For a second day in a row, a skeletal sitting of the Commons convened, and we were treated to a proper Question Period once again. Andrew Scheer led off, mini-lectern in front of him, and read his concern that the government allegedly sat on the report from the Armed Forces on the conditions in long-term care facilities for nearly two weeks. Trudeau clarified that the full report was brought forward on Thursday, and they passed it along to Ontario the following day. Scheer changed to French to pass along that a second report was being prepared on the Quebec homes, and Trudeau reiterated that they received that report on Thursday and passed it along. Scheer worried about what happened between May 14th and Thursday, and Trudeau said that Thursday was when the Chief of Defence Staff passed it along. Scheer then brought up the question from this morning’s prime ministerial presser about Joyce Murray supporting a fundraiser to sue a journalist, and Trudeau said that the staffer who posted it was not working for them. Scheer tried to tie this to the Chinese government, and Trudeau repeated the previous response before he read some support for Hong Kong. Yves-François Blanchet was up next, and he railed about political parties accessing the wage subsidy, and Trudeau spoke about the aims of the programme to help workers retain their jobs. Blanchet tried again, and got the same response. Jagmeet Singh then got his turn, and he demanded federal action to end the privatization of long-term care, and Trudeau replied that they can’t tell the provinces what to do in their areas of jurisdiction but that the federal government would be there to support them. Singh made a paean for national leadership in French, and Trudeau again reiterated that they have to respect provincial jurisdiction.
Tag Archives: Refugees
Roundup: Selling out parliament for a press release
If there was any more sign of crass politicking than Jagmeet Singh starting the day by declaring that he would only agree to the government’s plans regarding continued special committee hearings in lieu of actual parliamentary sittings if the government ensured there was access to two weeks of paid sick leave available to Canadians, I’m not sure what else it could be. To predicate kneecapping the House of Commons in exchange for something you can count as a win is…quite something. Not quite the petulance of Andrew Scheer’s short-lived declaration that he would only wear a non-medical mask if regular House of Commons sittings resumed, but certainly brash.
To that end, Justin Trudeau held his daily presser and, in reference to the hipster jamboree at Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods park on Saturday that social media spent the rest of the weekend litigating, said that the variety of local rules can be confusing but people should pay attention to what their jurisdiction’s rules are, and to keep physical distancing. Then then announced that the commercial rent assistance programme was now accepting applications, and outlined that half of the provinces would accept applications on that day, listed the provinces that would accept applications Tuesday instead, and that those with ten or more tenants were to apply Wednesday. Trudeau then said that he had spoken to Singh, and assured him that he was in discussions with the provinces to ensure that people got access to those ten paid sick days per year, but in the Q&A, gave the credit to BC premier John Horgan. That didn’t stop Singh from putting out a self-congratulatory press release immediately, as though this were a done deal and not negotiations that were ongoing because it’s mostly provincial jurisdiction. Trudeau also defended his party’s use of the wage subsidy, but because he can’t answer these questions like a real human being, it was mostly a lot of platitudes and verbal pabulum.
The NDP just put out a premature self-congratulatory press release.
Reminder that nothing has been agreed to. The provinces are still in discussion.
Cripes. #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/RHuXPzJuhl— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) May 25, 2020
In the wake of this, a bunch of my Twitter critics felt like Trudeau’s discussions with the province on this sick day policy was some kind of an own to my constant reminders that this is provincial jurisdiction, which is bizarre because nothing has been agreed to. Trudeau can’t force the provinces to do anything, and even pointed out that the mechanism to make this happen is complicated – particularly if the provinces are going to expect the federal government to pony up for those paid days instead of forcing employers to pay for it themselves. But again, this isn’t something Trudeau himself can do on his own – he can try to get the provinces on board, but that’s not always a winning proposition. Look at the dog’s breakfast that the commercial rent subsidy managed to be, which is because it’s what the provinces could agree to, while Trudeau takes the blame. And even if the provinces get on board with this paid sick leave, it’ll still be months before that comes to fruition, but hey, Singh got a press release out of it, so he can declare victory to his base.
“The mechanisms are complicated,” Trudeau says of paid sick leave.
Federalism! #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/pDSlpDcUrF— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) May 25, 2020
Roundup: Sorrow and motions
As the various party leaders lined up, one after another, to give their positions before the microphones on yesterday’s return of the House of Commons, prime minister Justin Trudeau devoted his presser to the mass-shooting in Nova Scotia and the loss of an RCMP constable, including a direct address to children as part of his speech. More controversially, Trudeau made a plea to media not to name the killer and give him the “gift of infamy,” which became the subject of many a column the rest of the day. During the Q&A, he insisted he didn’t want to fight about the return of the Commons, while also saying that the government was not backing away from its plans to enact further gun control measures.
Not far away, the Commons resumed its sitting with a skeleton complement, kicking off with Green MP Paul Manly immediately launching a point of privilege to complain that their health and safety was being jeopardized by the sitting, and it impacted on the ability of MPs who faced travel restrictions to participate. (Manly’s point was later rejected by the Speaker). After a very surreal QP, and more speeches on the Nova Scotia shooting, the vote was held and it was decided that there would be in-person sittings on Wednesdays starting next week, with planned 90-minute “virtual” sittings on Tuesdays and Thursdays – you know, assuming that they can actually get them up and running. Also, those sessions would not be regular sittings of the Commons, but would qualify as “special committee” sessions that would be devoted to two-and-a-quarter-hour-long sessions to ask questions of the government.
Good. Manly’s argument was specious. https://t.co/SoiIikHPvc
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) April 21, 2020
After thanking all the staff, Rota says the House is now adjourned until May 25. MPs will still meet in person next Wednesday, but it will be a treated as a special committee. They will also meet on Tuesday, virtually! No one I've spoken with knows what that will look like…
— Althia Raj (@althiaraj) April 21, 2020
Throughout this whole debate, I keep shaking my head at the fact that they insist that they don’t want MPs to keep travelling, or how MPs from regions with travel restrictions can’t participate, but nobody can apparently fathom that MPs could travel to Ottawa, and then *gasp* stay there! You know, like they have housing allowances and per diems that facilitate it. This insistence on once-per-week sittings means that there will be all kinds of unnecessary travel, travel that MPs from those regions can’t participate in (or at least not easily), and it needlessly complicates this whole affair when we could have more easily kept a skeleton parliament with these MPs who stay in Ottawa present, and just ensured that you had a representative sampling that includes MPs from those otherwise hard-to-travel-to-and-from regions so they don’t have to travel back-and-forth. It’s revolutionary, I know. None of this is rocket science, and yes, it involves some sacrifice on the part of these MPs, but no worse than some of our essential healthcare workers who also can’t see their families during this crisis.
QP: A surreal skeletal experience
The benches were spare as the Commons was on a skeleton crew for today’s somewhat unusual session. That said, all of the leaders were present, so that makes things a little more worthwhile. Andrew a Scheer led off, still with mini-lectern on desk, and in the absence of applause, he read a statement about the mass-shooting in Nova Scotia, before asking the prime minister for an update on the situation. Trudeau stood up to read his own statement about the situation and whom he has reached out to. Scheer then turned to the question of the supply of ventilators in the country, to which Trudeau read that they have sent 400 to provinces, and that Canadian companies would start supplying 30,000 new ones by May. Scheer then worried about the information coming out of China, to which Trudeau read that from the beginning they followed the best public health advice and recited a timeline going back to early January as to when they first started reacting to the outbreak in Wuhan. Scheer asked about three planes which reportedly returned from China empty, to which Trudeau recited by rote that they have teams on the ground in China to coordinate the procurement and shipment of necessary equipment but there are challenges because of global competition. Scheer asked about the cuts to pandemic preparedness, and the disposal of protective equipment, to which a Trudeau said that they looked into the situation and that equipment had expired five years previous and that they need to come up with better systems to manage these stockpiles. Yves-François Blanchet was up next, and worried about the fate of seniors during this time, to which Trudeau read that seniors need support and that the government was working to protect their income security with existing measures and extended programmes delivered through the United Way. Blanchet was unimpressed, and wanted a clear, written response to the Bloc’s suggestions, to which Trudeau assured him they were continuing to work on measures that were proposed by the opposition. Jagmeet Singh was up next, and he worried about students who are not eligible for CERB, to which Trudeau read that they made changes to the Canada Summer Jobs Programme, and the wage subsidy to help employers hire students. Singh demanded that the CERB be made universal, for which Trudeau reiterated that they were looking at ways to support students who don’t qualify for the CERB, with more initiatives on the way.
The utter lack of applause makes this #QP a very surreal experience.
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) April 20, 2020
Roundup: Disconnected speeches before swift passage
The daily routine of our pandemic times got a bit of a shake-up this morning as the ministerial presser took place at 11:15 instead of the prime minister’s, and topics included questions on temporary foreign workers being quarantined (or not), and discussions with the provinces about taking action on long-term care facilities, which have been hit hardest by this pandemic.
Shortly thereafter, the skeleton parliament met for its emergency legislation deliberations, if we can call it that. Justin Trudeau led off, raising the history of Vimy Ridge, his own grandfather’s service of going to war while still serving as an MP, and talking about how we needed to protect the Greatest Generation who are now in these long-term care facilities, vulnerable to the pandemic. Andrew Scheer followed with his own address, raising the spectre of the size of the deficit before patting himself on the back for all of the suggestions he’s offered the government this package. The other leaders followed in turn, before the Commons resolved itself to committee of the whole to question ministers in a quasi-Question Period for a lengthy period (the only real news being that Carla Qualtrough stated that they were looking at how to ensure that seasonal workers would also be able to benefit from the CERB), followed by speeches which seemed terribly disconnected from the substance of the bill. In fact, when the speeches ended, and they passed the bill at all stages by unanimous consent, it could be quite noticeable that they didn’t actually debate the bill itself – merely the current pandemic situation.
https://twitter.com/AdamScotti/status/1249050364864856065
The bill then headed to the Senate, where the only minister that Senators grilled for a couple of solid hours was Bill Morneau and his senior associate deputy minister, again largely on the generalities and not the specifics of the bill. Once Morneau left, they adopted the bill at Second Reading and then moved to the speeches during Third Reading, and it seems to me that pretty much every senator present got their own turn, some of them more disconnected from the bill than others. Eventually it too passed, and went on for a swift royal assent. The Senate did come to an agreement on two committees to meet virtually to provide some oversight – now that they allow non-affiliated senators to sit on them – as well as agreed to strike a special committee later on to provide a definitive post mortem on the pandemic.
Roundup: CERB is go
There were a lot of early piece of news in advance of Justin Trudeau’s daily presser – Doug Ford complaining that the province only had one week of supplies left as three million masks bound for Ontario were blocked at the US border (some half a million released later in the day), and Andrew Scheer helpfully demanding a “temporary” expansion of charitable tax credits.
When Trudeau did begin his presser, he spoke about the fact that the CERB was now online and thousands of applications had already poured in and the system hadn’t crashed. He also said that they were working on getting other benefit programmes in place for those whose hours were reduced, those who were still working but making less than they would be on CERB benefits, or students who didn’t qualify for benefits, and that there would be announcements for those soon. He also mentioned efforts at getting debt relief during the pandemic, and that they were working on bringing Parliament back to get the wage subsidy bill passed. During the Q&A, he spoke largely in generalities about working with the provinces and the US on resolving the issues around protective equipment (and by the end of the day, it seems that the mask issue had been settled and the Americans would once again allow shipments to flow to Canada), and that he was trying to find some kind of flexibility for a “virtual” parliament (which is a very bad thing and he should stop right there).
In 2018-19 (per ESDC results report: https://t.co/yRO4X46MXP), 2.8 million EI claims were processed ALL YEAR. That's 5 per minute on an annualized basis. We HOPE the current demand for help doesn't last a full year.
— Dr. J Robson (@JenniferRobson8) April 7, 2020
In 2018, I tried to estimate the usual delay that Canadians might face if they applied for income support through EI, social assistance, OAS/GIS +++
— Dr. J Robson (@JenniferRobson8) April 7, 2020
If we have been able to find a way to handle 1,000 claims per minute where most will wait 3-5 business days for a payment, we may be among the most advanced countries in the world on social policy right now. There, I said it. Not perfect but still.
— Dr. J Robson (@JenniferRobson8) April 7, 2020
One thing Trudeau would not offer an opinion on was the mask debate, saying that it was not up for politicians to make these kinds of recommendations. During the ministerial presser shortly thereafter, Dr. Theresa Tam essentially reiterated her same advice that the only time you really need a mask is if you’re showing symptoms, and it could be helpful if you’re in a situation where physical distance is difficult – like on public transit – but repeated again that it’s not an official recommendation and that medical-grade masks should only be for medical personnel. And yet, despite this, everyone spent the rest of the day saying there were “new” mask guidelines (there weren’t), or that Tam had somehow reversed her previous position (she hadn’t), and there wasn’t a lot of focus on the fact that she repeated over and over that the problem with masks is they give people a false sense of confidence and they slack off on other measures like physical distancing or handwashing. But hey, everyone’s an armchair infectious disease specialist these days, so that’s what matters, right?
Roundup: A big wage subsidy
For his Friday presser, prime minister Justin Trudeau had big headlines but few details – that the government was going to boost the wage subsidy for small and medium-sized businesses to 75 percent from the originally announced ten, along with a few other tax deferral measures to help businesses retain their liquidity. The details, however, aren’t going to be released until around Monday, but Trudeau stated that it was more important to get the message out that this help was on the way so that they would ensure that these businesses retained their employees (or even re-hire them) rather than lay them off so that they can collect EI or the new emergency benefit for the duration. Speed over perfection is the new motto of the times. (On a side note, Andrew Scheer was going around taking credit for this subsidy, when I know for a fact it was other people working behind the scenes, but Scheer needs to try and justify his existence).
This announcement came in the wake of a new PBO report that estimated the size of the deficit based on the measures that had been announced to that point, but what was particularly significant was that his modelling was that physical distancing would be in effect until August, which sent the various reporters into apoplexy, as they started demanding to know how long that Trudeau thought that current conditions were going to last – as though that was a question he could reasonably answer at a time where the Quarantine Act has only just been enforced, and we have returning snowbirds who think that these rules don’t apply to them, and where it’s still too soon to see how much of an effect the current measures have had. Quebec is seeing a spike in cases because their spring break was two weeks ahead of everyone else’s in the country, and it’s showing up in the data now.
It was also worthwhile noting that Bill Morneau and Stephen Poloz had another joint press conference today – Morneau to reiterate some of the messaging around the new wage subsidy, and Poloz to take questions about the emergency rate cut that the Bank of Canada announced shortly beforehand, where they cut rates to 0.25 percent, which is as low as they’re going to go, but to also engage in quantitative easing (which is not actually printing money as he spelled out). Their joint appearance seems to be remain under the aegis of trying to reassure the public and the markets that our fiscal heavyweights are on the case, but when this is all over, we will need to see our parliamentarians examining the relationship to ensure that monetary policy truly remained independent and not coordinated with fiscal policy, no matter how dire the economic situation.
Roundup: Tightening the border even more
There was news today from Justin Trudeau in his daily presser (which will happen again today, but I suspect we’ll all be working through the weekends for the foreseeable future), which was not only that the government was working with industry to both increase the capacity at companies which produce medical equipment, and to help other companies retool in order to produce supplies that may be necessary in the near future – something that is akin to a wartime scenario. Trudeau also said that the government had come to an agreement with the United States to essentially suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement, and that for the next 30 days (at which point the agreement sunsets), any irregular border crossers trying to seek asylum in Canada would be returned to the United States.
This is wild. Sending these migrants back to the U.S. pretty much guarantees they will be deported with virtually no chance of receiving asylum. All this, in the middle of an epidemic. https://t.co/RjJIKHIzkG
— Justin Ling (Has Left) (@Justin_Ling) March 20, 2020
I have a couple of cynical theories about this move – one of them being that it’s a sop to the Conservatives, who have been crowing about this as other border closures have been taking place. The other theory, which has been put forward by some Washington-based journalists, is that this was in part to offer cover to Donald Trump so that he could take more extreme measures along his southern border. There is also the pragmatist aspect to this – resources are tight with other border closures and screening, so ensuring that there are enough people to man the irregular crossings like Roxham Road, where asylum claimants need to be processed, screened, and now isolated in a federal facility for two weeks, was likely going to stress their resources and capacity. The flip-side of this, however, is that it pushes more people to unmonitored crossings that are further afield, especially now that the weather is warming up, and if they cross there, they won’t be screened and won’t be tracked by public health authorities, and could easily become new vectors for infection – essentially making the government damned if they do, damned if they don’t. The humanitarian aspect of this decision is also a pretty big deal, and does damage to our international reputation, but in this time of crisis, I’m not sure how much anyone is thinking of that, and if it makes it seem like they’re taking action – even if it’s one that will inevitably have more negative consequences than positive ones – then that may be the trade-off for other political considerations at this point in time.
So yeah, Trudeau is basically giving Trump political cover to shut the southern border to undocumented migrants.
"This order applies to persons coming from Mexico and Canada who are seeking to enter the country illegally," HHS Secretary Alex Azar just said.
— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) March 20, 2020
Meanwhile, Here’s an updated Q&A with infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch on COVID-19. Justin Ling worries about the patchwork of information coming from different levels of government as it relates to the pandemic. Ling is also concerned about the government’s tepid response to the pandemic relating to prisoners, and the decision around asylum seekers. Chantal Hébert gives her assessment of how the country’s political leaders are responding to the crisis. Colby Cosh offers some reflections on the state of the pandemic and where it may lead us.
Roundup: States of public health emergency
States of public health emergency were declared in Ontario, Alberta, BC, and PEI yesterday, and no doubt more to come, while Justin Trudeau mused that there could be situations where the government may have to invoke the Emergencies Act, so things got pretty serious yesterday. Mind you, his ministers who also were facing the media yesterday also stated that they wouldn’t invoke the Emergencies Act without provincial consultation, and there was some explanation on one of the political shows that it would likely only be invoked because there was some kind of gap in the powers available to one level of government or another if the situation worsens. We’ll see. (Here’s more on what invoking it would mean). Trudeau also said that they may need to temporarily recall Parliament (almost certainly with a minimum quorum of 20 MPs) to pass this or any other particular EI or tax measures, so we’ll have to keep an eye out for that in the coming days. Also announced was up to $5000 loans for those who need help returning to Canada or who need assistance if they can’t get back (and some travel insurance is facing restrictions if people don’t return ASAP).
We’re also expecting the first tranche of stabilization or bridge funding today (not “stimulus”), which is expected to be in the range of some $25 billion. As well, the National Post is reporting that CRA will extend the tax filing deadline by a month, which should be also announced later today.
Meanwhile, Heather Scoffield says that Trudeau needs to act fast to help vulnerable workers, and that today’s aid package will determine just how serious he is about his pledge to have Canadians’ backs. Kevin Carmichael looks into the Bank of Canada’s rationale for the emergency rate cut, and the fact that they have thus far been carrying the weight of trying to reassure the markets while we wait for Bill Morneau’s aid package.
Dear pundits/politicians using the pandemic to push *any* agenda beyond short-term measures to get us past this:
Go isolate yourself.
— Stephen Gordon (@stephenfgordon) March 18, 2020
OH FOR PETE'S SAKE
USING THE PANDEMIC TO ADVOCATE THE REMOVAL OF THE CARBON TAX MARKS YOU AS "TOO GODDAM STUPID TO LIVE" https://t.co/AojhptFhqU
— Stephen Gordon (@stephenfgordon) March 18, 2020
Roundup: Competing economic illiteracy
As someone who covers a fair bit of economic stories, the absolute inability of this government to come up with a definition of “middle class” is exhausting – and those of you who read me regularly will know that I will instead use Middle Class™ as a means of showcasing that it’s a meaningless branding exercise. And lo and behold, when challenged to offer up a definition during one of his year-ender interviews, Justin Trudeau said that “Canadians know who’s in the middle class and know what their families are facing and we focus more on the actual issues.” And I died a little bit inside. For a government that keeps insisting they’re all about data, and evidence-based policy, their refusal to offer a meaningful measure of what their core narrative is all about is entirely about branding. By not offering a definition, they don’t have to exclude anyone – because everyone believes they’re middle class (whether they had ponies or not). And more to the point, by not offering a metric, they can’t measure whether they’ve succeeded for failed – it’s only about feelings, which makes their talk of data and evidence all the more hollow.
“I can’t. I’m Middle Class. I used to have ponies.”
My mind flashes back to this scene every time this government deploys their Middle Class™ talking points. https://t.co/P2nvnNlnwP— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) November 23, 2019
And then there’s Pierre Poilievre, who, when challenged about the definition of a recession, makes up a bullshit response and thinks it makes him clever. It’s as economically illiterate as the Liberals’ Middle Class™ prevarication, but the fact that the Conservatives keep cheerleading a “made-in-Canada recession” that no economist sees on the horizon, and which they can’t even fit into the actual definition of what a recession is (two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth) sets a dangerous path of spooking markets. It’s all so stupid, and reckless, but the party’s current path of pathological dishonesty makes them blind to the danger of it all.
What is a recession? pic.twitter.com/eCzDBKaJzV
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) December 17, 2019
On perhaps a related note, Trudeau’s director of communications, Kate Purchase, is leaving to become a senior director at Microsoft, and good luck to her – and she really is one of the nicest staffers and was actually helpful to media in stark contrast to the Harper crew. But I also hope that perhaps this means that her replacement can start ensuring that this government can start communicating its way out of a wet paper bag, because cripes, they have done themselves zero favours over the past four years.