Good morning,
For the first time in 15 years, Statistics Canada says it will publish data on criminal cases, including allegations of sexual assault, that were classified as ”unfounded” by police departments.
Statscan says it’s been conducting training workshops with police departments across the country to change the way such cases are classified and defined. It’s one of the most extensive training efforts the agency’s justice statistics branch has ever undertaken.
The new effort follows a Globe and Mail investigation that gathered data from hundreds of police forces, revealing that one in five sexual assault allegations were classified by police as baseless, or unfounded. The Globe investigation has prompted several forces to review old cases or implement now policies for such investigations.
This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Mayaz Alam and James Keller in Vancouver. Mayaz, a former co-author of the newsletter, is back for a few weeks to help us cover for summer holidays. Thanks Mayaz!
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
U.S. President Donald Trump finds himself at odds with other leaders of the NATO alliance, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling in question his claim that he persuaded other member states to increase their defence spending. After leaving continental Europe, Mr. Trump made his way to the United Kingdom for his first official visit. There, too, he found controversy after challenging Prime Minister Theresa May’s handling of Brexit and criticizing her government. Mr. Trump’s comments came in an interview to The Sun and his visit is expected to draw protesters.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatened to scrap executive employment contracts at Hydro One in order to oust the company’s CEO and board of directors. When the board was pushed out, Mr. Ford asserted that retiring CEO Mayo Schmidt would get “no severance.” A Globe analysis shows that in fact Mr. Mayo will receive upward of $8-million in stock, bonuses and other compensation. The 14 directors who constituted the board, all of whom are retiring, will receive nearly $5-million for their stock holdings.
Ontario Lieutenant-Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell delivered Mr. Ford’s first throne speech, in which the new government is pledging to make the province’s finances its priority. The Tories are pledging to introduce no new taxes and reduce the tax burden on individuals and businesses, while also rolling back regulations.
Alberta’s United Conservative Party has won two provincial by-elections, retaining seats it held before the vote. The results don’t change the balance of power in the legislature, where the New Democrats hold a comfortable majority.
As Kinder Morgan prepares to sell the Trans Mountain pipeline to the federal government, the company is paying $325-million in capital gains on the project.
Lawyers for Saskatchewan farmer Robert Latimer are asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his justice minister for a pardon, nearly 25 years after Mr. Latimer was convicted of killing his disabled daughter.
B.C.’s election agency has appointed Yes and No groups that will campaign in a fall referendum on proportional representation. Each group receives $500,000 in government funding, while additional groups can raise their own money and mount campaigns under more restrictive spending limits.
His greatest fear is dying. His first job was at A&W. Read our 20 Questions feature with former B.C. premier Glen Clark.
Nearly half of all Canadians know little about the dangers of concussions, according to a poll commissioned by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor has been tasked with implementing a pan-Canadian concussion strategy.
Indigenous women are overrepresented in random street checks by Vancouver Police, according to activists, prompting them to seek an investigation of the force.
And even though the trade war between China and the United States continues to escalate, both sides have signalled that they are willing to meet again at the negotiating table.
Aurel Braun (The Globe and Mail) on NATO: “Despite Mr. Trump’s relentless criticism of allies, his contrasting soft rhetoric on Russia has belied the reality that in policy terms he has so far offered Moscow quite little.”
Doug Saunders (The Globe and Mail) on Trump and Putin: “The Trump-Putin relationship is not primarily one of personal friendship or competition, nor an enmity or awkward reconciliation between nations. It is, above all else, a single ideology, Trumpism-Putinism, that is the joint work of both men and their followers. It has been years in the making.”
Lawrence Martin (The Globe and Mail) on defence spending: “The assumption is always – despite NATO increases of US$33-billion last year – that the spending must go higher. Whether the boost is commensurate with a stronger threat is a question inadequately examined.”
Elizabeth Renzetti (The Globe and Mail) on sex-ed: “Ontario’s new Progressive Conservative government announced this week it would instruct school boards to revert to the old curriculum, which dates from 1998. In doing so, it is both fulfilling a campaign promise and bowing to pressure from a vocal minority of parents who protested the changes introduced in 2015, sometimes withdrawing their children from school. Those parents are joyous at this retreat into the past; many of the rest of us are angry to see the curriculum, which was the product of consultation with parents, educators and students, hijacked in this way. In any case, all of our kids, who carry the sexual world on screens in their pockets but have no guidance on how to navigate it, will be the ones who lose.” (for subscribers)
Denise Balkissoon (The Globe and Mail) on women’s bodies: “Since the beginning of time, misogynist battles have always hurt the most vulnerable women first. The luckier ones watch, hoping that their own bunkers will keep their bodies safe.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on the meeting of premiers: “Provinces have always had deeply entrenched positions on various files that were at odds with one another. However, it seems that in these hyper-partisan times, any hopes for diplomacy, for deal making, is less likely. Bridge building among premiers is becoming a lost art.”
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on Greyhound: “A public good that cannot be reliably provided by the private sector is a decent threshold for government intervention. We may be nearing that threshold for intercity bus service in Western Canada. Governments should be ready to get creative – or get generous.”
Reva Seth (Policy Options) on cannabis: “How legalization will roll out in Canada in the next 18 months will also have a significant impact on the rate and number of other countries following suit. The shift will have a series of implications, including decreasing prescription opioid use and helping end the disproportionate impact that criminalizing cannabis has on low-income communities and communities of colour. Furthermore, Canada’s bold cannabis policy has become linked to our global credibility, particularly as it relates to successfully undertaking significant policy shifts.”
Chris Hannay
James Keller