Labour minister Seamus O’Regan leaving cabinet

Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan is resigning from cabinet, CBC News has learned.

O’Regan, 53, is stepping down for family reasons, sources said. The Newfoundland and Labrador MP is planning to stay on as a member of Parliament until the next federal election but won’t seek re-election, the sources added.

The government is expected to announce his replacement in cabinet on Friday.

A steady trickle.

Share

ANALYSIS: Why Challenges to Trudeau’s Leadership Aren’t Anything Like the Chrétien/Martin Era

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau so far appears to have weathered the storm after the surprising June byelection upset in the longtime Liberal riding of Toronto–St. Paul’s. He has said he is committed to staying on as prime minister, and there are a number of factors working in his favour.

Back in the early 2000s, Paul Martin managed to displace Jean Chrétien as prime minister at a time when the Liberal Party had a comfortable majority in the House of Commons and had up to that point faced a fractured opposition.

Share

Doug Ford says provinces need Ottawa to pay ‘fair share’ of costs for asylum-seekers

HALIFAX — Ontario is asking the federal government to pay up and cover the costs of supporting and housing asylum-seekers, as Quebec’s premier said his province is willing to give up some funding so that other provinces can take in larger numbers.

Speaking at the final news conference at the Council of the Federation’s annual summer meeting — this year hosted by Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston — Premier Doug Ford said Ontario spends $1 billion a year and that asylum-seekers are often left in limbo by the federal government.

Share

Canada undershot military equipment spending each year since 2016, while half of military vehicles aren’t fit to deploy

While Justin Trudeau faced sharp scrutiny from world leaders and domestic analysts towards past and planned defence spending at the recent NATO summit, The Hub found that Canada’s spending on military equipment and national defence is far below previous projections, resulting in arguably the worst recent spending record of NATO members.

Share

Searching for someone to whisper in a leader’s ear

Who does Justin Trudeau listen to? Who can tap him on the shoulder and tell him it might be time to go? That’s a question that came up among Liberals this summer.

In the U.S., a similar question was asked, with more urgency, about President Joe Biden. His halting debate performance in June has many Democrats fearing that if he is the party’s candidate, he will hand the presidency to Donald Trump. A series of private delegations of Democrats have reportedly sought to give him that message.

Share

LILLEY: Trudeau’s campaign against Trump could hurt Canada

It’s being called an act of diplomacy; it might better be described as covering your butt.

Justin Trudeau called Donald Trump on Sunday, the day after the attempted assassination on the former U.S. President. There was no readout provided of the call, which often happens when the PM makes an important call, just a short statement from Trudeau’s office.

Share

Michael Higgins: When Trudeau says he’s got your back, watch for the knife

Politics doesn’t have to be the cruellest game, but that’s usually the way it is played. Right now, for instance, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is definitely being played.

Three weeks ago, the political pressure was on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Would he quit after the Liberals lost the ultra-safe seat of Toronto-St. Paul’s? Former Liberal ministers openly called for new leadership as did one current backbencher, Wayne Long.

Share

Chrystia Freeland says she believes she has Justin Trudeau’s confidence but ‘he is really capable of speaking for himself’

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday she believes she has the prime minister’s confidence to remain in the job of finance minister.

But Freeland, in her first public comments since Justin Trudeau acknowledged he has talked to former central banker Mark Carney for years about entering politics, suggested it is up to Trudeau to address the questions about who serves in which roles within his cabinet.

Share

A mortgage crisis still looms for Canada, for the worst is yet to come

In 2020, in the face of soaring house prices and increasing household debt, Canada’s largest mortgage insurer, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), changed its criteria to make it harder for people to qualify. CMHC did so by reducing the maximum allowable household debt-servicing levels and tightening the personal credit rating criteria.

In Canada, homebuyers with less than 20-per-cent down payment are required to get mortgage insurance to protect the lender in the event of a default. By making it harder for such homebuyers to get insurance, CMHC made it harder for them to qualify for mortgages.

Share

Ottawa unveils net-zero scam to phase out oil-fired furnaces and support heat pumps

The federal government says it has a plan to start phasing out the use of oil-fired furnaces in new construction and get homeowners and businesses to switch to heat pumps over the next several years.

The finalized Canada Green Buildings Strategy, which is being released today, outlines Ottawa’s priorities for decarbonizing buildings — the third-largest source of climate-altering carbon emissions in Canada.

The strategy does not target natural gas and propane heating sources. While the document doesn’t explain in any detail how Ottawa means to phase out oil-fired furnaces, Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the federal government intends to use regulations and investments to encourage the switch to heat pumps.


At What Temperature Do Heat Pumps Become Ineffective?

Ultimately, the efficiency of heat pump systems depends on their temperature range, which is determined by the type of system you have. Most air-source and water-source heat pumps will become less efficient when temperatures drop below their respective ranges. That is -13°F (air source heat pump) or 45°F (water source).

Geothermal systems are designed to be more resistant to extreme cold weather but can still become ineffective if temperatures dip too low. For geothermal heat pumps, the ideal working temperature range is between 40°F and 75°F (4°C and 24°C).

Geothermal systems are expensive and not an option for many.

Share

RCMP has struggled to staff unit dedicated to protection of politicians, records show

The RCMP has been struggling for years to fulfill demands from the federal government that it bolster the ranks of officers who protect politicians, yet that unit has remained significantly short-staffed, records show.

The records, which were filed publicly as part of a labour board dispute, illustrate the challenges the RCMP will face during the scheduled 2025 federal election, when politicians across Canada will be campaigning amid a polarizing political climate.

How many SUV’s does Trudeau need?

Share

Diane Francis: Lavish condo purchased for consul general in New York epitomizes Trudeau’s profligacy

Last week was a busy one for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Leaks undermining his finance minister surfaced, as did reports that he was courting former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney. But the biggest splash was in the New York Post, which reported that Canada quietly spent US$6.63 million (C$9 million) to buy a lavish condo overlooking Central Park on Billionaires’ Row in Manhattan, which we later learned is meant to house our consul general, former broadcaster Tom Clark.

Share

‘Without consequence’: Intelligence memos warn of runaway political violence online

The torrent of online threats against public officials has led some Canadians to believe they can threaten, encourage and cheer on political violence with impunity, newly released government documents warn.

Canadian intelligence officials say threatening rhetoric is increasingly seen as a legitimate way to express frustrations, grievances and dissent, fuelling a surge of often violent threats against elected and public officials.

Share

Christopher Dummitt: Liberal MPs have the power to replace Trudeau — they just have to take it

The American Democratic party and the Canadian Liberal party both have the same problem: how to get rid of a leader who ought to know enough to resign on his own?

It’s anyone’s guess if U.S. President Joe Biden will step aside. But the Canadian Liberals should have an easy solution: if they could only remember that we live in a British-style parliamentary democracy, they could be rid of their Justin Trudeau problem.

Share