Achi news desk-
Hello,
The federal government will continue to deliver the carbon rebate to Saskatchewan residents despite the province’s move to stop collecting and paying the levy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today.
In January, Saskatchewan’s natural gas and Crown electricity utility removed the federal carbon price from home heating bills, a move the government says will improve fairness for its residents relative to the other provinces.
But Trudeau told a news conference in Saskatoon today that payments to residents will not stop and that the Canada Revenue Agency has ways to ensure money owed to them is eventually collected. He said he has faith in the “thorough” quasi-judicial proceedings the agency uses.
In Ottawa, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault accused Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who opposes federal carbon pricing policy, of playing politics with climate change.
“The Premier, and I think the cabinet, felt that it would not be fair for the people of Saskatchewan to pay for the irresponsible attitude of the provincial government,” Guilbeault told a news conference.
The rebate is available to residents of states and territories where the federal carbon pricing system applies.
Trudeau was in Saskatoon to announce that the federal government is offering $5 billion in loan guarantees to support indigenous communities seeking ownership in natural resource and energy projects.
This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Ian Bailey. It is only available to our digital subscribers. If you’re reading this on the web, subscribers can sign up for the Politics newsletter and more than 20 more on our newsletter sign up page. Do you have any feedback? Let us know what you think.
HEADS TODAY
Proposal to allow keffiyehs in Ontario legislature fails again: A few members of the Ontario government blocked a move to allow keffiyehs in the legislature, prompting some people watching Question Period from the public galleries to wear the scarves.
BC delays social media harm bill: Premier David Eby issued a joint statement today with representatives from Meta, TikTok, Snap and X to say they have reached an agreement to work to help young people stay safe online through a new BC Online Safety Action Table.
Changes to capital gains tax may prompt doctors to quit, CMA warns: Kathleen Ross, president of the Canadian Medical Association, said the tax measure “is really another blow to a profession that is already under siege and low morale.”
A Thunder Bay indigenous group wants the province to abolish the municipal police force: Principal Chief Alvin Fiddler, of the Holi Nishnawbe Nation, said after years of turmoil, the Thunder Bay force has not earned the trust of the indigenous people it serves.
Canada Post refuses to collect banned guns for Ottawa’s buy-back program: CBC says the Crown corporation’s position complicates Ottawa’s plans for a buyback program to remove 144,000 firearms from private hands, federal sources said.
Ottawa police investigating chant on Parliament Hill glorifying Hamas attack October 7: Chief Constable Eric Stubbs acknowledged that it can sometimes be difficult to discern what constitutes a hate crime as he confirmed that his police were investigating a pro-Palestinian protest over the weekend on Parliament Hill.
POLITICAL QUOTES TODAY
“I’m not taking any lessons from the Leader of the Opposition in terms of how marginalized people feel. It’s Canadian Italian, which, in the 1970s, was being spat on.” – Ontario Government House Leader Paul Calandra in the legislature today.
“I have spoken to some of my peers from all over the world. All of us would be challenged to find an environment minister somewhere in the world who would tell you: Easy peasy fighting climate change.” – Federal Minister of the Environment Steven Guilbeault at a news conference in Ottawa today as international talks in the city get underway to deal with plastic pollution,
THIS AND THAT
Commons, Senate: The House of Commons is in recess until April 29. The Senedd sits again on April 30.
Deputy Prime Minister’s Day: Chrystia Freeland participated in a fireside chat on the budget, then took questions from the media.
Ministers on the road: With the House of Commons in recess, ministers continued to fan out across Canada to talk about the budget. Today, the emphasis was mainly on the budget and Indigenous reconciliation. Citizen Services Minister Terry Beech, with Health Minister Mark Holland, make a native reconciliation announcement in the BC Sechelt community. Defense Minister Bill Blair on a three day visit to the Northwest Territories. Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault is in Edmonton to make an announcement on Indigenous reconciliation. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne It was in Quebec city, La Tuque. Minister of Public Services Jean-Yves Duclos in Quebec City, focusing on the budget and Indigenous reconciliation. Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu in Vancouver addressing Indigenous reconciliation. Minister of Families Jenna Sudds which is in Thunder Bay. President of the King’s Privy Council Harjit Sajjan a Justice Minister Arif Virani he touched on the budget at an event in Coquitlam, BC
Vidal out: Conservative MP Gary Vidal has announced that he will not run in the next election due to dramatic changes in the Saskatchewan riding he has represented since 2019 which will mean he will no longer live there. Also, he noted in a post on X’s social media platform that the Conservatives do not allow an open nomination in the riding in which he will live. “While this is not the expected result I was anticipating, circumstances beyond my and my team’s control have required me to move on after the next election,” he wrote.
IS in Saskatchewan: Mary Simon and her partner, Whit Fraser, continued their visit to the province, with a stop in Regina that included a stop at the Regina Open Door Association, which provides settlement and integration services for refugees and immigrants. Later, he participated in a roundtable discussion with mental health experts on issues affecting Canada’s farming and ranching communities.
New CEO for Pearson Center for Progressive Policy: George Young is the new chief executive officer of the think tank on progressive issues. The former national director of the federal Liberal party under Jean Chrétien served as chief of staff to several Chrétien ministers, he was a senior adviser to former Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Justin Trudeau was in Saskatoon for a news conference on budget measures.
LEADERS
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May in Ottawa to attend a session of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on plastic pollution.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Edmonton, he went knocking on doors in the city with Edmonton Center candidate Trisha Estabrooks.
No schedules have been released for Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
THE DECIBEL
On today’s podcast, Nathan VanderKlippe, The Globe’s international reporter, discussed what has been happening on the farmlands of the West Bank during the Israel-Hamas war. The Decibel is here.
PUBLIC OPINION
Liberals not an option: A third of Canadians surveyed by Ipsos Global Public Affairs say they would never vote Liberal in the next federal election.
No budget increase: Nanos Research says the federal Tories have a 19-point lead over the Liberals despite releasing a budget the government hoped would improve its political fortunes.
CAQ third: Quebec’s Avenir Quebec governing coalition party, in a new opinion poll, has fallen to third place in public support behind the Parti Québécois and the Liberals, according to The Gazette in Montreal.
OPINION
The Liberals are promising billions for clean power. Don’t undermine it with politics
“In the summer of 2022, US President Joe Biden’s ambition to introduce landmark climate legislation looked like it was dead – until the plan experienced a sudden political resurrection on Capitol Hill. The machinations in Washington have reverberated in Ottawa ever since. ” – The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
The Liberals’ immigration policies have achieved the opposite of what was intended
“In its purposeful effort to encourage international student migration to Canada, the Trudeau government is turning parts of our post-secondary education system into a crit. As a result, broad public support for immigration, a cornerstone of multicultural Canada, is eroding.” – John Ibbitson
Canada’s crippling disability benefit is a sign of a government out of ideas
“The Canada Disability Benefit had – and still has – the potential to be a generational game changer. Done right, it could lift hundreds of thousands of Canadians out of poverty. But what the Liberal government has achieved so far is a massive betrayal of the promise made to those living with physical, developmental and psychiatric disabilities: a program with paltry payment and limited scope, and which is bogged down in bureaucracy.” – André Picard
Have a news tip you’d like us to look into? Email us at [email protected]. Need to share documents securely? Reach out through SecureDrop.
Adblock Test (Why?)
Source link
Related
