Hello,
Ontario judge Michelle O’Bonsawin, nominated as the first Indigenous person to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada, says she is a judge first and an Indigenous person, mother and Franco-Ontarian after.
“What’s important for me to remember is my roots and the voice that I bring, my life experience but also my background as someone who has worked in mental-health law, Indigenous issues and also in labour and human rights,” Justice O’Bonsawin told a question-and-answer session on Wednesday with members of the House of Commons justice committee.
She was responding to a question from Liberal MP Jaime Battiste, Canada’s first Mi’kmaw Member of Parliament, about how her nomination to the Supreme Court could help promote and shape Indigenous laws in Canada.
But the 48-year-old Justice added she couldn’t comment much further on what kind of a role these issues could play because the matters are on their way to the Supreme Court.
“But I can tell you I have my voice as one of nine judges, hopefully. Hopefully, I will have one of nine voices on that bench so let’s just be clear,” she told Mr. Battiste.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Justice O’Bonsawin’s nomination last Friday. She is a bilingual Franco-Ontarian and Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation, who has served on the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa since 2017. She was the first Indigenous woman to hold that position.
The application process for the Supreme Court position was launched in April after a seat was made vacant by the coming Sept. 1 retirement of Justice Michael Moldaver.
Last year, Justice Mahmud Jamal became the first person of colour to sit on the court. Justice O’Bonsawin is Mr. Trudeau’s fifth nomination since he took office in 2015.
Please check The Globe and Mail for updates on Justice O’Bonsawin’s appearance today.
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
CANADA AND GERMANY SIGN HYDROGEN-FUEL DEAL – The Canadian and German governments have signed a deal to co-operate on exporting hydrogen fuel to Europe, setting an ambitious target of 2025 to begin shipments from Eastern Canada – where a single hydrogen production plant has yet to be built. Story here.
FRASER ANNOUNCES MEASURES TO DEAL WITH IMMIGRATION BACKLOG – Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says his department is going on a hiring spree to bring 1,250 new employees on board by the end of the fall to tackle massive backlogs in processing applications. Story here.
POLITICAL INTERFERENCE CONCERNS OVERBLOWN: LUCKI – RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki told an inquiry into the deadliest gun rampage in Canadian history that concerns over political interference in the police investigation have been overblown, and said she is growing frustrated with questions on the subject. Story here.
OTTAWA APPOINTS CHIEF NURSING OFFICER – Ottawa has appointed a Chief Nursing Officer for Canada to help inform its health policies, as the federal government is under pressure from premiers to increase transfers to the provinces so they can shore up health systems that are under heavy strain. Story here.
INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENTS TOLD PM MONTHS NEEDED FOR TALBAN TO TAKE KABUL – Intelligence assessments presented to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before the fall of Afghanistan last year said it would be months before the Taliban took Kabul and likely weeks before fighting would even resume, predictions that proved to be catastrophic for Afghans desperate to leave. Story here from The National Post.
ETHICS COMMISSIONER CLEARS CRTC HEAD – The federal ethics watchdog says the head of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission did not breach the Conflict of Interest Act when he held meetings with large telecom providers while they had files before the regulator. Story here.
TIMELINE ESTABLISHED FOR CHURCHILL PHOTO THEFT – The Chateau Laurier says it’s been able to narrow down a time frame of when it believes a famous portrait of Sir Winston Churchill was stolen from its walls: some time between Christmas Day last year and Jan. 6. Story here.
QUEBEC ELECTION BEGINS `FOR REAL’ ON SUNDAY: LEGAULT – Premier François Legault says the fall provincial election campaign will launch “for real” on Sunday, following weeks of unofficial campaigning by political parties and billions of dollars already promised to voters. Story here.
GREEN LEADERSHIP CANDIDATE REJECTED BECAUSE HE WON’T TAKE FRENCH TEST – Green Party leadership hopeful Najib Jutt says he’s refusing to take a French language test required by the party – which has rejected his application as a result. Story here from CBC.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL – Scott Aitchison is in Ontario. Jean Charest is in Ottawa. Leslyn Lewis has ballot drop-off events in St. Catharines and Vineland, Ontario. Pierre Poilievre is in Ottawa. There are no details on the campaign whereabouts of Roman Baber.
POILIEVRE WILL TACK TO LEFT: BERNIER – Maxime Bernier, the leader of the People’s Party of Canada, accused the perceived front-runner in the Conservative Party leadership race of planning to tack to the left after campaigning to the right. Story here from CBC.
THIS AND THAT
The House of Commons is not sitting again until Sept. 19. The Senate is to resume sitting on Sept. 20.
NATO SECRETARY GENERAL VISITS CANADA – The secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is visiting Canada this week. Jens Stoltenberg is in Canada on Wednesday for a visit through Friday. He is to visit Edmonton; Cambridge Bay, Nunavut; and Cold Lake, Alta. Mr. Stoltenberg and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are, on Thursday, to visit Cambridge Bay and one of the sites of the North Warning System. On Friday, they will travel to 4 Wing Cold Lake, one of Canada’s fighter bases, to discuss Canada’s contributions to NATO as well as Canada’s partnership in NORAD and Canada’s recently announced plan to modernize continental defence. Check the Opinion section of today’s newsletter for a column by Secretary-General Stoltenberg.
FREELAND IN SASKATCHEWAN – Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, in Colonsay, Sask., tours Mosaic, a potash and phosphate producer, and holds a media availability. In Saskatoon, Ms. Freeland was to hold private meetings and meet with Mayor Charlie Clark and visit the Baba’s Close community organization, which supports Ukrainian families.
ANAND IN HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY – Defence Minister Anita Anand, and General Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff, visited 5 Wing Goose Bay in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, N.L., where they met with members of the Canadian Armed Forces stationed at the base.
QUALTROUGH IN HALIFAX – Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough, in Halifax, attends the Digital Nova Scotia event to announce federal investments to train workers for the Atlantic technology industry.
DUCLOS IN CALGARY – Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, in Calgary, announced $115-million in funding for Alberta to support long-term care.
THE DECIBEL
On Wednesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, the Globe’s retail reporter, Susan Krashinsky Robertson, talks about a move by the Hudson’s Bay Company to bring back Zellers, how else Hudson’s Bay is trying to off-load millions of square feet of real estate, and what the market looks like for Zellers now that the discount market has become even more competitive. The Decibel is here
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended private meetings in the Ottawa region, and later attends private meetings in Edmonton, including one with the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Jens Stoltenberg.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet held a media availability in Chandler, the second most populous town in the Gaspé Peninsula, regarding fishing. Mr. Blanchet is on a five-day summer tour of the peninsula through Friday.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Toronto, held a media availability and then addresses the UFCQ National Council Convention.
No schedule provided for other party leaders.
OPINION
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on the question of how it was imagined that L’Affaire LaFlamme: would end well: ”It is, in short, a disaster. Others have written feelingly of the apparent sexism and ageism at work in the decision to remove a 58-year-old woman at the top of her game, especially after her predecessor, Lloyd Robertson, was allowed to stay until he was 77. Me, I’m more struck by how cosmically dumb it was. Cockups on this scale only come along once a generation, so it is appropriate that we all take a moment out of our busy days to contemplate its majesty.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on how, when it comes to Canada’s health care system, it’s time to start shattering some sacred cows: ”Of all the things that Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said about the health care crisis in this country, perhaps the most perceptive – and obvious – is that what we’re doing is failing Canadians. ‘The status quo is not working, folks,’ Mr. Ford recently said at a stop in New Brunswick, where he was rallying premiers in the four Atlantic provinces to press Ottawa for more funding. He’s been banging on this drum for weeks now, as he markets Ontario’s plans to shake things up in the health care system, including the ways some services are delivered.”
Adam Radwanski (The Globe and Mail) on how Canada’s moment with Germany won’t last long unless Ottawa now does the hard work: “German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has done his part to light a fire under Canada so that it becomes a major clean-energy exporter. Now, it’s up to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his ministers and his provincial counterparts to prove they’re capable of overcoming this country’s inertia in building new industries – and fast enough to compete for the business of nations trying to secure a sustainable long-term energy supply.”
Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail) on Ahmed Hussen demanding to know how someone else let his government partner with an apparent antisemite: “Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, is demanding accountability: How could someone else have let his government pair up with a guy who spews noxious, hateful views on Twitter for an anti-racism project? What will someone else do to make it better? And how can someone else ensure that this sort of thing never happens again?”
Jens Stoltenberg (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how, in the face of Russian aggression, NATO is beefing up Arctic security: “NATO has a clear interest in preserving security, stability and co-operation in the High North. The Arctic is the gateway to the North Atlantic, hosting vital trade, transport and communication links between North America and Europe. Ensuring freedom of navigation and unfettered access is essential to keep our economies strong and our people safe. Once Finland and Sweden join the alliance, seven out of the eight Arctic states will be members of NATO. Finland and Sweden’s membership will significantly enhance our posture in the High North and our ability to reinforce our Baltic Allies.”
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Ian Bailey