NDP delegates unanimously support pharmacare redline in their deal with Liberals

Delegates at the New Democratic convention have made pharmacare the redline in their deal with the Liberals, saying they will withdraw their support if the minority government doesn't adhere to their demands.

The confidence-and-supply agreement requires the government to table legislation on a pharmacare framework by the end of the year in exchange for the NDP's support on key votes in the House of Commons.

On Saturday, the party unanimously passed a non-binding emergency resolution that says they will cut the deal if pharamacare isn't universal and entirely a public program.

The Liberals, in their 2019 election platform, campaigned on a promise to implement national universal pharmacare. Similar commitments have appeared in throne speeches and mandate letters to the federal health minister.

A first draft version of the Liberal's pharmacare bill was rejected by the New Democrats last week, as the clock ticks with less than two months left in the current parliamentary sitting.

#healthcare

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🏠🚫B.C. cracking down on short-term rentals with increased fines, new enforcement

The B.C. government has introduced new legislation to regulate the rapidly expanding short-term rental market in an attempt to return homes to the long-term rental market.

The laws are being put in place to crack down on a massive increase in vacation rentals by owners. This may include rental listings on online platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, Expedia, and FlipKey.

Under the new rules, when passed, British Columbians will legally only be able to rent out a primary residence and one more additional secondary suite as a short-term rental.

But the legislation does not provide a blanket ban on these rentals and smaller municipalities are not included.

#BritishColumbia #housing

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💵Canada's inflation rate slows to 3.8%

Canada's inflation rate decelerated to 3.8 per cent in September, down from four per cent in August. The figure, which was reported by Statistics Canada on Tuesday, was lower than economists were expecting.

The data agency said the deceleration in the cost of living was "broad-based" and stemmed from lower prices for a variety of goods and services, including travel, durable goods and some grocery items.

On a monthly basis, the cost of living actually declined in September, by 0.1 per cent. That's the first time that's happened since November of last year.

Gasoline prices fell by 1.3 per cent during the month, but they're still up by 7.5 per cent in the past 12 months, which is why fuel costs were one of the biggest factors pushing up the annual rate.

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📹 Pierre Poilievre dismantles left-wing journalist's questions.

#Poilievre

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🌱Ottawa to press ahead with oil and gas emissions cap despite Supreme Court decision

Ottawa will press forward with a pair of contentious new regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, despite last Friday’s Supreme Court of Canada decision that the government overstepped its constitutional bounds with one of its existing environmental laws.

The message from federal officials on Monday was that they believe neither their plan to cap greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector, nor their proposed Clean Electricity Regulations to restrict emissions from power generation, will be significantly affected by the court’s finding that the 2019 Impact Assessment Act (which enables Ottawa to review whether major projects meet environmental standards) violates provincial jurisdiction.

“The opinion of the court does not call into question other regulatory initiatives under development, and we are confident that they are within the purview of the federal government,” Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said in a statement.

That response could further inflame tensions with Alberta’s government, which was behind the legal challenge to the Impact Assessment Act, and is widely expected to test the electricity rules and emissions cap in the same way.

#energy #Alberta

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🇨🇦🇮🇱🇵🇸 Trudeau calls report of airstrike on Gaza hospital 'horrific' and 'unacceptable'

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the news coming out of Gaza on Tuesday was "horrific and absolutely unacceptable" after the Gaza Health Ministry reported that hundreds have been killed in an airstrike on a Gaza City hospital.

"International humanitarian and international law needs to be respected in this, and in all cases," Trudeau told reporters on his way in to question period, adding in French it is not legal to bomb a hospital. "There are rules around wars, and it’s not acceptable."

❗️Trudeau, however, did not name the side responsible for the attack.

While reporting on the issue, Canadian media cites the Israel Defense Forces, which put the blame on Hamas. Meanwhile, Palestinian authorities are blaming Israel for the deadly strike.

#Israel #Palestine

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Conservative MPs want to bring CBC executives before Commons committee over 'terrorism' language policy

A pair of Conservative MPs will try to compel a CBC executive and a journalism standards director to appear before a House of Commons committee to defend the company's language guide — which discourages the use of the words "terrorism" and "terrorists" when describing attacks and their perpetrators.

Alberta Conservative MP Rachael Thomas said in a statement that the idea is to hold the Crown corporation accountable for what she calls "its biased coverage of Hamas' attack on Israel."

She said an internal email about language guide policies that urges caution about using the word "terrorist" suggests the CBC is downplaying violence perpetrated by Hamas against Israeli civilians.

She also took issue with CBC guidance that says its journalists should be careful about describing the past Israeli presence in Gaza.

#Israel #Palestine

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🔌🌱N.B., N.S. strike deal with Ottawa on phasing out coal and creating a green energy grid by 2030

The governments of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have received approval from the federal government for their plans to increase the use of renewable energy and stop using coal to generate electricity by 2030.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement during a news conference at the end of a day of meetings in Ottawa on Monday.

The plans advanced by the two provinces amount to a modified version of the Atlantic Loop, the massive project that would have seen improved transmission lines between the two provinces to allow for the importation of hydroelectric power from Quebec.

But mounting costs — the latest estimate pegs the project at $9 billion — and questions about how much energy is actually available from Quebec, led the provinces to pursue a pared-back version of the plan that would still see the creation of upgraded transmission lines, but more focus on renewable energy generated within the two provinces, including wind, solar and nuclear.

#NewBrunswick #NovaScotia #Quebec

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🌎🇨🇦Trudeau hosting Caribbean leaders to talk trade, climate and Haiti crisis

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is welcoming a dozen leaders from across the Caribbean to Ottawa Wednesday, as part of a two-day summit aimed at forming closer ties with Canada.

The Caribbean Community includes 15 countries and five overseas territories, spanning from Bahamas to Trinidad and Tobago, but not including Cuba.

The group, known as CARICOM, works on initiatives ranging from inclusive economic growth to climate change – but lately, it’s been focused on the situation in Haiti.

Wednesday’s meetings are set to involve three working sessions, and Trudeau is expected to meet individually with many leaders between these forums.

On Thursday, the leaders are expected to take part in a trade and investment roundtable, ahead of an afternoon press conference.

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Quebec’s Common Front public sector union vote in favour of strike

A common front of four major Quebec labour unions has voted 95 per cent for an unlimited general strike mandate.

The unions are negotiating as one and represent 420,000 public sector workers in health care, education and social services.

Vice-president of the Confederation of National Trade Unions says if workers choose to strike, it likely won’t happen before November.

#Quebec

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Airbnb faces curbs in Canada after sharp rise in rental costs

Canada’s government is examining new measures to rein in short-term rental services such as Airbnb Inc. as policymakers try to cool inflation in apartment and house rents.

🔹Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday the government is looking at what laws or regulations it can bring in to curb the use of platforms that offer rented accommodation for a few days or weeks at a time. She heaped praise on the province of British Columbia, which this week introduced a proposed law to restrict many residents from renting their investment properties on Airbnb, Flipkey and similar services.

She said she has seen estimates that as many as 30,000 more homes could be made available for rent in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, if those platforms were restricted.

Airbnb disputed the idea that short-term rentals are a major contributor to the current shortages. The company criticized the proposed BC law, saying it would "take money out of the pockets of British Columbians, make travel more unaffordable for millions of residents who travel within BC, and reduce tourism spending."

🔹Freeland did not outline any immediate changes the federal government would make on short-term rentals but said, “If other provinces want to follow BC’s lead, that would be great as well.”

Rents rose 7.3% nationally and 8.4% in British Columbia, which includes Vancouver, one of the country’s most expensive housing markets.

#housing #BritishColumbia #Freeland

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🇨🇦🇵🇸🇮🇱A pro-Palestinian protest gathered outside the Israeli consulate in Toronto yesterday following the bombing of a hospital in Gaza.

#Palestine #Israel

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🇨🇦🇨🇳 CSIS chief opens up about China's interest in Canadian universities

The head of Canada's intelligence agency spoke openly about China's interest in partnering with Canadian universities to gain a military edge during a conference with his Five Eyes counterparts on Tuesday.

"China has been very transparent," Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Director David Vigneault said. "Everything that they're doing in our universities and in new technology, it's going back into a system very organized to create dual-use applications for the military."

Vigneault said CSIS has been trying to warn Canadian universities about the People's Republic of China's motivations and is in the process of setting up a research security centre to provide advice directly to research institutions.

Vigneault made the comments on stage during a rare public gathering with spy bosses from the U.S., the U.K., Australia and New Zealand.

The representatives of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance are meeting in California's Silicon Valley at the invitation of FBI Director Christopher Wray to discuss adversaries' use of technology and threats to innovation and research.

#China

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Majority say Trudeau should step down: poll

A new study from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds more than half of Canadians (57%) holding the view that Trudeau should step down, while three-in-ten (28%) say he should lead the Liberals into the next election.

Importantly, 2021 Liberal voters are divided, with close to equal numbers saying he should stay on (44%) or leave the party to a fresh face (41%).

The impetus to make a change may be building, as the Liberals trail the opposition Conservative Party by 11 points in vote intention. Currently, 39 per cent would vote for the CPC candidate in their riding, while 28 per cent say the same of the Liberals. One-in-five (21%) would vote for Jagmeet Singh’s New Democratic Party.

#Trudeau

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🌎🇨🇦Canada looking to boost Caribbean trade as summit in Ottawa continues

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has welcomed a dozen leaders from across the Caribbean for a two-day summit.

Wednesday’s meetings touched on climate change, reforming financial institutions and securing Haiti from a gang crisis.

🔹Trudeau announced the creation of the Canada-CARICOM strategic partnership – a mechanism that promises to advance shared priorities like health, environment, trade, defence and finance.

🔹Canada also committed up to $58.5 million to the Caribbean Development Bank. According to a statement from Trudeau's office, the money would support renewable energy projects. The statement also says $6 million has been earmarked through the Caribbean Climate Smart Fund for renewable energy systems.

On Thursday, the prime minister is likely to hold one-on-one meetings with some of his counterparts in between talks. Trudeau is also expected to take questions from reporters this afternoon as the summit wraps up.

#Trudeau

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Ottawa has declined to overhaul its access to information system, for the second time

The Liberal government is not acting on the recommendations made by a group of opposition MPs that spent nine months examining the federal access to information system, the second time in less than a year that Ottawa has declined to overhaul its access regime.

In late June, the House of Commons committee on access to information, privacy and ethics published a 99-page report on Canada’s access law, and requested the government formally respond to its 38 recommendations.

That response was tabled on Tuesday and signed by Treasury Board President Anita Anand. In her letter, Ms. Anand declined to act on the committee’s recommendations.

“Overall, the Government shares many of the Committee’s views noted in its recommendations,” the letter signed by Ms. Anand reads. “Having said this, the Government’s current priority is to address the most pressing operational and administrative challenges facing the [access to information] regime.”

The government will review the federal access law in 2025, Ms. Anand said.

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💰Trudeau says Alberta’s Canada Pension Plan exit would cause ‘undeniable’ harm

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is “deeply concerned” over Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s proposed plans to withdraw the province from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).

In an open letter to the premier Wednesday, Trudeau said he has instructed his cabinet and officials to do “everything possible” to ensure the CPP remains intact, warning that an Alberta exit would cause “undeniable” harm.

Smith in September launched work on a provincewide consultation on whether to quit the Canada Pension Plan and instead create an Alberta Pension Plan, while releasing a report that estimated the province deserves more than half of the CPP’s assets.

The third-party report says Alberta should get $334 billion, or 53 per cent of the CPP, if it leaves the program in 2027 following the required three-year notification period.

#Alberta #Trudeau

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Ontario NDP to push Premier Doug Ford to release personal phone records

The Ontario NDP has prepared an Opposition day motion calling for the Ford government to stop fighting to keep work-related calls on his personal phone secret.

Motions require majority support to pass through the house but can be used by opposition parties to draw attention to priority issues.

In September, government lawyers admitted Ford was using his personal phone to conduct government business. Despite the admission, they continued to refuse to hand over information about who he was talking to through freedom of information laws.

Documents show Ford failed to make a single call on his official government phone over four separate months, including at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

#Ontario #Ford

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🇨🇦🇮🇱🇵🇸Most Canadians think lasting peace between Israel, Palestinians is not possible: poll

A majority of Canadians don't think lasting peace is possible between Israelis and Palestinians, a new poll suggests.

🔹Slightly more than half of the people responding to the Leger poll said lasting peace isn't possible, while less than one-fifth said a peaceful solution can be reached.

The number who said peace is not possible hit 62 per cent among the people who also claimed to have a good understanding of the ongoing conflict.

🔹The Leger poll found 40 per cent of people said they believed Canada's support to Israel is "about right", while 10 per cent said Canada isn't supportive enough to Israel, and 16 per cent said it is too supportive. More than a third, or 34 per cent, said they had no opinion on.

#Israel #Palestine

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