Hello,
Former prime minister Stephen Harper says he wants closer ties between centre-right parties including the Conservative Party of Canada and the Hungarian government.
Hungary has been accused of backsliding under the governance of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Human Rights Watch says Mr. Orbán’s government has delivered sustained “attacks on rule of law and public institutions” and the European Court of Justice repeatedly ruled that Mr. Orbán is violating EU migration laws with policies hostile to asylum claimants. Details here.
On Thursday, Mr. Harper met Mr. Orbán in Budapest in his role as the chair of the International Democrat Union, a global alliance of right-leaning political parties.
Mr. Harper, who was prime minister from 2006 to 2015, said in a tweet they discussed “the importance of centre-right parties strengthening their collaboration” and the “IDU’s strong support for Ukraine.”
Mr. Orbán has opposed multiple moves by the European Union to punish Russia for its invasion and has called on Ukraine to concede to Russia, saying Kyiv cannot win against Moscow.
He was prime minister of Hungary from 1998 to 2002, and then became prime minister again in 2010 and has held office since then.
The office of current Canadian Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre did not respond to a request for comment on Mr. Harper’s remarks.
With a file from The Canadian Press.
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 sign-up page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.
TODAY'S HEADLINES
Commemorative mass held at Lac-Mégantic – The community of Lac-Mégantic, Que., gathered for a commemorative mass on Thursday to mark the 10-year anniversary of the rail disaster that killed 47 people and destroyed parts of the town centre. Story here.
Stellantis, LG reach battery plant deal with Ottawa, Ontario – Stellantis NV and LG Energy Solution have reached a new deal with the federal and Ontario governments for as much as $15-billion in subsidies for their electric-vehicle battery factory in Windsor, bringing an end to a months-long saga in which the companies halted construction on the project while they pushed for greater financial backing. Story here.
CBC retracts report alleging e-mail interference by Alberta Premier’s office – CBC News is retracting a report alleging someone in Premier Danielle Smith’s office e-mailed Crown prosecutors to question and challenge the handling of cases involving COVID-19 protests in Alberta that blocked traffic at a U.S. border crossing for more than two weeks. Story here.
Largest Canadian trade deficit since October, 2020 – Canada’s trade balance for goods swung unexpectedly into negative territory in May, producing the largest trade deficit since October, 2020, and acting as an anchor on economic growth in the second quarter. Story here.
Some secrecy necessary: Wynne – Former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne, in an interview with The Globe’s Robyn Doolittle, says some secrecy is necessary in government. “If you can’t have an open conversation that you know is not going to be in the public realm, then somebody is going to hold back,” Ms. Wynne said in a Q&A here on access to information for the Globe’s Secret Canada project.
B.C. city councillor killed in hit and run – The mayor of Merritt, B.C., says a city councillor has been killed in an apparent hit-and-run crash outside another community. Story here.
Foreign interference inquiry talks drag on – Talks on launching an official public inquiry into foreign interference by China are dragging into the dead of summer with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Conservatives trading barbs over who is to blame. Story here.
Inuit leader rejects offer to meet with premiers – The leader of the national organization representing Inuit turned down an invitation to meet with Canada’s premiers next week over the inclusion of non-rights-holding Indigenous groups. Story here from CBC.
Manitoba grand chief shocked after province says it won’t help pay to search landfill for remains – The leader of the group pushing to search a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two Indigenous women says she doesn’t buy the Manitoba government’s explanation for not funding the effort. Story here from CBC.
PM discloses Swift policy – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears to be a secret Swiftie, after tweeting an invitation to superstar Taylor Swift asking her to bring her Eras tour to Canada. Story here.
New job for Kenney – Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney has landed a new job as senior adviser for Eventcombo, an online platform that helps manage and promote events in Alberta and throughout North America. Story here from The Calgary Herald.
THIS AND THAT
Today in the Commons – The House of Commons is now on a break until Sept. 18. The Senate resumes sitting on Sept. 19.
Deputy Prime Minister’s Day – Chrystia Freeland, in Vancouver, held private meetings, toured an early learning and child-care centre and took media questions. Ms. Freeland also met with Premier David Eby and held a round table discussion with housing stakeholders and experts.
In Ottawa – Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos provided an update on the wildfire season.
Ministers on the Road – Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett, in Squamish, B.C., announced funding to counter substance-related harms and overdoses in B.C. and the Prairies. Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault, in Banff, Alta., discussed the federal tourism policy and participated in a tourism town hall held by the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, in Dartmouth, announced pollution pricing rebates for residents of Atlantic provinces. Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, also Minister for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, in Fort Frances, Ont., announced FedNor funding for municipal initiatives. (Yesterday’s newsletter mistakenly listed this event as happening Wednesday.) Infrastructure Minister Dominic LeBlanc is in Japan for a G7 meeting on infrastructure from Friday to Sunday in Takamastu City, Kagawa Prefecture, says Jean-Sebastien Comeau, his press secretary. He is expected to be in Japan for a week. No other details on the visit have been provided. International Trade Minister Mary Ng, is in Cancun, for talks with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Raquel Buenrostro, Mexico’s economy secretary, on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. (Story here.) Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, also minister for Prairies Economic Development Canada, in Winnipeg, announced federal support for a crafter and artisan-development space.
Departure from PMO – Lionel Adimi, a policy adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is leaving his job. In a social-media posting, he said he had said his goodbyes to the office last week. He began work in the PMO in December, 2021, after postings that included being a principal adviser in the federal Treasury Board. Mr. Adimi did not explain why he was leaving.
Premiers meeting – The schedule has been confirmed for next week’s two-day premiers’ meeting in Winnipeg. On July 11, the premiers will discuss the “top priorities” of Canadians including affordability and improving health care. On the 12th, they are to discuss economic issues centred on Canada’s competitiveness and growth.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Lac-Mégantic, Que., held private meetings and attended the commemorative mass to mark 10 years since the tragedy in Lac-Mégantic.
LEADERS
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is off this week.
No schedules available for party leaders.
THE DECIBEL
On Thursday’s edition of the Globe and Mail podcast, Greg Mercer, investigative reporter for The Globe, talks about the coal-mining sector. There’s a small resurgence in Canadian coal mining, but with limited data and testing, compensation boards are ill-prepared for the harm to workers’ lungs. The Decibel is here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how Canada’s cities need to get to the tippling point: “It is a curiosity of the law that you can legally sit in a Toronto park, roll a joint and start puffing away – but if you crack open a beer you could be fined up to $300. Decriminalization of cannabis has highlighted the absurdity of open-alcohol laws in Canadian cities. With rare exceptions, people still can’t drink outside unless in a licensed commercial establishment, corralled and physically separate from passersby. This needs to change. Existing open-alcohol laws are inconsistent with logic, fairness and reality.”
Lawrence Martin (The Globe and Mail) on how Canada’s best story might be immigration: “In the run-up to Canada’s 156th birthday celebrations there were reports, based on what people were telling pollsters, saying that Canada has never been more divided. It appears these people weren’t around in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Quebec was aflame, when the West was up in arms with the Reform Party, when our deficits and debt approached Third World-levels, when we faced a crippling recession, when the separatist Bloc Québécois was our Official Opposition party, when a Quebec referendum nearly tore the country apart. Conditions are worse now than then? Who are they trying to kid?”
Sarah Elton (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on giving Canadians a more diverse retail foodscape could lead to lower grocery bills: “Last week, the Canadian Competition Bureau called on governments to take action to foster more competition in the grocery industry. In a report, they concluded that a wider diversity of businesses selling Canadians their groceries could help lower food prices. Research conducted at my lab since 2020 has found that the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto services a wide range of businesses beyond the big five supermarkets, and supports easy access to fruits and vegetables in neighbourhoods across the city and beyond. This piece of public food-system infrastructure offers a model for the kind of diverse retail foodscape that the country needs more of.”
John Lorinc (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on whether Canada needs a new Kent Commission on newspapers: “For Canadian policy-makers, then, the contemporary lesson of the Kent Commission is to make sure they see the forest, and not just the trees. It’s not clear whether the current Trudeau government will try to block the Postmedia-Torstar merger, nor is it obvious whether the Competition Bureau, hobbled as it is with weak legislation, will be able to do much of anything.”
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Ian Bailey