The House: Premiers meet amid federal-provincial face offs
With the September deadline for provinces to tell the federal government about their plans for a price on carbon pollution nearing, Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe says it's Ottawa that should take a look at its plan, not the provinces.
Moe and his government have been strongly opposed to the federal Liberals' proposed carbon pricing plan and are currently engaged in a court reference question to determine whether or not the federal government has the jurisdiction to impose a carbon tax on provinces.
This week, new Ontario Premier Doug Ford joined the fight and agreed to back Saskatchewan's reference question.
Ford said they were on "the exact same page," vowing to "use every tool at our disposal" and rally opposition to carbon pricing among their provincial and territorial colleagues. The two premiers tried recruiting other counterparts to their cause at the premiers meeting in New Brunswick.
"It would do the federal government well to re-engage on this conversation," Moe told The House, adding if Ottawa fails to take a step back and look at some of the alternative plans provinces have put forward there could be a showdown on the horizon.
Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna has long stood by her government's deadline: provinces have until September to show their work, or Ottawa will step in when 2019 rolls around.
Ottawa has set a starting price of $10 per tonne on carbon dioxide emissions, increasing to $50 per tonne by 2022.
However, the majority of provinces either don't have an approved carbon price plan in place or haven't put one on the table.
Moe said imposing carbon reduction measures from the national level can't work in Canada, because each of the provincial economies and needs are so unique.
Saskatchewan remains committed to lowering emissions, he said, but a nationally imposed plan won't be coming to his province if he succeeds in court.
Interprovincial trade top priority for new minister
What's first on the agenda for the new minister in charge of federal-provincial affairs? Getting rid of internal trade barriers.
A provincial free trade deal already exists — the Canadian Free Trade Agreement was introduced last year — but the process lacks concrete timelines or a firm list of priorities, made more complex by a series of new premiers taking the helm in their provinces.
Dominic LeBlanc told The House his attention will turn to trade within Canada as his first big project after being given his new portfolio.
"I think we can make tangible, real progress important to Canadians in that area very quickly," he said.
Canada's approach to internal trade has been criticized as being covered in red tape, especially at a time when trade with the U.S. has hit a wall.
In response to that call for change, the premiers announced provinces and territories would be taking "immediate and meaningful action" toward reducing barriers like transport regulations, business registration and agriculture licenses.
More barriers could be removed later this year, as the prime minister has invited the provincial and territorial leaders to a meeting to discuss trade, and the economy in general.
While the premiers and the federal government are working together to mitigate risks stemming from an unpredictable trading relationship with the U.S., there are other issues on the table proving more controversial.
The federal government's plan for a price on carbon and the handling of irregular migrants have struck a nerve with many provinces.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe stood side by side at the Council of the Federation meeting to announce Ontario will support the challenge of the federal government's right to impose a carbon tax on provinces that don't comply with its climate change plan.
Also this week, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba collectively called on the government to reimburse them for costs associated with accommodating the thousands of asylum seekers crossing into Canada.
LeBlanc explained Ottawa has already agreed to make some funding available, but it's important to keep the dialogue open and continue to discuss the issue.
Even though there have been substantial policy disagreements between the federal and provincial governments, LeBlanc says constructive conversations are still ongoing.
"I don't share any of the pessimism," he said.
"We aren't going to stop looking for ways to cooperate with these partners."
The premiers may disagree, but he added it's obvious to him they're more focused on the commonalities.
Atlantic provinces await details on national pharmacare plan
The premiers of three of Canada's Atlantic provinces are anxiously awaiting more details on a national pharmacare strategy so they can evaluate the impacts of the federal government's proposal on their jurisdictions.
Justin Trudeau's Liberal government announced a pharmacare plan as part of the 2018 budget released in February.
Eric Hoskins, Ontario's former Liberal health minister, was appointed to chair the council that will consult with stakeholders and make recommendations to the government on how to proceed with a national strategy. He also addressed the premiers this week in New Brunswick at their annual gathering.
However, details of what the coverage would look like and how it would trickle down at the provincial level have been scarce.
Despite that, the premiers of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador say opening up a national dialogue on the matter is a good step.
"We know any time we can reduce the healthcare cost to the provinces, it means there's more money we can invest in other healthcare services," Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball told The House.
Last fall, an analysis by parliamentary budget officer Jean-Denis Frechette estimated national pharmacare would carry a hefty cost of around $20 billion a year, with another study estimating such a plan would save Canadians more than $4 billion every year on prescriptions.
Former federal budget watchdog Kevin Page was also in New Brunswick with a blunt message for the premiers: If Canadians want a pharmacare plan, taxes will have to go up.
The cost is just one issue to be examined, but Nova Scotia's Stephen McNeil said some of the important elements needed to move forward are there.
"There's a lot of work to do," he said. "[But] I believe there's momentum building with Canadians."
While the details are sorted out, P.E.I's Wade MacLauchlan said there are three important measuring sticks for the success of a federal plan for national pharmacare.
"Robust, reliable and sustainable."
Ambassador rejects Trump's justification for tariffs on Canada
Canada's ambassador to the U.S. says President Donald Trump's repeated citing of national security to justify tariffs on Canada is wrong.
David MacNaughton told The House he's made Canada's position on that matter clear: if Trump continues to use Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act to trigger investigations, it will be perceived as crying wolf.
"I can't imagine how you could use national security as a guise for imposing illegal tariffs on another country," he said Thursday.
Trump has used that justification several times over the course of imposing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. He has also floated the notion of imposing duties on cars, and on Wednesday the U.S. Department of Commerce announced a Section 232 investigation into imports of uranium.
Canada is the second-largest producer of uranium in the world and a major supplier to the U.S. market.
While MacNaughton conceded there are legitimate security threats from foes of the U.S., he said Canada "doesn't fit in that category."
The national security investigations and tariffs come as Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are working toward a new version of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Talks have snagged on a few key issues, such as rules for the auto sector and a sunset clause that would see the deal expire after a set period of time.
Canada has said from the start that an expiry date is a non-starter, but MacNaughton said negotiators have been open to a review mechanism.
Multilateralism has proved to be a difficult subject for Trump, as he's pushed for bilateral deals with Canada and Mexico instead of a three-way deal. That mentality doesn't seem to be going away.
"I think the president has been pretty consistent in his distaste for multilateral deals," MacNaughton said.
In line with the messaging from other Canadian officials, he added that a lot of progress has been made on the negotiations. However, he acknowledged there are still a lot of "contentious issues" and if a middle ground isn't found on the auto sector demands, it could be catastrophic.
MacNaughton spoke to The House before briefing premiers and territorial leaders on Canada-U.S. relations at their annual Council of the Federation meeting in New Brunswick Thursday morning.
As relations between Canada and its largest trading partner break down, MacNaughton said the premiers have played an important role in protecting the country's interests.
Even though there are disagreements between the provinces, he said the premiers seem firmly committed to a Canada-first approach.
"There are going to be areas where we have differences of opinion, but on this one the unity has been terrific," he said.
Premiers ask federal government to delay Greyhound service reductions
The country's premiers are pushing the federal government to step in to ensure rural communities have safe access to transportation after Greyhound announced they were cancelling their bus services in western Canada.
Earlier this month the company said as of October, they would no longer service routes in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and cancelling all but one route in B.C.
That prompted an outcry over the safety implications for people living in rural and remote communities, especially for Indigenous women.
Those concerns were on the minds of the premiers as they met in New Brunswick this week, and prompted a section on Greyhound to be included in their final communique.
The joint statement welcomed the commitment by the government to find a path forward, further urging Ottawa to work with the company to extend the service period until affected communities could implement alternative services.
"This is fundamentally important to rural communities, to Indigenous communities, it's important to seniors, it's important for women," Alberta Premier Rachel Notley told The House.
She spoke about her experience using the bus company as a safe way to travel around Alberta as a teenager.
"We have to have a safe and secure rural transportation of some form in this country," she said.
Notley said Greyhound was one of the issues she was able to find common ground on with her B.C. counterpart, John Horgan. The two have had a tumultuous year as they feuded over the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, resulting in the federal government purchasing the infrastructure for $4.5 billion.
They met for the first time this week since siting down with Justin Trudeau earlier this year to discuss the pipeline controversy.
That same pipeline is, in Notley's mind, a good example of how to diversify the Canadian market as the government battles with the U.S. administration over trade issues.
To tackle that uncertainty, the premiers also signed a communique this week vowing to work harder to better implement the Canadian Free Trade Agreement that allows trade between provinces.
Interprovincial trade will be the subject of an upcoming fall meeting with the prime minister, but Notley says she wants to see effort from the federal government to understand the intricacies of the roadblocks in the lead up to the date.
"I think that they're going to have to do a lot of their own homework before they come to this meeting."