Hello,
Three senators are calling for the exoneration of 12 Indigenous women they say have endured a pattern of discrimination, inequality and violence within the criminal system.
The demand of Senators Dawn Anderson, Yvonne Boyer and Kim Pate, in a report released on Monday, comes as the federal government is working to overhaul its conviction review process and struggling to contain soaring rates of Indigenous incarceration.
The 12 Indigenous women are profiled in the report by the senators, who want the cases reviewed for possible miscarriages of justice owing to race and gender.
Reporter Patrick White reports here.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
GOVERNMENT AIMING FOR ONE-YEAR TIMELINE TO RETURN CLIMATE-DISASTER VICTIMS TO NORMAL LIFE - The federal government says that by 2030 it wants to be able to return victims of climate disasters to normal life within one year and it hopes to stop biodiversity loss by the end of the decade as it develops a sweeping new climate adaptation plan. Story here.
JUSTICE MINISTER AIMS TO REVERSE DISPROPORTIONATE RATE OF INDIGENOUS INCARCERATION - Canada’s Justice Minister is adamant that Liberal legislation will begin reversing the country’s disproportionate rate of Indigenous incarceration, but he acknowledges more needs to be done to address racial inequities in the justice system. Story here.
PM SOUGHT BRIEFING ON TAX ON EXTREME WEALTH - Internal government documents show Prime Minister Justin Trudeau requested a personal briefing on the merits of a tax on extreme wealth last summer, just weeks before he triggered the 2021 election campaign. Story here.
ROYAL TOUR OF CANADA BEGINS THIS WEEK - Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, are set to begin a three-day tour of Canada this week that will focus on Indigenous reconciliation and climate change – and on connecting with a Canadian public that is increasingly skeptical of the monarchy. Story here. Meanwhile, the prince is set to be greeted by his own “woolly doppelgänger” as he meets with wool enthusiasts in St. John’s, on the first leg of the Canadian tour. Story here.
QUEBEC CONSERVATIVE LEADER SEEKS ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DEBATE - Conservative Party of Quebec leader Éric Duhaime is inviting Quebec Liberal Party leader Dominique Anglade to take part in an English-language debate ahead of the October election, even if Premier François Legault declines to take part. Story here.
ONTARIO ELECTION - The leaders of Ontario’s four major parties are participating in a televised debate Monday night ahead of the June election. Queen’s Park Reporter Dustin Cook reports here on four things to look for in the debate. The live debate will air, between 6:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. ET, on TV on CBC, CHCH, CITY TV, CPAC, CTV, Global and TVO. It will also be simulcast on various radio stations and can be streamed online. Journalists Steve Paikin of TVO and The Toronto Star’s Althia Raj are moderating. Asked by the Politics Briefing newsletter about the moderators’ approach for the debate, Mr. Paikin said in a statement, “It’s [the candidates’] show, not ours. Our mission is to moderate and facilitate their debate, not take it over. Period.”
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
POILIEVRE AND JORDAN PETERSON - During the first official debate of the federal Conservative leadership race, candidate Pierre Poilievre praised the book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson. On Monday, Mr. Poilievre appeared on a YouTube broadcast here with Mr. Peterson, taking questions. Topics include Mr. Poilievre’s perspective on his interactions with supporters, his views of the media and the CBC, as well as the trucker protests in Ottawa and the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act.
CONSERVATIVES NEED TO ACT ON SUCH ISSUES AS CLIMATE: KIM CAMPBELL - Amid discussions about the battle for the soul of the Conservative Party, former prime minister Kim Campbell says without leadership on policies such as climate change, the party’s identity will remain in question. Story here from CTV.
CAMPAIGN TRAIL - Scott Aitchison is in Vancouver. Patrick Brown is in Naramata, B.C. Jean Charest is, this week, in Toronto and heading for British Columbia, with events in the Lower Mainland and in Nanaimo and Victoria later this week. Pierre Poilievre is attending a meet-and -reet event in St. John’s. There are no details on the campaign itinerary of Roman Baber and Leslyn Lewis.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, May.16, accessible here.
MASSIVE NEW REDEVELOPMENT NEAR PARLIAMENT HILL - The federal government has announced specifics for a redesign of a block of buildings on Wellington Street across from Parliament Hill - known as Block 2. As the announcement was made Monday, federal Public Services Minister Filomena Tassi says the project, which will result in the creation of a new building to house MPs, senators, committee rooms and an Indigenous Peoples’ space, will cost an estimated $430-million. A jury selected by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada picked a proposal developed by Toronto’s Zeidler Architecture Inc. and Britain’s David Chipperfield Architects. Story here.
On Monday’s announcement, Mr. Bozikovic offers the following comment: “Public architecture plays an important symbolic role: it speaks to the importance of government and also expresses the culture and aspirations of the country. For decades, Canadian governments have basically ignored this dimension of public design, and constructed buildings that are neither interesting nor very well-executed. The ‘Block 2′ project signals a shift: London’s David Chipperfield architects are not the usual suspects, and their design brings a subtle interweaving of modernism with local history. It should set the bar for public buildings in Canada.”
WERNICK NAMED TO CHAIR POSITION - Michael Wernick, the former head of Canada’s federal public service, has been named to a chair in public-sector management at the University of Ottawa, effective July. 1. The University of Ottawa announced the posting on Monday. Mr. Wernick’s mandate as the Jarislowsky Chair in Public Sector Management includes research, the expansion of executive courses, and the development and implementation of best practices in public sector management. As the chair, Mr. Wernick, who spent 28 years as an executive in the federal public service including time as Clerk of the Privy Council, will also foster interdisciplinary work across faculties at the university and throughout Canada and look at all aspects of public management. Mr. Wernick’s book Governing Canada: A Guide to the Tradecraft of Politics was released in 2021.
ADVISORY BOARD TO PICK NEW SUPREME COURT JUSTICE - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced the members of the independent advisory board to identify candidates to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court of Canada, created by the retirement of Michael Moldaver. Members include former Supreme Court justice Louise Charron, Konrad Sioui – the former grand chief of the Huron-Wendat Nation – and Paulette Senior, president and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation. Further details here.
THE DECIBEL
Monday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast addresses the question of why it’s so hard, in Canada, to get to see a doctor. The Commonwealth Fund estimated that 56 per cent of Canadians waited more than a month to see a specialist in 2016 or simply to get an appointment with a family doctor – if they even have one. Dr. Robert Bell has worked in health care for over 40 years, as an orthopedic surgeon, former CEO of University Health Network and as a former deputy health minister in Ontario. He talks about what he thinks needs to be done to make the health care system more accessible to Canadians. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
The Prime Minister, in Ottawa, held private meetings and then was scheduled to meet Regina Mayor Sandra Masters at his Parliament Hill office.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois, Yves François Blanchet begins a three-day visit to Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, and was scheduled to participate in a panel on the labour shortage and to hold a news conference on the subject.
No schedules released for other party leaders.
TRIBUTE
Justice advocate David Milgaard, who spent 23 years in prison for a 1969 murder he didn’t commit in one of Canada’s most egregious wrongful convictions, died in a Calgary hospital Sunday. He was 69. Story here.
OPINION
Marcus Gee (The Globe and Mail) on the new-model Doug Ford: “The new Mr. Ford is a proud champion of big government. His “Get it done” campaign promises lavish outlays on everything from highways and subways to hospitals and northern development. His “Build Ontario” plan “will help bring prosperity everywhere, for everyone.” Instead of denouncing previous governments for spending like a drunken sailor, he denounces them for decades of “underspending and underinvestment” on health care. The new-model Ford is much more about spending your money than saving it. The election budget he thrust into the shop window for voters last month boasts that “our government is making record capital investments” in Ontario – a cool $158-billion worth over 10 years.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on why Pierre Poilievre should reconsider his rhetoric about firing the Bank of Canada Governor: “Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre has vowed that, if he becomes prime minister, he will fire Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, whom he blames for inflation. For his own sake, Mr. Poilievre should reconsider. The last time a prime minister tried to fire the central bank’s governor, it ruined him.”
Robert Bell, Anne Golden, Paul Alofs, and Lionel Robins (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how nearly 15 per cent of Canadians don’t have a family doctor, but the solution isn’t hiring more: “The Ontario Medical Association has identified “fixing doctor shortages” as a key issue that the province’s health care system needs to address, and it’s a growing problem from coast to coast. Newfoundland and Labrador has around 98,000 residents in need of a doctor, for example, while 900,000 British Columbians currently don’t have an FD. This is especially taxing for urgent-care systems, as more patients are turning to walk-in clinics and emergency departments for matters that could be attended to by an FD.”
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Ian Bailey