Members of Parliament returned to Ottawa to resume sitting for the first time in 2023 on Monday, with the state of Canada's health-care system, the health of the Canadian economy, and rates of violent crime in this country all top of mind.
As MPs began filing back into West Block — which continues to serve as the temporary home of the House of Commons during Centre Block's decade-long renovation — the parliamentary precinct was relatively quiet after this weekend's one-year anniversary of the "Freedom Convoy" protest kickoff came and went with little fanfare.
On Monday afternoon, question period provided the first opportunity for politicians to square off on the headline-grabbing issues during the month-long holiday hiatus. From another chaotic travel season, to questions swirling around past comments about Quebec made by the Liberals' newly appointed special representative on combating Islamophobia, there was plenty for MPs to dig into.
The first item of government business up for debate was the Liberals' Bill C-35, aimed at enshrining in law a long-term commitment to Canada's early learning and child care Act system, beyond the $10-a-day-deals the federal government has signed with provinces and territories. Early debate was an indication that the Conservatives won't be supporting the legislation, barring amendments.
Ahead of the House of Commons' opening, party caucuses held meetings to plot their political and legislative priorities. For all, inflation, affordability, and Canadians' ability to access services remain key issues of concern.
Top of mind for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this winter will be balancing a number of upcoming big ticket commitments, with the Liberals' pledge to be fiscally responsible given the widespread warnings of an economic slowdown.
"There's a host of hot issues, obviously. But, more than that, I think there's an important priority for the prime minister and his government to look like they're moving from arguments to achievements… Talking about the cost of living crisis, talking about economic wellbeing, talking about health care, talking about crime," said CTV political commentator Scott Reid on CTV News Channel on Monday.
"And I think the fundamental mission for the government right now is to demonstrate that it can fix those things that people are worried aren't working, and that they can make real progress,” Reid said. “This session is an opportunity for him day in and day out, measure to measure, policy to policy, question period to question period, to prove his point, that this government is getting things fixed and getting things done.”
In his caucus-rallying speech to MPs on Friday, Trudeau said, while the country and the world are facing "difficult times" given the risk of a recession and the ongoing war in Ukraine, it is important that Liberals reaffirm their "positive vision" for the future.
"This is a pivotal moment, not just for our country, but for the whole world. And, as we head together into this new sitting of Parliament, we — all of us — we must be ready to meet this moment. We must remember to always put Canadians at the centre of everything we do," Trudeau said.
Heading into a new year as the head of the Official Opposition to the Liberal minority, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has vowed to continue calling out reckless spending. As his caucus plans to push a number of committee studies connected to what they see as the Liberals' inability to govern without ethics breaches, or deliver services without relying on private consultants, Poilievre on Monday deliberately emphasized the fact that Trudeau has now been in power for "eight years."
During question period, the Conservatives largely focused their questions around the ongoing discussion of how much the federal Liberals have spent on contracts granted to consulting firm McKinsey and Co., while at the same time placing the blame on the federal government for a range of issues.
"After eight years of this prime minister, we have 40-year highs in inflation, we have a 32 per cent increase in crime. We have the TTC transit system in downtown Toronto overtaken by crime. We have more people eating at food banks and living at homeless shelters … but not everybody is doing badly, his friends at McKinsey are rolling in cash … How much did he give McKinsey?" Poilievre said Monday, echoing his own fiery address to caucus last week.
On Monday, Conservative deputy leader and MP Melissa Lantsman requested an emergency debate "regarding the unprecedented levels of violent crime across Canada," but her request was denied by House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota, who deemed it didn't meet the criteria.
The two main federal parties are heading into this political year looking to make their respective cases for why Canada is, or is not "broken." Trudeau has accused Poilievre of choosing to amplify anger without real solutions for the problems he's pointing to, while Poilievre is suggesting the prime minister has his head in the sand and should "get out of the way."
"We've got an interesting battle shaping up between Pierre Poilievre and Justin Trudeau… I think that the richest vein to be mined by the Conservatives, is simple government incompetence," said CTV political commentator Tom Mulcair on CTV News Channel on Monday. "This is a core question of, you know, can the Conservatives do better?
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh — holding tough on seeing some big-ticket supply-and-confidence deal items fulfilled — started off Monday's sitting calling for an emergency debate on what he considers a "big shift" in the way health care is being delivered in Canada, sounding alarms over provinces' plans to increase privatization in certain areas.
During a return-to-Parliament-focused press conference Monday morning, Singh told reporters that he's been "surprised" to see that Trudeau is considering what Ontario is doing with its plan to allow more private clinics to perform surgeries as "innovation,” as he recently told the Toronto Star newspaper.
Singh called it a "complete flip-flop" from the last election campaign when Trudeau went hard at then-Conservative leader Erin O'Toole for his musings about increased private options.
"That's why we're calling for an emergency debate today, because really what's at stake is a turning point in our health-care system," Singh said. "The decisions we make today will define the type of healthcare we have in the next decade."
Singh's emergency debate request was also denied by the Speaker, but he told reporters that he had plans to bring up his privatization concerns directly with Trudeau as the two leaders had a meeting planned for Monday, a week before the health-care talks come to a head.
On Feb. 7, Trudeau is set to sit down with the premiers in Ottawa to discuss reaching cross-Canada health-care funding deals, a meeting that provincial leadership considers a long time coming.
The prime minister has said he views the gathering as a chance for federal, provincial and territorial governments to discuss an agreement — or series of agreements — that will see more funding put into health-care systems across the country, in exchange for improved care.
In a collective statement issued Monday morning, the premiers restated their expectation that the federal government increase the Canada Health Transfer from 22 per cent to 35 per cent, despite indications from Trudeau and his top negotiators that they aren't looking for a one-size-fits-all approach.
"As a federal proposal has not yet been received by premiers, this meeting will mark the beginning of the direct First Ministers’ dialogue and follow-up required to achieve the significant investment and outcomes expected by all Canadians on this fundamental priority," reads a statement issued by Chair of the Council of the Federation and Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson.
U.S President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced updates on a number of cross-border issues, after a day of meetings on Parliament Hill.
More than 130,000 people have signed an e-petition calling on Canada to give transgender and non-binary people fleeing harmful laws in their home countries the right to claim asylum, but that's already possible in this country. Advocates say the popularity of the proposal shows politicians that Canadians want the government to affirm its welcoming position.
The Public Order Emergency Commission has concluded that the federal government met the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests and blockades.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem says he thinks Canada is 'turning the corner' on inflation, but he isn't ruling out that the country could enter a 'mild recession.' In an English-language broadcast exclusive interview with CTV National News Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier, Macklem encouraged Canadians to prepare a 'buffer' to withstand 'tougher times.'
The only thing most Canadians will remember about the budget this time next week is how the booze tax increase was reduced to two per cent from six, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.
Joe Biden comes for a sleepover next week to make Canada the 18th country he has visited since being sworn in as U.S. president, quite the protocol slippage from that fading, if not forgotten, tradition of Canada being the first foreign presidential pitstop, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.
After weeks of refusing to look further into foreign election interference, Justin Trudeau surrendered to intense pressure and appointed a 'special rapporteur' to review China's actions. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin writes this 'startling change of heart' suggests the PMO is in panic mode and reflects badly on the prime minister's decision making.
The Trudeau tipping point is within sight. The moment when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knows he has to quit for the good of the party or the Liberals realize they can't survive re-election with him at the helm is almost upon us, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Bombshell revelations that suggest Chinese agents actively, fraudulently and successfully manipulated Canada's electoral integrity in the last two federal elections cannot be dismissed with the standard Justin Trudeau nothing-to-see-here shrug, Don Martin writes in his exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
Ottawa Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the residence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser, the second such incident involving one of his top aides in recent months.
A long list of failures by Nova Scotia RCMP leadership and policing systems dominate the final report into Nova Scotia's April 2020 mass shooting.
When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
A scientist at CAMH says video games have similar addictive features to gambling which cause social isolation of the individual and dependency on the activity.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered a brief initial response to the final report from the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) into Canada's worst mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 22 people in Nova Scotia in 2020. Vowing changes will come, here's what Trudeau said in Truro, N.S.
The federal Liberals are trending downward on three key measures while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has surpassed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when it comes to the question of who Canadians would prefer now as their prime minister, according to Nanos Research.
A Toronto police officer's request to explore a theory that a distraught teen he shot was trying to die by "suicide by cop" has been rejected by a coroner overseeing an inquest into the youth's death.
A long list of failures by Nova Scotia RCMP leadership and policing systems dominate the final report into Nova Scotia's April 2020 mass shooting.
Two-and-a-half years after it was established, Nova Scotia’s Mass Casualty Commission has recommended sweeping changes to everything from gun control to mental health services, although there’s no guarantee any will ever be implemented.
The commission examining Canada’s worst mass shooting says the RCMP needs to be reviewed, restructured, and start admitting to its mistakes.
A scientist at CAMH says video games have similar addictive features to gambling which cause social isolation of the individual and dependency on the activity.
A judge has acquitted a now-retired priest of forcing himself on a residential school student more than 50 years ago, saying she believes an assault happened but could not determine beyond a reasonable doubt who did it.
Four teenagers are dead, and another is in hospital with serious injuries after a crash near Gilbert Plains, Man. Wednesday night.
Nashville authorities released 911 calls Thursday that capture the terror inside an elementary school during the attack this week that left three children and three adults dead.
Former President Jair Bolsonaro arrived back in Brazil on Thursday after a three-month stay in Florida, seeking a new role on the political scene as authorities in the capital braced for the far-right populist's return.
A team of journalists from The Associated Press spent two days travelling by train with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he visited the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia. Here are some takeaways from an interview with Zelenskyy.
King Charles III became the first monarch to address Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, on Thursday as part of a high-profile visit by the U.K. head of state aimed at bolstering ties between the two European powers.
Two U.S. citizens have been kidnapped in Haiti, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel confirmed on Thursday, adding that Washington is in regular contact with Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them.
Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker told staff in a memo Thursday that she was 'very concerned' for the safety of Russia-based reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested Wednesday by security forces in the city of Yekaterinburg.
Ottawa Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the residence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser, the second such incident involving one of his top aides in recent months.
Gun policy comments made by then-RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki in a contentious call to Nova Scotia RCMP officers after the mass shooting in 2020 did not amount to political interference, the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) final report concludes.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered a brief initial response to the final report from the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) into Canada's worst mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 22 people in Nova Scotia in 2020. Vowing changes will come, here's what Trudeau said in Truro, N.S.
When the doors close at night at the administration office at Yukon's Carcross Tagish First Nation, a van hits the road and drives through the communities to offer naloxone to reverse overdoses, drug testing kits, food and even a friendly face to help those struggling because of the opioid crisis.
Scientists think they may have pinpointed the cause of a mysterious outbreak of liver disease that affected children worldwide last year.
One of the Liberals' outstanding promises for 2023 in their deal with the NDP was conspicuously absent from the federal budget.
New research suggests the classic image of a Tyrannosaurus rex with massive, sharp teeth might be wrong. A study in the journal Science suggests the teeth on a T. rex was likely covered by scaly lips and didn't stick out when its mouth was closed.
An ultramassive black hole, understood to be one of the largest ever detected, has been discovered by astronomers using a new technique.
A new academic paper pits legendary sprinter Usain Bolt against a 900-pound dinosaur to see who could run a 100-metre distance the fastest.
When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial.
Actress Melissa Joan Hart says she was near Nashville's Covenant School soon after Monday's deadly shooting of six people, including three children, and helped some students get away from the scene.
Ryan Reynolds is back in Ottawa as he continues his efforts to buy the Ottawa Senators.
Just a week after Airbnb tightened regulations for Quebec listings following a deadly fire, hosts may already be bending the rules. Airbnb now requires its hosts to provide a six-digit policy number with their listing, obtained when a tourist lodging is registered with the provincial government. But a scroll through the Airbnb website suggests users are falsifying their permit numbers to sneak past the authentication process.
The European Union must be prepared to develop measures to protect trade and investment that China might exploit for its own security and military purposes, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Thursday.
For nearly a year, the average used vehicle in the United States had been edging toward affordable again for millions of people. Now, with the supply of used vehicles failing to keep up with robust demand, prices are creeping up again, with signs pointing to further increases ahead.
A scientist at CAMH says video games have similar addictive features to gambling which cause social isolation of the individual and dependency on the activity.
On March 30, 1923, exactly 100 years ago, the world's first continuous passenger cruise ship arrived back in New York City after completing a 130-day voyage.
Sky-gazers and shutterbugs across much of Canada were treated to a spectacular display of northern lights Thursday night and into Friday morning.
Some of the biggest names in mens' tennis are participating in the Pickleball Slam -- the latest in a series of attempts to draw eyeballs to a sport taking over courts in neighbourhoods all over while still finding its footing on television.
Ryan Reynolds is back in Ottawa as he continues his efforts to buy the Ottawa Senators.
Former Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius has applied for parole and is expected to attend a hearing on Friday that will decide if he can be released from prison 10 years after killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by shooting her multiple times through a toilet door in his home.
For nearly a year, the average used vehicle in the United States had been edging toward affordable again for millions of people. Now, with the supply of used vehicles failing to keep up with robust demand, prices are creeping up again, with signs pointing to further increases ahead.
Closing out a half century of purely gasoline-powered V12 cars going back to the brand's earliest models, Luxury Italian sports car designer Lamborghini has unveiled its first supercar with a charging port.
After claiming his 100th podium in Saudi Arabia in confusing and controversial circumstances, Fernando Alonso is looking for a better result at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix than his two third-place finishes so far this Formula One season.
