Frightening FEStivities | Your Look Ahead from Summa Strategies

4 minute read

What We’re Watching

  • The Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate by half a percentage point last Wednesday, marking the sixth consecutive rate hike this year. 
  • The federal Competition Bureau stated it would continue challenging the proposed merger between Rogers and Shaw, arguing that it will lessen competition and result in higher bills and fewer choices for consumers. 
  • The Emergency Act inquiry continues with witness testimonies, summoning Premier Doug Ford and former solicitor general Sylvia Jones after both refused a voluntary request to appear before the committee. 
  • U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly last week to discuss Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, women’s rights in Iran, and Canada’s newly announced decision to seek membership in a U.S.-led trade framework in the Indo-Pacific. When asked about plans for a formal mission to Haiti, both were hesitant to confirm details. 

In the House

  • Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts, is being considered in OLLO. 
  • Bill C-18, An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada, is being considered at CPHC. 
  • Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Act, is being considered at HUMA. 
  • Bill C-29, An Act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation, is being considered at INAN. 
  • Bill C-215, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (illness, injury or quarantine), is at the report stage. 

Committee Updates 

  • TRAN will meet today and Wednesday afternoon to discuss anticipated labour shortages in the Canadian transportation sector.
  • INDU will meet today to discuss Bill C-244, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (diagnosis, maintenance, and repair). 
  • ETHI will meet this afternoon to discuss Device Investigation Tools used by the RCMP
  • HESA will meet tomorrow to discuss Canada’s health workforce.

In the Senate

  • Bill C-11, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act, is at the second reading stage in the Senate.
  • Bill S-210, the Post-Secondary Instutitons Bankruptcy Protection Act, has passed second reading in the Senate. 

ICYMI

  • Canadian parliamentarians overwhelmingly voted no to severing ties with the monarchy after Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet introduced a motion that sparked a conversation in the House of Commons. 
  • According to a new report from the 2021 census, the federal government’s strategy to use immigration to solve major labour shortages has proven successful, as immigrants now comprise the largest proportion of Canada’s population in history at 23 percent. 
  • Last week, Democracy Watch urged the government to drop application fees, impose quicker response timelines, and reduce restrictions in the Access to Information Act in its submission to the Ethics committee. 
  • The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal rejected the federal government’s $20 billion offer to compensate First Nations children and families who were harmed by the discriminatory on-reserve child welfare system, stating it would leave out some victims entitled to compensation. 

#ONPoli

  • Ontario Premier Doug Ford and former solicitor general Sylvia Jones will challenge a summons to appear before a commission investigating the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act this week.
  • Last Thursday, the Financial Accountability Office issued a report projecting that the Ontario PCs would see budget surpluses from now until the 2028 fiscal year. 
  • With municipal elections now behind us, Ontario’s big city mayors will soon be able to act on the ‘strong mayor’ powers introduced by the provincial government earlier this year. 
  • Last week, the government introduced legislation banning the use of nondisclosure agreements in cases of sexual misconduct by post-secondary faculty in order to ‘strengthen the tools available to institutions.’

#ABPoli

  • Premier Danielle Smith suggested introducing political parties for municipalities, stating she has been lobbied on the issue by councillors in Calgary and Edmonton.
  • Late last week, Premier Smith released a memo directing her cabinet to hold their ground when negotiating with the federal government, including choosing to opt out of new federal programs if they weren’t deemed in the province’s best interests. 
  • A judicial review ruled the provincial government acted against public interest and the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health when ending the masking requirement in schools earlier this year, with Justice Dunlop calling it an ‘unreasonable interpretation of the Public Health Act.’
  • Opposition Leader, Rachel Notley, is spending time in the riding of Brooks-Medicine Hat with the NDP candidate Gwendoline Dirk as the by-election race heats up. Dirk is challenging Premier Smith for the seat. The by-election is scheduled for November 8, 2022. 

#BCPoli

  • The Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry released a report calling on the federal government to work with B.C.’s provincial and municipal governments to improve the flood relief plan protecting the Fraser Valley.  
  • David Eby will be sworn in as British Columbia’s new premier on Nov. 18, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin conducting the swearing-in ceremony at Government House in Victoria.
  • Disqualified B.C. NDP leadership candidate Anjali Appadurai says she’s willing to accept Premier-elect Eby’s offer to work together if he is willing to take substantive action on climate change initiatives. 
  • The federal government has begun outreach with B.C.’s ‘big city’ mayors and mayors-elect to discuss housing partnerships and projects. 

#ATLPoli

  • Emera, the parent company of Nova Scotia Power, announced it would pause activity on the Atlantic Loop after Premier Houston imposed a rate cap and additional earning limits. Last week, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the federal government would continue actively pursuing the energy corridor, calling Emera’s reconsideration a ‘bump in the road.’
  • Nova Scotia Health Minister Michelle Thompson announced new pilot programs aimed at overburdened emergency departments and filling the demand for lab technicians would be introduced soon. 
  • New Brunswick’s Health Minister Bruce Fitch introduced legislation allowing simple surgeries to take place outside the hospital setting, attracting criticism for not including surgical abortions in clinics as part of the new legislation and for opening the door to ‘corporate-owned surgery centres.’. 
  • The P.E.I. government released a new climate adaptation plan to support vulnerable populations, primary industries, and natural habitats last week.

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