Latest news with #CarneyGovernment
National Post
7 hours ago
- Politics
- National Post
FIRST READING: The new public safety minister doesn't appear to know stuff
Article content Article content Article content Article content In yet another check against the likelihood that the Carney government will be building any oil export pipelines, on Friday Prime Minister Mark Carney said that nothing's getting approved without 'a consensus of all the provinces and the Indigenous people.' The statement misrepresents the power of the federal government; obviously Ottawa is able to do things without first getting unanimous approval from all 10 provinces and also an undefined share of the country's 630 First Nations. But with the statement, Carney is effectively making it harder to build a pipeline than to amend the Constitution. For big decisions (such as abolishing the Senate), the Constitution requires the virtually impossible threshold of obtaining unanimous consent from all the provinces – but without any similar benchmark for unanimous Indigenous consent. Article content Article content Article content In a recent interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, FBI Director Kash Patel alleged that Canada is an emerging hub of fentanyl production, in part due to U.S. efforts to combat fentanyl smuggling coming in from Mexico. Patel said the component parts to manufacture illicit fentanyl come almost exclusively from China, and were now increasingly being routed through Canada. 'Instead of having the Mexican cartels going right up the southern border and into America, do you know what they're doing? They're flying it into Vancouver, they're taking the precursors up to Canada, manufacturing it up there, and doing their global distribution routes from up there because we've been so effective down south,' he said. B.C. Public Safety Minister Garry Begg dismissed the allegations in a statement to CTV News. 'It's no surprise that Trump's appointee would use his position to continue the president's narrative to justify his tariffs,' he said. 'Their Drug Enforcement Agency's National Drug Threat Assessment report in 2023 and 2024 didn't even mention Canada.' Article content
CTV News
a day ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Canadians want politicians to skip summer break, but optimistic about results from Carney's Liberals: Nanos
Prime Minister Mark Carney makes his way through the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, June 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick The majority of Canadians think the country's politicians should work through the summer to deliver the 'concrete results' they expect this year, according to a Nanos survey. Results of a survey commissioned by CTV News during the first week of June suggest most polled expect to see some type of progress by the end of the year on major initiatives undertaken by the new Carney government. Nearly four-in-10 (38 per cent) surveyed said they expect results, while another 12 per cent said they believe they'll be waiting until 2026 or 2017 to see progress. Respondents were not asked about specific initiatives, but the recently elected Liberals campaigned on a platform that included tax cuts for the middle class, protections against the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, diversified trade and 'Canada's most ambitious housing plan since the Second World War.' Asked when they expect to see the results of initiatives implemented under Prime Minister Mark Carney's leadership, an optimistic three per cent thought they'd see changes by the end of the month. Seventeen per cent said they don't expect to see results from the major Liberal initiatives at all, according to Nanos data. Men were more likely than women to say they didn't expect much from the current government, at 23 per cent compared to 12 per cent. People aged 18 to 34 were more pessimistic about their expectations than those 55 and older, with 25 per cent of the younger group expecting no concrete results, compared to 10 per cent of the older demographic. Sitting through the summer As for what respondents said they'd like to see from federal politicians, about two-thirds said they think it's important or somewhat important that the new government work through the summer, rather than take the usual break. Respondents in Ontario and the Prairies felt most strongly about a summer sitting, while those in Quebec were less concerned. Still, a majority in those regions felt it was important to some extent that leaders forgo the break. The Liberals said previously they planned to delay the budget release until the fall, after the House of Commons returns in mid-September. Opposition parties have been critical of this decision, as well as of the new government's throne speech, which has been described as vague and lacking in detail on economic policies. Canadians appear to be split on whether the Liberal government should table a budget before the fall, with 53 per cent surveyed saying it was important or somewhat important. Men, residents of the Prairies and respondents under the age of 55 were more likely to say they wanted a budget sooner than the fall sitting. Methodology from Nanos This study was commissioned by CTV News and the research was conducted by Nanos Research. Nanos conducted a random-digit-dialed dual-frame hybrid telephone and online survey of 1,120 randomly selected Canadians aged 18 or older, between June 1 and 3. The results were weighted by age and gender using the latest census information (2021) and geographically stratified to represent the Canadian population, Nanos says. The margin of error is ±2.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
National Post
4 days ago
- Business
- National Post
FIRST READING: The wild overreach contained in the Liberals' new border control bill
Article content TOP STORY Article content The first piece of legislation tabled by the new Carney government is a bill framed as a means to tighten the 'security of the border between Canada and the United States.' Article content 'The Bill will … keep Canadians safe by ensuring law enforcement has the right tools to keep our borders secure, combat transnational organized crime, stop the flow of illegal fentanyl, and crack down on money laundering' read a backgrounder. Article content Article content But within days of the text becoming public, analysts began to notice that Bill C-2's 140 pages contained a number of provisions that went well beyond the usual scope of chasing down drug smugglers and gangsters. This includes a clause that technically outlaws paying for anything with more than $10,000 in cash. Article content Article content The bill would do this via an amendment to The Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act, legislation that was first made law in 2000. The amendment states that it would become an offence to accept 'a cash payment, donation or deposit of $10,000 or more in a single transaction.' Article content It doesn't matter if the $10,000 is paid to a licensed business for a legal product or service: The mere fact that the payment is in cash is what makes it illegal. Article content Article content It also becomes illegal if 'a prescribed series of related transactions' come to a total of more than $10,000. So, if you pay $2,000 cash to a contractor more than five times, that contractor will have officially violated The Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act. Article content Article content In a statement, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms conceded that it's a rare thing for a Canadian to pay a five-figure bill in cash, but warned that once the precedent is set, it would be very easy for governments to reduce the 'legal amount' of a cash transaction. 'Restricting the use of cash is a dangerous step towards tyranny and totalitarianism,' it wrote. Article content 'If we cherish our privacy, we need to defend our freedom to choose cash, in the amount of our choosing. This includes, for example, our right to pay $10,000 cash for a car, or to donate $10,000 (or more) to a charity.' Article content Another twist with the provision is that it only covers donations collected by an entity involved in 'the solicitation of charitable financial donations.' So virtually all of the anti-Israel protests regularly blockading Canadian streets would be exempt, as they're not organized by registered charities. If you want to hand $10,000 in cash to your local Globalize the Intifada vigil, The Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act has no quarrel with you.
National Post
6 days ago
- Business
- National Post
FIRST READING: What Carney's inner circle really thinks about oil and gas
Article content Four years later, this somewhat contradictory view is much the same. In the space of just 30 seconds this week, Carney told a press conference that his government saw an 'oil pipeline … to tidewater' as an 'opportunity' — before adding that 'decarbonized barrels' of oil should be the priority. Article content Tim Hodgson Minister of natural resources Article content If Blanchard is being accused of being a 'keep it in the ground' zealot, Hodgson is the Carney government's leading counterweight. Article content A May 23 speech Hodgson delivered to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce spoke of 'cutting red tape,' and contained no mention of the terms 'net zero' or 'decarbonization.' And the only time he mentioned 'climate change' was in a section where he suggested Canadian energy should be employed to 'displace' dirtier fuels overseas. Article content 'By working with the energy sector to make investments that fight climate change, we can get more barrels to market while cutting carbon emissions,' he said. Article content Still, Hodgson's first statements to the House of Commons show him hedging his bets on the central issue of new export pipelines. 'We will support new pipelines if there is a national consensus in favour of them,' he said on May 29. Article content Carney's new environment minister, Dabrusin, has been the MP for Toronto—Danforth since 2015, and replaces Steven Guilbeault, whose tenure was marked by open hostility to the energy sector. As Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz said upon Guilbeault leaving the post, he had put 'an activist agenda ahead of the well being and economic health of Albertans and Canadians.' Article content Nevertheless, Dabrusin is on record espousing many of Guilbeault's most controversial positions. Article content This includes the 2024 boast that 'no other country' was placing an emissions cap on its petroleum sector — a statement that was quickly taken up by the Opposition as evidence that Canada was kneecapping its own energy production even as it continued unabated everywhere else. Article content 'No other country has capped emissions from oil and gas production,' Dabrusin told the House of Commons in April, 2024. She's called carbon pricing the ' largest single tool we have to reduce emissions,' and in 2022 she said the future of the Canadian oil sector would be to lubricate windmills. Article content Article content 'Even in a net-zero world, we will always need oil for some things, and not just bike chain grease. We also need it to make lubricant for windmills. If members want to keep seeing latex gloves in our hospitals, we will always need oil,' she said. Article content Article content Article content Article content If parliamentary procedure is your thing, Monday was witness to an absolutely elite-tier operation by the Conservatives. After the Carney government swore repeatedly that they were too busy to prepare a budget until at least the fall, the House of Commons slipped through an amendment for them to do it anyway. Article content On a routine House of Commons vote to accept the speech from the throne, the Conservatives threw in an amendment calling on the government 'to present to Parliament an economic update or budget this spring, before the House adjourns for the summer.' The NDP and the Bloc Québécois all voted yes on the amendment, causing it to pass 166 to the Liberals' 164 votes. Article content The Liberals don't have to table a spring budget, but if they don't they'll technically be violating the terms of their own throne speech vote. Article content Article content
National Post
28-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
John Ivison: The first Carney spending numbers are out, and they're as bad Trudeau's
Politics is not a zero-sum game where one person's win is automatically another's loss. An economy is not a conserved system, so, in theory, it is possible that a government could reduce taxes, increase spending and balance budgets (if, for example, revenues rise). Article content Article content But it is a theory that is as rare in real life as white peacocks. Article content The Carney government is in the process of legislating a $5-billion-a-year middle-class tax cut, while planning to increase spending on things like the military and housing, and at the same time promising to balance the operating budget in three years. Article content Article content Yet, the Main Estimates, the government's spending plan that was released on Tuesday at the same time as the throne speech, shows no signs of the restraint that will be needed if the government is to meet that last target. Article content Article content This is the first evidence of concrete spending plans since the election and it seems the bureaucracy did not get the memo about the need for fiscal rigour. Article content The prime minister was critical of his predecessor's fondness for distributing cash, saying the Trudeau government spent too much and invested too little. Mark Carney said his government will limit operating-expense increases to two per cent a year, down from nine per cent a year under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, while preserving transfers to provinces and individuals. Article content The Main Estimates suggest that message of restraint fell on deaf ears in Ottawa: total budgeted spending is scheduled to rise 7.75 per cent to $486.9 billion this fiscal year across 130 federal organizations (compared to last year's Main Estimates). The government will ask Parliament to vote on $222.9 billion of spending measures, a 14 per cent increase on last year's estimates. Article content Article content The most egregious spending appears to be on consultants. The estimates reveal that budgetary expenditure by 'standard object' — in this case, 'professional and special services' — are set to hit $26 billion this year, if departments are granted the approvals they are seeking (the estimates are an 'up to' amount; departments could spend less). Article content Article content It should also be pointed out that the Main Estimates are not the whole picture. There will be additional 'supplementary estimates' over the course of the year that will likely increase spending further in response to events.
