of not much more than 1 per cent. With good fiscal fortune set to fade, prudence is necessary. But the surprise luck of the past year or so will extend into the future – in the form of easier-to-shoulder debts than would have otherwise been the case. And that is lasting good news.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on how, no, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith hasn’t learned leverage from Quebec sovereigntists: “It was nice of Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet to lean in to give Alberta Premier Danielle Smith some props for Alberta’s sovereignty act. Or sort of. “If she does succeed and make a country out of Alberta, I will be a bit jealous, but I would say, ‘Good for you,’ " he said. This was a backhanded compliment, and Mr. Blanchet’s point – the Quebec sovereigntists’ underlying point for many decades – is that there’s no value in going halfway to sovereignty, because for them, only actual independence will do. That’s not something to sniff at. As much as there is palpable frustration in Alberta with Ottawa, and a sense of alienation with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s name tagged on it, playing separatist isn’t the way to solve it.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on how, at some point, Ottawa is going to need to engage in firm-handed federalism: “The great provincial revolt against constitutional government continues. Just now attention is focused on the Alberta Sovereignty – whoops, Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act – and why not: it is a quite demented piece. But Alberta is hardly alone in its attempt to liberate itself from the Constitution and constitutional norms. There is Quebec, of course, where this sort of thing is mother’s milk – though even by Quebec’s standards, Bill 21 and Bill 96 take things to a new level of jurisdictional presumption and contempt for Charter rights.”
Ken Hansen (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how the Canadian Armed Forces are heading for a Titanic collapse: “But if the Canadian Armed Forces are headed for a Titanic collapse, then Gen. Eyre’s call for support sounds like a first-class passenger asking the third-class passengers already in the water to help bail out their lifeboat, so they can avoid getting their feet wet. Support for our troops is certainly necessary, but it doesn’t deal with the fundamental problem: The Canadian Armed Forces no longer reflect the principles and values of the Canadian populace, or of a modern Canadian work force. If this is not addressed, any reform will only amount to a shuffling of the deck chairs. Military leaders like to say that “people are our most valuable resource,” and yet this most precious commodity has been steadily leaving for years.”
Lisa Kerr (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how a return by Pierre Poilievre to Harper-era criminal sentences would be a terrible idea: “Recently, Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre released a YouTube video entitled “Everything feels broken,” in which he sits on a picturesque Vancouver beach with a tent city in the background. With a good degree of compassion, he describes the opioid dependency that he says fills these tents. But he offers an incongruous solution: tough punishment for “violent reoffenders.” He also attacks the safe-supply experiments of progressive governments. The better solution, he says, is one that the criminal-justice system already pursues: punish those involved in selling the toxic drug supply. It is a fitting moment to reflect on the sentencing-policy legacy of former prime minister Stephen Harper, at a time when Mr. Poilievre promises to take us back to that era. It is clear from what he says in his YouTube video that Mr. Poilievre would like to copy the Harper playbook, mobilizing voters with the standard moves of penal populism by activating our fears and promising peace through punishment.”
Andrew MacDougall (The Ottawa Citizen) on what Elon Musk, Danielle Smith and the City of Ottawa have in common: “Another thing these disparate episodes illustrate is the need for friction and deliberation in governance. Complicated acts such as governing a nation or running a corporate empire require the time and space for serious study and contemplation. It very rarely rewards gut reactions or the first words that spring to mind. “Move fast and break things” works until it doesn’t, as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg would surely tell you now that he’s shedding users, ad revenue and staff.”
Murray Mandryk (Saskatoon StarPhoenix) on how opposition from within is a shared NDP-Sask. Party problem: “Mark 2022 as the year of the opposition in Saskatchewan … although that does not necessarily mean what you think it means. Normally, “opposition” refers to those two-mace lengths across the floor from government – now, the seemingly permanent residence of Saskatchewan New Democrats. And 2022 was hardly a magical year for the NDP. It lost a safe northern seat in the February Athabasca by-election and then lost leader Ryan Meili as a result. Since then, it has faced an onslaught from left-leaning forces dissatisfied with Carla Beck’s June leadership win. However, the NDP is hardly alone when it comes to those eagerly turning up the thermostat inside the house. Premier Scott Moe has had a year of uncomfortable heat.”
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Ian Bailey