Politics 204 for November 24

Quote of the day

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  “I’m a hugger.” — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the fact that he likes to give people hugs. Just for fun, Maclean’s magazine counted the number of hugs he gave out when he revealed his cabinet earlier this month.

Logistics

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  Child-poverty numbers: Manitoba has more kids living in poverty than any other province: almost one in three, according to new statistics.
• Refugee numbers: The details of how Canada intends to fulfil Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promise to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of the year will be revealed this afternoon in Ottawa. Immigration Minister John McCallum and several other cabinet ministers are announcing the details this afternoon, including an explanation of security measures being taken, the logistics of getting refugees here and where they will stay and a better idea of how many refugees will arrive in various locations. Parliamentary bureau chief Mia Rabson is there.
• Media logistics: It seems the honeymoon between the Parliamentary Press Gallery and the Trudeau Liberals may be over. There was a squirmish today in the Centre Block over where cabinet ministers would scrum following their morning cabinet meeting. Traditionally it was done outside the cabinet room, where the Parliamentary Press Gallery set up, but the Liberals want it to be in the larger foyer outside the House of Commons. So cabinet ministers refused to speak to reporters upstairs and reporters refused to go to the foyer for fear some of the ministers would find a way to exit without speaking. Much eye-rolling ensued.

Climate issues

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  Buses and emissions: city hall is postponing the purchase of new transit buses until it’s satisfied the manufacturer has solved the troublesome problems with the engine emission-control devices.
• Trudeau on climate?: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley warmed up the climate debate when she unveiled a plan to cut carbon emissions. Now, the country is waiting to see if Prime Minister Trudeau will provide the leadership (and some cash) to rehabilitate Canada’s reputation as a carbon polluter. We dive in with our editorial tomorrow.

Water, water everywhere

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  New water management: The Selinger government introduced Bill 5, the Surface Water Management Act today. It calls for stiffer penalties for illegal land drainage and some means of ensuring property owners compensate for the loss of wetlands.
• Managing water: Scott Forbes and Barb Scaife take a run at the provincial government in their separate commentaries about the mismanagement of our lakes and fisheries.

In case you missed it

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  City hall secrecy: The action of civic officials has been labelled secretive and dishonest by an independent report reviewing the city’s proposed expropriation of private property for a massive storm water retention basin.
• Merging costs: The provincial government has agreed to cover some of the administration and capital costs incurred by municipalities as a result of forced amalgamation. Municipal Government Minister and Brandon East MLA Drew Caldwell announced the government’s creation of a $1-million amalgamation support fund during the kickoff to the annual convention of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities on Monday.
• Blog: Samara Canada and UBC Press asked academics and writers from around the country to blog about the Canadian election within 96 hours of the results. Me and Linda Trimble from Alberta, wrote about micro-targeting in this election. Overall, the blog is fascinating overview of the election.

On the calendar

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  AMM in Brandon: The Association for Manitoba Municipalities meets this week in Brandon. Tomorrow, in the afternoon, it’s hosting the provincial leader’s debate. Our very own Bartley Kives is heading west tonight to cover this. Resolutions discussed today include a demand for the PST rebate.
• More Duffy: Who is Gerald Donohue? As the trial continues for Sen. Mike Duffy, it’s unclear what role Donohue played. Was he an unqualified consultant who made roughly $20,000 for using Google, talking to Sen. Mike Duffy on the phone and cutting cheques to sub-contractors? Or was he an ailing but important consultant?

Today in history

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  Today in 1869, Louis Riel called a meeting of the inhabitants of Red River in Fort Garry and proposed the creation of provisional government to replace the Council of Assiniboia. And today in 1977, Progressive Conservative premier Sterling Lyon was sworn in, replacing New Democrat Ed Schreyer.

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