Hello,
The federal government is expected to table its long-awaited legislation aimed at combatting foreign interference in the House of Commons today, a senior source said.
The Globe is not identifying the source because they were not permitted to disclose the timing of the bill’s release.
The bill is in response to revelations from the continuing foreign-interference inquiry and months of reporting by The Globe and Mail and other media on Chinese foreign interference and disinformation campaigns, drawing on confidential national-security sources and leaked secret documents.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc has tabled Bill C-70: An Act respecting countering foreign interference in the House of Commons.
The full text of the bill is to be released later today. Federal officials scheduled an afternoon technical briefing
Full story here by senior parliamentary reporter Steven Chase and senior political reporter Marieke Walsh.
Please check The Globe and Mail later this afternoon for updates on the legislation.
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
Ottawa says Ontario failed to meet affordable housing goals, won’t send funds to province: The change means the province won’t be reimbursed for any funds already spent and will lose the discretion to pick and choose which projects receive the money. Those decisions will be made by the federal government.
Indigenous contracting program went years with no ‘after-the-fact’ audits: According to information provided to The Globe and Mail by Indigenous Services Canada, the department has approved four such audits under the program since 2016, and all of those were launched within the past two years amid heightened scrutiny of federal-procurement practices.
Ontario Speaker allows keffiyeh inside legislative building, but not in chamber: Sarah Jama, who sits as an independent after being kicked out of the NDP caucus last year, put on a keffiyeh as Question Period started today, in defiance of the ban, and was asked to leave. NDP caucus members Joel Harden and Kristyn Wong-Tam also put on scarves and left in solidarity with Jama.
Poilievre tight-lipped on what Conservatives might do with capital-gains tax changes: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is telling business leaders to fight their own battles when it comes to the Liberals’ proposed changes to capital-gains taxation. His office is not saying whether or not his party will vote in favour of it.
Nova Scotia Premier criticized for travelling to Spain, U.S. without notifying public: The opposition Liberals and NDP said taxpayers are footing the bill for Tim Houston’s trips and have a right to know the purpose and schedule of his travels.
CSIS warns ‘extremist-actors’ rhetoric around Israel-Hamas war could lead to violence: The statement comes as newly released documents indicate there were discussions last fall between the spy agency, the federal Public Safety Department and Muslim and Jewish leaders about responding to a reported uptick in hate crimes spurred by the conflict.
Trudeau ‘absolutely’ best person to lead the Liberals in next election: LeBlanc says: Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc insists he’s not planning a leadership campaign to head the Liberal Party in the event that Justin Trudeau resigns, CTV reports.
Integrity Commissioner launches investigation of DFO officials over alleged attempts to silence scientists: In a letter obtained by The Globe and Mail, Harriet Solloway says she has determined a probe into the conduct of Department of Fisheries and Oceans officials is warranted.
TODAY’S POLITICAL QUOTES
“People have felt unsafe to live openly Jewish lives in Canada and that’s not right ” - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, at a ceremony in Ottawa today to mark Yom HaShoah, the Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“I know that some of you are making the heart-wrenching decision: Do I walk outside with the Star of David on my chest? Do I wear my Kippah? Do I keep my Mezuzah on the door? You worry about the safety of your loved ones, in Canada. It is absolutely unacceptable that you should be faced with this dilemma.” - Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre at the same event, in Ottawa today.
“I’m going to let him speak his mind. It’s just not accurate.” - Immigration Minister Marc Miller on comments by India’s foreign minister on Canada in light of the arrest of three suspects linked to the shooting death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
THIS AND THAT
Today in the Commons: Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, May 06, accessible here.
Deputy Prime Minister’s day: Private meetings in Ottawa and Chrystia Freeland attended Question Period.
Ministers on the Road: In Iqaluit, Defence Minister Bill Blair, with Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, held a roundtable discussion with journalists on Canada’s new defence policy. Joly was also scheduled to meet with Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai, Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson and Premier P.J. Akeeagok of Nunavut. In Whitehorse, Privy Council President Harjit Sajjan made an infrastructure announcement with Mayor Laura Cabott.
Meanwhile, in Montreal, Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada was scheduled to unveil the results of Stage 2 of the integrated Canada Biomedical Research Fund and Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund competition.
Zelensky has a chat with Trudeau: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says in a posting on X that he had a conversation today with Trudeau on issues including a planned peace summit in Switzerland. Trudeau’s office subsequently confirmed the call, noting it included the Prime Minister reaffirming Canada’s support for Ukraine and for Zelensky’s efforts “toward a just and sustainable peace.”
Morin running for Tories: Billy Morin, who served three consecutive terms as chief in Alberta’s Enoch Cree Nation, is running for the federal Conservatives in the new riding of Edmonton Northwest.
Cullen recovering: Former NDP MP Nathan Cullen, now a provincial cabinet minister in B.C., salutes the emergency doctor who provided aid when he fell ill.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
In Ottawa, Trudeau attended the commemoration service for Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, and delivered remarks.
·LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, accompanied by three members of his caucus, is concluding a tour of the Magdalen Islands that began last week. Commitments today include a meeting with sealers.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. No schedule released by Poilievre’s office, However, he spoke at the ceremony in Ottawa to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is attending the House of Commons in person, and will be attending the National Prayer Breakfast dinner this evening.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Ottawa, held a news conference on youth mental-health solutions and participated in Question Period.
THE DECIBEL
On today’s edition of the podcast, Robert Fife, The Globe’s Ottawa bureau chief, breaks down the first report of the public inquiry into foreign interference aimed to provide answers critical to Canada’s democracy. The Decibel is here.
PUBLIC OPINION
Making sense of the PQ’s rise in the polls: Policy Options looks at how the Parti Québécois is on the rise in the polls, but the independence movement is not.
OPINION
The three big questions still unanswered on foreign interference
“It’s no second coat of whitewash. The initial report from the public inquiry into foreign interference is necessarily incomplete, vague in some places and inconclusive in others. But already, Justice Marie-Josée Hogue has gone further than the earlier effort by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s hand-picked special rapporteur, David Johnston.” - The Globe and Mail Editorial Board.
Putting migrants in federal prisons is unjustified and unjust
“Last month, with a single sentence buried in Annex 3 of its latest budget, the federal government shamefully doubled down on rights-violating practices of the Canadian Border Services Agency by expanding immigration detention into federal prisons. Immigration Minister Marc Miller insisted that prisons would only be used for “a very small segment” of the migrant population, which he described as “not criminals,” but “high-risk” individuals who often have “severe mental health problems.” - Lloyd Axworthy and Allan Rock.
The Charter’s override function must be off-limits when it comes to criminal justice
“Now, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is promising a different system if his party is elected – a return to criminal law unconstrained by Charter rights. His proposal is to start with sentencing. If his policies defy the Charter’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, Mr. Poilievre has a plan. “We will make them constitutional, using whatever tools the Constitution allows me to use to make them constitutional,” he said last week to the Canadian Police Association. “I think you know exactly what I mean.” - Lisa Kerr.
Ontario’s keffiyeh ban dares to define the scarf’s meaning for everyone
“In 2008, Ontario marked August 1 as Emancipation Day going forward, with the Emancipation Day Act recognizing the long-standing contributions of Ontario’s Black community to Ontario and Upper Canada. It acknowledged the Ontario Black History Society, which is “dedicated to the study, preservation and promotion of the history of Ontario’s Black community.” It recognized the “ongoing struggle for human rights and freedom from repression for persons of all races”: a worthy aspiration toward a just society, with respect for human dignity at its core.” Sheema Khan
Justin Trudeau didn’t start the fire. But the Prime Minister helped stoke Canada’s political polarization
“Justin Trudeau led the federal Liberals into the 2015 election on a promise to give the middle ground back to Canadians. Before long, there was less middle ground. It had already been shrinking for years when Mr. Trudeau became the Liberal Leader in 2013. He didn’t cause the polarization of Canadian politics, but he noticed it, acted on it, nudged it along. By 2021, that polarization came not only to save his career, but to define it.” - Paul Wells.
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Ian Bailey