Monthly round-up: in conversation with the Prime Minister & more
Podcast episodes with Justin Trudeau & Mark Carney, Parliament's dysfunction and the debate on increasing Old Age Security, and foreign interference again.
On this day 9 years ago, we won an exciting election. It positively changed the course of the government and our country (and certainly my own life too). I will forever be thankful to those who were a part of that effort.
Progress has been significant and imperfect. I’ve had my share of disagreements and still see this government as the best choice to deliver on what matters.
Many constituents and colleagues have questioned why the Prime Minister is running again and whether he should. So I thought I’d ask him myself.
In conversation with Justin Trudeau, Mark Carney, and Lisa Raitt
Justin Trudeau joined me on the Uncommons podcast for an in-depth discussion about the next election, successes and failures in governing, and what comes next for him.
Mark Carney is often discussed as a potential successor. In addition to his role at Brookfield and as a UN climate envoy, he’s also recently become more political as the chair of an economic taskforce to the Liberal Party.
After my conversation with the Prime Minister, Carney joined me to talk about the environment, the economy, and his political future.
Carney was a member of the Task Force for Housing and Climate, co-chaired by Lisa Raitt. She has served as a Conservative cabinet minister and now works both to look after her family (her husband has early-onset Alzheimer’s) and to make a difference by collaborating across the aisle outside of the formal political arena.
Raitt also joined me a few weeks ago to talk about that work.
We can do better than the Bloc’s poorly targeted election threat
Parliament has become dysfunctional without the supply deal in place, and my hope for some kind of continued cooperation is disappearing.
In an effort to exert more influence, the Bloc has demanded that we increase Old Age Security by more than $3 billion per year or they will cause an early election.
We should not accept the terms of that deal because the Bloc’s proposal is poorly targeted and too expensive.
As I argue here and in the video below, we would be better off focusing our efforts to help low and moderate income seniors in real need.
You can also read a thoughtful proposal here on how we can strengthen OAS in a sustainable and better targeted way. It’s a proposal supported by both Gen Squeeze and the Canadian Association of Retired Persons.
Watching a bizarre alt-right campaign against my Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act
What is this scary "vegan" Bill C-293? Would it mandate vegetable proteins? Would it make your kids eat bugs? Are bugs even vegan?
Welcome to the strange online debate about my bill that would require the government to take pandemic prevention and preparedness seriously.
I wouldn’t normally respond to such obvious online grifting, especially from Rebel Media, but at least one Senator has expressed concerns as a result and the bill now looks to be stalled. So here’s my message to my Senate colleagues.
Refusing to get his security clearance, Poilievre plays unserious politics
Foreign interference was in the news again, with the government rightly expelling Indian diplomats given the RCMP’s findings of violence and intimidation on Canadian soil. The foreign interference inquiry also concluded its hearings with the Prime Minister on the stand.
All party leaders should have a security clearance and be fully briefed. That's the easy part. National security experts have said not doing so is complete nonsense.
As I wrote back in June, we also need a much more serious conversation about what accountability and due process should look like in the circumstances.
Quick hits:
No, Canada isn’t broken
Inflation is down, falling to 1.6% last month. The Bank of Canada continues to cut rates as a result, helping to ease pressure on household debt. Wage growth has also outpaced inflation. And the IMF projects Canada will have the strongest economic growth in the G7 in 2025.
Housing affordability and sustainable immigration
There are still good reasons to be concerned about the very high cost of housing and rent. It’s both a fairness issue and also a challenge to our productivity.
Minister Miller has taken many useful steps to curtail temporary immigration to sustainable levels (I talked about it here too). And while Poilievre cartoonishly chants “build the homes,” Minister Fraser’s housing plan is the most serious federal answer to this national challenge that we’ve seen so far from any party.
Dishonesty or cuts?
As we continue to roll out programs like the national school food program (a recent announcement was made with Manitoba), Poilievre will need to be clear at some point about what cuts are on the table. He’s already committed big spending in tax cuts for everyone, has said any $ in new spending will be matched by a $ in cuts, and he tells us he’s going to balance the books quickly too.
Action to deliver clean transportation
Thanks to a joint $700 million partnership between Canada and Toronto, the TTC procured 340 battery-electric buses and they’ve started to arrive. The TTC will have the largest fleet of electric buses in North America thanks to federal support.
A bit of a mea culpa
On the one hand, the Poilievre Conservatives need to be called out for their relentless character assassination. It’s toxic, it’s unparliamentary, and it’s going to push good people out of politics. On the other hand, I could and should have called out that behaviour on the public accounts committee without using unparliamentary language of my own.
Reflections on the aftermath of October 7
I wrote a longer piece here. The Hamas attack was immoral and heinous, taking hostages and killing over a thousands innocent Israeli civilians. Israel’s response has been indiscriminate, disproportionate, and also immoral, razing Gaza, killing an unthinkable number of Palestinians, expanding illegal territorial violations and ignoring international humanitarian law. It has even now attacked UN peacekeepers. Canada needs to play a more proactive role towards peace abroad and we all need to collectively address the rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia here at home.
You can always reach me at info@beynate.ca with questions, suggestions, and frustrations.
And, again, to those who were a part of our effort 9 years ago, thank you.
Nate
Right of the bat, I have been liberal for FIVE decades. It is time for Justin to go before our party becomes one that is blind to the fact that his time has come and gone.
Yes, we have done a lot since the Justin has been leader. Canadians elected him to lead and for two cycles that was done exceptionally well. His legacy is secured in history.
The day that he lead with dividing and producing yet another level of seniors was a point to far. That alone was enough for a lot of seniors not to vote or worse support another party. Dividing seniors was a mistake, well meaning, however was one reason that put us in a second minority government.
All low income or moderate income seniors should have received the raise period. That should have been done on income alone.
I personally did not mind the agreement with the NDP. That deal put in place badly needed policy that helped low income Canadians. That deal has ended. The proposal for seniors from the Bloc does not make a lot sense practically or fiscally. However refusing to look at any other alternative smells of arrogance at the very least. Right now, our party has become stale, weak beholden to other parties and out of touch with what people need and deserve.
I can no longer support a leader who refuses to see his time has come and gone. Having Justin as leader will give us a train wreck and a conservative government. One worse than the Harper regime.
It may be to late to save the next election but perhaps we can even the playing field. It is time for Justin to have a walk in the snow and see what his father saw. It is time to rebuild our coalition of liberals under a new leader.
Thank you Nate. I enjoyed your conversations with both Trudeau and Carney and will listen again to both. Great podcast! - Bev Coburn