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BY NEIL MOSS

Following Canada’s failure to win a seat on the UN Security

Council, foreign affairs experts and former diplomats are rais-ing the concern that funding for Global Affairs is insufficient despite budget increases over the last four years.

BY MIKE LAPOINTE

Following weeks of consultation and the release of departmen-

tal guidelines on the easing of workplace restrictions for tens of thousands of public service work-

BY NEIL MOSS

With the months ticking away until Canada is without a

free trade framework with the

United Kingdom, trade experts say Canada will have to wait until its post-Brexit transition period ends before work can move for-ward on a free trade pact, but

one says there needs to be a new bilateral trade agreement in place by year’s end.

BY SAMANTHA WRIGHT ALLEN

Black-owned businesses say they have been devastated by

COVID-19 and the government needs to “step in,” both through funding directly to the commu-nity and by revamping a federal procurement system that they say is leaving them out.

It’s heartbreaking to see so many businesses closing and at risk, said Andria Barrett, president of the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce, which

BY SAMANTHA WRIGHT ALLEN

Associations are pivoting to recovery in their federal

advocacy asks, with those among the most actively lobbying government in May pushing for flexibility on some of the gov-ernment’s emergency measures and calling for more funding to protect at-risk industries.

The busiest groups lobbying last month include members in the post-secondary education, oil,

Where’s the money?: Questions loom over need for better foreign policy funding

Union heads worry too much left up to ‘discretion’ in public service back-to-workplace plan

Black businesses say they’re left out of procurement opportunities, COVID relief despite obvious gaps

Lobby groups push feds to pivot to recovery phase, say more cash needed for key sectors

Canada in wait-and-see mode as clock ticks down on trade agreement with the U.K.

Continued on page 4Continued on page 20 Continued on page 18

Continued on page 19Continued on page 6

NewsNews

NewsNews News

THIRTY-FIRST YEAR, NO. 1739 Canada’s PolitiCs and Government newsPaPer WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 $5.00

‘There needs to be a new bilateral arrangement in place by the end of this year,’ says Mark Agnew of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Bad+Bitchy

p.10

Blast from the past

p.22

Latvian envoy cheers three years of Canada-led mission p. 14

There are political ties that could

unbind Gar Pardy

p. 16

DPM Freeland

adds to Prairie file

Hill Climbers p. 21

LesWhittington

p.15

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, pictured on June 23 inside No. 10 Downing Street, chairing the daily press conference on the COVID-19 pandemic. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/Andrew Parsons/No. 10 Downing Street

Independent Senator Marilou McPhedran wants to see younger Canadians at the

voting booth.She tabled a bill in the Senate to lower

the voting age to 16 last week.“We already know that young people

are leaders of today and tomorrow,” the Manitoba Senator said in a statement. “My generation is leaving a lot on their young shoulders and lowering the federal voting age is one of the key steps towards a more just, sustainable, and high-functioning Canada for the long haul ahead.”

The idea has been raised in the past, with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Party parliamentary leader Eliza-beth May indicating support for the initia-tive prior to the last election, according to a CBC report.

In 2018, Chief Electoral Officer Sté-phane Perrault called the idea one that is “worth considering.”

“I’m not the first Parliamentarian to try for this transformational change, but this is the first time such a bill has started in the Senate and we’re excited to galvanize inclusive democratic processes in this way,” Sen. McPhedran said.

In the past, the idea has been proposed in part to establish a voting culture in younger Canadians that will continue throughout their lives. In the last federal election, a little more than two-thirds of eligible Canadians voted.

Sen. McPhedran has been working with her youth advisory group, Canadian Coun-cil of Young Feminists, to campaign for the initiative.

U.S., EU, U.K., and others stand by Canada after two Michaels charged

Canada has garnered the backing of key allies after the Chinese government charged two Canadians with natural secu-rity crimes.

Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been imprisoned in China for 563 days since December 2018 in apparent re-taliation for the Canadian arrest of Huawei

executive Meng Wanzhou at the request of the United States. The pair were charged last week.

Following the charges being brought, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that he shared Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s “concerns” over the news.

“These charges are politically motivated and completely groundless,” Mr. Pompeo said in a June 22 statement.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab wrote on Twitter that the “U.K. stands with our Canadian friends, and shares deep con-cern regarding China’s decision to charge Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.”

The European Union said they raised the issue of Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor in a summit with Chinese officials this week, according to a press release.

The foreign ministers of Germany, Lativa, Estonia, and Lithuania also tweeted their support for the two Canadians.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week that he was “disappointed” in the charges. In response, a spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy called Mr. Trudeau’s comments “irresponsible.”

Senate Ethics Committee suggests Lynn Beyak’s suspension be withdrawn

Following non-affiliated Senator Lynn Beyak’s apology and completion of anti-racism training, the Senate Ethics Com-mittee is recommending that the Ontario Senator be reinstated.

Sen. Beyak has twice been suspended without pay from the Upper Chamber for refusing to remove letters from her website that contained racist statements about Indigenous peoples. Her first suspension was nullified at the call of the last election. When the Senate resumed sitting in the new Parliament, she was suspended again in February.

The committee, chaired by Independent Senator Murray Sinclair, noted in a report that Sen. Beyak completed a four-day edu-cation program in May and has apologized for her actions.

“While it will be for all Senators to judge its sufficiency, your committee is satisfied that, in her letter of apology, Sena-tor Beyak adequately acknowledges and understands the impact of her conduct and offers thoughtful reflection on her educa-tional experience and what she has learned as a result,” the report reads.

After initial difficulty finding a course for Sen. Beyak to take amid the CO-VID-19 pandemic, she took a course led by Jonathan Black-Branch, the dean of the University of Manitoba’s law school. For completion of the program, Sen. Beyak had 24 hours of coursework.

Prof. Black-Branch highlighted “ex-amples of Senator Beyak’s co-operation and willingness to learn,” according to the report. But the report noted: “Dr. Black-Branch observed that attitudinal change on cultural and social issues often takes time and efforts ‘that are unlikely to be ascer-tained within one stand-alone educational unit.’”

Freeland awarded Freedom House’s Mark Palmer Prize

A U.S.-based think tank has awarded Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland with a prize for her work in defence of global human rights.

Ms. Freeland was awarded the Mark Palmer Prize by Freedom House for her work “championing democracy through advocacy, journalism, and policymaking.”

The prize is named after former U.S. diplomat Mark Palmer, who served as America’s ambassador in Hungary from 1986 to 1990 when the country was emerg-ing from the Iron Curtain.

“Mark Palmer was a brilliant diplomat and a relentless, effective, and lifelong advocate for democracy and human rights,” Ms. Freeland said in a press release.

“I am deeply honoured and humbled to accept this award, which I think reaffirms our collective obligation to uphold human rights everywhere and always; and to work hard every day to build a world that is more democratic, more just, and more free,” she added.

Her work condemning human rights violations by the Chinese government in Hong Kong, the Rohingya crisis in Myan-mar, the democratic crisis in Venezuela, as well as her support for Ukraine protests in 2014, and her championing for the release of Saudi dissident siblings Raif and Samar Badawi were noted for her winning the award.

Past winners have included Organiza-tion of American States Secretary-General Luis Almagro, past Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan Deborah Lyons, former U.S. ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens (who was killed in attacks on the American embassy in Benghazi in 2012), and former Canadian diplomat Ben Row-swell, now the president of the Canadian International Council.

The award isn’t Ms. Freeland’s first from a D.C.-based organization. In 2018, she won Foreign Policy magazine’s diplo-mat of the year.

Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella wins second-highest German decoration

The longest-tenured Supreme Court jus-tice has been awarded Germany’s second-highest order of merit, The Globe and Mail reported.

Rosalie Abella was awarded the Knight Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit with badge and star for her role highlight-ing the need to defend minority rights and the justice system as learned from the Holocaust, German Ambassador Sabine Sparwasser told The Globe.

Ms. Abella, who was appointed to Can-ada’s highest court in 2004 by then-prime minister Paul Martin, is a child of parents who were imprisoned in concentration camps before being liberated.

Ms. Sparwasser also noted that Ms. Abella has worked to bridge a closer rela-tionship between Canada’s top court and the German Constitutional Court.

The highest decoration of the order of merit is reserved for world leaders.

nmoss@hilltimes.comThe Hill Times

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES2

by Neil Moss

Heard on the Hill

Senator Marilou McPhedran tables bill to lower voting age to 16

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the charges against Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor are ‘politically motivated and completely groundless.’ The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Lynn Beyak has twice been suspended from the Senate for her failure to apologize for posting letters to her website that contained racist statements about Indigenous peoples. The Hill Times file photograph

Chrystia Freeland was awarded the Mark Palmer Prize for her work ‘championing democracy through advocacy, journalism, and policymaking.’ The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Rosalie Abella has been a Supreme Court justice since 2004. Supreme Court of Canada photograph by Philippe Landreville

Independent Senator Marilou McPhedran says lowering the voting age is ‘one of the key steps towards a more just, sustainable, and high-functioning Canada for the long haul ahead.’ The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Canada’s untapped cleantech opportunities can transform and help rebuild the economyRe-shaping of country’s workforce key to cleantech sector’s future.

Kevin Nilsen President & CEO, ECO Canada

ECO Canada has been workingwith government and industry

to grow and support the envi-ronmental workforce in Canada for almost 30 years. As a national organization, we provide support across the country to Canadians interested in developing careers in environment-related fields and to the employers looking to fill such roles to grow their business in a sustainable way.

As the steward for the environ-mental workforce, we are currently sharing our views on how enabling more people to work in the grow-ing cleantech sector can enhance the country’s economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no question Canada’s employment landscape has been shaken, and while some areas are facing significant down-turns others such as the cleantech sector are expected to be engines for growth.

Research points to economic recovery opportunity

According to the report “Cleantech Defined: A Scoping Study of the Sector and its Workforce,” cleantech was a $1.2 trillion industry in 2015 and had been projected to reach $2.5 trillion by 2022. While the pandemic will certainly impact that growth trajectory, we still believe investment and interest from both the public and private sectors in cleantech in Canada will grow.

Our research findings highlight Canada as a top country in the world from a research and innovation perspective. And although this is worth celebrating, it is worrisome that we only rank number 16 in terms of global market share in cleantech.

We must ensure future funding is not only limited to “new” and “innovative,” but also encompasses commer-cialization and the building of a deep workforce. Doing so will help Canada gain a greater slice of that global revenue pie. Canada has a long history of breeding great innovators so with the relaunch of the economy follow-ing COVID-19 we also need to ensure we take the steps to commercialize and capitalize on our innovations.Pandemic leading people to seek new employment options The COVID-19 pandemic along with recent develop-ments in Canada’s economy, such as stalled energy proj-ects, are prompting workers to consider new industrial sectors for employment. This may be an effective way to build a talent pipeline to the cleantech sector. We know a number of industries are already expanding their de-mand for cleantech expertise in the near term.Energy, mining, manufacturing, forestry and hydro all present massive cleantech opportunities. Agriculture and construction are both making progress in reducing costs while promoting environmental sustainability. Trucking and transportation firms are also committed to looking at ways to reduce their footprints and decrease costs through route optimization and other innovations.

These are sectors of the economy which we want to get re-started and operating efficiently and effectively as they all provide major employment opportunities for Canadians. Jobs in cleantech are broad and range from engineers, geologists, and project managers to trades-people and machine operators. Employers we work with are seeing the marketplace moving away from some of the typical jobs in traditional industries to more opportunities in the cleantech space. These companies see the need for skilled and talented people who find ways to deliver value by developing new technologies, testing new services and producing higher efficiency products.

We know these workers’ expertise and abilities are vital

to us to recover our economy and take a leadership role globally in cleantech.

ECO Canada does a significant amount of research to determine what sectors of the economy will be growing, what skillsets are re-quired, and how the environmen-tal workforce can be developed to meet such demands.

A study we completed in early 2020 just prior to the pandemic outbreak pointed to major oppor-tunities for Canadian workers to enter a growing cleantech sector at a time when jobs were being minimized in other areas of the economy.

We feel just as strongly today that these jobs can be drivers for an economic recovery that benefits the country as well as helps to improve the environment.

Expanding skillsets will be required to develop capabilities According to the report “Cleantech Defined: A Scoping Study of the Sector and its Workforce,” cleantech was a $1.2 trillion industry in 2015 and had been projected to reach $2.5 trillion by 2022. While the pandemic will certainly impact that growth trajectory, we still believe investment and interest from both the public and private sectors in cleantech in Canada will grow.

Our research findings highlight Canada as a top country in the world from a research and innovation perspective. And although this is worth celebrating, it is worrisome that we only rank number 16 in terms of global market share in cleantech.

We must ensure future funding is not only limited to “new” and “innovative,” but also encompasses commer-cialization and the building of a deep workforce. Doing so will help Canada gain a greater slice of that global revenue pie. Canada has a long history of breeding great innovators so with the relaunch of the economy follow-ing COVID-19 we also need to ensure we take the steps to commercialize and capitalize on our innovations.

Our goal is a healthy economic recovery for CanadaA successful cleantech strategy will lead to healthier bottom lines for companies by reducing costs, improv-ing performance, reducing environmental impact and ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources. That’s something all Canadians, as well as our governments, want.

I’m excited by the opportunity new investment in the environmental workforce can bring to Canada’s eco-nomic recovery. We need government and industry working together to recover the economy and to put us on a strong footing globally. We are championing these efforts now.

ECO Canada is perfectly suited to bridge the gap between the people and the evolving skillsets required to support industry as employers generate new ways of doing business and find new markets globally. Our economic recovery depends on us developing such solutions and putting people and their talents to work in environment-related fields. We’ve been doing this successfully for some 30 years.

To review ECO Canada’s Cleantech Report or access other workforce reports, contact us at research@eco.ca.

Learn Moreeco.ca

SPONSORED BY ECO CANADA

4

Former Chrétien-era cabinet ministers and past diplomats Allan Rock and Sergio Marchi penned an op-ed this week in which they argue that there needs to be more money for Canada’s foreign policy infrastructure.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs has for years been among the first targets for governments looking to reduce spending. Its budget has been cut repeatedly by Liberals and Tories alike,” the pair wrote in Policy Options on June 22.

“The result? Canadian diplo-macy, once rated among the finest in the world, has been dimin-ished—not through lack of talent, but because our diplomats have been required to do everything on the cheap. Let’s make sure that our foreign policy profes-sionals are given the resources to work effectively,” wrote Mr. Rock and Mr. Marchi, who served as Canada’s ambassadors to the United Nations and to the World Trade Organization, respectively.

This despite there being successive increases in Global Affairs expenditures over the last five years, with the most recent publicly available number being $7.05-billion for the fiscal year of 2018-19, up from $5.93-billion in 2014-15.

Former Canadian diplomat Gilles Rivard, who served as Canada’s deputy permanent representative at the UN from 2010 to 2013, told The Hill Times that one area in which a lack of funding is seen is international development aid.

“Compared to our GDP, our aid budget has really shrunk,” he said. “Countries notice that at the United Nations.”

Mr. Rivard said that is particu-larly the case for African coun-tries that represent an important voting bloc for the Security Council election.

He added that it is important to distinguish how the budget has increased versus where the money has been allocated.

Memorial University associate professor Liam Swiss, an expert in international development, said despite the change in rhetoric of the Liberal government around foreign aid, the economic commit-ment has remained in line with the past Conservative govern-ment.

“The current government’s focus on aid has been very policy

oriented in terms of the new feminist international assistance policy from 2017 and making investments that follow those commitments, but it has not been matched with new money,” he said.

One of the key foreign-aid pledges the government made as part of the 2018 budget was an additional $2-billion over five years for the international assis-tance envelope.

“None of that’s new money,” Prof. Swiss said. “That’s all money that was already scheduled to be aid of some sort. So it’s just shift-ing [it] around, essentially.”

The back-loaded project was scheduled to allocate 25 per cent of its funds in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 fiscal years. A Global Affairs spokes-person told The Hill Times that the $200-mil-lion allocated for 2018-19 and $300-million for 2019-20 have been disbursed to a variety of programs.

Norway’s international development investment far outweighs Canada’s com-mitments as a percentage of its gross national income. Oslo contributes around one per cent of its GNI to interna-tional aid compared to Canada’s 0.27 per cent.

Norway and Ireland were competing with Canada for two temporary seats on the Security Council in the Western Europe

and Others bloc on June 17. Nor-way garnered 130 votes and Ire-land received 128—the minimum needed to prevent a run-off vote the next day.

But Prof. Swiss questions whether the two countries’ inter-national aid package had a large impact on the vote.

“Canada actually provides the most aid of those three in terms of dollars,” he said, add-ing that Norway’s aid is spread more evenly across more regions whereas Canada’s contribution is more concentrated in sub-Saha-ran Africa.

Another key foreign-aid com-mitment of the government was a 2015 pledge of $2.65-billion by 2020 to help developing countries fight climate change and transi-tion to low-carbon economies. The spokesperson said Global Affairs expects to complete the program in the current fiscal year.

As of the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year, $2-billion of funding has been announced and $1.7-billion has been disbursed.

Climate change was one of the five pillars on which the Canadian government centred its campaign for a seat on the UN Security Council, as well as commitments to multilateralism, gender equality, economic secu-rity, and peace.

Speaking to reporters after the June 17 vote, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Cham-pagne (Saint-Maurice-Champlain, Que.) said that those focal points

were well-re-ceived by other UN member states.

“Whether you talk about climate change or whether you talk about gender equal-ity, I can assure you that to all the foreign ministers that I’ve talked to around the world, those are things that matter,” he said. “We know that climate change is the next big looming crisis. We know that gender equality is something that is long due that we need to promote. Those

things will continue to be corner-stones of our foreign policy.”

Mr. Rivard questioned if Cana-da’s climate change championing is injured by its environmental policies at home.

He added that domestic energy programs hurt Canada in foster-ing support among South Pacific

island nations whose existence relies on climate change action.

“You’re a bit ambivalent,” he said.

Former Canadian ambas-sador Jeremy Kinsman said Canada’s climate change pitch is an important one, but said Canada should tone down the rhetoric on gender equality, adding that it is largely done to attract domestic support.

“I don’t think it has any posi-tive impact on anybody else in the world,” said Mr. Kinsman, who had postings as an envoy to the European Union, United King-dom, and Russia, among others.

“They should drop the rhetoric and focus on the concrete things we do,” Mr. Kinsman said. “We shouldn’t campaign in the world on everybody mirroring an articu-lation of our values.”

Canada’s foreign service ‘greatly diminished,’ says former envoy

Rideau Institute president Peg-gy Mason, a former ambassador for disarmament to the UN, said there has been reduced capacity of Canada’s foreign service in the last decade.

“The diplomatic capacity of Foreign Affairs was greatly diminished in the Harper era, where they had essentially no policy role at all,” she said.

“That takes its toll,” said Ms. Mason, adding that a lot of senior diplomats retired and increas-ingly bureaucrats were working at Global Affairs who were never posted abroad.

When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) wanted to run for a spot on the Security Council there was a need for a senior officials to tell Mr. Trudeau that this was the wrong year to try to win a spot on the UN body and Canada was competing against the wrong opponents, Ms. Mason said.

She added that a “seasoned” UN diplomat would have been able to tell Mr. Trudeau that run-ning against Ireland and Norway was a “very questionable decision” as they are “two of the most popu-lar countries at the UN.”

Ms. Mason said “good diplo-matic judgement” would also have suggested that Canada withdraw from the campaign following the election of U.S. President Donald Trump to focus its attention in Washington, D.C., instead of New York City.

“Good diplomatic judgement would have recommended a dif-ferent course than Canada took,” she said.

Mr. Kinsman said the foreign service has been “diminished in almost every way,” adding that Canada doesn’t properly fund its diplomatic corps and its embas-sies, and suggested that Canada “beef up” its representation abroad with a focus on career diplomats.

nmoss@hilltimes.comThe Hill Times

Where’s the money?: Questions loom over need for better foreign policy funding ‘Compared to our GDP, our aid budget has really shrunk,’ says former Canadian diplomat Gilles Rivard. ‘Countries notice that at the United Nations.’

News

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Continued from page 1

International Development Minister Karina Gould oversees an assistance envelope that has remained stagnant in size, says an international development expert. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne told reporters on June 17, after a failed vote to get on the Security Council, that the focal points of Canada's campaign, including climate change and gender equality, were well-received by other UN member states. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

6 7

and forestry sector among the 1,998 commu-nications filed in May. Economic development (mentioned in 324 filings), health (313), and industry (284) were again the most-discussed subjects, followed by energy (212), and taxation and finance (212). Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada, (459), Finance Canada (263), and Natural Resources Canada (136) were the busiest departments. Some of the ministers overseeing those files emerged as the top-lobbied, including Small Business Minister Mary Ng (Markham-Thornhill, Ont.), mentioned in 19 filings, followed by Finance Minister Bill Morneau (Toronto Centre, Ont.), Families Minister Ahmed Hussen (York South—Weston, Ont.), and Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains (Mississauga-Malton, Ont.).

May’s lobbying numbers were down from the 2,277 filed the month before, and also down almost 30 per cent compared to May 2019, according to a Hill Times analysis of the federal lobby registry as of June 22. But or-ganizations like the Alliance of Manufactur-ers and Exporters Canada have been busier than ever, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) president Dennis Darby.

Though the May numbers are lower, for CME he said the pace of communication has kept constant but the nature of conversations may have changed for organizations.

The federal lobbying registry does not capture all interactions, including when gov-ernment officials are the ones reaching out to groups for feedback. That’s been, in part, the reality during the crisis as the federal gov-ernment’s quick-response approach has the government at times saying “here’s what we think and then we’ll adjust,” noted Mr. Darby,

pointing to the shift from a 10 per cent to 75 per cent wage subsidy as an example.

“That’s part of it. I think there’s another part. Everybody, including us, is saying ‘This is the time to respond, recover, and prosper,’” Mr. Darby said, and putting aside individual issues and regula-tory matters that would have been on the docket from the previous year, and agreeing to “pause it.”

“It makes sense. Let’s focus on the big stuff we have to do, because I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet,” he said, and that meant more responding to government and providing input, and a lot more joint efforts and meetings with multiple groups.

“We’ve done a lot more together. I think it’s a good thing,” he said.

Groups focused on recovery phaseFor the Forest Products Association of

Canada (FPAC), its advocacy has pivoted from “crisis mode” in April (though that reality remains for some members) towards recovery and speaking to officials about how forestry can tie into Canada’s rebuilding ef-forts, said its president Derek Nighbor.

As the second busiest group with 23 fil-ings, May was about more outreach for the organizations, he said. FPAC logged contact with 36 MPs, in part because many were fin-ished with urgent constituency business and were more available. The association started to reach out to MPs who didn’t necessar-ily have forestry as a driver in their riding’s economy but were on important committees.

“I know our team has never worked harder,” he said, with a focus on liquidity needs for members and cash flow support for businesses.

Many forestry companies are left out of the wage subsidy program, where the federal government covers 75 per cent of wages for companies that can demonstrate a 30 per cent loss of revenue compared to the year before—which was already tough for businesses, so he’s calling for flexibility.

“At the same time we’re looking ahead, [at] what regulatory policy shifts can be de-veloped to lift us up,” he said, saying members can be key players in infrastructure efforts and community building.

CME also had problems with both the wage subsidy and the commercial rent sub-sidy programs that they say need fixes. The sector has been in some level of decline from a growth and productivity point of view, add-ed Mr. Darby. Pre-COVID-19, it was a tough business environment that made it hard for Canadian companies to compete, and so CME is calling for a manufacturing strategy.

“We think the government is more recep-tive than ever,” he said, saying there should be a made-in-Canada strategy that isn’t protec-tionist and respects trade agreements but better promotes the country’s manufacturers.

The recovery phase should also involve an increase in infrastructure spending, and while the “prosper” phase should focus on global competitiveness, developing policies that help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) export and scale up, and strengthen North American manufacturing on the whole by leveraging the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, which has a section on SMEs.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), which was the busiest in May with 27 communications, said it’s work-

ing with both federal and provincial govern-ments to focus on economic recovery and getting Canadians back to work.

“Effective collaboration between industry and government is critical to managing the impacts of this crisis, protecting public safety, maintaining jobs, and ensuring continuity of the essential services provided by our industry,” said a statement from Shannon Joseph, vice-president of government relations at CAPP.

“The right federal measures will position Canada to attract investment and enable the natural gas and oil industry to be a strong foundation for economic recovery.”

CAPP met with Natural Resources Minis-ter Seamus O’Regan (St. John’s South–Mount Pearl, N.L.), who was among the top two most-lobbied in March and April, and a num-ber of policy advisers in his office, but also Finance, and Innovation.

‘Stark choices’ for citiesThe crisis is creating “really stark choices”

for municipalities across the country that need at least $10-billion in emergency funds

right now to stay afloat, said Carole Saab of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

“What we’re seeing unfold is a very serious financial crisis—municipalities have been hard up facing irrecoverable losses,” said Ms. Saab, speaking on her first day on the job as CEO on June 23. She’s the first woman to hold the posi-tion, picking it up after years as a lead-ing lobbyist for the federation.

FCM logged 20 filings with more than 40 officials, including several with advis-ers in the Prime Minister’s Office as part of a cross-cabinet lobbying effort to have a “cohesive conversation,” she said.

While there’s been some progress with the safe restart plan—providing $14-billion to the provinces and territo-ries to help their economies re-open—she said a response from federal and provincial governments “couldn’t be more urgent,” on FCM’s recommenda-tions.

Some cities have laid off thousands of employees, and are losing money across sec-tors like tourism, including millions of dollars per month in transit fares. The money needs to “flow quickly and directly,” and Ms. Saab said existing mechanisms, like the Gas Tax Fund and Public Infrastructure Transit Fund, can be mimicked.

That’s the No. 1 priority so communities can avoid layoffs and service cuts or cancel-ling projects that she said will ultimately undermine economic recovery.

Post-secondary system ‘at risk’Colleges and Institutes Canada has been

working “non-stop” since the crisis started, advocating on behalf of students dealing with financial hardship, but now the attention is on the sustainability of the college system, which CEO Denise Amyot said is at risk.

A study estimated between $3.5-billion and $10-billion in annual losses given the in-terruption in international students, inability to rent out spaces and do corporate training, and the additional cost to pivot online.

The group has been “very, very active” in lobbying to get support, she said of the 17 com-munications files. While some issues have been resolved, including what she called a “historic” $9-billion student aid package, they remain in-eligible to apply for the wage subsidy—though private institutions are eligible, public universi-ties and colleges are not.

“The big challenge for the post-secondary sector is that we have so many departments to work with. There is not a single point of contact, there is not a single department that has a good appreciation of the challenges that the post-secondary sector has.”

However access hasn’t been a problem, she said, with officials being both available and flexible.

Every week the organization holds webi-nars for members where they usually feature a federal official to hear directly about their issues. Deputy ministers for the Privy Council Office, Innovation, Infrastructure, and Trans-port are all listed in their filings, as is Mr. Bains.

This week, Ms. Amyot said she’ll be meeting with Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino again (mentioned in seven reports in May), as educators are still waiting on decisions for international students, including whether they will be allowed in Canada for September—a decision she said they needed an answer on a month ago.

Another pitch is for the group to get $165-million for the applied research centres to partner with small- and medium-sized enterprises to adapt to the new reality.

Universities Canada, with 17 filings, was also among the busiest groups in May, and a spokesperson said by email the main priorities during this period covered financial support for students, funding for COVID-19 research, support as institutions build online and hybrid learning, and amendments to immigration restrictions to make it easier for international students to continue and begin their studies.

Communications filed counted Mr. Men-dicino (Eglinton—Lawrence, Ont.) as among its contacts, as well as political staffers and bureaucrats in Immigration and Employment and Social Development Canada, and several Senators.

‘A fast and fair process’ for drug approvals

One organization’s lobbying had little to do with the pandemic, but they said a federal response was just as urgent. Since March, Cystic Fibrosis Canada has been lobbying of-ficials to fast-track what its CEO Kelly Grover called a “breakthrough medicine” for those with the condition.

Trikafta, manufactured by Vertex Pharma-ceuticals, is a new drug that she says could help up to 90 per cent of patients and was approved in the United States last fall.

Canada doesn’t have a system that can fast-track drugs, she said, and she’s con-cerned with proposed changes to Canada’s regulations for patented medicines would ask manufacturers to drop prices by between 45 and 75 per cent.

“You can’t treat [Trikafta] like every other drug,” she said of the treatment for a rare dis-ease, and while the organization supports fair pricing, Ms. Grover said she worried cutting prices would make it so innovative research isn’t viable.

The group held virtual lobby days in May, she said, with the 23 filings showing several MPs at meetings. Virtual meetings were al-ready a reality for their members, given those with CF can pass on infections and it isn’t safe to meet in the same room, so it meant more ultimately were able to meet with Par-liamentarians.

Since their efforts started in March, Ms. Grover estimated members have met with 40 per cent of MPs as part of its first year ramp-ing up lobbying at the federal level, given much of the advocacy is with the provinces covering key drugs.

“If drugs can’t come into the country, then provinces have nothing to negotiate,” she said, adding that national work will continue until Canada has “a fast and fair process.”

swallen@hilltimes.comThe Hill Times

Lobby groups push feds to pivot to recovery phase, say more cash needed for key sectors In May organizations logged 1,998 lobbying reports, with economic development, health, and industry among the most discussed matters.

News News

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES THE HILL TIMES | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

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Continued from page 1

May’s most lobbied ministers Lobbying over the last six months Top 10 busiest groups in May

The top-lobbied ministers in May 2020, according to the federal lobbyist registry, by the number of communications registered. Graph created with Infogram

A snapshot of federal lobbying since May 2019, by number of communications registered.Graph created with Infogram

The busiest groups in May 2020, according to the federal lobbying registry, by number of communications registered. Graph created with Infogram

May 2020 showed a dip in the federal lobbying registry's monthly communications, including the number of interactions among cabinet. Small Business Minister Mary Ng, left, was top of the list, followed by Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Families Minister Ahmed Hussen, and Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade

8

Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan recently likened the Liberal

government’s promised commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 to U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 pledge to put a man on the moon.

“Net zero is a moon shot and a moon shot is not the same as just throwing ideas out there and seeing what sticks,” said Mr. O’Regan in reference to how the govern-ment plans to meet its stated goal—details on which are still lacking.

“A moon shot is a very specific goal—Kennedy said we’re going to get to the moon. And then afterwards the teams at NASA had to figure out how to do it. And by 1969, they had a man on the moon. If we could do it in eight years, that would be great,” said the minister.

Reaching national net-zero carbon emis-sions in three decades’ time is indeed a monu-mental feat, to say the least. All the more so because of our track record to date.

Other milestones preceded the Kennedy moon landing. There was the first satellite launch, the first human spaceflight, and the first space walk. And the U.S., while ultimate-ly successful, was beaten to the punch on all counts, missing its goal of being first.

So, too, have other (very specific) goals preceded Canada’s net-zero pledge.

There was the 1997 Kyoto Protocol—a pledge to reduce emissions by six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. Canada was far off the mark before it withdrew from the agree-ment in 2011.

In 2010 came the Cancun Agreement, through which Canada committed to reduce emissions 17 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020. And six years later, in Paris, Canada committed to reduce emissions 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.

Based on the UN’s most recent Emissions Gap Report, published November 2019, Can-ada will miss both, with emissions estimated to be 15 per cent above the Paris Agreement target by 2030 based on independent studies and “current policies scenario projections from official publications.”

Rather than being beaten to the chase by the U.S.S.R., it’s been our own political hand-wringing and inaction that’s made us miss the mark time and again.

Though, perhaps Mr. O’Regan’s “moon shot” comparison is more apt than specifi-cally intended.

Maybe, after missing our Kyoto targets, our Cancun pledge, and—based on current trajec-tories—our Paris agreement as well, net-zero by 2050 will finally be our moon landing.

Since forming government, the Trudeau Liberals have certainly done more than nothing. They’ve introduced carbon pricing nationally, pushed the phase-out of coal, and invested in zero-emissions vehicles.

In pledging to reach net-zero by 2050, the 2019 Liberal platform included commitments to set legally binding five-year milestones, ap-point experts to recommend a path forward, introduce new carbon-reducing measures, and plant two billion trees.

But little, seemingly, has happened in the eight months since on these plans to make plans. The UN’s report makes clear that current policies are not enough, and monu-mental shifts are needed to come close to achieving this monumental feat.

(The COVID-19 pandemic has no doubt thrown a wrench into the process—but it’s also seen the government cough up more support for the country’s battered oil and gas sector.)

We won’t get to the moon by continuing to drag our feet.

Re: “Canada’s voting record on Israel at the UN should be commended, not con-

demned,” (The Hill Times, June 15, p. 13). Ja-kob Glogauer says, “According to the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism which Canada adopted last year, denying the right to Jewish self-determination in their ancestral lands (a key concept of Zionist ideology), as well as calling Israel a racist state, is considered anti-Semitic.” To quote Josephine, in H.M.S. Pinafore, “He little thinks how eloquently he has pleaded his rival’s cause!”

After this, can anyone say that the IHRA definition does not call someone an anti-Semite who thinks Israel has no business being a Jewish state—that is, a state where Jews, and only Jews, have full rights as citizens, including the right not to be shot by soldiers or police officers? Plenty of us do think so, including quite a few Jews.

And if you don’t think that the IHRA definition will make serious trouble, legal and otherwise, for academics, journalists, and other people whom it defines as anti-Se-mitic, look what has happened, and is hap-pening, elsewhere in the world. Sometimes people are fired. Sometimes their universi-

ties or editors have the courage to stand up for them, and they are not fired. But it stands to reason that they will think twice about hiring a non-Zionist in the future.

Mr. Glogauer says, “Canada’s potential seat on the UNSC would bring a diversity of thought and opinion regarding how to treat Middle East policies.” I don’t think so. More to the point, neither does Chrys-tia Freeland, who has said that Canada would act as an Israeli “asset.”

As for Canada and Israel having “similar values and traditions,” well, insofar as that is true, it is not a compliment. We are both set-tler colonial states, established on land taken by force from the people who lived here before us. Canada has made some gestures in the direction of righting those wrongs. Israel does not even acknowledge them. I once asked an Israeli professor how it would be received if he began his lectures with a land acknowledgement—the kind that begins so many public events today—describing the Palestinian town on whose lands his univer-sity is built. “Not very well,” he said.

Elizabeth Block Member of Independent Jewish Voices

Toronto, Ont.

Re: “Canada’s voting record on Israel at the UN should be commended,

not condemned,” (The Hill Times, June 15, p. 13). I am indignant to read Jakob Glogauer’s defence of Israel in The Hill Times. Why would you afford him such a platform to voice such unfounded state-ments? If Israel would comply with UN resolutions—and return to the pre-1967 conditions that the UN and some of the Security Council nations advocate—real peace could begin in the Middle East and begin to change the dynamics of other major conflicts.

It is 2020 and time for Canada’s leader to act. I do not believe that Pierre Trudeau would have taken Canada down this path of collusion with an Israel where Jews, and only Jews, have full rights as citizens. Canada’s leaders need to get on the right side of history and realize the real intent of the Israeli government to continue to deny the Palestinian people of their human rights.

Please, Editor, restrict such articles and open your important newspaper to only rigorous and factual journalism.

Fran Schiller Ottawa, Ont.

If Black lives matter, why is it that we hear so little about the modern-day massacre of

English-speaking Cameroonians? In spite of photographic evidence that shows the burn-ing of villages, and in spite of the fact that back in June 2019, UNICEF claimed that 1.3 million people in the anglophone regions of Cameroon needed humanitarian aid, it seems that the world has turned a deaf ear.

The Norwegian Refugee Council an-nounced last week that “Cameroon’s conflict

with English-speaking separatists has been rated as the most-neglected crises in the world, for the second year running.” Black lives everywhere matter. I would encourage every facet of the media to educate us on the issue of Cameroon, and for every one of us to “ask not what your country can do for you,” ask what your country might be able to do for the voiceless in Cameroon.

Connie Lebeau Victoria, B.C.

If net zero is our moon shot, we won’t get there by dragging our feet

HonestReporting off the mark, letter writer says

Canadian leaders need to ‘get on the right side of history’ with Israel-

Palestine relations, says reader

Don’t turn a deaf ear on the lives that need aid in Cameroon

Editorial Letters to the Editor

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9

Only time will tell what will come of the recent escalation of hostilities between

the U.S. government and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

A June 11 executive order authorized by President Donald Trump enables U.S. of-ficials to take ac-tion against indi-viduals (and their property in the U.S.) who carry out work on behalf of or co-operate with the ICC when their work includes investigations of U.S. nationals or those of U.S. allies.

This could mark another in-stance of the cur-rent U.S. admin-istration’s many well-documented attacks on mul-tilateralism and the rule of law. Or, the executive order could amount to a lot of smoke but no fire—just so much bluster and pander-ing to elements of the Republican base in an election year.

Court officials are taking the threat seri-ously. O-Gon Kwon, president of the ICC Assembly of States Parties, has called an extraordinary meeting of the Bureau of the

Assembly. And a statement on the Court’s website in response to the executive order declared that “The Court stands firmly by all its officials and staff, who perform, with integrity and dedication, essential duties for the ICC’s mandate on behalf of its 123 States Parties. … As an independent and impartial judicial institution, the ICC and its organs act strictly within the mandate bestowed upon them by the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty.”

On March 5 of this year, the Appeals Chamber of the ICC authorized the pros-ecutor to open an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan. The investigation is expected to cover not only accusations of torture of detainees by U.S. forces, but also alleged crimes by the Afghan government and the Taliban.

While American officials claim that any actions taken against their service person-nel constitute a violation of U.S. sover-eignty, the Rome Statute is clear: the ICC may exercise its jurisdiction over crimes committed on the territory of states parties or by its nationals. Afghanistan became a state party to the Rome Statute in 2003.

Court supporters also point out that the ICC is “a Court of last resort.” It can only exercise jurisdiction when national judicial systems prove unable or unwilling to ad-dress atrocity crimes. Therefore, U.S. per-sonnel would not be at risk now if the U.S. civilian and military justice systems had undertaken proper investigations when al-legations of mistreatment of detainees first came to light.

Of course, such arguments fall on deaf ears in today’s Washington.

The fact that current U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was CIA director at the time when many of the “black site” detainee torture centres are alleged to have operat-ed may also fuel the anti-ICC rancour and rhetoric that pervades the current Ameri-can government.

It will be up to ICC States Parties to demonstrate to the U.S. government the diplomatic costs of these unwarranted attacks on the Court and the international justice system embedded in the Rome Statute.

That’s why Canada’s reaction to these latest threats to the ICC will matter.

The ICC is a Canadian diplomatic success story. Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s mandate letter from the prime minister includes instructions to “reinforce international institutions like the International Criminal Court, the World Trade Organization” (another Trump tar-get), and others, including by providing ad-

ditional resources to promote and uphold interna-tional law.

A Global Affairs Canada statement in March 2019 af-firmed Canada’s longstanding support for the ICC and stated unequivocally that, “Personnel of the International Criminal Court should not be targeted for the important work that they do.”

It is time for Canada to stand up for the ICC once more.

Fergus Watt is executive director of the World Federalist Movement–Canada, an organization fo-cused on global governance that has been advocating for the development and effec-tive functioning of an independent ICC for over two decades.

The Hill Times

Opinion

THE HILL TIMES | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

Fergus Watt

Opinion

U.S. attacks on ICC require a Canadian response It will be up to ICC States Parties to demonstrate to the U.S. government the diplomatic costs of these unwarranted attacks on the Court and the international justice system embedded in the Rome Statute.

We write as Parliamentarians to make an urgent demand for the Is-

lamic Republic of Iran to halt the recent escalation of its persecution of the Bahá’í religious minority. Under the cover of the coronavirus pandemic, Iranian authori-ties have targeted dozens of Bahá’ís for persecution, threatened to “uproot” the community, initiated new prison sen-tences, and extended a media campaign of hatred. This targeted persecution must stop.

Since the inception of the Bahá’í Faith in 1844, its followers have been perse-cuted, imprisoned, tortured, and executed. They continue to face ongoing, state-sponsored persecution. The tactics of the Iranian government are intended to de-prive Bahá’ís of their livelihood, destroy their cultural heritage, and prevent their young people from obtaining a higher education. This strategy was outlined in a 1991 memorandum uncovered by the United Nations, which was signed by the highest authorities in Iran—including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

This persecution has been ramped up amid growing anti-Bahá’í propaganda spread in the news, a marked increase in

court summons for Bahá’ís awaiting trial for their beliefs and an official threat to “uproot” the Bahá’í community in Shiraz.

Bahá’í prisoners of conscience have long faced unsanitary conditions in overpopulated prison cells, and the risks to their safety are further exacerbated by the current pandemic. As Canadians and members of a global community, it pains us to see our brothers and sisters languishing in prisons, facing falsified charges, with no legal recourse.

We join the international community in our plea to the Iranian authorities to order the release of all prisoners of con-science, as well as the end of the ongoing manoeuvres of intimidation and repres-sion levelled against the Bahá’í commu-nity.

MP Ziad Aboultaif, MP James Bezan, MP Kelly Block, MP Kerry Diotte, MP

Hedy Fry, MP Garnett Genuis, MP Mat-thew Green, MP Anthony Housefather,

Senator Mobina S.B. Jaffer, MP Michael Levitt, MP Elizabeth May, MP Ron

McKinnon, Senator Marilou McPhedran, Senator Kim Pate, MP Scott Reid, MP

Judy A. Sgro, MP Francesco Sorbara, MP David Sweet, MP Cathay Wagantall

Re: “The problems with political time travel,” (The Hill Times, June 11). Ger-

ry Nicholls believes that Canadians today are looking for political leaders who are rooted in the present and willing to tackle the challenges that are here and now. He speaks of a political “time machine” used by politicians that either looks back to an idealized past or forward to a utopian future that is no longer effective with voters.

What he doesn’t believe is that Ca-nadians are willing to pay for a greener, more sustainable future if it means paying a higher gas tax. This is in spite of Canadians voting in the last election for stronger action on climate change. The U.S. National Atmospheric and Ocean Administration reported at the end of May carbon dioxide emissions

at a record breaking high of 417.1 ppm and rising. More bleak news, that our managed forests are no longer capable of carbon storage but have become a source of CO2 emissions, or hail stones the size of tennis balls in Alberta, will help Canadians stay focussed on their priorities.

We need to continue to support carbon pricing as it is the most effective eco-nomic tool for transitioning away from fossil fuels. However, Ottawa must make the gas rebates under the federal carbon pricing system much more visible to Canadians.

The real issue here isn’t whether we will have a utopian future but whether or not we will have a future at all.

Ruth Allen Toronto, Ont.

Our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has now entered a new

phase in which we need to ensure global access to tests, treatments, and vaccines to everyone who needs them in develop-ing countries. Moreover, we must address the urgent humanitarian crisis caused by COVID-19. This global challenge de-mands collective action, leadership, and tangible commitments. For that matter, an important milestone has been achieved on April 24, which is the creation of the ACT Accelerator.

This international endeavour brings together global health actors, the private sector, and other key stakeholders to achieve the crucial goal of providing equitable global access to COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines

to save millions of lives and countless trillions of dollars. The ACT Accelerator will be looking for donor commitments at a pledging conference on June 27, which is an opportunity for Canada to be at the forefront of the global emer-gency effort and bring funding to the table. I ask Canada to invest at least one per cent of its COVID-19 response ($1.5-billion) in new and additional aid towards an emergency global response. Our prime minister suggested on May 4 that “Canada is ready to help lead a co-ordinated global response which will contribute to overcoming the pandemic. Together, we will win.” Now is the time for action.

Younes Boukhaffa Ottawa, Ont.

MPs, Senators call for an end to persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran

Action to secure any kind of future is needed now, letter writer says

Canada should be at forefront of emergency global response: reader

Letters to the Editor

A June 11 executive order authorized by President Donald Trump enables U.S. officials to take action against individuals who carry out work on behalf of or co-operate with the International Criminal Court when their work includes investigations of U.S. nationals or those of U.S. allies. White House photograph by Tia Dufour

10

OTTAWA —Canada is the mediocre white guy in middle management who

thinks he’s Walter White. So basically, Canada is Thomas Mulcair.

This lack of self-awareness, fuelled by the aromatic scents of white supremacy, is

why Canada thinks it’s not racist (in fact, I just spit out my coffee laughing at such a preposterous notion). To be honest, it is rac-ism that creates this false sense of security. Furthermore, any country where the Indian Act is still law and where blackface is ex-cused as a youthful indiscretion, is a racist country. Asked and answered, Canada.

It is within the confines of the legisla-tive arm of the white supremacist state of Canada, that the first racialized (I honestly hate that descriptor, it sounds like a skin disease … oh wait) federal party leader, the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh, was ejected from the House of Commons on June 17 for refusing to apologize for calling Bloc Québécois MP Alain Therrien a racist. With a masterful stroke of political theatre, Singh broke down what had happened, how he felt, and what brought him to that conclusion, ensconced in a bold statement that made the hearts of many people of colour in this country sing. “Anyone who votes against a motion that recognizes the systemic racism in the RCMP… is a racist,” said Singh.

Unfortunately for the Bloc, Therrien “loves everyone” (as Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet described him), except Muslims. According to PressProgress, “as an MNA for the Parti Québécois and a member of the government that pushed forward Québec’s controversial ‘Charter

of Values,’ Therrien promoted anti-Muslim content on his official Facebook page.”

WELP. It’s almost as if people of colour know what racism is and how to identify it better, and more honestly, than white people. What a concept.

The denial of racism is a form of racism; it is a defence mechanism whose underly-ing catalyst is a sense of superiority. The denial, usually coming from those with racial privilege, i.e. white people, serves to centre and protect them from the expe-riences of others who have less racial privilege. Without understanding power dynamics and how they work relative to one another, you can’t understand racism. In fact, most people don’t know what it is, which means they definitely don’t know what systemic racism is.

But as usual, Canada is more interested in the vanity of its global brand than deal-ing with issues that affect those who don’t look like the white majority, which is a big reason it lost the UN Security Council seat bid, again. Just because we don’t sweep under the furniture doesn’t mean that the dirt is invisible.

Singh, however, seems to be hoovering from top to bottom.

Singh has never been particularly good on the issue of race. He’s done what racialized people in positions of power do constantly: they diminish themselves to appease the white masses by becoming agnostic to an issue that dominates their lives. Instead, his actions sought to comfort white people who were uncomfortale with his race and religion. It is the price of entry into positions and spaces of power: either strip your identity to become more like the white professional culture, or perish.

As we wrote in Policy Options, almost three years ago: “Regardless of their gender, people of colour have always been expected to be subservient to white people, which is why the myth of the model minority is so pervasive. A ‘model minority’ is a minority who are perceived by white people as quiet, who don’t rock the boat, who ‘succeed’ based on the erroneous but ubiquitous myth of immigrant groups com-ing to North America and ‘pulling them-selves up by their bootstraps.’ Subservience by minority groups is expected and fe-tishized, and when people of colour speak out or challenge inequity it is misconstrued as aggressive, rather than being admired or even revered as it is when white people challenge an unfair system.”

And Singh has played that role well. Until last week, that is.

It’s a new day and the world is changing beneath our feet with a quick, sharp pivot, and many of us racialized Canadians are done placating whiteness for acceptance. This is why #IStandWithJagmeet was trend-ing on Twitter the day after the incident.

The Liberals have enjoyed the voting largess of the Black community almost exclusively for the last 40 years or so, a largess that began with Trudeau Sr. after his signing of the Immigration Act of 1976 (the same year my parents immigrated to Canada). The importance of this legislative change was that it “established for the first time in law the main objectives of Cana-da’s immigration policy. These included the promotion of Canada’s demographic, eco-nomic, social, and cultural goals, as well as the priorities of family reunion, diversity, and non-discrimination.”

As one Black voter during the 2019 elec-tion confirmed: “I like the Liberal Party, I like the Trudeau family. His father did a lot for the Black community and immigrants migrating to Canada, so I take all that stuff into consideration.” This voter isn’t old enough to have lived during Trudeau Sr.’s time, but it just goes to show the strong bonds the Liberal Party enjoys in the Black community—bonds that have been extended to the son.

However, we are in the age of disruption. And that’s what the NDP intend to do:

disrupt Trudeau’s unearned enjoyment of the Black vote, the Indigenous vote, and support of other voters of colour. And that’s what last week’s declaration of the existence of systemic racism—in a House of Commons not meant for us—was in-tended to initiate.

And that it did. It’s a clever piece of political mastery: Singh must’ve known there would be dissension (the fact that it came from the Bloc is not surprising) and must’ve known his words could get him kicked out. But that was the point. By taking such a dramatic stand and doubling down he’s sent a message to Canadians of colour: I stand for you. And we’ve never had any leader treat our needs with that level of respect, much less risk their reputation for us. And there’s not enough Budget 2020 money that can overcome that impression.

Erica Ifill is a co-host of the Bad+Bitchy podcast.

The Hill Times

Comment

The political mastery of Singh’s dramatic House stand We’ve never had any leader treat our needs with that level of respect, much less risk their reputation for us. And there’s not enough Budget 2020 money that can overcome that impression. 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

APPOINTMENT NOTICE

Canada’s Building Trades Unions are pleased to

announce that Sean Strickland has joined CBTU as the new Executive Director.

Sean is a well respected, senior construction executive with over 20 years working in the construction sector, with proven results for success. His deep knowledge of the industry combined with a strong government relations background will serve CBTU well to grow the workforce of tomorrow. Sean holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Waterloo, and is a graduate of the Executive Management Program at Wilfrid Laurier University as well as Leadership Development from Harvard University.

Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) Welcomes Sean Strickland as new Canadian Director

Sean Strickland Executive Director

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, pictured April 29. Singh has played the role of a model minority well. Until last week, that is, writes Erica Ifill. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Erica Ifill

Bad+Bitchy

11

OTTAWA—On Saturday, June 6, the Department of National Defence made

an announcement that it was purchasing two new Challenger Jets for the RCAF. This was a sole-source acquisition worth $105-million to aircraft manufacturer Bombardier.

Given the weekend release of this news and the fact in this era of pandemic bailout, spending $105-million now sounds like chump change, the Challenger purchase caused nary a ripple in the media.

This did not stop senior DND officials from laying down a barrage of pre-emptory deflection. In her comments to the Cana-dian Press on the Challenger acquisition, Jody Thomas, the deputy minister of DND, noted that the RCAF’s existing Challenger fleet had been used to deliver medical sup-plies to battle COVID-19 in remote regions.

For his part, Chief of Defence Staff General Jonathan Vance posted social media messages outlining how Challenger jets have “proven themselves time and time again while supporting humanitarian mis-sions and helping during COVID-19.” It was also pointed out by DND that a Challenger had recently been used to deploy the flight safety team in the wake of the fatal April 29 Cyclone helicopter crash in the Mediter-ranean Sea.

Glaringly absent from the official equa-tion was any mention of the Challenger jets’ primary function, which has always been VIP transport. The procurement documentation for the two new jets clearly states that these are to be “VIP aircraft” to be used for VIP transport.

For anyone even remotely aware of the aviation world, the Challenger jet has become the iconic brand name associated with executive VIP aircraft. It is like the Kleenex of tissue papers. Everyone knows what they are, so why the official attempt to spin the Challengers into some sort of air-ambulance, utility delivery plane?

Most Canadians would not object to our political and military leadership having ac-cess to such VIP transport. After all we are a G8 nation and it would be a national em-barrassment (and against security conven-tion) should our prime minister arrive at a world leaders’ summit via a commercial flight. Similarly, I do not think we want to see our chief of defence staff stepping off a Greyhound bus with his attendant staff officers.

We get that there is a certain amount of prestige and privilege afforded to those

who hold high office. Therefore, it is not the use of such an asset that causes the government embarrassment. It is the abuse of these executive jets for non-official per-sonal travel that causes the public outrage.

Who can forget the occasions when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used a RCAF challenger jet for trips to Costa Rica, St. Kitts, and to the Aga Khan’s private island?

In these instances nobody questioned the fact that the RCAF owned and operated Challenger VIP transports. What angered them was the perceived misuse of a na-tional resource for personal purposes.

Former defence minister and current candidate for Conservative Party leader Peter MacKay was accused of taking such

abuse of privilege to new heights back in the summer of 2010. While at a remote fishing lodge in Newfoundland, MacKay’s office requested a RCAF search and rescue helicopter to fly him to the nearby Gander airport. When word of this flight broke in the media, the opposition parties called for MacKay’s resignation.

Now we have come full circle. First it was MacKay using a federal rescue aircraft as his own VIP transportation and now we have Thomas and Vance telling the Canadi-an public that our Challenger VIP transport planes are really just medical assistance planes.

The fact is that nobody is going to chas-tise senior leaders if they properly use the resources to which they are authorized to

employ. However, if they abuse that author-ity, we have every right to call them on it.

Some free advice to the DND public affairs brain trust: if you want to avoid a media crapstorm, stop spinning and simply tell us the truth.

Scott Taylor is the editor and publisher of Esprit de Corps magazine.

The Hill Times

Comment

Don’t be challenged to tell the truth about our VIP aircraft Everyone knows what they are, so why the official attempt to spin the Challengers into some sort of air-ambulance, utility delivery plane?

THE HILL TIMES | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

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It is not the use of Challenger planes that causes the government embarrassment. It is the abuse of these executive jets for non-official personal travel that causes the public outrage, writes Scott Taylor. DND photograph by Master Corporal Pierre Thériault

Scott Taylor

Inside Defence

12

OTTAWA—The federal Con-servative leadership race

has gone from boring to utterly bizarre. Erin O’Toole’s campaign is accusing an operative in Peter MacKay’s campaign of stealing data from them. The MacKay cam-paign denies the accusation, but the O’Toole campaign has brought their accusations to different po-licing agencies to investigate.

As this drama plays out, a new Abacus Data poll just released on June 23 shows the Liberals with 40 per cent of support among Canadians, and the Conservatives at 29 per cent. Right now, accord-ing to these numbers, the Liberals lead every age group, and among both men and women. Perhaps what should be more concern-ing for the Conservatives is that the Liberals have a 25-point lead among immigrants and a 21-point lead among racialized Canadians.

Conservatives not always the biggest fans of the Abacus numbers should nonetheless be agitated. While the Liberals have had a significant communica-tions advantage with the prime minister’s regular media confer-ences and frequent delivery of assistance, aided and abetted by poor performance numbers from

Andrew Scheer, the official op-position leader, there appears to be little enthusiasm for the CPC contest. In days gone by, leader-ship contests like this tended to give a reasonable polling bump to the party having them. My good-ness, Stéphane Dion even had one when he won the leadership race to succeed Paul Martin.

O’Toole’s accusation about the MacKay campaign’s behav-iour—accurate or not—represents a potential brand problem for the party. Conservatives have gleeful-ly dined out on past allegations of bad Liberal practices. They won elections contrasting themselves

as honest brokers to crooked Lib-erals. From the sponsorship scan-dal to “Lav Scam,” Conservatives have seen themselves as law-abiding citizens, despite certain examples that suggest otherwise. Importantly, many Conservative supporters see themselves as be-ing the straight-as-an-arrow type.

The O’Toole campaign says someone on MacKay’s campaign hacked into a trove of confiden-tial campaign information. Since MacKay’s team’s initial denial, a supposed confession has come to the fore and a Conservative MP, Greg McLean, fired a “summer stu-dent” upon learning of a breach of trust apparently connected to all of this. House of Cards, Conserva-tive Party of Canada style.

O’Toole clearly feels he has a case to make and thus brought this to the authorities. But it is one hell of a risky play. When the story broke, it was dismissed as a des-perate ploy by Team MacKay. As it has gotten more legs, it may end up being framed as the actions of

one enthusiastic but misguided ju-nior campaign operative. Veracity aside, it almost certainly will help aid in creating new levels of divi-siveness in the party, and promises to be a big gift to the Liberals if MacKay wins the leadership race. If O’Toole were to win, any benefit of personally framing himself as the ethical guy may be undone by those who felt he put the party second to his personal ambitions.

I have no idea if there was any private outreach between to the senior levels of both campaigns and the candidates themselves to address it before O’Toole took his forceful ac-tion. This contest aside, and the dis-torted behaviour that usually comes with leadership races, I know both O’Toole and MacKay to be reason-able, lawful fellows. For the benefit of the organization they both hope to lead, addressing this internally and co-operatively would have seem-ingly been a better approach for the party. A joint remedy rather than a family feud for a party struggling to regain its place with Canadian vot-ers is a better path.

With two months to go before Conservatives select a new leader, to date this is the most dramatic thing that has happened in this contest. It is not what the Conser-vative Party will want this leader-ship race to be remembered for. Will the channel change between now and Aug. 21—the date the CPC selects its new leader?

Tim Powers is vice-chairman of Summa Strategies and manag-ing director of Abacus Data. He is a former adviser to Conservative political leaders.

The Hill Times

KAMOURASKA, QUE.—The temperature was an unusu-

ally hot 30 degrees. The tide was in and the water temperature of the normally frigid Saint Law-rence River was 24 C. As I slipped into the waves, I looked to the west and could see large clouds of

smoke blowing over the neigh-bouring villages. It didn’t look good.

Indeed, within a few hours, the fire in a local peat bog was raging across 46 hectares and making national news as firefighters and CL-215 water bombers were brought in. An industry that ships gardening peat around the world and employs hundreds locally, was threatened.

In a year fraught with the complications of COVID, confine-ment, social distancing, and other protocols, it was another setback for the people of the Lower Saint Lawrence region. And yet, with only 48 cases and two deaths, it was spared the worst of the pandemic.

Over the weekend, the village was filled with people walking along the shore and visiting shops and restaurants, many overjoyed at getting outside; the smoke was not going to deter them.

As the Scots say, “It is an ill wind that does not blow some good.” Despite all the economic turmoil due to COVID, this may be a landmark year for the $90-billion, 1.7-million job Cana-dian tourism industry. The hesita-

tion of many to board an airplane should be the first indicator: rather than flying, Canadians will drive to places within close proximity. With the U.S. border closed, the closest tourist regions for Ontario and Quebec lie to the east. If the Maritime provinces open up, there will be a boom there as well.

In the 1960s, the narrow road by our home here was the Trans-Canada Highway. My older brother, a bored teenager, would mark down the licence plates of cars from out of province and he “collected” every Canadian prov-ince and almost all the American states. The reason was simple: gas was cheap, and air travel was pro-hibitive. The average person could not afford to fly to Europe, and so drove to “European” Quebec.

The subsequent political upheaval in the 1970s and fears of anti-English sentiment discour-aged many Americans and Ca-nadians and hindered Quebec’s marketability as a destination. At the same time, cheap foreign airfares were an incentive to fly abroad.

This year could be “back to the future” for Quebec tourism.

First of all, most activity will be outdoors due to COVID-19. Que-bec City, an hour away, will be a magnet for visitors: walking the old streets of the famed walled city has always had huge appeal.

Second, there will be substan-tial promotion campaigns for travel within Quebec and Canada to compensate for the absence of Americans.

And third, when the Maritime provinces do open, we are on the way to Gaspé and Atlantic Canada.

Kamouraska was named the second-most beautiful village in Quebec by La Presse a decade ago, for its bakery, restaurants, sunsets, old houses, classic wharf, tidal archipelago, and view of the mountains in Charlevoix across the river.

But also, for its rich history. A short walk from my door, I pass the spot where Dr. George Holmes shot the local Seigneur, Pascal-Achille Taché, in January of 1839, the outcome of a lov-ers’ triangle and the inspiration for the 1970s novel and film, Kamouraska. A hundred metres away is the impressive former home of Judge Adolphe-Basile

Routhier, the author of the origi-nal French lyrics of O Canada. A few metres from there is the old turreted court house from the 19th century. Further along is a monument to the father of the Quebec flag, René Chaloult, the local member of the legislature in the 1940s.

A few kilometres east is the “Cradle” of the region, the site of the old church, where 1,300 settlers from 1691 to 1791 are buried. Some are ancestors of famous Quebecers: Lévesque, Ouellet, Kirouack. Among them are 67 Indigenous people and “un noir, nommé Pierre (a Black man named Pierre),” more than likely a slave.

For a village of only 700 people, it is a remarkable legacy. But it is a microcosm of the re-gion, and of a Quebec more open to tourists, more bilingual, and of-fering a “European” feel. It would be a welcome change for Canadi-ans to discover their own country and celebrate the sacrifices made to deal with COVID-19. And it would bring a needed resurgence in tourism so vital to the economy in places like Kamouraska.

Andrew Caddell is retired from Global Affairs Canada, where he was a senior policy adviser. He previously worked as an adviser to Liberal governments. He is a fellow with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and a principal of QIT Canada. He can be reached at pipson52@hotmail.com.

The Hill Times

Comment

Public in-fighting a bad look for a Conservative Party that’s already on the polling ropes

‘It’s an ill wind that doesn’t blow some good’: tourism in the time of COVID

For the benefit of the organization they both hope to lead, addressing the accusation of campaign hacking internally and co-operatively would have seemingly been a better approach for the party.

It would be a welcome change for Canadians to discover their own country and celebrate the sacrifices made to deal with COVID-19.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Andrew Caddell

With All Due Respect

For Conservative leadership contenders Peter MacKay, left, and Erin O’Toole, right, a joint remedy rather than a family feud for a party struggling to regain its place with Canadian voters is a better path, writes Tim Powers. The Hill Times file photograph and photograph by Andrew Meade

Tim Powers

Plain Speak

13

Because Donald Trump has transformed the American presidency into less of a

global leadership role than an anti-democ-racy propaganda vehicle, it was going to be a matter of hours following the publication June 20 of Nick Kristof’s New York Times column, “China’s Man in Washington, Named Trump,” before the White House dropped a countervailing headline.

That headline was dutifully generated by Peter Navarro, the same Trump aide who once said of Justin Trudeau that there was a “special place in hell” for the Cana-dian prime minister for “engaging in bad faith diplomacy” with Trump, of all people. This time, the content IED was Navarro’s claim on CNN’s State of the Union on June 21 with Jake Tapper that COVID-19 was “a product of the Chinese Communist Party.”

The claim had the added value of absolv-ing China in the minds of intelligent people by having such a far-fetched allegation emanate from the mouth of a Trump official—a source category entirely discredited by the 20,000 lies propagated by Trump multiplied by the thousands more delivered by his mouthpiec-es—and incriminating China in the minds of inexplicably gullible people who still believe anything anyone in the White House says.

Above all, it was meant to distance Trump from China for the record, in keep-ing with the election-year trope that the president who has done more for China than any leader since Deng Xiaoping is an antagonist of Beijing rather than an enabler.

“All that is preposterous,” Kristof writes of Trump’s performative China-trolling, including his portrayal of Democratic rival Joe Biden as “soft on China,” “for it is Trump who has been China’s stooge, a sycophan-tic flatterer, and enabler of President Xi Jinping.” Kristof cites as the latest evidence of Trump’s “prostration” before China the passage in former national security adviser John Bolton’s book describing Trump in conversation with the Chinese president, “pleading with Xi to ensure he’d win” the upcoming presidential election.

That Trump would have articulated that request seems—as with every other shock-ingly unsurprising bombshell revelation reported from Bolton’s book—more than a little unnecessary given his spectacular value as an asset to Xi’s systematic, Belt and Road purchase of a non-democratic new world order intended to replace the democratic one the last president of the United States led.

The notion—propagated by many of the same voices who’ve lubricated the shift away from democracy by normalizing Trump’s lunacy in isolation from larger global trends—that the United States and China are now engaged in a classic great-power rivalry and new Cold War situ-ates the dynamic within a con-ventional geopolitical context rather than the unconvention-al one in which it exists. That unconventional context—of a president not at odds with a geopolitical competitor whose

undemocratic, surveillance-state system of government poses a threat to his own citizens but in service to that competitor—is unprecedented in the history of the United States, and represents the most consequen-tial norm Trump has broken in his relentless rampage of norm-breaking.

In a commentary piece in Xinhua last week that vividly illustrates Beijing’s view of democracy as an existential threat, the many narrative tropes generously gener-ated by Trump were leveraged to portray America as a basket case and democracy as a danger to its people. In “Putting Elections First Ripping America Apart,” Ma Qian con-cludes, “The odds that this election will help put a fractured United States back together by any measure possible seem pitifully low.”

Meanwhile, in Canada, the democratic government that has stood up to China’s bullying more than any other is portrayed by Beijing’s apologists as naïve or even reckless for taking a stand.

Lisa Van Dusen is associate editor of Poli-cy Magazine and was a Washington and New York-based editor at UPI, AP, and ABC. She writes a weekly column for The Hill Times.

The Hill Times

Comment

Trump’s fake Cold War: the pre-election spin on China Donald Trump’s relationship with China is not a great power competition: He’s a propaganda generator, not a geopolitical adversary.

THE HILL TIMES | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

acknowledges and congratulates new executivesat Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business

Tabatha Bull, President & CEOCanadian Council for Aboriginal Business

Tabatha is committed to help strengthen a prosperous Indigenous economy and Canadian market. As a newly appointed member to the Federal COVID-19 Supply Council, she is working to improve business opportunity and competitiveness across all industry sectors. She serves on several boards, committees and taskforces, including Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Positive Energy Advisory Council, C.D. Howe Institute, Wigwamen Housing, Indspire, and Canadian Advisory Group to UN Women. Tabatha’s background as an electrical engineer and business acumen benefits her work with Indigenous communities and business. Tabatha is Anishinaabe and a proud member of Nipissing First Nation.

Patrick Watson, Director, Public PolicyCanadian Council for Aboriginal Business

Patrick has over 16 years of professional experience with both the governments of Ontario and Canada, including in the ministries of tourism, natural resources, foreign affairs, and Indigenous services. Amongst his notable achievements, Patrick successfully led a Pan-Canadian team to support the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s research project, Linking Indigenous Communities to Regional Development. He is grateful to have benefited from the leadership and experience of Indigenous elders, Chiefs, and business leaders. Patrick graduated magna cum laude from Carleton University with a Master’s in international relations.

As a member, we support CCAB’s vision of Indigenous business being fully engaged in shaping the Canadian economy. PayPal is fueled by a fundamental belief that having access to financial services creates opportunity. Paypal is committed to democratizing financial services and together with CCAB we can help to empower people and businesses to join and thrive in a mutually beneficial global economy.

CCAB_The Hill Times Ad_Magazine Half Page.r5.indd 1CCAB_The Hill Times Ad_Magazine Half Page.r5.indd 1 2020-06-17 5:25 PM2020-06-17 5:25 PM

The notion that the United States and China are now engaged in a classic great-power rivalry and new Cold War situates the dynamic between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping within a conventional geopolitical context rather than the unconventional one in which it exists, writes Lisa Van Dusen. White House photograph by Shealah Craighead

Lisa Van Dusen

What Fresh Hell

14

In June, three years will have passed since Canada-led troops

were first deployed in Latvia, a NATO-member itself. During NATO’s deterrence exercise, the small northern European state of Latvia celebrated 100 years of independence and warmly welcomes Canada’s contribu-tion to global peace and stability. Defence and freedom are closely connected in Latvia’s turbu-lent history and are ever more important for all of Europe since

the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014.

What is Latvia? My personal answer is that Latvia is both an idea and a political reality, but not always at the same time. The last hundred years saw brutal inter-ventions, oppression, and destruc-tion from external powers—from some of our bigger neighbours. But still, we persisted, again and again.

History is important for Latvians. We feel that our history is special. It follows the birth of an idea for self-determination from the mid-1800s—nurtured by hundreds of years of ancient culture—culminating in a hard-fought independence, won in the early 20th century. Yet we strug-gled to maintain and renew this freedom throughout the 1900s, often at great cost. Coming to terms with the consequences of this past is an ongoing process, especially our history of extreme turbulence that Latvians experi-

enced during the two world wars and the Cold War.

The dawn of the new millen-nium presented a significant turn of events and new opportunities to secure our freedom and indepen-dence, when Latvia joined NATO and the European Union in 2004. Both organizations embody the values and beliefs that Latvians have held close since we first fought for the idea of our own nation state. Latvia, the pearl of the Baltic Sea region, has seen a wealth of dif-ferent traditions merge creating a unique and inimitable environment.

Why has NATO deployed troops to Latvia with Canadian leadership, and why is it neces-sary to increase deterrence in the Baltic Sea region?

First, there have been events in Europe over the past dozen years or so, that have caused concern among both citizens and leaders. Second, I believe that this deploy-ment benefits all of Canada’s allies across Europe.

Two-thirds of NATO member nations have joined this deploy-ment. It comes with a clearly embedded message: you are not alone. These are powerful words coming from the strongest de-fence alliance that the world has ever seen.

Furthermore, the multinational character of the battlegroup in itself—with a blend of countries from the north and south—is a clear message of determination, resolve, and friendship.

Clearly communicating that one country is ready to protect another is a good thing. However, there are those who claim that such co-operation might irritate some states, and that it would be much safer if none of them demonstrated such support. I believe that this is wrong: hesitat-ing and standing back could, on their own, invite provocation, and would cast doubts about NATO’s resolve to defend its territory. For example, only six years ago, Rus-sia took Crimea with a combina-tion of local proxies, direct mili-tary force, and with the threat of additional force ready to roll in. Moscow’s operation in Ukraine continues to this day.

The lessons that we learn from the past (recall the Hitler-Stalin Pact in 1939 to carve up Europe, and which triggered the start of the Second World War), coupled with aggressive attempts to re-draw borders in the current cen-tury, remind us that we need to do all that we can to eliminate any temptation to further redraw any other borders, especially those belonging to NATO members.

NATO’s decision to deploy these battlegroups came after Russia placed three new divisions in close proximity to NATO’s eastern frontier. During the 2016 Warsaw summit, a decision was made to update NATO-wide poli-cies and positions.

All NATO nations have taken a mutual pledge to support each other at critical moments. As a country representing global strength and diversity, Canada has taken the lead on this initia-tive in Latvia. With its humanistic values, Canada naturally bolsters rule-based international and dynamic diplomacy.

I have had the pleasure of meeting the many diverse com-munities in Canada who feel a close connection to the countries around the Baltic Sea and Europe in general—through history, family roots, and friends—and for them, Canada’s support is

extremely important. Through its leadership, Canada is highlight-ing that NATO’s Article 5 really means all for one and one for all.

To me, serving as ambassador of Latvia to Canada and having had the honour to meet Cana-dians from every province and territory, it makes sense that this country, which sees diversity as a strength, has had so much suc-cess leading the most diverse of all NATO battlegroups.

We welcome Canada’s contri-bution to Euro-Atlantic defence and are honoured that Latvia is the host country for the Canadian-led NATO battlegroup. Canada is confirming that it is ready to stand up and fight for our common values in the face of those who seem uncertain about the distinc-tions between good and evil, and demonstrates that Canada is ready to square off with those who, un-fortunately, have not learned the lessons of history.

More than ever, people around the world seek progress—pros-perity, innovation, and peace—not the dark ages or geopolitics from a bygone era. We need a founda-tion of customary international law and rules-based order under our feet. We need to live by com-mon sense, and by the common values that guide the way by which we live.

Personally, I am happy to see Canada so prominently represented on the world stage, particularly in Europe. Your pres-ence and leadership in NATO and in the Baltic region is important and highly appreciated by all. The world needs more of Canada. In these times where we face multiple challenges, including a global pandemic, the situation is not easing, but requires perma-nent attention and monitoring.

It is truly important to look beyond the immediate horizon but not look away from what is happening. The life and the free-doms that we all enjoy were built and fought for by our families and friends. They are precious and we must not take them for granted and require our constant vigilance and defence.

Karlis Eihenbaums is ambas-sador of Latvia to Canada.

The Hill Times

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Karlis Eihenbaums

Opinion

Welcome to Latvia: Canadian-led multinational NATO defence celebrates third birthday Canada is confirming that it is ready to stand up and fight for our common values in the face of those who seem uncertain about the distinctions between good and evil.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pictured with soldiers in Latvia in July 2018. Latvia welcomes Canada’s contribution to Euro-Atlantic defence and is honoured to be the host country for the Canadian-led NATO battlegroup, writes Latvian Ambassador Karlis Eihenbaums. Photograph courtesy of NATO eFP BG Latvia

15

OTTAWA—The trajectory of the U.S. presidential election campaign

clarified itself on the weekend as Presi-dent Donald Trump confirmed the unyield-ing position he is carving out as Americans arrive at an epochal moment of truth in their troubled race relations.

If there was any doubt that Trump would pursue the most dangerous, hate-ful strategy possible, one of inciting racial conflict and division as a volatile wedge issue in hopes of energizing his currently slumping re-election prospects, Trump left no doubt in his June 20 Tulsa, Okla., cam-paign kick-off.

Having risen to prominence and won the White House on an appeal to white rac-ism, the president is openly embracing that approach again with a blatant and inflam-matory rejection of the unprecedented, generational movement for racial justice sparked by the murder of George Floyd.

Rather than recognize the obviously legitimate concerns of the untold number of Americans of all ages and colour taking to the streets to demand an end to institu-tionalized racial discrimination and police brutality against Black people, Trump is characterizing the demonstrators as vio-lent, left-wing fanatics and anarchists out to “destroy our nation.”

The Tulsa event was itself a provocation, being held the day after the Juneteenth an-niversary marking the end of slavery and in an arena near the site of the 1921 massa-cre of Black residents by a white mob that was one of the worst instances of racial violence ever in the U.S. In the event, the president actually mocked people calling for a national effort to address the two cen-turies of white supremacy and oppression that give the lie to the U.S.’s founding myth of equality. “These people call them protest-ers, isn’t it beautiful, it’s so beautiful. No, they’re so wonderful. They call them the Boston Tea Party. They’re so wonderful,” he mouthed sarcastically.

And he went a step further. In a clear affirmation of his opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement and a flagrant ap-peal to his unregenerate, bigoted base, he underscored his opposition to the removal of symbols of slavery such as statues of Confederate leaders and other U.S. figures from the past who held slaves: “The un-hinged left-wing mob is trying to vandalize our history, desecrate our monuments, our

beautiful monu-ments. Tear down our statues and pun-ish, cancel, and per-secute anyone who does not conform to their demands for absolute and total control.”

This comes on the heels of his absolute refusal to consider renaming military bases still honouring Confederate officers who went to war to try to retain slavery. Trump also used his June 20 speech to criticize the National Football League for reversing its position against Black play-ers who take a knee in protest during the playing of the Star-Spangled Ban-ner anthem before games.

“We will never kneel to our national an-them or our great American flag,” said the president, who had forcefully injected him-self into the debate on the players’ actions several years ago. “We will stand proud and we will stand tall,” Trump added.

He trotted out a full line-up racist slurs, calling COVID-19 “Kung-flu” and suggest-ing that a woman of colour—originally a Somalian refugee—elected to the House of Representatives has no business “telling us how to run our country” even though she is a U.S. citizen. And he disgracefully smeared Latino migrants with talk about the need to violently detain and deport “murderers,” “rapists,” and “the worst scum on earth.”

This Trump position is of historic import. He is aligning himself against the most powerful grassroots demands for change among Americans since the Vietnam War and, maybe, ever. Reforming police forces and curbing institutional-ized prejudice against people of colour are already gathering enduring momentum in the U.S. (and other countries). It is a deci-sive moment with the potential to shape the U.S. as a nation—for better or worse—for decades to come. If Trump succeeds in derailing this potentially transformational campaign for justice, the U.S. is headed for years of heightened tensions and likely repression—and perhaps worse.

With the president increasingly cornered politically, nothing appears out of the ques-tion when it comes to the efforts of Trump and his Republican allies to retain power in November. Besides throwing down the race card, Trump and the Republicans are engaged in a massive effort to subvert the voting rights of Americans of colour and others that might vote against them.

This struggle south of the border is worth watching closely, as American politi-cal thinking has a way of sloshing over into Canada, whether we admit it or not. It is worth noting that, among only four candidates in the Conservative leadership race, one, Derek Sloan, is an avowed fan of Trump and the president’s racist im-migration policies and another, supposed co-frontrunner Erin O’Toole, repeatedly refused to say publicly last week if there is systematic racism in this country.

Les Whittington is a regular columnist for The Hill Times.

The Hill Times

Comment

Beleagured Trump signals he’s betting it all on a white racist backlash This struggle south of the border is worth watching closely, as American political thinking has a way of sloshing over into Canada, whether we admit it or not.

THE HILL TIMES | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

Huawei Canada is looking for a senior business development leader to be its inaugural Director of Government Solutions. The successful individual is business savvy with public sector industry experience and the technical background necessary to help further establish Huawei’s reputation as one of the top 5 most innovative

technology companies in the world as recognized by Fast Company Magazine.Based in Ottawa or Markham, and in partnership with the Vice President of Government Affairs, the candidate will work to generate business opportunities and shape public policy within the various Federal, Provincial and Municipal levels of government across the country. The Director will be responsible for:• Champion oneself as a subject matter expert and thought leader within government.• Building and expanding our business partnerships with government departments and agencies across the country;• Driving new product solutions, usage and user experiences in the execution of strategic priorities to the business;• Developing collateral, internal and external product content as well as collaborating with in-country, regional

and global product partners and other industry stakeholders;

This is a diverse role that will be structured to best suit the assets of the right candidate. Ideally, those interested in the role should have extensive experience in any number of the following: • 10+ years’ experience working within government(s) shaping public policy and/or generating business leads in

the areas of ICT within the public sector;• A deep understanding of Strategic Communications and Government Relations;• Familiar with SME solutions and enterprise business;• Good relationships and excellent reputation within the ICT industry;• A demonstrated understanding of the ICT and telecommunications industry, including future trends and

emerging technologies;• Must know and have experience with government & public sector procurement policies and procedures• Knowledge and/or relevant work experience on matters related to Canada’s bilateral relationship with China,

Asia and its geopolitical complexities; After numerous successes within the public service, this would be an excellent role for someone who is thinking about the next chapter of their career in the private sector and is also interested in mentoring the next generation workforce at Huawei. The candidate must be a Canadian resident and have the ability to travel both domestically and overseas. While not required, fluency in either French and/or Chinese is an asset for the role.Globally, Huawei is one of the world’s largest telecommunications and ICT companies, employing over 185,000 people, and operating in 170 countries worldwide.This is an exciting and unique opportunity to be at the forefront of a number of major public policy files for Canada. The successful candidate in this search has a passion for taking on a challenging opportunity, and recognizes the value of a managing a complex file in support of multiple stakeholder interests.Salary will be commensurate with experience.

Director of Government Solutions

Having risen to prominence and won the White House on an appeal to white racism, U.S. President Donald Trump is openly embracing that approach again, writes Les Whittington. White House photograph by Tia Dufour

Les Whittington

Need to Know

CAREERS

16

Four years ago, two Canadians were brutally murdered in the

jungles of the southern Philip-pines. John Ridsdel and Robert Hall were captured in late 2015 by the terrorist group, Abu Sayyat and, along with others, held for ransom. They were executed a few months later when it became apparent a ransom would not be paid. Others kidnapped at the time were released after ransoms were paid.

Ridsdel and Hall had the misfortune of being captured at a time when there was a new government in Ottawa. The new government had no experience in dealing with such matters and blindly followed the public policy

of the previous government and the informal international con-sensus of not paying ransom.

The consensus was fostered by a number of governments to counter kidnappings as part of the global war against terrorism. As with all such informal poli-cies when lives are on the line, it was honoured more in the breach than in its observance. Many governments decided the policy had no significant effect on such kidnappings and terrorism, gen-erally, and paid ransoms to save the lives of their citizens.

The fates of Ridsdel and Hall are worthy of remembrance today as the government gropes for an effective policy to assist two other Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, imprisoned in China. Most have concluded both were arbitrarily imprisoned as bargaining chips in forcing the release of Meng Wanzhou, a senior executive with Huawei Technologies and daughter of its founder. Meng faces possible extradition to the United States. In plain language, Kovrig and Spavor have been kidnapped, as with Ridsdel and Hall, and are hostage to the release of Meng.

Huawei Technologies Co. was founded in 1987 and since has become one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies; it has outdistanced rivals and is dominant in many markets. It has pride of place in China’s econom-ic transformation and role in the world. To negatively affect it, is to touch the heart of the new China.

Both remain in prison under harsh conditions, with little to limited or no contact with fam-ily or Canadian government officials. Chinese authorities have charged both with viola-tions of China’s national security laws. They have no legal repre-sentation of note and the amor-phous nature of Chinese legal

procedures offers no assurance that these alleged violations will or could be tested anytime soon.

The Canadian government’s response so far consists of two el-ements. The rule of law will apply to the fate of Meng and Canada is seeking the assistance of the United States and other countries in making representations to the government of China for the release of Kovrig and Spavor. The idea other governments will provide meaningful assistance is patently whistling in the dark by Ottawa.

Thus, the singular element in the government’s response is reliance on the “rule of law.” In doing so, it removes any sugges-tion of politics from the issue and puts a large guiding principle of democratic government front and centre. This is misleading.

Canadian extradition law includes a large and central political component. A judicial decision to extradite or not extra-dite is subject to final review and confirmation by the minister of justice. This is contrary to all oth-er parts of the Canadian justice system where independence from politically based decision-making is totally abjured.

The involvement of the justice minister is detailed in the Extradi-tion Act. The minister initiates an extradition process, can confirm a judicial decision to extradite, or can deny a judicial decision to ex-tradite or can impose conditions.

In doing so, a key element in the ministerial review is whether or not the extradition would be unjust or oppressive in all the circumstances or if there were el-ements contrary to the Canadian Charter.

While a ministerial decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court of the province involved, a decision by such a court would also be subject to ministerial re-view and confirmation. Before the process is complete, if a person has been ordered extradited, then the individual may seek leave to appeal either a decision by the provincial Supreme Court or the minister to the Supreme Court of Canada.

A relevant extradition case of a decade or so ago involved Abdullah Khadr, the older brother of Omar Khadr. Abdullah was

arrested in late 2005 on the basis of an American extradition re-quest. In August 2010, an Ontario Superior Court Justice denied the American request and Khadr was released on the basis of American “misconduct that contravenes fundamental notions of justice, and which undermines the justice system.” An appeal affirmed the lower court decision. The minister of the day confirmed these deci-sions.

In comments to the media, Dennis Edney, one of the lawyers for Khadr, stated foreign govern-ments have to arrive in a Canadi-an court room with “clean hands.”

In another illustrative case, a Canadian, Hassan Diab, was extradited to France in con-nection with the bombing of a synagogue in Paris in 1980. At the time of his extradition in June 2011, the extradition judge noted that the evidence of the French government was “convoluted, very confusing, with conclusions that are suspect,” and went on to note that “the prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial seem unlikely.” Those words should have been sufficient for the jus-tice minister of the day to refuse extradition. The French courts did not convict Diab and he returned to Canada after more than three years in jail.

Meng’s judicial process has now lasted over eighteen months. The ultimate decision on her extradition is years away as both the government and her coun-sel seem inclined to delay. This may be an attempt to accentu-ate and exploit future actions by the American government that could be characterized as “gross misconduct” and thus undermine the legitimacy of the American request for extradition.

Lending evidence of sig-nificant further delay is that all courts in Canada and elsewhere have been seriously affected by the measures taken to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The possibility of an early decision on Meng must be assumed to be extremely low.

Critically, these events in Canada have a direct and im-mediate effect on the lives of the two Canadians imprisoned in China. Both Kovrig and Spa-vor have been imprisoned for

more than 18 months, and while events in Canada are within the purview of all Canadians, the harsh circumstances of the two Canadians are completely hidden. Apart from the normal harshness of their imprisonment, consider-ation must be given of the effect of the coronavirus on prisoners in China.

There is a legitimate answer to this situation while staying within the “rule of law.” The min-ister of justice could exercise his authority now under the Extradi-tion Act and deny the American request for extradition. He could act immediately by cancelling the order to proceed with the legal process of extradition or exercise ministerial judge-ment now on the quality of the American request. The reasons for doing so include: the Ameri-can decision to request Meng’s extradition was not a legitimate effort to prosecute a crime but rather reflected broader Ameri-can political policy to change its trading relationship with China and support its unilateral actions against Iran.

Also, the political influence on judicial matters in the United States is extraordinary and there can be no expectations this will change in the coming months. The looming election and need of the current president to provide indi-cations of success could include an agreement with China on trade matters.

Huawei has been the target of American policy efforts under the broad premise that it represents a threat to its national security—a view that is not reflected in the policies of Canada.

The time it will take for the Canadian courts to reach a deci-sion creates extraordinary danger to the lives and well-being of the two imprisoned Canadians.

By acting now, the Canadian government would be protecting its extradition arrangement from manipulation, and, most impor-tantly, removing the lives of two Canadians from the machinations of the “dirty hands” of the United States and China.

Gar Pardy is retired from the Canadian foreign service and comments on issues of foreign policy from Ottawa.

The Hill Times

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Gar Pardy

Opinion

Politics isn’t as far from extradition cases as politicians say it is Canadian extradition law includes a large and central political component. A judicial decision to extradite or not extradite is subject to final review and confirmation by the minister of justice.

Justice Minister David Lametti is pictured at a press conference in the West Block on May 1. The justice minister initiates an extradition process, can confirm a judicial decision to extradite, or can deny a judicial decision to extradite or can impose conditions, writes Gar Pardy. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

17

The double whammy of COVID-19—with its unprec-

edented fatalities and collaps-ing economy—plus race-related violence and property destruction the likes of which the United States hasn’t seen since the 1960s, says a lot about American leader-ship today. Rather than bringing people together and seeking to heal a wounded nation, President

Donald Trump, in order to sati-ate his own ego, is dividing the country in a primitive attempt to reinforce his electoral base and enhance his prospects for a second term. In so doing, he is ac-celerating the unravelling of what was America’s already fragile social fabric.

As he has done consistently in office, he creates much of the problem, then deploys his version of policy strength to show that only he can resolve it—much as he did in dealing with denuclear-ization in North Korea.

In a column I wrote in Feb-ruary 2017, shortly after the president’s inauguration when he promised to “make America great again,” I asked if a global reces-sion might not be a best-case scenario during his first term in office. With only seven months left in the term, there is every prospect that a global reces-sion could indeed be the least of America’s woes.

Not only has his leadership resulted in the chaos Americans are experiencing at home, with extraordinary pace, it has also diminished the global respect, goodwill, and moral high ground that President Barack Obama and his predecessors had built and been able to preserve since the end of the Second World War. Global polls today are consistent in revealing shrinking confidence in U.S. leadership, and a grow-ing perception that the Trump

administration and its Republican acolytes are remoulding Amer-ica’s ethos—imperfect though it was—from that of a steward of democratic values, human rights, and a principled ally to other democratic states, into one of a self-centred, uncaring, and unprincipled force that can no longer be relied upon to promote the global public good—a narcis-sist foreign policy reflective of a narcissist leader.

It is a state driven almost exclusively by its narrow self-interest, irrespective of what long-time allies, experts, and science-based policy might recommend. The unprecedented failure to convene the planned G7 meet-ing earlier this month—with key allies Germany, Canada, and the U.K. rejecting Trump’s proposal to invite Russia back into the organization—and his holding of a mass electoral campaign rally on June 20 in a state with a rising incidence of the virus, despite warnings from health profession-als that it posed high risks for attendees and their families, are graphic symptoms of America’s retreat into national parochialism. Indeed, such is the callousness of the Trump leadership that his office required that all rally at-tendees sign a waiver that would prevent his administration from being sued should attendees con-tract the virus whilst there.

When one considers that glob-al pandemics are not the only

challenge we face in the years to come, this blatant disregard for science and public health is even more unsettling. In addition to COVID-19, a number of other trends will also define American well-being in the coming years, with their impact extended to the health of the entire planet. These include the high probability of new pandemics emerging from a demographic transition that within 20 to 30 years will increase the planet’s popula-tion from its current 7.8 billion inhabitants to about 10 billion—three times what it was in the early 1970s—the vast majority of whom will be living in cities. This will require more housing, transport infrastructure, energy, and more land under cultivation for food. It will also intensify human contact with the ani-mal world including, like bats, vectors of other viral diseases. A rapidly warming planet with increased flooding, droughts, and extreme weather will augment areas that become uninhabitable, accelerating migration flows that will prove increasingly difficult to manage, while fragmenting social cohesion even further.

Inexorable also is the revolu-tionary transformation generated by robotization and artificial intelligence (AI), producing indus-trial and labour obsolescence at a pace that our current economic and social structures are not yet equipped to effectively address. Our political leadership has, for the most part failed to invest in the public education and training that would enhance the cognitive skills those being made redun-dant will require. Instead, Ameri-ca has Trump and the Republican party seeking to privatize educa-tion and training (not unheard of amongst some Canadian political leadership), while at the same time vowing to bring back jobs in coal mining, oil and gas (that, too, sounds familiar)—all sectors which a warming planet and AI and robotization will soon render obsolete.

This failure of political lead-ership to recognize the larger, longer-term trends, the inexorable forces that determine our planet’s evolution—a function largely of a self-righteous aversion to exper-tise and scientific knowledge—puts us all on a dangerous path. The fact that the governments of the five countries with some of the highest levels of COVID-19 and related fatalities—the U.S., Brazil, the U.K., Russia, and India—are all governed by popu-lists, is not coincidental. From the elimination by the Trump administration of references to “evidence-based policy” in official U.S. documents—a practice en-gaged in first by Stephen Harp-er’s Conservative government—to Boris Johnson’s initial reliance on the advice of his “behavioural ad-visors,” Dominic Cummings and Steve Hilton (now a Fox News host), to Jair Bolsonaro’s asser-tions that COVID is little more than a seasonal flu, we witness leaders who neither perceive nor comprehend these global trends.

Indeed, what they all have in common is an almost ahistorical view of the world that fails to rec-ognize the systemic flaws in their societies—racism, sex and gender discrimination—that along with growing income inequality are at the core of today’s social upheavals. Instead, the inexorables—global warming, the demographic transi-tion, robotization, and AI—require enlightened, empirically informed leaders with the courage to radi-cally restructure our economic and social institutions so that they effec-tively address these global trends in support of both the nation’s public interest and the planet as a whole.

Joseph Ingram is the chairman of Capitalis Partners, a former president of the North South Institute, and a former World Bank special representative to the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. He is an ex-pert adviser to the Global Growth Dialogue and a fellow of the Ca-nadian Global Affairs Institute.

The Hill Times

Opinion

THE HILL TIMES | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

Joseph Ingram

Opinion

Lives depend on new leadership skills for the 21st century When one considers that global pandemics are not the only challenge we face in the years to come, this blatant disregard for science and public health is even more unsettling.

Global polls today are consistent in revealing shrinking confidence in U.S. leadership, and a growing perception that the Donald Trump administration and its Republican acolytes are remoulding America’s ethos from that of a steward of democratic values, human rights, and a principled ally to other democratic states, into one of a self-centred, uncaring, and unprincipled force that can no longer be relied upon to promote the global public good, writes Joseph Ingram. Flickr photograph by Gage Skidmore

18

The U.K. has said that it won’t extend the transition period past the end of the year.

Mark Agnew, senior direc-tor of international policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said Canada is up against the clock to secure tariff-free access to the U.K.

“There needs to be a new bilat-eral arrangement in place by the end of this year,” said Mr. Agnew, a former official in the British High Commission in Ottawa.

He added that discussions should be conducted in a “fairly straightforward” way, given that there is already the basis of one through Canada’s agreement with the EU—the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

“Let’s not reinvent the wheel,” he said. “Most of the work has already been done, so let’s just do that last little bit and get it over the finish line.”

Both the Canadian and British governments have in the past indicated support for a bilateral trade agreement based around CETA.

In 2017, Canada entered into exploratory trade talks with the U.K., but those were put on pause in the last year as Canada waited to see how the post-Brexit transi-tion period unfolds.

A Global Affairs trade offi-cial told the House of Commons Committee on International Trade in March that Canada had not initiated any discussions on a bilateral agreement with the United Kingdom, saying that it is something that will continue to be considered and will depend on developments.

To start trade negotiations, the government has to give Parlia-ment 90 days advance notice as part of a new process that was agreed upon as the government was trying to move the new NAF-TA implementation bill through the House and acquiesced to the changes to gain NDP support. The government also has to table its objectives for the trade negotia-tions in the House.

Jason Langrish, Canada Europe Roundtable for Business executive director, said it is best to wait on the transition period to end.

Mr. Langrish said if the transi-tion period ends with no agree-ment between the U.K. and the EU it will weaken the standing

of the former, which will be more advantageous for Canada in trade talks.

“If you think you’re better off negotiating against the U.K. when they’re in a position of weakness, you’re better off to wait,” he said. “Why bother negotiating with them now when they have at least a little bit of leverage?”

De-pending on what hap-pens in its talks with the EU, everything that is negotiated between Canada and the U.K. might be wasted and have to be renegotiated, Mr. Langrish said.

While the CETA can be used as a framework, he said that negotiations likely would take “at least a year,” especially with the COVID-19 pandemic taking face-to-face meetings off the table.

There could also be a ques-tion of bandwidth for the U.K. negotiation team, as they are par-ticipating in several trade talks concurrently, Mr. Langrish said.

Along with talks with the EU, the U.K. is also currently working on a trade deal with the United States. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said earlier this month that those negotiations are similarly contingent on the U.K.’s future economic relationship with the EU.

Additionally, the U.K. is still in the process of building up its De-partment for International Trade, after not having negotiated any

free trade agreements since the 1970s. The inexperience of British trade officials created frustration during exploratory talks with Canada.

A spokesperson for Interna-tional Trade Minister Mary Ng (Markham-Thornhill, Ont.) said that Canada remains in “close communication” with the U.K., citing a call between Ms. Ng and U.K. International Trade Secre-tary Liz Truss on June 12.

“Over the past few years in preparation for Brexit, our gov-ernment has actively worked with U.K. ministers and government officials, including having our prime ministers directly engaged, to ensure a solid path forward to our two countries,” Ryan Nearing said.

He added that CETA still ap-plies during the transition period and “any future trade agreement between Canada and the U.K. will be influenced by the U.K.-EU trade relationship, as well as any unilateral U.K. approaches.”

Trade consultant Eric Miller, president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group who serves on

the International Trade deputy minister’s external advisory com-mittee on trade policy, said with the release of the U.K.’s tariff list, Canada is in a good position for

tariff-free access to the British market.

“On the whole, Britain is giving the whole world a lot through their tariff policy, so Canada’s view is: ‘why do I have to negotiate concessions with you when I’m going to get it for free?’”

“One still doesn’t have the impression yet that the U.K. has a clear vision of what it wants to do, where it wants to go,” Mr. Miller said. “It says it wants free trade with

everyone, but there’s only so many hours in the day.”

Dairy access could be sticking point in negotiations

In the exploratory talks between Canadian and U.K. of-ficials, dairy emerged as a bone of contention between the two sides, and could turn up again if officials create a new deal with CETA as a framework as has been signalled. Under CETA, the EU got access to around four per cent of Canada’s supply-managed dairy sector.

“It’s always just going to be lurking there,” Mr. Langrish said. “Trudeau, if he stays the prime minister, is not going to open up the dairy market anymore.”

Dairy access will be less of an issue than it was in the negotia-tions around the new NAFTA, he

said, as there is little opportunity for fluid milk to be shipped across the Atlantic.

“It’s truly just fine cheese,” Mr. Langrish said, adding that the U.K. might not be in a position to be overly forceful to push for concessions.

Mr. Miller said dairy stake-holders will fight any increase in market access.

“I think Canada will give up something for which the dairy farmers will be compensated,” he said. “I think there will be a lot of noise, but I do think this is eminently resolvable.”

“[Canada] can probably hold the [U.K.] to a relatively low quota so they can tell their dairy farmers that they got something,” Mr. Miller said.

U.K.’s quest to join CPTPP a long-term project

The U.K.’s desire to join the Comprehensive and Progres-sive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) won’t be a path to resolving Canada’s trade issues, as it is expected that ac-cession to the 11-country trade pact will be a long-term process, Mr. Agnew said.

“The CPTPP accession process is maybe a multi-year endeavour,” he said, adding that no country has gone through the process.

“Canada might agree to it quickly, but there’s 10 other TPP countries that the U.K. accession would have to endorsed by,” he said.

Carlo Dade, director of the trade and investment centre at the Canada West Foundation, said if the U.K. joined the CPTPP, it would strengthen the trade deal.

“It would make a it a bet-ter market,” Mr. Dade said. “It’s kind of bizarre the government wouldn’t make this a priority.”

He added that the multilateral route is “infinitely superior,” as it gains access to all the markets throughout the trade pact.

nmoss@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

Canada in wait-and-see mode as clock ticks down on trade agreement with the U.K. ‘There needs to be a new bilateral arrangement in place by the end of this year,’ says Mark Agnew of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

News

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Continued from page 1

International Trade Minister Mary Ng took over the trade file from Jim Carr last November. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

A Global Affairs official told the House Committee on International Trade in March that Canada has not initiated trade discussions with the U.K. on a free trade deal. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

19

estimated 70 per cent of its mem-bers weren’t eligible to receive any help for the federal measures at the beginning of the crisis.

Despite repeatedly sound-ing the alarm, months later that figure remains above half with Black businesses—many of them small and in the service industry—both more likely to be affected and less likely to access emergency measures.

“We feel ignored,” said Ms. Barrett.The Black Business and

Professional Association (BBPA) conducted a pilot survey of 120 members and asked questions that mirrored a survey by the Canadian Independent Busi-ness Association to compare the experience, finding “alarming” differences in the poorer out-comes, access to federal support, and likelihood to survive. For example, while 32 per cent of the CIBA members said in April they weren’t sure if they’d reopen, 60 per cent of BBPA members pre-sented those fears.

“In the best of times, the Black community has had challenges because of systemic racism … and in the worst of times, it is multi-plied and amplified,” said Nadine Spencer, president of BBPA who is also CEO of the marketing agency BrandEQ Group.

During the pandemic, Ms. Spencer has operated a 24-hour business line to support companies because she sees the disadvantages for Black businesses “in the system that is stacked against us.” She said it’s the federal government’s responsibility to “step in,” especially with its own contracts.

“We need to insist there is an equity balance so everyone has equal access to these opportuni-ties and that is not the case,” she said. “We can do [the work] and we’ve been shut out for a long time because of race.”

On June 16, the Parliamentary Black Caucus recommended actions that governments across the country

can take to address structural inequi-ties, including a focus on economic prosperity and advancement.

Black Business Initiative CEO Rustum Southwell said he’s pleased with the “bold step” put forward by the caucus and its recommendations that echo much of what the community has been calling for over the years.

Legal and practical barriers imposed on Black Canadians “stunted” the economic advance-ment of the community as a whole and have “perpetuated uncon-scious bias towards Black Cana-dian entrepreneurs and effectively limited the scope of career options available to Black Canadian work-ers,” said group’s statement, which is chaired by Liberal MP Greg Fergus (Hull-Aylmer, Ont.).

Make procurement more equal: advocates

Half of the four economic actions targeted the federal government, saying it must seek out and support proposals from Black business associations and increase the number of govern-ment procurement contracts for Black-owned and -operated busi-nesses to a level commensurate to their demographic weight in the population, which is 3.5 per cent.

All governments should apply targeted measures to assist these businesses, the caucus statement said, and e-procurement solutions should be used to collect race-based data to track progress.

There are existing mechanisms to address the procurement gap, said Andrea Pierce, economic in-clusion lead for the United Nations Decade for People of African De-scent (UNDPAD) Push Coalition.

The government should have a “set aside” for the Black busi-nesses, ensuring companies get access to these contracts, and should mimic the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business (PSAB) that has helped advanced Indigenous-owned companies.

“We’ve asked for this and we haven’t been successful,” she said, though it would be “easy” to match an existing program. It’s hard to get a sense of the success rate because no one is collecting the data, she added, and it would be easy for departments to con-sider Black businesses as part of the community benefit lens when awarding contracts and quickly implement them.

“It’s all optional right now, but they can make it part of the con-tracting process,” said Ms. Pierce. “It doesn’t require any legislation. It just requires ministerial direction.”

After the election, when new MP Anita Anand (Oakville, Ont.) was named procurement minister, Ms. Pierce said it felt like starting from scratch after making progress

in the last Parliament. Ms. Anand’s predecessor Carla Qualtrough (Delta, B.C.), now employment minister, was “very supportive of the Black community” and made “great strides,” though she said it never translated to implementation at the department level.

“It’s been at a standstill, frankly,” she said.

Ms. Anand’s office didn’t ad-dress any questions from The Hill Times specific to procurement and Black businesses, including recom-mendations outlined by Ms. Pierce.

The government is commit-ted to modernizing procurement practices, said Ms. Anand’s press secretary Cecely Roy by email, including removing barriers to participation to “ensure more fair and equitable access” to contracts. Earlier this year, she noted, the government launched a new e-procurement solution that was gradually introduced to suppliers, and will help give better insight into who the government does business with.

‘The cycle will perpetuate itself’

The Black Business and Profes-sional Association has 2,000 active members and a list of 10,000 busi-nesses, and of that Ms. Spencer said less than one per cent have ever received a federal contract.

“So what does that tell us?” she said, noting a key barrier to entry is that information about the sys-tem is too complicated, and apply-ing often means hiring someone to help—an expense many small businesses can’t afford, though they are capable of fulfilling smaller, sole-sourced contracts.

“The only way to get the abil-ity to scale up is by getting the opportunity, and if we do not have the opportunity, the cycle will per-petuate itself,” said Ms. Spencer.

Gloria Kapuku is one of the co-owners of FGL Telecom, a tele-communications carrier that has been in the industry for 10 years. While she’s actively applied to federal contracts for about a year and a half—she estimated re-sponding to between five and 10 proposals per month—the com-pany has been without success.

“We are equally treated when it comes to paying taxes but when it comes to being provided opportu-nities, we are not regarded and I don’t know why,” said Ms. Kapuku, who noted there should be diver-sity in their sector. “We don’t need a handout. We need opportunities. We need to be lifted up.”

UNDPAD’s calls to Black busi-nesses across the country have confirmed that “very, very few” have been handed projects. Even in the 2018 women entrepreneur-ship strategy to improve partici-pation, Ms. Pierce said in calls to

the approximately 300 businesses that got funding since the pro-gram was launched, Black women accounted for only two.

They did the leg work because the government wouldn’t, she said, hoping evidence like this would make the issue harder to ignore, but she maintained advo-cates “haven’t got any action.”

She said Ms. Anand’s office has responded about setting up a meeting with UNPAD, put off to this point because of COVID, and she hopes it comes with “good news” rather than just face-time.

“We’re frankly tired of having meetings. We don’t feel like they are hearing us, it feels almost like pacifying us to have a meeting and then nothing happens.”

Government working to address caucus recommendations: Ng

Businesses are the foundation for wealth creation and wealth transfer, said Ms. Pierce, and Statistics Can-ada data shows Black Canadians are worse off after three generations than any other population.

“We’re the only group that is regressing economically even though our educational levels have increased,” she said. “That’s unheard of.”

Despite raising these issues for months, there has yet to be a rem-edy, and so the chamber is asking for $165-million to act as an inter-mediary with the hope of helping 6,000 businesses by giving them up to $25,000 in forgivable loans, Ms. Barrett said to mimic what the government has done with grants their members can’t cur-rently apply for, but “tailor it” for the community.

“There’s a different nuance when it comes to Black business owners,” and helping them would have a “ripple effect”on the com-munity, too, she said.

There are several reasons Black owners have ”fallen through the gap” in Canada’s CO-VID-19 response, she said. Some-times it’s the way businesses are set up. Some businesses use contractors or outsource work rather than have them on staff, they’re family-run, and in some cases the owner also isn’t on payroll, instead paid by dividends. Many legitimate businesses may not have a business bank ac-count, too, and some may not be properly registered to be eligible for funding. Part of it is education, she said, and the chamber has put in a proposal to collect data about Black businesses in Canada, and help them if they’re not struc-tured properly.

Since March, Ms. Barrett said she’s sent emails to departments every week, including the Prime Minister’s Office, trying to get

action but she said “nothing” has been addressed.

“The PMO must be tired of me,” she said, though some recipi-ents have been “fantastic” MPs.

Mr. Southwell estimated about 60 per cent of Black businesses exist in the service industry, like retail, hair care, and restaurants—businesses especially suffering in this environment.

It’s not just about investment, he said, but there also needs to be a practical way to resolve the im-minent challenges companies will face in the post-COVID context, in terms of technology and skills development.

“There is a general lack of ac-cess to resources in the community, partly due to the significant gaps in the way that the community re-ceives information on government support, as well as an underlying level of distrust,” he said, and the community benefits when organi-zations are able research the needs and then target initiatives.

Small Business Minister Mary Ng (Markham-Thornhill, Ont.), who was not available for an inter-view, has publicly supported the caucus statement, and her office said she’s working with colleagues to address the recommendations and ensure better representation.

Asked about measures specific to the small business file that target Black communities, her press secretary Ryan Nearing pointed to work early in the crisis to create the Canada Business Resilience Network. It partnered with StatsCan to launch nation-wide surveys where there is “a more expansive demographic question to capture the impact of COVID-19 on businesses owned by people of diverse communities across Canada, including Black Canadians,” said Mr. Nearing in an email response that said all levels of government must ad-dress anti-Black racism.

He also pointed to the Busi-ness Development Bank of Cana-da, which offers support to Black entrepreneurs through the Sup-plier Diversity Program, as well as the “plus” aspect of the Lib-eral government’s gender-based analysis attached to decisions as making sure specific needs and realities are considered, including for Black Canadians.

Ms. Pierce said she thinks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s (Papineau, Que.) “heart is in the right place” and she applauds him for taking a knee at an Ottawa protest against anti-Black racism and police brutality.

“Heart alone is not going to do it—we need him to take a stand now that he’s taken a knee,” she said. “We’re not looking for a hand-out, we’re looking for a hand up.”

swallen@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

Black businesses say they’re left out of procurement opportunities, COVID relief despite obvious gaps Black business associations say Canada has mechanisms in place that could immediately help their members have equal access to federal procurement from which they say most are ‘shut out because of race.’

News

THE HILL TIMES | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

Continued from page 1

Black business associations say the federal government has a responsibility to change its procurement practices that shut out Black entrepreneurs. Procurement Minister Anita Anand’s office did not respond to questions about access to procurement for Black businesses, but says the department is modernizing its approach. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

20

ers, heads of federal departments and agencies are now planning for eventual increased access to federal worksites.

But the president of Canada’s second-largest public service union says her organization was pushing for a more “national ap-proach” on workplace return, and that it’s “a little bit concerning that there’s so much discretion in the hands of managers at all lev-els of the organization that may perceive the threat differently.”

The Treasury Board Secre-tariat released a guidebook for federal departments on June 22, which aims to continue to support government programs and ser-vices “during a gradual, safe, and sustainable easing of COVID-19 restrictions related to federal public service worksites.”

Tens of thousands of public servants—the majority of fed-eral government workers—have been working remotely for three months, with only critical work-ers coming into physical work-places throughout the crisis.

“The growth curve of the disease is trending downwards. Provinces are at varying paces reopening their economies and restrictions are gradually being

eased,” said Treasury Board Presi-dent Jean-Yves Duclos (Québec, Que.) in a June 22 news confer-ence. “With that in mind, deputy heads have received guidance on how to respond to this easing of restrictions to support plans to increase access to federal work-places.”

In an interview with The Hill Times on June 23, Debi Daviau, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), said although “she doesn’t necessarily agree with this,” the government’s strat-egy could be different from city to city, or region to region.

“So that could mean people in New Brunswick are returning to government offices before people in Ontario, for example,” said Ms. Daviau. “But the timelines are not clear, still, and now that these Treasury Board guidelines are released, every department and agency will have to and has been developing their own detailed plans about how return-to-work goes, hopefully in respect of those guidelines that we worked hard to adjust.”

Ms. Daviau said these depart-ments and agencies are to take provincial health authorities, regulations, and operational needs into consideration, which “could vary greatly from department to department, province to province.”

“For me, that’s a little bit concerning that there’s so much discretion in the hands of manag-ers at all levels of the organiza-tion that may perceive the threat differently,” said Ms. Daviau.

Mr. Duclos said the guidance released on June 22 will continue to evolve, that health authorities have stated that physical distanc-ing measures should remain in place, and that plans are in place to allow many public servants to continue to work remotely for some time to come.

“Indeed, as plans unfold, the health and safety of employees will be an absolute priority for our government,” said Mr. Duclos. “Increasing access to federal worksites for employees and the public will be gradual and plan-ning will vary from organization to organization and from one location in Canada to the other based on their unique situations.”

Ms. Daviau said “the discretion is the most alarming piece, which is why we were pushing for a national approach.”

“Unfortunately, there’s a lot left [up] to the decisions of people who will have vastly different ap-proaches to this, and may not see the bigger picture on balancing the health and safety of people with productivity,” said Ms. Da-viau. “If you bring people back too soon, and people get sick, it has a negative impact on your produc-tivity, as opposed to enabling people to work better from home and not risking a sick workforce.”

Ms. Daviau also reiterated that the government has been saying it’ll take a measured approach to returning to work.

“And if public health guide-lines change, then they will revert back to pandemic mode, where required,” said Ms. Daviau.

According to a June 23 state-ment from the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the Treasury Board implemented a number of the union’s recom-mendations in the guidelines, including acknowledgement that collective agreements will be respected and that health and safety committees and unions will be consulted moving forward.

But the union also expressed some concern with the current guidelines, stating that it would like to see that policy remains consis-tent across all of Treasury Board and that local managers shouldn’t be using their personal discretion

to create unequal working condi-tions between departments.

PSAC’s national executive vice-president Magali Picard echoed Ms. Daviau’s sentiments, telling The Canadian Press that “we hope to see some uniformity throughout all the departments and even inside the same depart-ment depending on their region.”

‘Efficiency and agility don’t contradict each other’

When asked by a reporter dur-ing the June 22 press conference to what degree the government has been contemplating federal public servants working remotely permanently, Mr. Duclos said we have “seen that the public service can be nimble, can be quick and efficient in its ability to react to emergencies and crises,” and that “efficiency and agility don’t con-tradict each other.”

“We expect that these lessons will have been learned and will be applied over the next weeks and months and years,” said Mr. Duclos. “To be very clear, yes I do

expect that because of the impor-tant learning experiences we have made, there will be more agility and flexibility when it comes to teleworking.”

Mr. Duclos pointed out that the number of secure connections available to public servants has increased from 140,000 to 280,000, that 100,000 public servants can now have a virtual meeting simul-taneously, and that the number of teleconference minutes has tripled from 1.6 million to five million per day.

According to the guidebook’s preamble, whether Business Con-tinuity Plans have been activated or not, “as conditions improve, deputy heads will normalize programs and services incremen-tally in a way that protects both Canadians and employees.”

“In most cases this will require maximizing the use of remote work to the extent possible, while recognizing that some onsite presence may be required,” ac-cording to the guidebook.

Bargaining agents engaged at a national level

Federal public service unions have been in consistent consul-tation on return-to-workplace guidelines with the government in recent weeks, with PSAC national president Chris Aylward tell-ing The Hill Times last week that the Treasury Board has been “very consultative, co-operative, and open to suggestions and con-cerns” throughout the process.

According to the guidebook, bargaining agents are being en-gaged at a national level, including through the National Joint Council and the Service-Wide Occupation-al Health and Safety Committee.

These national efforts are complementary to the consulta-tions that will be undertaken by each department, according to the document, and deputy heads should initiate required consulta-tions with bargaining agents as early as possible through their occupational health and safety committees departmental plans for re-opening worksites.

The guidebook also notes that although the current situation is “unprecedented,” the government “has the authority to establish schedules to address operational requirements in accordance with collective agreements and to en-sure the continuity of business.”

According to a June 18 release from PSAC, the federal govern-ment will be returning to the bargaining table for negotiations with 70,000 federal public service workers in the Program and Administrative (PA) group—the union’s largest bargaining unit—from June 23 to July 3. The PA group’s last collective agreement expired in June 2018.

Bargaining will also resume for nearly 30,000 PSAC-Union of Taxation Employees members at the Canada Revenue Agency dur-ing the week of July 6.

For PIPSC, the Computer Systems (CS) group’s bargaining team was in front of the Public Interest Commission on June 22 and 23. The CS group includes 17,000 IT workers, and has been without a new collective agree-ment since December 2018.

mlapointe@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

Union heads worry too much left up to ‘discretion’ in public service back-to-workplace plan ‘Deputy heads of departments have received guidance on how to respond to this easing of restrictions to support plans to increase access to federal workplaces,’ according to Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos.

News

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Continued from page 1

PIPSC president Debi Daviau says it’s ‘a little bit concerning that there’s so much discretion in the hands of managers at all levels of the organization that may perceive the threat differently.’ The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

Chris Aylward is the national president of PSAC, which says Treasury Board implemented a number of the union’s recommendations in their back-to-workplace guidelines, but that local managers shouldn’t be using their personal discretion to create unequal working conditions between departments. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

President of the Treasury Board Jean-Yves Duclos, pictured on June 15, speaks with reporters at a media availability in West Block to update Canadians on the response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

There’s a new adviser in Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office,

with the recent addition of Jeffrey Kovalik-Plouffe as a senior adviser to the prime minister’s special representative for the Prairies, Liberal MP Jim Carr.

A former executive director of the Man-itoba Liberal Party, Mr. Kovalik-Plouffe has been working for Mr. Carr in various roles over the last five years, starting as his 2015 campaign manager in Winnipeg South Centre, Man.

After helping Mr. Carr defeat Conser-vative incumbent Joyce Bateman and be elected to the House for the first time in that election, Mr. Kovalik-Plouffe was hired on as a special assistant in Mr. Carr’s of-fice as the then-natural resources minister, moving from Manitoba to Ottawa to take on the role.

A year and a half later, he was bumped up to senior special assistant, and in August 2018, when Mr. Carr was shuffled into the international trade portfolio, Mr. Kovalik-Plouffe followed, taking on the role of manager of parliamentary and Manitoba regional affairs. Last summer, he took leave from the Hill to return to Win-nipeg to oversee Mr. Carr’s 2019 re-election campaign. Ultimately, the MP was returned to the House—despite a return challenge from Ms. Bateman—with 45 per cent of the vote.

Just after the election, Mr. Carr an-nounced that he had been diagnosed with a blood cancer, multiple myeloma, and had begun treatments.

When the new Liberal cabinet was announced the next month, Mr. Carr was no longer on the front bench, but, amid heightened talk of Western alienation, was instead named the prime minister’s special representative for the Prairies.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Carr’s cancer treatments were delayed, and early last month he returned to hospi-tal for a stem-cell transplant.

Mr. Kovalik-Plouffe officially joined Ms. Freeland’s office earlier this month. As part of her portfolio, Ms. Freeland is also the minister for intergovernmental affairs.

Jill White continues as a senior adviser for the Prairies to Ms. Freeland, and other regional advisers in the deputy PM’s office, which sits on the top floor of the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council building at 80 Wellington St., include Laura Pennell, senior adviser for B.C. regional affairs, and Shannon Zimmerman, senior adviser for Ontario.

Along with serving as Government House Leader, Pablo Rodriguez is also currently Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Quebec Lieutenant, with a separate minis-

terial staff team focused on the region. Jeremy Broadhurst is chief of staff to

Ms. Freeland.

Foreign affairs minister’s chief has conflict screen 

It’s always interesting to take a look at any compliance measures agreed to by ex-empt staff, as reporting public office hold-ers under the federal Conflict of Interest Act, and overseen by the federal conflict of interest and ethics commissioner, currently Mario Dion.

Hill Climbers recently covered the conflict screen in place for As-sociate Finance Minister Mona Fortier’s director of policy, Elizabeth Cheesbrough, due to her connections to Hill and Knowl-ton Strategies and StrategyCorp, and the latest such example relates to Laurence Des-champs-Laporte, chief of staff to Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Cham-pagne.

A public dec-laration dated June 1 notes that a conflict of interest screen was deemed appropriate to prevent “any opportunity … to further the private interests” of Ms. Deschamps-Laporte’s relative, Nicole Beaudoin, chair of the board of directors of the J. Armand Bombardier Foundation, due to “interests in Bombardier or its subsidiaries, affili-ates and associates or to give preferential treatment to Bombardier.” As part of this screen—which is being administered by her executive assistant, Monique Delan-noy, and a senior departmental adviser—Ms. Deschamps-Laporte “agreed to abstain from any discussion or decision” related to the company or its subsidiaries, affiliates, and associates.

This latest declaration renews a previ-ously established conflict screen for Ms. Deschamps-Laporte, who’s been chief of staff to the foreign affairs minister since December 2019. She was director of policy in the office for almost two years before that, having started off as a policy adviser to then-foreign affairs minister Stéphane Dion in late 2016.

Speaking of public declarations on the conflict of interest commissioner’s website, a number of reports on outside activities have been made by staffers since the start of 2020.

Former Liberal MP Mike Bossio, now senior adviser for rural affairs to Women and Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef, is also a member of the board of directors of the Concerned Citizens Com-mittee of Tyendinaga and Environs, a non-commercial organization based in Napa-nee, Ont., and focused on fighting against the development of the nearby Richmond landfill.

Mary-Rose Brown, a senior policy ad-viser to Finance Minister Bill Morneau, is a member of the board of trustees for the Ottawa Public Library.

Raphaël Beauchamp, a regional adviser for Quebec and assistant to the parliamen-tary secretary to Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, is also vice-president and a member of the board of the Vau-dreuil-Soulanges Liberal riding associa-tion. The Quebec federal riding has been represented by Liberal MP Peter Schiefke since 2015.

Michael Den Tandt, senior communica-tions adviser to Ms. Freeland, is a member of the board of directors of the Fudoshin Classical Karate Dojo in Owen Sound, Ont. Mr. Den Tandt previously made the same declaration when he joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office in 2017 and is re-filing after exiting to run—ultimately un-

successfully—as the 2019 Liberal candidate for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, Ont.

Abed Harb, a senior adviser to Agri-culture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, is a member of the board of directors for the Calgary Lebanese Association. Ayesha Kh-aira, the Western regional affairs adviser to Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough, is also membership chair and a member of the board of the Young Liberals of Canada in British Columbia. Philip Kuligowski Chan, a policy adviser to Transport Min-ister Marc Garneau, declared that he remains a “Member at Large” of Awkward

Stage Productions, a Vancouver-based theatre company.

Jade Mallette, a special assistant for parliamentary affairs and issues management to Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos, is also organization chair of the Orlé-ans federal Liberal riding association. The riding has been represented by Liberal MP Marie-France Lalonde since October 2019.

Theresa Mc-Manus, now an

operations adviser to Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, is a member of the board of directors of Ottawa Fringe, which oper-ates an annual theatre festival in the coun-try’s capital. Graham Milner, director of parliamentary affairs to Ms. Fortier, is also director at-large of The Bombo Palliative Care Project Society.

Chris Rodgers, director of policy to Queen’s Privy Council President Domi-nic LeBlanc, is a member of the board of directors of the Carleton Liberal riding as-sociation, both federally and provincially. Mr. Rodgers ran as the Liberal candidate for the Ontario riding federally in October 2019, ultimately losing to Conservative incumbent Pierre Poilievre.

Andrew Richardson, an issues manager and assistant to the parliamentary secre-tary to National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier, is a member of the board of directors of the Ottawa Centre provincial Liberal riding association. The riding is currently represented by NDP MPP Joel Harden.

Finally, Claire Seaborn, director of policy and legal affairs to Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna, is a member of the board of directors of the London Goodenough Association of Canada, an alumni association previously known as the London House Association of Canada. Ms. Seaborn had to re-declare this outside activity after briefly returning to work in law during the 2019 election.

lryckewaert@hilltimes.comThe Hill Times

Plus, Hill Climbers takes a look at the public declarations of outside activities filed with the federal conflict of interest commissioner by political staffers since the start of the year.

THE HILL TIMES | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

by Laura Ryckewaert

hill climbers

21

Deputy PM Freeland adds new senior adviser for Prairies file

356 Preston St. • 613-749-7490lafavoritapreston.com

Order a Romantic Italian Dinner

Jeffrey Kovalik-Plouffe has joined the deputy prime minister’s office. Photograph courtesy of LinkedIn

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, and Liberal MP Jim Carr pictured during a meeting with Calgary Mayor Nahneed Nenshi, left, on Nov. 21, 2019. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, pictured with cabinet colleagues at a press conference on COVID-19 in the West Block on June 16. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES22

Parties of the pastThe Hill Times photographs by Sam Garcia

With COVID-19 putting a pause on diplomatic gatherings in Ottawa, The Hill Times is offering a look back with (some never-before-seen) images of

celebrations and special events that have occurred at this time in years past.

A royal wave

Philippines puts on two parties

Russia raises a glass

Chinese minister makes House call

Then-heritage minister James Moore accompanies the Queen on a visit to the Museum of Nature on June 30, 2010, where the Canadian monarch unveiled a commemorative plaque and met with members of the public as part of a nine-day tour of the country.

Then-Philippines ambassador José Brillantes and then-Chinese ambassador Shumin Lu celebrate the Philippines’ national day with a pair of parties on June 11 and 12, 2006.

Then-international trade minister Peter Van Loan and then-Russian ambassador Georgy Mamedov attend Russia’s national day party at the embassy on June 10, 2010.

Then-prime minister Stephen Harper hosted then-Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi for a visit in Ottawa on June 23, 2009.

Then-military attaché of China, Senior Colonel Ping Cai and Mr. Mamedov.

Cecilia Angeles; her husband, Joseph Gerard Angeles, then-minister and consul general, Embassy of Philippines; Mr. Brillantes; and then-Yemen ambassador Abdulla Nasher.

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Feature

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24House Not Sitting—The House had its

final meeting on June 18 of the Special COVID-19 Pandemic Committee, com-posed of all members of the House, but as per a government motion tabled May 25, the House will sit on July 8, July 22, Aug. 12, and Aug. 26. The House is then scheduled to return in the fall on Monday, Sept. 21, for three straight weeks, as per the original House sitting calendar. It was scheduled to adjourn for one week and to sit again from Oct. 19 until Nov. 6. It was scheduled to break again for one week and to sit again from Nov. 16 to Dec. 11. And that would be it for 2020. We’ll update you once the House calendar has been confirmed.

Senate Sitting—The Senate was scheduled to sit June 2-4; June 9-11; June 16-18; and June 22, 23, it was scheduled to break on June 24 for St. Jean Baptiste Day; and it was scheduled to sit June 25 and June 26. The Senate was scheduled to break from June 29 until Sept. 22. The Senate’s possible September sitting days are Sept. 21, 25, 28. It’s scheduled to sit Sept. 22-24 and Sept. 29-Oct. 1, with a possible sitting day on Friday, Oct. 2. The possible Senate sitting days are Oct. 5, 9, 19, 23, 26, and 30. It’s scheduled to sit Oct. 6-8; it takes a break from Oct. 12-16; it will sit Oct. 20-22; and Oct. 27-29. The November possible Senate days are: Nov. 2, 6, 16, 20, 23, 27, 30. It’s scheduled to sit Nov. 3-5; it will take a break from Nov. 9-13; it will sit Nov. 17-19; and Nov. 24-26. The possible December Senate sitting days are: Dec. 4, 7, and 11. The Senate is scheduled to sit Dec. 1-3; Dec. 8-10 and it will sit Dec. 14-18. We’ll also update you once the Senate calendar has been confirmed.

The North American Arctic: Secu-rity Challenges and Opportunities—The Canadian International Council hosts a webinar on “The North American Arctic: Security Challenges and Opportuni-ties.” Representing U.S. and Canadian perspectives, this debate will consider the role of the militaries, security agen-cies, international organizations, and local actors to protect and develop the North American Arctic. Speakers include Iris Ferguson, senior adviser on Arctic security and policy, United States Air Force; Lindsay L. Rodman, executive director of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security; and Andrea Charron Ph.D., director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies and Asso-ciate Professor, University of Manitoba. Wedneday, June 24, from 7-8:30 p.m. CDT. Register at thecic.org.

THURSDAY, JUNE 25Leadership and Representation—NDP

MP Matthew Green will take part in a we-binar on “Leadership and Representation: Connecting with Communities and Amplify-ing Voices,” hosted by Ryerson University. He will be joined by former Vancouver city councillor Andrea Reimer to share insights and experience on how to bring diverse voices to the table, build coalitions, and advocate for local needs on a provincial, national, and international level. This ses-sion is moderated by Brittany Andrew-Amo-fah, senior policy and research analyst at the Broadbent Institute. Thursday, June 25, from 3:30-5 p.m. Register via Ryerson’s Faculty of Arts.

Virtual Book Launch—Hidden Hand: Exposing How the Chinese Communist Party is Reshaping the World, featur-ing authors Clive Hamilton and Mareike Ohlberg. The authors will be discussing the Chinese Communist Party’s global program of subversion and the threat it poses to de-mocracy. Brian Lee Crowley, MLI’s manag-ing director, and Dean Baxendale, president and publisher of Optimum Publishing International, will make opening remarks and MLI senior fellow Charles Burton will moderate the panel discussion. This digital book launch will take place on Thursday,

June 25 at 4 p.m. (EDT) at YouTube.com/user/MLInstitute

SATURDAY, JUNE 27Virtual Camp Parliament for Girls—The

Girls in Politics Initiative hosts “Vir-tual Camp Parliament for Girls,” a live interactive class that introduces girls ages 11-16 to Canada’s parliamentary system of government. Students will learn about the structure of elections and the women that made history serving in government. Each student will stand for office, create a campaign platform, vote in a virtual elec-tion, and form a government to pass a bill. Each student will serve as a MP. The class will be hosted on Zoom or WebEx and will run on Saturday, June 27, for 4.5 hours, including two 10-minute breaks. For ad-ditional information contact us at +1 (202) 660-1457, extension 1, via email at info@girlsinpolitics.com or visit our website at www.girlsinpolitics.com.

Canada Summit for National Progress 2020—The Canada Summit for National Progress is a ground-breaking gathering of established leaders, emerging leaders, dreamers and doers who are committed to building a strong Canada for future generations. If you are a business person, non-profit organization leader, elected official, community leader, community volunteer, student, senior or anyone with a heart for Canada and a desire to work for tangible change, then this event is for you. Presenters include Stockwell Day, former opposition leader; Niels Veldhuis, Fraser Institute president; Tony Clement, former federal health minister; and Joy Smith, former Conservative MP. Event participants will hear from prominent national voices on key issues and have the option of partici-

pating in think tank sessions. The summit is a free, two-day event, taking place on Saturday, June 13 and Saturday, June 27. Register at canadasummit.ca.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 8Canada’s Foremost Fintech Conference FF-

CON20—Featuring high-growth start-ups and leading industry experts across fintech sec-tors including digital banking, P2P finance, AI, capital markets, Wealthtech, payments, crypto, and blockchain. July 8-9. Speak-ers include: Robert Asselin, senior director public policy, BlackBerry; Paul Schulte, founder and editor, Schulte Research; Craig Asano, founder and CEO, NCFA; George Bor-dianu, co-founder and CEO, Balance; Julien Brazeau, partner, Deloitte; Alixe Cormick, president, Venture Law Corporation; Nikola Danaylov, founder, keynote speaker, author futurist, Singularity Media; Pam Draper, president and CEO, Bitvo; Justin Hartzman, co-founder and CEO, CoinSmart; Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, founder & CEO, FrontFundr; Cynthia Huang, CEO and co-founder, Altcoin Fantasy; Austin Hubbel, CEO and co-founder, Consilium Crypto; Patrick Mandic, CEO, Mavennet; Mark Morissette, co-founder & CEO, Foxquilt; Cato Pastoll, co-founder & CEO, Lending Loop; Bernd Petak, invest-ment partner, Northmark Ventures; Ali Pourdad, Pourdad Capital Partners, Family Office; Richard Prior, global head of policy and research, FDATA; Richard Remillard, president, Remillard Consulting Group; Jennifer Reynolds, president & CEO, Toronto Finance International; Jason Saltzman, part-ner, Gowling WLG Canada; James Wallace, co-chair and co-CEO, Exponential; Alan Wunsche, CEO & chief token officer, Token-funder; and Danish Yusuf, founder and CEO, Zensurance. For more information, please

visit: https://fintechandfunding.com/.

FRIDAY, JULY 31-SATURDAY, AUG. 8#CanadaPerforms at RBC Bluesfest

Drive-In—The National Arts Centre and RBC Bluesfest are pleased to announce they are coming together to present #CanadaPer-forms at RBC Bluesfest Drive-In, a summer weekend series of live concerts at the Place des Festivals Zibi site, by the Kitchissippi River (Ottawa River). Concert-goers, as small pods or families, will be encouraged to drive to the site and watch live concerts from their individual dedicated space. In order to safely welcome back audiences to watch live concerts, the Drive-In series will offer a physical distancing experience that respects reopening measures and protocols. Canadians will also be able to watch online the livestreamed concerts. Concerts will take place on Friday, July 31, Saturday, Aug. 1, Friday, Aug. 7, and Saturday, Aug. 8. Tickets on sale now. For the details, including additional dates and performers, go to: canadaperforms.ottawabluesfest.ca/

FRIDAY, AUG. 21Conservative Party Leadership—The

federal Conservative Party’s Leadership Election Organizing Committee, also known as LEOC, announced on April 29 that Aug. 21 is the deadline for mail-in ballots, after the leadership was suspended on March 26 due to the global pandemic. The party says the winner will be announced once the ballots can be safely counted.

THURSDAY, OCT. 15PPF Testimonial Dinner and Awards—Join

us at the 33rd annual event to network and celebrate as the Public Policy Forum honours Canadians who have made their

mark on policy and leadership. Anne McLellan and Senator Peter Harder will take their place among a cohort of other stellar Canadians who we’ve honoured over the last 33 years, people who have dedicated themselves to making Canada a better place through policy leadership and public service. The gala event will be held on Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front St. W., Toronto.

SATURDAY, OCT. 24Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner—The

Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner happens on Saturday, Oct. 24, in the Sir John A. Macdonald Building on Wellington Street in Ottawa.

FRIDAY, OCT. 30CJF Awards Celebrating 30 Years of

Excellence in Journalism—The Canadian Journalism Foundation Awards will be held on Oct. 30, 2020, at the Ritz-Carlton, Toronto, hosted by Rick Mercer, former host of The Rick Mercer Report. The CBC’s Anna Maria Tremonti will be honoured. Tables are $7,500 and tickets are $750. For more information on tables and sponsorship opportunities, contact Josh Gurfinkel at jgurfinkel@cjf-fjc.ca or 416-955-0394.

TUESDAY, NOV. 3 U.S. Presidential Election—The U.S.

presidential election is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. U.S. President Donald Trump is the Republican candidate and former vice-president Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic candidate. The winner is scheduled to be inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2021.

THURSDAY, NOV. 12Liberal Party National Convention—The

Liberal Party of Canada announced the 2020 Liberal National Convention will be hosted in Ottawa, from Nov. 12-15. For more information, please contact: media@liberal.ca, 613-627-2384.

FRIDAY, NOV. 13Bridging Divides in Wake of a Global

Pandemic—The University of Victoria (UVic) and the Senate of Canada are bringing together change-makers at the Victoria Forum to help generate solutions to some of the world’s most divisive problems. The two-day virtual forum will be held Nov. 13-14 to examine issues that fall under the theme of “Bridging divides in the wake of a global pandemic.” The forum will draw on emerging trends and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic through biweekly webinars. For more information or to regis-ter, visit www.victoriaforum.ca.

The Parliamentary Calendar is a free events listing. Send in your political, cultural, diplomatic, or governmental event in a paragraph with all the relevant details under the subject line ‘Parliamentary Cal-endar’ to news@hilltimes.com by Wednes-day at noon before the Monday paper or by Friday at noon for the Wednesday paper. We can’t guarantee inclusion of every event, but we will definitely do our best. Events can be updated daily online, too.

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MP Matthew Green talks leadership, representation at Ryerson webinar on June 25

NDP MP Matthew Green will participate in a Ryerson University-hosted webinar about leadership and representation on Thursday, June 25, at 3:30 p.m. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

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