Chinese agents were likely to blame for “troubling events” in at least three federal ridings, says the Commission on Foreign Interference. The conclusion in a 194-page Initial Report by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue contradicted two previous findings by Liberal appointees: “People are right to be worried.”
Higher stamp prices are inevitable due to another heavy operating loss at Canada Post, says the latest Annual Report from management. Stamp rates are up eight percent effective today to 99¢ for a domestic letter, $1.40 for U.S. mail and $2.92 overseas: “Competition has accelerated at a pace not seen in the company’s history.”
New Democrats had no comment after Independent MP Kevin Vuong (Spadina-Fort York, Ont.) said a Party organizer called him a “Zionist whore” on Twitter. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh earlier dropped two nominees over anti-Semitic outbursts, saying he found it a “challenge to vet candidates.”
On the way downtown
a busy road alongside a golf course –
I saw people swinging their clubs
At that early morning hour.
Could not tell if these were freeloaders,
playing
while others were rushing to work,
or high-ranking managers –
the true engine of our economy –
taking the time to connect with
the rich,
the ruling,
the influential.
Making decisions
that affect us all.
Had a discussion with my professor –
long ago, a different topic –
when trying to tell one organism
from another.
He said
that only an expert
can differentiate
between two closely related
species.
By Shai Ben-Shalom
Years ago as a documentary producer I learned true insight into public figures is rare and exceptional when the subject is still living. Only death loosens tongues and unlocks secret diary entries. But documenting our times is not all-or-nothing. We cannot wait decades to ask, who was Justin Trudeau?
Justin Trudeau On The Ropes by columnist Paul Wells is the first of many expected profiles. Wells calls it an essay and not an obituary. “Every time he’s in trouble he thinks, I’ve been in trouble before and they were wrong to count me out,” he writes.
“In June he’ll have had this job longer than Louis St. Laurent,” writes Wells. “Nobody can take that away from him. What are his qualities? I’ve spent less time talking to him than I had spent with Harper before he became prime minister, but politics in Canada is a village. Paths cross. I’ve seen him up close.”
Trudeau On The Ropes is anecdotal and only slightly irreverent. “He is an introvert who has become skilled at pretending the contrary,” readers learn. “At a rally where he seems to hunger for attention and human contact, he sometimes needs time alone, in a quiet room, playing video games on an iPad or doing nothing at all. I’m told his need to decompress at the end of his work day didn’t always make him popular at home.”
The essay acknowledges critics’ derision of Trudeau as affected and silly. Wells recalls spotting the Liberal leader at a 2015 garden party: “His outfit was faintly ridiculous: white shoes, light jacket, some kind of Panama hat at a rakish angle, no socks.”
Wells is also defensive, almost apologetic. Panama Hat Man “is more intelligent than a lot of people are willing to believe,” he writes, adding: “Somebody who worked closely with Trudeau once told me he gets the big things right and everything else wrong.”
“He prepares,” says Wells. “He grasps complexity. He can take criticism. You can blue-sky with him, imagine alternatives, play out various scenarios for how an issue might evolve. He has the thing that some politicians have, where he remembers the last time he saw you.”
“Justin Trudeau has defeated three different Conservative leaders,” concludes Trudeau On The Ropes. “He could have lost any of those elections.”
Is Trudeau done? Maybe, maybe not, writes Wells: “It would be possible to imagine Trudeau coming back yet again if he had lately shown any inclination toward introspection or humility or a driving urge to improve his game. In the absence of those qualities, bad habits become entrenched.”
By Holly Doan
Justin Trudeau On The Ropes by Paul Wells; 95 pages; Sutherland House Books; ISBN 9781-9908-23824; $19.95
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem yesterday denied any collusion with cabinet in contemplating pre-election interest rate relief. MPs questioned Macklem over remarks he and the Prime Minister made separately Wednesday afternoon regarding a rate cut: “Elections are elections.”
A total 179 Gazans have received Canadian visas to date, figures show. Nearly 8,000 have applied, said the Department of Immigration: “This is Canada’s effort to get people out.”
National greenhouse gas emissions are up again despite Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s repeated claims of reductions, new data showed yesterday. Only two provinces, both opposed to the carbon tax, reported lower emissions year over year: “We knew emissions were going to bounce back.”
The Commons human resources committee yesterday by a 10 to 1 vote rejected a Bloc Québécois proposal to speed a ban on replacement workers. A cabinet bill if passed will not take effect until after the next election: “24 months from now it would finally come into force.”
Dozens of First Nations communities still boil drinking water despite a $4.4 billion federal program to upgrade utilities, says the Department of Indigenous Services. Cabinet had promised to eliminate all long term tap water advisories three years ago: “This needed to be fixed yesterday.”
A modest cut in interest rates “would be a confidence booster,” Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said yesterday. The next announcement on the interbank loan rate, unchanged for nine months, is due June 5: “We know Canadians would like to see lower interest rates.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday said he is “reviving the dream of home ownership for young Canadians.” His remarks followed new CMHC data showing housing starts are slowing, not growing: “Can the Prime Minister tell us in what year home building will actually rise?”
Canadians give cabinet little credit for fighting food inflation, says in-house Privy Council research. Participants in federal focus groups described initiatives as “reactive,” “insufficient” and “late.”
A CBC-TV pundit who commented on legal affairs while drawing thousands in consulting fees from the Privy Council Office yesterday was appointed a judge. Carissima Mathen, a University of Ottawa law professor, earlier denied any conflict: “I wish Justice Mathen every success.”
The post office must “struggle to keep it all going” unless it adopts significant changes, management has written MPs. The remarks come ahead of new loss figures described by one executive as grave: “Canada Post is now at a critical juncture.”
