Parliament

Saturday November 20, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday November 20, 2021

Vaccine for kids and mandates for MPs kick in 

September 14, 2021

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole emerged onto an Ottawa street Thursday after spending two days behind closed doors with his elected members, plotting out their priorities ahead of Parliament’s return.

One thing he still insists on keeping a mystery, however, is whether all 119 Conservative MPs will be allowed to enter on Monday, when a vaccine mandate kicks into effect for the House of Commons precinct.

“As I’ve said, you’ll see us in the House on Monday, and we’re looking forward to, as we always have, following the rules of the House of Commons, making sure we’re holding the government to account,” he said while speaking to reporters briefly.

That day, MPs must appear in person if they want to vote for Speaker, a position for which some Conservatives plan on running.

October 21, 2021

O’Toole remains the only federal party leader with seats in the House who has so far refused to confirm how many of his members are fully immunized against COVID-19.

As Opposition leader, he has previously said any MP he’s tapped to take on a critic role will be ready to appear there.

But on Thursday, when asked directly whether his entire Conservative team will be able to assume their seats, he said: “We’re going to be ready to go Monday. You’ll have to stay tuned.”

Several other MPs said they will wait and see what happens. (CTV) 

October 28, 2021

Meanwhile, the first doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for children aged five to 11 will start to arrive in Canada on Sunday, Public Services and Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi said today.

Tassi said the government and Pfizer-BioNTech had agreed already to an accelerated delivery schedule and more than 2.9 million doses will be shipped by the end of the week — enough to provide a first dose to every eligible Canadian child.

Earlier today, Health Canada approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for children aged five to 11, promising what could be a very different new year for hundreds of thousands of families. (CBC) 

 

Tuesday November 9, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 9, 2021

Trained Seals and their Trainers

Impatience was mounting among Liberal caucus colleagues as they waited for the first national caucus meeting since the election in September.

Radio-Canada spoke to several Liberal MPs, on the record and on background, who said they were eager to make their voices heard on issues at an official gathering.

October 26, 2021

Two weeks age, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with his newly appointed cabinet ministers, but backbench MPs say they’re confused why the whole team hasn’t met yet since securing a minority government in September.

Quebec MP Alexandra Mendès said she found the wait puzzling, while Ontario MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith said there was no possible reason for the delay.

“There’s no explanation or excuse for not having already had a national caucus meeting,” he said at the time. “I expect we will have one shortly.”

September 11, 2019

Another MP, who didn’t want to be named, acknowledged there was a certain level of frustration in the caucus.

The federal Liberal caucus finally met for the first time on November 8. (CBC) 

Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said today he expects his party’s MPs to promote vaccines and leave talk about their efficacy to the health experts — a comment that comes after a Conservative caucus member made some eyebrow-raising comments about COVID-19 shots over the weekend.

October 21, 2021

O’Toole and his team have been grappling with questions about vaccines for months as some of his party’s MPs and senators have spoken out against mandatory shots or have avoided getting vaccinated altogether.

O’Toole has tried to walk a fine line — telling Canadians he supports the vaccination campaign while opposing mandatory vaccination rules for public servants and the travelling public.

O’Toole also has said his party will challenge a House of Commons Board of Internal Economy policy that requires all MPs attending Parliament in person to be vaccinated — but has refused to say how many Conservative caucus members are fully vaccinated.

June 10, 2021

A group of Conservative parliamentarians recently formed what they call a “civil liberties” working group to advocate for the unvaccinated.

While promoting the group’s work during an appearance on CTV, Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu suggested that polio — a disease largely eradicated in Canada through vaccinations — posed more of a threat than COVID-19.

“In terms of the risk, people that got polio, many of them died and many of them were crippled, and that is not the same frequency of risk that we see with COVID-19,” she said in an interview on the network’s Question Period program.

“I’m just receiving the information from medical experts that talk about the relative risk. I’m not a doctor myself.” (CBC) 

 

Thursday October 21, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 21, 2021

Vaccine mandate coming to House of Commons, MPs rule

Anyone entering the House of Commons precinct — including MPs — will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Nov. 22, the Board of Internal Economy has ordered.

Thursday August 19, 2021

The new rule starts on the day the 44th Parliament kicks off.

“This requirement will apply to any person who wishes to enter the House of Commons precinct, including members and their staff, political research office employees, administration employees, members of the parliamentary press gallery, parliamentary business visitors, contractors and consultants,” said Speaker Anthony Rota in a statement.

The cross-party committee of MPs that oversees the workings of the House of Commons made this decision following a two-hour closed-door meeting on Tuesday.

August 17, 2021

“Details with respect to the implementation of the Board’s decision are being developed and will be communicated in due course,” reads the Speaker’s statement. “These decisions were made to meet ongoing recommendations from public health authorities to help limit the spread of COVID-19 within the work environment.”

The House is considering people to be fully vaccinated 14 days after they have received the recommended doses of one or a combination of Health Canada-approved vaccines.

September 17, 2021

The decision to include MPs as part of the vaccination mandate comes amid discussions over parliamentary privilege and whether there would be a different set of rules for elected officials than there would be for those around them.

The Liberals, New Democrats, and Bloc Quebecois have said that all their MPs are fully vaccinated, though the Conservatives have continued to refuse to say how many of their MPs are vaccinated. Given the timing of this order coming into effect, it’s possible unvaccinated Conservatives would not be able to enter the House of Commons next month unless they have a medical exemption.

According to the new policy, in cases of individuals who have a “medical contraindication,” they will have to provide proof of a recent negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test to be able to enter the buildings that are part of the House precinct. These requirements to get on the Hill will not apply to anyone under the age of 12.

This news follows the federal government announcing on Oct. 6 that “core” federal public servants will have to attest to being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 29 or face being put on leave without pay by Nov. 15.

While the House of Commons and Senate were not part of that mandate, they were among the federal employers asked to mirror the government’s vaccine policy in developing their own approaches. (CTV) 

 

Tuesday June 29, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 29, 2021

Catherine McKenna quitting federal politics, says years of online attacks were ‘just noise’

After enduring a barrage of online hate and physical attacks on her constituency office during her six years as an MP, Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna announced Monday she will not run again in the next election.

November 24, 2015

McKenna — who led the contentious fight to levy a national price on carbon emissions as environment minister — has long been the target of sexist attacks over her vocal defence of climate action in the face of entrenched opposition.

But she said the hardship she has endured in politics was not the motivation for her departure. Rather, she said, she wants to spend more time with her kids after many nights away during her time in office. She said the COVID-19 pandemic forced her to “step back and reflect on what matters most.”

McKenna also said she wants to focus her energies on fighting climate change from outside of government. She’s offered to help Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Canadian delegation at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland later this year.

November 28, 2015

She’s no stranger to this forum. Only days after being named to cabinet in 2015, McKenna led the Canadian delegation at the COP21 conference in Paris where almost every country on earth agreed to emissions reductions to stave off the worst effects of climate change.

McKenna said her experiences shouldn’t dissuade young women from entering politics. While there may be some abuse, she said, elected office is still the best place to be to bring about change.

Her office was vandalized and her Twitter feed the source of many misogynistic messages — but McKenna said entering federal politics was the only way she could enact Canada’s price on carbon and implement the country’s first “meaningful climate plan” to dramatically drive down emissions by 2030.

December 15, 2015

After the Supreme Court upheld the carbon levy as constitutional, she said, all parties came to accept that pricing pollution is the best way to curb emissions — a sign that politicians can make a difference.

As infrastructure minister, she also signed cheques worth tens of billions of dollars to build public transit and other green-friendly projects.

“For the many people who are understandably cynical about politics, I hope you take that as hard evidence as to what’s possible. Things change, sometimes the biggest things,” she told a press conference along the Rideau Canal in her Ottawa riding.

“I have had my share of attacks, but that’s just noise. People want you to stop what you’re doing, and they want you to back down. We doubled down.”

October 9, 1997

She vowed to do more to tackle the hate some women face when in Parliament. “I’ll do everything to fight that when I’m gone,” she said. “We need good people in politics. Politics matters.”

McKenna’s decision not to run again in Ottawa Centre creates an opening for another Liberal in a riding the party carried easily in the 2015 and 2019 federal elections after years of NDP representation by former New Democrat leader Ed Broadbent and later Paul Dewar.

There’s been some speculation that the former Bank of Canada governor, Mark Carney, may jump into politics after endorsing Trudeau and the Liberals at the party’s convention in April. Carney, who lives in the area, could make a bid to carry the Liberal banner in this urban seat. (CBC) 

 

Tuesday March 16, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday March 16, 2021

Kielburgers accuse MPs of holding political trial during testy committee hearing

September 11, 2020

Craig and Marc Kielburger accused a parliamentary committee on Monday of engaging in a political trial as its members grilled the brothers over WE Charity’s operations, including its cancelled deal to run a federal program for student volunteers.

The heated exchange saw the Kielburgers accuse political parties of trying to score points at the expense of children around the world — even as they faced pointed questions from members of the House of Commons ethics committee about their own activities.

Marc Kielburger set the tone by forcefully defending the various WE operations set up over the years — a mix of philanthropic and for-profit entities that he suggested were established in response to outdated restrictions on how Canadian charities can operate.

Friday July 31, 2020

“Let us be clear — this hearing is a trial and a public one at that,” Marc Kielburger said during his opening statement to the committee. “Without recognizing our right to present our own evidence, this committee is trying WE Charity in the court of public opinion and forcing testimony.”

He blasted NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus in particular for having asked the RCMP and the Canada Revenue Agency to look into the organization’s operations, and then publicly posting those requests on social media.

He also took aim at the Conservatives and the Liberal government, which he accused of hiding “behind a children’s charity by letting it take the fall for their political decisions — and the opposition allowed them.”

Throughout the meeting, MPs questioned how the Liberal government and WE agreed to put the charity in charge of a multimillion-dollar program designed to cover the education costs of students who volunteer during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also asked questions about the state of WE today.

The brothers were asked to add up the fees they’ve paid to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his family to speak at different WE events over the years, and to respond to allegations that WE engaged in questionable lobbying and fundraising activities

Ethics commissioner Mario Dion is now investigating Trudeau and Morneau for a potential conflict of interest. Both have apologized for not having recused themselves from cabinet discussions of the WE contract.

“We didn’t advise the prime minister and Mr. Morneau not to recuse themselves,” Marc Kielburger said, arguing that WE was not responsible for political choices.

“We never prorogued Parliament. We were not involved in the decision to filibuster this committee last fall. This is a political scandal for the government, not for WE Charity.”

Liberal MP Francesco Sorbara in turn accused the Kielburgers of not taking responsibility for their own actions. “You want to throw blame on everyone else and not take responsibility for things that have happened within your control,” he said. (Continued: CBC)

Sketch of three rich kids with a lot of rich adult defenders