Hello,
Schitt’s Creek star Daniel Levy and Toronto Raptors president Masai Michael Ujiri have been appointed to the Order of Canada, the Governor-General announced on Friday.
But as Mary Simon announced the 85 appointments, she called for greater diversity in nominations.
“We must also acknowledge that work remains to ensure that Canadian honours better reflect the full diversity of our country,” Ms. Simon said in a statement.
“Nominations continue to fall short of representing the excellence achieved by women, Francophones, persons with disabilities, and people from culturally diverse backgrounds.”
More than 7,800 people have been inducted into the Order of Canada since its creation in 1967.
In making Friday’s announcement, Ms. Simon said individuals who have made an extraordinary contribution to society were being recognized, “a group of individuals who, through dedication and ajuinnata – perseverance – make our communities and our country better every day.”
Mr. Ujiri has been invested as an officer of the order for his work on the basketball court and efforts to increase access to the sport in Africa. Mr. Levy has been named a member of the order for advancing Canadian television and advocating for 2SLGBTQI+ communities.
Others honoured include writer Susan Swan for her contributions to Canadian literature and culture, and mentorship of the next generation of writers as well as Leo Gerard, the former president of the United Steelworkers union, for his “vast and influential work” in labour advocacy.
The Order of Canada has three levels of recognition, with companion at the top, followed by officer and then member. The first two levels celebrate achievement and merit to Canada at large, while a member is celebrated for their service to a particular group or field.
There’s a full list of appointees here.
With a file from The Canadian Press.
There will be no Politics Briefing newsletter on Monday, July 3. The newsletter will be back on Tuesday.
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
MPs, Judges begin probe of scientists firing – A special committee of MPs and judges has begun a probe into the firing of two infectious disease scientists from Canada’s top-secret laboratory in Winnipeg and whether they provided confidential scientific intelligence to China. Story here.
No safe supply in Alberta: Smith – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the province will not implement safe supply programs as a way of tackling the opioid crisis after a record month for overdoses in April. Story here from CTV.
Spy agency cleared for more “active cyberoperations” against foreign adversaries – Canada’s electronic spy agency was green-lighted by Ottawa last year to conduct more “active cyberoperations” against foreign adversaries than ever before, evidence of a growing offensive role for the Communications Security Establishment. Story here.
Parents seek answers in death of son at military college – Months after the death of their son, Absar Chaudhry while he was at the Royal Military College in Kingston, his parents are taking the Canadian Forces to court, questioning the legitimacy of the military investigating his passing. Story here.
PC party members in NB have filed letters to trigger review of Higgs’ leadership – Progressive Conservative party members hoping to remove Blaine Higgs as leader say they have officially submitted the required letters to the party to trigger a leadership review. Story here from CBC.
Chamber of commerce wary about B.C. port strike – The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says it is “deeply disturbed” the British Columbia port workers’ union has served strike notice and is prepared to walk out on Saturday. Story here.
First Nations police chiefs rebuke Public Safety minister over funding – The chiefs of three Indigenous police forces in Ontario have rejected the federal Public Safety Minister’s offer to give them more control over their financing and operations. Story here.
Ford defends opposition to declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic – Ontario Premier Doug Ford is defending the province’s decision to reject a call to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic, instead blaming the federal government for what he deems the failure of the justice system. Story here.
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 Québec City, held private meetings and met with Québec Finance Minister Eric Girard.
MINISTERS ON THE ROAD – Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, at Billy Bishop City Airport in Toronto, announced project funding for United States-bound travellers. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, in Antigonish, N.S., on behalf of Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, announced funding for the Home Heating Oil Transition Program for Nova Scotia. Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings, in St. Anthony, NL, made an announcement of support for an initiative of St. Anthony Basin Resources Inc. International Trade Minister Mary Ng, in Vancouver, attended the grand opening of the Chinese Canadian Museum to provide remarks, take part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony and unveil a plaque to mark the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act. International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan, also Minister for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, announced tourism funding for Vancouver.
IN OTTAWA – Treasury Board President Mona Fortier, on behalf of Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, appeared with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe to announce funding to install 133 new electric vehicle chargers in Ottawa.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Private meetings in Ottawa. Also, the Prime Minister was scheduled to speak with French President Emmanuel Macron.
LEADERS
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Richmond, B.C., joins hotel workers on the picket line and, later, meets with Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West.
No schedules released for other party leaders.
THE DECIBEL
On Friday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Education reporter Caroline Alphonso talks about the Grade 8 students of St. Demetrius Catholic School who are mostly refugees from the war in Ukraine. The Decibel is here.
TRIBUTE
Stephen Owen – The former Liberal MP from Vancouver, who served in Paul Martin’s cabinet as the minister of public works as well as western diversification, has died, aged 74. Mr. Owen was also the British Columbia ombudsman, and, following his political career, a University of British Columbia vice president. There’s an obituary here.
PUBLIC OPINION
Pride in Canada – Canadians’ pride in their nationality, like most things these days, seems to be divided down partisan lines, a new poll suggests. Story here from CTV.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how newsrooms don’t need the CRTC’s eye: “The short-term consequences of Bill C-18 could be a disaster – but the long-term effects might be even worse. At the heart of Bill C-18 is bland bureaucratic language that stipulates how media organizations can qualify for payments from tech companies. But those rules are more than a checklist. They look a lot like the licensing of officially sanctioned newsrooms and a threat to journalistic independence, particularly given the involvement of the CRTC.”
Kelly Cryderman (The Globe and Mail) on Alberta’s new Finance Minister needing all the help he can get: “Nate Horner has begun his time as Alberta Finance Minister on solid footing by leaning on the results from 2022-23, which he describes as “one of the most positive fiscal years in our province’s history.” It includes moving past years of deficits with a record $11.6-billion surplus, and the province’s highest ever non-renewable resource and corporate income tax revenues.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on what Bill C-18 is trying to save might be too far gone: “The Liberal government’s latest effort to rescue the news business is doing more harm than good. In any case, that effort is probably too little and too late. Last week, as Parliament rose for the summer, Bill C-18, the Online News Act, received royal assent. The law, in essence, requires tech giants to pay for news content that appears on their platforms in this country. The goal is to compensate news organizations for lost advertising revenue.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on how politicians aren’t drug experts, and should stop pretending to be: “Any notion of the “Alberta model” being some kind of panacea for drug addiction should be dispensed of immediately. Yes, treatment and recovery are important aspects of an overall approach to the opioid epidemic, but so is safer supply, something the UCP has wrong-headedly rejected. In fact, supervised consumption sites have closed under their watch.”
Kevin Yin (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on not blaming inflation on government or the central bank – or expecting them to fix it: “Canadians are bearing the cost of a record-high period of inflation and politicians are pointing fingers at fiscal and monetary responses to the pandemic. But inflation wasn’t created by these domestic policies, and neither can it be entirely solved by them. Justin Trudeau’s government was sending billions in stimulus checks and the Bank of Canada was purchasing bonds en masse from financial institutions, actions that led critics of those policies to label our inflation a “made-in-Canada” phenomena. But there are some obvious confounders to that criticism.”
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
Ian Bailey