What We’re Watching
- The Ontario provincial election rolls on this week as party leaders criss-cross the province making their pitch to voters.
- Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, will continue and potentially conclude second reading debate this week.
- François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, is travelling in Germany and Belgium from May 8 to 13, 2022. He will attend the G7 Digital Ministers meeting in Düsseldorf, Germany, on May 10 and 11.
In the House
- The House will continue debate on bill C-19 today
- Tuesday and Thursday will be opposition days
- Bill C-11 will be debated on Wednesday, with sitting hours being extended until midnight.
- FINA will continue its pre-study of the budget implementation legislation (Bill C-19)
- NDDN is studying the rising domestic operational deployments of the Canadian Armed Forces
- RNNR will meet this week to discuss the creation of a fair and equitable Canadian energy transformation
- LANG meets multiple times this week to discuss government measures to protect French across Canada, with Minister of Transport Omar Alghbra appearing to discuss the importance of French at CN Rail.
In the Senate
- Immigration Minister Sean Fraser appears before the Senate Official Languages Committee today to discuss Francophone immigration to minority communities.
- The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee will meet on Wednesday to discuss bill S-4
- The Senate will continue second reading debate of Bill C-8, the Economic and Fiscal Update Act, which was recently passed by the House of Commons
- Bill S-7, An Act to amend the Customs Act and the Preclearance Act, will continue second reading
ICYMI
- On Sunday, the Prime Minister made a surprise visit to Ukraine, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly. The group met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, participated in a flag raising ceremony to mark the re-opening of the Canadian Embassy in Ukraine, and announced additional measures and investments to continue supporting Ukraine.
- Last week, the Conservative Party confirmed the six official candidates for its leadership contest
- Candidates vying for the leadership of the Conservative Party went toe to toe for the first time on Thursday at the Canada Strong and Free Network’s annual conference
- A draft majority decision from the US Supreme Court was leaked on Monday night. It outlined the courts plan to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 US Supreme Court decision which determined that access to abortion in the US was a constitutional right
#ONPoli
- The Ontario Provincial Election began last Wednesday, May 4th, and will run until June 2nd.
- The Ontario Liberal Party pledged to reintroduce grade 13 on an optional basis. This is to offset any educational setbacks caused by the pandemic
- The NDP pledged to build 1.5 million new homes across Ontario over the next decade through various measures
- Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives promised to spent $730M to extend all-day GO trains to the Durham Region
- Monday was the first day for candidates for municipal offices across Ontario to submit their nomination papers
#BCPoli
- An all-party legislative committee recommended that a provincial police service be created in order to take over policing in BC from the RCMP. BC previously had a provincial police force from 1858 to 1950
- BC Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon stated last week that he plans to target the governing NDP over their handling of crime, affordability and healthcare once he gets his seat in the Legislature later this month
- New anti-racism legislation was tabled in the Legislature last Monday. The bill allows government agencies to ask people about their demographics including race, ethnicity, gender, faith, sexuality, ability and income. It will be used to determine the rates at which race impacts health and social service outcomes
#ABPoli
- A motion has been launched to try to compel Premier Jason Kenney to testify in an ongoing lawsuit against his office from a former government employee who claims she was terminated in retaliation for attempting to raise concerns about what she alleges was a toxic workplace culture
- Service Alberta Minister Nate Glubish and Jobs, Economy and Innovation Minister Doug Schweitzer announced the provincial government’s investment in Alberta’s first public sector artificial intelligence lab
- Premier Kenney was in Ottawa to attend the Canada Strong and Free Network’s annual conference
#ATLPoli
- In his State of the Province Address on Tuesday, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston stated that the provincial government intended to change its controversial non-resident property tax. By Thursday morning, the Nova Scotia government made the decision to scrap the non-resident property tax altogether.
- PEI ended its provincial mask mandate on Friday as COVID-19 cases trend downward
- It was announced on Thursday that Halifax and Moncton will co-host the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship
