Hello,
Ottawa published regulations Friday which it hoped would defuse a tense stand-off with the tech giants over Bill C-18, and persuade Meta to stop blocking Canadians’ access to news.
But Meta made it clear the regulations, which set a cap on how much Google and Facebook must pump into Canada’s news industry each year, would not be enough for it to come back to the bargaining table.
Google and Facebook must together contribute around $230-million to Canada’s news industry to be exempt from intervention by the broadcasting regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), under the online news act, the department of heritage said on Friday.
Marie Woolf reports here.
The Politics Briefing newsletter will be taking a day off on Monday, Sept. 4, but will return on Tuesday, Sept. 5
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
Revenue Agency fires 120 employees following review of inappropriate CERB payments – The Canada Revenue Agency says 120 public servants are no longer with the organization following an internal review into employees who inappropriately claimed COVID benefits while employed with the agency. Story here.
Canada’s economy unexpectedly contracts in second quarter, setting up next week’s BoC rate decision – Canada’s economy unexpectedly contracted in the second quarter, declining at an annualized rate of 0.2 per cent, while real GDP was most likely unchanged in July after a 0.2 per cent fall in June, data showed on Friday. Story here.
Trans Mountain says not rerouting pipeline expansion risks delay, extra costs – Expansion of Trans Mountain oil pipeline would be delayed by months and incur hundreds of millions of dollars of additional cost, unless its route is changed, the Canadian government corporation building the pipeline said in a filing. Story here.
Ottawa still deciding which Emergencies Act inquiry recommendations to accept – Six months after receiving the final report from the Emergencies Act inquiry, the federal government is still reviewing which recommendations it will accept, including whether to change how and when the act’s sweeping powers can be invoked. Story here.
Battle over 24 Sussex’s future heats up with a new plan to save run-down residence – As part of an effort to save 24 Sussex Drive for future prime ministers, a group of heritage-minded construction industry figures has come forward with a plan to restore the dilapidated residence. Story here from CBC.
What happens when you give 50 homeless people $7,500 each? A B.C. study found out – There’s a stark contrast between public perception and the reality of how homeless people spend money, says a researcher who gave 50 homeless people in British Columbia $7,500 each to do with as they wished. Story here.
Former CRTC chair appointed as new interim federal ethics commissioner – Konrad Winrich von Finckenstein, a former chair of Canada’s broadcasting regulator, has been named interim federal conflict of interest and ethics commissioner, after the government’s previous pick for the role resigned amid concern about the appropriateness of the appointment. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
Summer break – Both the House of Commons and the Senate are on breaks. The House sits again on Sept. 18. The Senate sits again on Sept. 19.
Deputy Prime Minister’s Day – Private meetings in Toronto.
Ministers on the Road -Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, in Quebec City, with Quebec Natural Resources Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina and Quebec Economy Minister Christopher Skeete held a joint media availability at the end of a three-day meeting of provincial and territorial energy and mines ministers. Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan Jr., in Scarborough, Ont., was scheduled to meet with apprentices during a tour of the United Association Local 46 Training Centre and, also in Scarborough, announce funding for projects to enable seniors to age at home during a visit to a geriatric-care centre.
May attending public events again – Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, who has been recovering from a stroke, is returning to public events this weekend, attending the Saanich Fall Fair in the village of Saanichton on Vancouver Island from Saturday through Monday.
New ambassador announced – Ping Kitnikone, a former Canadian ambassador to Vietnam, has been named Canada’s new ambassador to Thailand, federal Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced on Friday.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Personal day.
LEADERS
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Burnaby, B.C. met with the Burnaby South Youth Council, later met with representatives of Metro Vancouver’s YWCA, and was scheduled to canvas in the riding of Port Moody – Coquitlam with NDP MP Bonita Zarrillo.
No schedules released for other party leaders.
THE DECIBEL
There’s no new episode of The Globe and Mail podcast on Fridays over the summer, but recent episodes are available here.
PUBLIC OPINION
Canadians under economic stress – A new poll suggests nearly half of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque as the cost of living crisis continues to squeeze household budgets, and young people are more likely to say their finances are in poor shape. Story here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives still don’t have a viable climate plan: “Mr. Poilievre’s focus shows the Conservative Party’s continuing disdain for climate action. In 2019, Andrew Scheer’s Conservative platform acknowledged “climate change is real” but didn’t put forward tangible proposals to do something about it. In 2021, Erin O’Toole tried to do more but offered only half-measures. Mr. Poilievre has circled back to Mr. Scheer territory – and doubled down. “Axe the tax” is his slogan this summer, even as Conservatives have had to postpone events because of raging wildfires, which are made worse by climate change. “The carbon tax does nothing to fight climate change,” Mr. Poilievre said in Sudbury in July. “It has failed.”
Kelly Cryderman (The Globe and Mail) on how Liberals are late to housing and time is running out: “Whether talking about shacks or sidesplits, Pierre Poilievre has owned the housing affordability file from the time he became Conservative leader one year ago. This is not because he has all the answers, or warms hearts with his words. It’s because he gives the issue the time and weight it deserves. After a cabinet retreat in Prince Edward Island where housing was the key focus, it appears the Liberals are finally grasping the practical and political urgency of the situation, as Mr. Poilievre long has.”
Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on how, for Pierre Trudeau, the ends justified the means in combatting Quebec separatism: “He haunts us still. That now famous line from a 1990 biography of Pierre Trudeau was meant as a compliment by its authors Stephen Clarkson and Christina McCall. Their bestselling portrait of our 15th prime minister went to great lengths – more than 500 pages in all – to depict his “magnificent obsession” with combatting Quebec separatism as nothing short of heroic. That interpretation of Mr. Trudeau’s handling of the separatist threat has never held water in Quebec itself, of course. Most Quebeckers would probably agree that Mr. Trudeau was a giant of Canadian politics who haunts them still. Just not in a good way.”
Howard Green (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how making a documentary about the 1998 crash of Swissair Flight 111 still haunts him: “The making of the documentary was a milestone for me, professionally and personally. The complexity of the investigation, the pressure of knowing that the world, the airline, the aircraft manufacturer and families would be watching to understand why 229 people had died, was ever present. When the film was completed, we had a special private screening for families and the investigative team, between whom an emotional bond had formed. Family members wanted to see what the investigators had done. They wanted to know something meaningful had come out of the deaths of loved ones – information that could prevent the same thing from happening to others. After the screening, I left the CBC studio and walked the streets of Halifax alone. I could no longer contain my emotions and burst into tears.”
Don Martin (CTV) on who will step up to have `The Talk’ with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: “It’s time someone sat Justin Trudeau down for The Talk. It happens to the best of them, that moment in a prime minister’s reign when a top staffer, political ally or even a trusted family member finally tells them what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear. The Talk is invariably about telling them it’s time to go. Trudeau needs to be told what he clearly doesn’t understand, that his sunny days have sunset, that his dismal poll numbers will not suddenly rebound and that there’s a low probability he will win re-election despite facing a hard-to-like opponent in Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.”
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Ian Bailey