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Pierre Poilievre is challenging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet the premiers in a televised conference to defend the federal government’s carbon pricing measures.
“Will he agree to a televised carbon tax conference if he is so sure of himself on this issue?” the Conservative Leader asked during Question Period today, echoing a call from several provincial leaders, including Alberta’s Danielle Smith and Newfoundland and Labrador’s Andrew Furey.
Trudeau did not directly respond to the urging. Instead, he touted the positive aspects of his government’s approach to pricing carbon, and said he will meet premiers on affordability issues. He also noted that he met with the premiers on climate change in 2016.
The federal carbon price increased April 1 by $15 to $80 a tonne. The federal charge is applied in all provinces except British Columbia and Quebec, which have their own provincial carbon pricing systems.
Poilievre is also sponsoring an Opposition Day motion that calls for a “carbon tax emergency meeting” with the 14 premiers and territorial leaders on the government’s carbon-pricing policies.
Asked for comment on the motion, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon was non-committal. “Well, we will see how the debate turns out. We have opposition motions all the time,” he told journalists after the weekly cabinet meeting.
Meanwhile, the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England says he supports the idea of Trudeau meeting the premiers on the issue.
Speaking at an event in Ottawa on Monday, Mark Carney, now the United Nations’ special envoy on climate action and finance, said he supported a call from Ms. Smith for a first ministers’ meeting on climate.
But he said the discussion should go beyond a debate over the federal carbon levy, which has been heavily criticized by Poilievre and a number of provincial premiers.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
National security adviser says foreign meddling efforts do not equal success: Nathalie Drouin told the federal inquiry into election interference that Canadians might mistakenly think foreign actors had an effect on Canada’s election results. Meanwhile, CSIS says the Prime Minister’s Office, top ministers and senior officials received 34 briefings on foreign interference since 2018.
MPs approve rare censure of ArriveCan contractor for refusing to answer questions: The House unanimously passed a motion declaring Kristian Firth to be in contempt of Parliament, and calling for him to face new questioning from MPs.
Liberal budget to include $500-million for youth mental health, Freeland says: “We want younger Canadians to have the support they need so they are set up for success,” Freeland told a news conference in Ottawa.
Freeland doesn’t rule out new taxes on wealthy or Corporate Canada in coming budget: The Finance Minister pointedly did not answer when asked during a news conference about the prospect of new taxes on Corporate Canada or others not part of the middle class.
Ontario looks at counting student residences toward aim of building 1½ million homes: Housing Minister Paul Calandra wrote in a letter to Mississauga’s acting mayor that the ministry is tracking housing starts as defined by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., in addition to counting long-term care beds, but it is also now looking at “other institutional types of housing.”
Alberta distillery to stop making four-litre vodka jugs after minister raises concern: T-Rex Distillery says public response has been mixed since photos of the jugs began circulating on social media, with about half praising the jugs for “innovation and convenience.”
New challenge for Ottawa’s embattled LRT system: As The Ottawa Citizen reports, the stench at the Parliament Station of the transit system in the nation’s capital hits like a picnic basket full of egg salad sandwiches that have been left behind for a week or two.
MPs eclipsed: This week’s eclipse brought MPs out of the House of Commons to mingle and, with proper eyewear, look up to the skies at the rare event.
TODAY’S POLITICAL QUOTES
“Very often on budget day, all of you are met with a flurry of announcements. Laying out our plan, step by step, day by day is an opportunity for Canadians to hear from us what it is we’re doing and for there to be a real thorough, reasoned, fact-based debate about a number of the measures, and I think that’s a really good thing.” – Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, at a news conference in Ottawa today, on releasing details of next week’s federal budget in recent announcements ahead of the April 16 official release of the document.
“I think he’s too scared. ...Trudeau’s in hiding. He’s hiding from me at [Question Period] today. I just learned he won’t show up to debate me on the carbon tax in the House today, but do you blame him. He’s losing the debate: Canadians want to axe the tax.” – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, in a Parliament Hill scrum this morning. The Prime Minister’s schedule for today initially said he was not attending Question Period, but was later updated to indicate he would be there.
“I just spoke with Anthony Housefather, actually. We’re both on House duty together. I just gave him a big hug, and he is my parliamentary secretary and he’s – he and I have a wonderful working relationship. I’m very happy that he’s back and resuming his work as parliamentary secretary. It’s wonderful news” – Treasury Board President Anita Anand on Liberal MP Housefather ruling out a departure from the Liberal caucus over a motion passed last month.
“I haven’t had a chance to read the book. ... I’m aware of it. I’ll put it on my reading list.” – Health Minister Mark Holland on the new book by former health minister Jane Philpott, Health for All: A Doctor’s Prescription for a Healthier Canada. Monday’s Politics Briefing newsletter featured a Q&A with Philpott on the new book.
THIS AND THAT
Today in the Commons: Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, April 9, accessible here.
Deputy Prime Minister’s day: Chrystia Freeland announced $500-million in funding for youth mental health before attending the weekly cabinet meeting.
Commons committee highlights: Among the witnesses appearing before a hearing of the agriculture committee on Bill C-355, an act to prohibit the export by air of horses for slaughter, are Tim Perry, president of the Air Line Pilots Association International and the president of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, Trevor Lawson.
Federal Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein has released a review of sponsored travel by MPs in 2023. The list of travels is here, and the commissioner explains his views on the issue here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Justin Trudeau chaired the weekly cabinet meeting, and attended Question Period.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet held a news conference at the House of Commons ahead of Question Period, which he attended.
Green Party Leader ELizabeth May, in Ottawa,’ met with representatives of the Canadian Cancer Society along with fellow MP Mike Morrice. Later, May attended the Equal Voice International Women’s Day Celebration.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh participated in Question Period.
No schedule released for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
THE DECIBEL
On today’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Ian Urbina, executive editor of The Outlaw Ocean Project, discusses the findings of an investigation by the non-profit investigative journalism organization that reveals a network of North Korean labourers at Chinese seafood plants – a violation of United Nations sanctions – supplying certain Canadian seafood companies. The Decibel is here.
OPINION
The Liberals are sleepwalking through an increasingly dangerous world
“The official name of Ottawa’s defence policy review is Our North, Strong and Free, but the title really should be While Canada Sleepwalks.” – The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
Sham defence review shows Canada will never meet its commitments to NATO allies
“If Canada is to retain any credibility with its allies, the government needs to get a move on. That means accelerating the procurement process for major new acquisitions. It means working with the United States to provide a timeline for modernizing NORAD’s defences, and then meeting the commitments of that timeline. The update is out. Now it’s time to act.” – John Ibbitson
Nuclear tech isn’t all the same, and there’s a specific type Canada must focus on
“We have an opportunity to assume a global leadership role that will support domestic and international efforts to fight climate change while nurturing Canada’s cutting-edge nuclear ecosystem. We urge governments at all levels and of all stripes to seize on this occasion by choosing the deployment of homegrown Candu nuclear technology in the Canadian market, and aggressively marketing it to energy-starved partners across the planet.” – Jean Chrétien and Mike Harris
Requiring age-verification for porn won’t save children from online harm. But it will invade our privacy
“We can all agree that young people deserve protection from harm, so keeping kids safe online is a position that politicians are quick to endorse; support for anti-porn bills offers an easy route to positive PR. But good intentions don’t make for good laws.” – Maggie MacDonald
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Ian Bailey