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Pierre Poilievre is challenging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with top officials 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 respond directly to the urge. Instead, he pointed to the positive aspects of his government’s approach to carbon pricing, and said he would meet with senior officials on affordability issues. He also noted that he had met with the main climate change officials in 2016.
The federal carbon price on April 1 increased by $15 to $80 per ton. 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 calling for an “urgent carbon tax meeting” with the 14 major league and territorial leaders on the government’s carbon pricing policies.
Asked for comment on the proposal, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon was noncommittal. “Well, we’ll see how the argument turns out. We have opposition proposals 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 with top officials on the matter.
Speaking at an event in Ottawa on Monday, Mark Carney, who is now the UN’s special envoy for climate action and finance, said he supported Ms Smith’s call 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 top provincial officials.
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TODAY’S HEADS
National security adviser says foreign intervention efforts do not equate to success: Nathalie Drouin told the federal inquiry into election interference that Canadians may mistakenly think foreign actors had an impact on Canadian election results. Meanwhile, CSIS says the Prime Minister’s Office, prime ministers and senior officials have received 34 briefings on foreign interference since 2018.
MPs approve rare rebuke of ArriveCan contractor for refusing to answer questions: The House unanimously passed a motion declaring Kristian Firth in contempt of Parliament, and calling on him to face new questions from MPs.
Liberal budget to include $500-million for youth mental health, Freeland says: “We want younger Canadians to get the support they need so they are set up for success,” Freeland told a news conference in Ottawa.
Freeland does not rule out new taxes on the wealthy or Corporate Canadians in the upcoming budget: Obviously, the Minister of Finance did not answer when asked during a news conference about the possibility of new taxes on Corporate Canada or others who are not part of the middle class.
Ontario is looking at counting student residences toward the goal 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 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., as well as long-term care bed counts, but is also now looking at “ other institutional types of housing.”
Alberta distillery to stop making four liter jugs of vodka after minister raises concern: T-Rex Distillery says public reaction has been mixed since photos of the jugs began circulating on social media, with about half praising the jugs for “innovation and convenience.”
A new challenge for Ottawa’s troubled LRT system: As The Ottawa Citizen reports, the stench of the transit system in the nation’s capital at Senedd Station hits like a picnic basket full of egg salad sandwiches that have been left behind for a week or two.
MPs explained: This week’s eclipse brought MPs out of the House of Commons to mingle and, with the right glasses, look up at the sky in the rare event.
POLITICAL QUOTES TODAY
“Very often on budget day, each of you is 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 we are doing and to have a thorough, reasonable, fact-based debate about many of the measures, and I think that is a very good thing.” – Deputy First Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freelandat a news conference in Ottawa today, on the release of next week’s federal budget details in recent announcements ahead of the official release of the document on April 16.
“I think he’s too scared. …Trudeau is hiding. He hides from me [Question Period] today. I have just learned that he will not be debating me on the carbon tax in the House today, but do you blame him. It’s missing the argument: Canadians want to get rid of the tax.” – Conservative leader Pierre Polievre, in a Parliament Hill scrum this morning. The Prime Minister’s schedule for today initially stated that he was not attending Question Period, but was later updated to indicate that he would be there.
“I spoke to Anthony Housefather, actually. We are both on House duty together. I gave him a big hug, and he’s my parliamentary secretary and he – he and I have a great working relationship. I am very happy that he is back and resuming his work as parliamentary secretary. It’s great news” – Treasury Board President Anita Anand on Housefather Liberal MP ruling out departure from Liberal caucus over motion passed last month.
“I haven’t had a chance to read the book. … I’m aware of it. I will put it on my reading list. ” – Health Minister Mark Holland on former health minister Jane Philpott’s new book, 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 House of Commons: Projected Order of Business in the House of Commons, April 9, available 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 the agriculture committee hearing on Bill C-355, an act to ban the export of horses to be slaughtered by plane, is Tim Perry, president of the International Airline Pilots Association and 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 trips is here, and the commissioner explains his views on this matter.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Justin Trudeau chaired the weekly cabinet meeting, and attended the Question Period.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet held a news conference in the House of Commons before Question Period, which he attended.
The leader of the Green Party, Elizabeth May, in Ottawa,’ met with representatives from the Canadian Cancer Society along with his fellow Member of Parliament Mike Morrice. Later, May attended the Equal Voice International Women’s Day Celebration.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh participate in the Question Period.
No schedule has been released for Conservative leader Pierre Polievre.
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 laborers in Chinese seafood factories – in violation of UN sanctions – that n supplying some Canadian seafood companies. . The Decibel is here.
OPINION
The Liberals are sleeping through an increasingly dangerous world
“The official name of Ottawa’s defense policy review is Our North, Strong and Free, but the title should really be While Canada Sleepwalks.” – The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
The Sham defense review shows that Canada will never live up to its commitments to NATO allies
“If Canada wants to retain any credibility with its allies, the government needs to move forward. That means speeding up the procurement process for major new acquisitions. It means working with the United States to provide a timetable for modernizing NORAD defenses, and then meeting the commitments of that timetable. The update is out. Now it’s time to act.” – John Ibbitson
Not all nuclear technology is the same, and there is a specific type that Canada must focus on
“We have an opportunity to take on a global leadership role that will support domestic and international efforts to combat climate change while fostering Canada’s progressive nuclear ecosystem. We encourage governments at all levels and of all stripes to seize this opportunity by choosing to use Candu’s homegrown 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 pornography will not protect children from harm online. But it will interfere with our privacy
“We can all agree that young people deserve to be protected from harm, so keeping children safe online is a position that politicians are quick to endorse; support for anti-porn bills offers an easy path to positive public relations. But good intentions do not make good laws.” – Maggie MacDonald
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