Mark Carney would be ‘outstanding’ addition to federal politics, Trudeau says
By: Laura Osman
OTTAWA (CP) – Mark Carney would be an “outstanding addition” to federal politics, the prime minister said Thursday, in response to speculation that he is trying to recruit the former Bank of Canada governor to join his cabinet.
Trudeau was asked about the possibility of replacing Chrystia Freeland by making Carney his new finance minister during a press conference at the NATO summit in Washington, D.C.
Rather than deny the possibility, Trudeau praised Carney and said he’s been talking to him about joining federal politics for years.
“I think he would be an outstanding addition at a time when Canadians need good people to step up in politics,” Trudeau said.
But he also emphasized that he has full confidence in Freeland.
“In regards to Chrystia, she has been a close friend and ally and partner in doing really big things for Canada and will continue to be,” he said.
In French, Trudeau said he was “always open” to having other people join the party.
A source in the Prime Minister’s Office, who spoke under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said the suggestion that Trudeau is thinking about replacing Freeland with Carney is “totally false.”
The idea of Carney running for the Liberals has been a constant discussion in Canadian political circles for years, and he himself has not ruled out the possibility of one day seeking the Liberal leadership.
Jewish advocates say details around investigation into human-rights chief murky
By: Stephanie Taylor
OTTAWA (CP) – Three weeks after the federal Liberals promised to do a “formal, independent review” of the appointment of Canada’s new human-rights commissioner, the government hasn’t provided any details about what that review will entail.
Birju Dattani, former executive director of the Yukon Human Rights Commission, was named as the new head of the Canadian Human Rights Commission on June 14.
On Aug. 8, he is set to start a five-year term in the new job, as the first person of colour and the first Muslim man to hold the role.
But his appointment fell under scrutiny after media reported that he made anti-Israel comments as a graduate student under different names that were not flagged during the vetting process.
The Privy Council Office, the administrative arm of government that serves the Prime Minister’s Office and cabinet, oversees the screening process of federal appointees.
It says an “administrative oversight” occurred that meant the vetting process didn’t include all of Dattani’s aliases. They have since been shared with the RCMP and CSIS, which “are now completing necessary reviews,” said spokesman Daniel Savoie.
B.C. rejects Henry report backing non-prescribed alternatives to fentanyl, other drugs
By: Chuck Chiang
VICTORIA (CP) – B.C’s Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry joked that “the earth shook” with Thursday’s release of her report on the safer-supply drug program, referring to an earthquake lightly felt on Vancouver Island that morning.
But her report’s recommendation that B.C. should consider allowing access to alternatives to unregulated street drugs without a prescription was felt much more widely.
It was swiftly rejected by the government, while the opposition BC Conservatives and BC United said she should lose her job.
Henry said drug prohibition strategies had not only failed to control access to controlled substances but had also created the toxic unregulated drug supply that had killed more than 14,000 people since a health emergency was declared in B.C. eight years ago.
“Ultimately, we cannot prescribe our way out of this crisis,” Henry said in the report. “Finding new ways to enable access to alternatives to unregulated drugs will require bold conversations, system-level changes, and thinking outside of the constraints that have so far failed to turn this crisis around.”
Heavy rain brings flooding to area of N.S. that suffered flood fatalities a year ago
WINDSOR, N.S. (CP) – Heavy overnight rain has caused washed out roads and evacuations in an area of Nova Scotia that suffered flood damage and fatalities a year ago.
Emergency alerts were issued overnight Thursday in Digby, Annapolis, Kings and Hants counties, as Environment Canada reported that over 100 mm of rain fell in a few hours, as the remnants of Hurricane Beryl moved through the province.
Some communities in the Annapolis Valley reported receiving up to 110 mm of rain, and residents in Windsor, N.S., were once again pumping out their basements.
Brett Tetanish, the chief of the Brooklyn volunteer fire department, said in an interview that some roads in the West Hants Regional Municipality — where four people died last July — were again submerged due to shoulders being washed out, while many people have flooded basements.
Tetanish said his crew also assisted the Hantsport volunteer fire department, in the neighbouring county, as they rescued three people whose home was cut off from the road due to floodwaters.
Court to hear Saskatchewan’s case to stop collection of carbon levy money
VANCOUVER (CP) – Federal Court in Vancouver is to hear a case today from the Saskatchewan government asking for an injunction to stop the Canada Revenue Agency from collecting millions in carbon levy money.
Premier Scott Moe’s government argues it’s unconstitutional for Ottawa to take from its bank account, and that it’s unfair for Saskatchewan to pay.
Earlier this year, Saskatchewan had stopped remitting the carbon levy on natural gas to Ottawa, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau exempted home-heating oil users from paying.
Trudeau’s move was largely seen as helping those in Atlantic Canada, where home-heating oil is commonly used and where polls suggest the federal Liberals need to bolster support.
Court documents say Saskatchewan’s unpaid bill has grown to $56 million between January and April — and the Canada Revenue Agency had attempted to take $28 million through a bank order.
Ottawa has said it’s standing firm on getting the money back, noting Saskatchewan is breaking federal emissions law by not paying.
