The Weekly Roundup - October 9 2024

Government business in Parliament has ground to a halt as procedural business gums up parliamentary work.
 
Opposition parties are demanding the government produce documents related to Sustainable Development Technology Canada – a green technology fund the Auditor General found to be in numerous conflicts of interest. Back in June, the House of Commons approved a Conservative motion that called for the government to hand over the documents to parliament, which should then be provided to the RCMP for an “independent determination” of whether to investigate potential criminal offences.
 
Speaker Greg Fergus has ruled that the government has not complied with that order, resulting in Conservatives forcing a debate over the parliament’s privilege to the documents. Questions of privilege take precedence over other matters of debate in the House of Commons.
 
Here are the other stories that are making waves this week: 

Top Federal Stories

The Liberal’s pharmacare legislation is making its way through the senate. The bill cleared committee consideration in the Senate on Thursday, setting it up for its third reading debate and vote. Questions about the legislation have not been calmed by Health Minister Mark Holland's letter to the Senate committee studying the legislation, confirming that the government intends for diabetes medications and contraceptives to be paid for and administered through a public plan. Former OLO Director of Policy Renze Nauta and Cardus President Brian Dijkema wrote in the Hub that Holland’s one-size-fits all approach is “a poor solution” to ensuring drug coverage for those who don’t have it.
 
Mark Carney is in the hot seat again. As reported by Stephanie Levitz, Carney has been asked to assist with reviving the Liberal Party’s fundraising efforts, which have lagged the Conservatives to the tune of millions of dollars. In a fundraising email to Liberal donors, Carney wrote “I am ready to help our country grow and tackle challenges head-on – with solutions, not slogans, and with action, not indifference.” Meanwhile, Conservatives have asked the Lobbying Commissioner to review Carney’s new role as an advisor to Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, while simultaneously serving as chair of Brookfield Asset Management. Conservative Shadow Minister for Ethics and Accountable Government, Michael Barrett wrote to the commissioner asking her to “examine the activities of Mark Carney to see if there is a breach of his obligations under the Lobbying Act,” such as being required to register. Because Carney is styled as an advisor to the Liberal Party, rather than an advisor to the Prime Minister, Conservatives charge that the Liberals are circumventing ethics laws that would ordinarily subject Carney to conflict-of-interest screens and ethics rules that apply to ministerial staffers.
 
The Bloc Québécois used their opposition day last week to pressure the government to provide a royal recommendation for C-319, a Bloc bill that would increase seniors’ benefits. Conservatives, the NDP, and a handful of Liberal MPs voted with the Bloc on the motion, which passed 181 to 143. The motion is non-binding, so whether the bill receives a royal recommendation is still a decision that ultimately resides with the Liberal government. The fact that the Conservatives voted to support the Bloc motion sets up potential challenges for a possible future Poilievre-led government. The Parliamentary Budget Office has put the price tag on the Bloc’s proposed OAS increase at $16B over the next 5 years. That’s a lot of new spending that would permanently get baked into OAS at a time when Conservatives are talking about the need to “fix the budget”.
 
The Prime Minister has traveled to Laos for the ASEAN summit in Vientiane on October 10 – 11, and will then go to Germany to attend the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the U.S. air base in Ramstein on October 12. 

Top Alberta Stories 

Premier Danielle Smith has issued a four-week deadline for the federal government to remedy provisions in the amended Impact Assessment Act or face another legal challenge from the Province. This legislation has faced criticism from Alberta Premiers since it was first introduced as a bill (Bill C-69) in the House of Commons in 2018. Former Premier Jason Kenney dubbed this legislation the “No More Pipelines Act,” while Premier Smith has since called it the “Don’t Build Anything Anywhere Act.” Premier Smith’s latest action comes nearly a year after the Supreme Court of Canada found the Impact Assessment Act unconstitutional, and four months after the federal government passed amendments to the Act. In a letter sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Smith cited a lack of consultation with Alberta and proposed legislative amendments to address the province’s concerns. Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault responded to media questions with a statement calling the deadline arbitrary and suggesting the timing of the letter is linked to her leadership review.

For months, Premier Smith has been treading lightly when it comes to pleasing a small, but vocal group of party faithful. She’s tried to balance proactive announcements, such as the Alberta Bill of Rights and proposed policies focused on transgender youth, with reactive responses to topics being raised at member-only town halls – all while working to appear mainstream to the remainder of the province. During a town hall in Edmonton, the Premier responded to an audience member’s question about chemtrails being sprayed over the city. Premier Smith’s comments were captured on video and the story dominated the news cycle last week with Nav Canada, NORAD, and the U.S. Department of Defence all being asked to weigh in on the conversation. Premier Smith’s office later sent a follow-up statement clarifying that she does not believe the U.S. government is spraying chemicals in Alberta skies. She’s in a difficult position as more than 5,420 UCP members have already registered to attend the Annual General Meeting and Leadership Review that will determine her political future. With the date less than a month away, she may be counting down until she can return to the regular day-to-day operations of running the province.

While the leadership review looms large, oil prices are also taking centre stage. Oil prices rose on Friday and settled with their biggest weekly gains in more than a year. As the Province reviews its finances and prepares the 2025 provincial budget, this may give Premier Smith some breathing room. Last month she announced a new $8.6 billion School Construction Accelerator Program to create more than 200,000 new and modernized spaces for students. She credited the funding to a provincial surplus from the past year and said prospects for a modest surplus this year looked good. While Albertans know oil prices can be volatile, the price of crude oil rose almost 10% last week to around $78 a barrel. A March analysis of the 2024 budget by TD Economics found that every $1 change in North American oil prices brings a $630 million impact to Alberta’s bottom line. The 2024 budget put the 2024-25 estimate for West Texas Intermediate at $74 US/bbl. Last week West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 67 cents, or 0.9%, to close at $74.38 per barrel. If the price continues to rise, the Province may be able to loosen its fiscal belt for the 2025 budget in February. 

Top Ontario Stories

The Ontario government released details about the redevelopment of Ontario Place, and the contract with Therme to build a new facility on the grounds. According to the document and technical briefing held Thursday by Infrastructure Ontario CEO Michael Lindsay, Therme will spend $700 million to construct the new facility. Over the course of the 95-year lease, Therme is expected to provide the province with nearly $2 billion in revenue contributions. While the province retains the right to cancel the lease with five year’s notice after the first ten years, the province may be on the hook to pay Therme damages for breaking the lease early. Despite the opposition parties’ saber rattling about the redevelopment, the prospect of paying penalties may make a future decision to pull out of the deal a costly one should the Liberals or NDP find themselves in a position to make that decision.
 
Keeping with the theme of busting gridlock, Premier Ford’s Progressive Conservatives announced the Ontario government would be increasing speed limits to 110 km/h on all 400 series highways “where it is safe to do so.”  The Ford government has already increased speed limits on sectors of the 401 and other major 400 series highways. In an unofficial campaign-style rollout, the PC’s have teased legislation restricting bike lanes, as well as a feasibility study for an express tunnel under the 401.
 
True to their word that nominations would open up this fall, the Progressive Conservative party has started nominating candidates who will run for the party in the next Ontario election. On their party website, the PCs have noted that Will Bouma, Kinga Surma, Brian Riddell, Sheref Sabawy, Todd McCarthy, and Rob Flack have all been acclaimed as the PC candidates in their riding for the next election. Expect the pace of nominations to pick up as the party prepares for a possible early election. 

Upcoming Events Calendar

October 19, 2024: British Columbia General Election
October 21, 2024: Queen’s Park resumes sitting
October 28, 2024: Alberta Legislature resumes sitting
October 28, 2024: Saskatchewan General Election
November 1-2, 2024: UCP AGM takes place in Red Deer, AB, including leadership review vote