Not So Chill on the Hill | Your Look Ahead from Summa Strategies

What We’re Watching

  • A public inquiry has begun hearings as it probes the federal government’s unprecedented use of emergency powers to clear the capital. The commission is expected to hear from 65 witnesses over the next six weeks, including Prime Minister Trudeau, cabinet ministers, government officials from Ontario and Alberta and convoy organizers.
  • Conservative, Bloc Québécois and NDP MPs are planning to force a committee investigation into the $54-million cost of the ArriveCan app. With all three opposition parties on board, the MPs have the numbers to win a vote even if the study is opposed by Liberal MPs.

In the House

  • Second reading of bill C-31, the second half of the Liberal affordability plan, will continue today.
  • Tuesday will see the second reading of bill C-22, which looks to establish a Canada Disability Benefit.
  • Bill S-5, An Act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which addresses chemicals management, will be debated on Wednesday.
  • Thursday will be an opposition day. 
  • Both bills S-4 and C-9 will be debated on Friday.

Committee Business

  • INDU will meet today to discuss bill C-235, An act respecting the building of a green economy in the Prairies, with Saskatchewan Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre appearing before the committee.
  • INAN will meet today to discuss bill C-29, An Act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation.
  • TRAN will meet today to discuss anticipated labour shortages in the Canadian transportation sector.
  • CIMM will meet on Tuesday to discuss application backlogs and processing times.
  • CIIT will meet Tuesday to discuss the potential trade implications of transporting goods in railway containers.
  • FEWO will meet Thursday to discuss the mental health of young women and girls.

In the Senate

  • Bill C-30 will begin second reading in the Senate today
  • The Senate will also vote on a motion today to begin second reading of bill C-11, which is currently in pre-study.

Committee Business

  • OLLO will meet today to discuss bill C-13, An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages.
  • TRCM will meet Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss bill C-11, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act
  • SOCI will meet Wednesday to discuss the federal framework for suicide prevention.

ICYMI

  • Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre unveiled his shadow cabinet on Wednesday, with a total of 71 MPs included in its ranks. Calgary MP Jasraj Hallan was tapped as Finance and Middle Class Prosperity critic, while leadership rivals Leslyn Lewis and Scott Aitchinson were named critics for Transport and Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, respectively. Notably absent are former Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole, former Finance critic Ed Fast, and former Harper cabinet minister Michelle Rempel Garner.
  • Minister of National Defence Anita Anand announced an additional $47 million in aid for Ukraine while attending a NATO Defence Ministers conference in Germany. She additionally announced that 40 Canadian Army combat engineers would deploy to Poland to train Ukrainian personnel.
  • Global News reported that it had discovered 50 of Pierre Poilievre’s Youtube videos had included a hidden tag appealing to misogynistic online movements that Canada’s intelligence agencies view as a danger. Poilievre’s office said the Conservative leader was unaware the embedded tags existed.
  • Prime Minister Trudeau announced a $222 million investment to aid Rio Tinto’s plans to increase production of critical minerals and reduce carbon emissions at the global mining giant’s iron and titanium oxide facility in Quebec.
  • In a speech given to Washington DC-based think tank The Brookings Institution, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland urged the world’s democracies to confront the hard economic truths of a perilous new world order and seek common cause in their shared values.

#ONpoli

  • A leaked report on hospital emergency room statistics obtained by the Ontario Liberal Party showed that an average of 884 patients daily waited for in-patient beds in Ontario during August, up 53 per cent from the same month last year.
  • CUPE education staff in Ontario schools voted to strike if talks with the province break down, with 96.5 percent of members voting in favour of a job action. Premier Ford responded by publicly begging support staff not to strike.
  • Energy Minister Todd Smith has adopted a report from the province’s Independent Electricity System Operator which called on the province to increase the use of natural gas to produce power and avert a looming power crunch that could lead to rotating blackouts.

#ABpoli

#BCpoli

#ATLpoli

  • Dominic Cardy has resigned as New Brunswick’s Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, attacking Premier Blaine Higgs’ leadership style, stating in his resignation letter that “change requires care, not a wrecking ball” and proposed reforms to French second-language education “will stall because of your micromanagement.” Cardy later added that he hopes to see other frustrated ministers resign from cabinet as well.
  • Premier Higgs responded by expelling Cardy from the New Brunswick PC Caucus, stating in a letter Cardy’s recent actions have been “Inexcusable”.
  • Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has proposed changes to Nova Scotia’s labour law, creating a special unpaid leave for women and their spouses or partners who have faced a pregnancy loss.
  • Opposition MLAs are calling for an independent investigation into efforts by the Premier of Nova Scotia to exert pressure on the Speaker of the House to resign following statements by Speaker Keith Bain attesting to the allegations. 
  • Newfoundland and Labrador is officially ending its COVID-19 vaccine passport system, with NLVaxVerify — an app used by businesses to read QR codes and verify people’s vaccine status — no longer working as of Friday.