Politics This Morning: Morneau resigns as finance minister amid reports of rifts over policy

Good Tuesday morning, Bill Morneau resigned as finance minister after a closed-door meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had, amid rumblings of a rift between the two, professed through his office that he had "full confidence" in Mr. Morneau. "It's never been my plan to run for more than two federal election cycles," said Mr. Morneau, as he announced his resignation. "As we move to the next phase of our fight against the pandemic, and pave the road towards economic recovery, we must recognize this process will take many years. It's the right time for a new finance minister to deliver on that plan for the long and challenging road ahead. That's why I'll be stepping down as finance minister and as Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre." His resignation comes nearly a month after Mr. Morneau disclosed that he and his family took two trips, courtesy of WE Charity, because he had neglected to cover some of the travel expenses. It also follows a series of leaks to the media by unnamed sources about major policy differences between Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Morneau over the scale of pandemic spending, the economic recovery, and the ballooning deficit. Mr. Morneau told reporters he intends to run as secretary general of the OECD. He pushed back against suggestions that it wasn't his idea to resign, denying that Mr. Trudeau had asked for him to step down. His departure means there will be two byelections in the coming months—and a cabinet shuffle even sooner. Before his resignation, former principal secretary Gerry Butts weighed in on reports of a rift between the PM and Mr. Morneau, saying internal squabbling that spills out into public view can be more damaging to a party than partisan attacks. He offered "friendly advice" to his ex-colleagues : "knock it off, unless you miss losing." Canada Revenue Agency officials said a technique called "credential stuffing," a type of cyberattack that exploits people's tendency to use the same or similar passwords for multiple accounts, was to blame for the hacks that compromised thousands of online accounts. Marc Brouillard, the government's acting chief technology officer, said people should make a point to use unique passwords for their accounts and to change them frequently. "It's not uncommon for millions of records to be taken in a single breach," he told reporters, saying that can then open the door to more breaches. The agency said that it expects online services to be restored Wednesday. New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has called for an election to be held Sept. 14 amid the pandemic. The premier had attempted to broker a deal with opposition parties, asking them for support in holding off an early election until October 2022, which is when the province was scheduled to head to the polls. It was framed by the premier as a way to bring stability amid the heightened sense of uncertainty brought on by the pandemic. But the provincial Liberals declined to extend their support, saying that the conditions were untenable, as they would have granted the premier unfettered powers for two years. Liberal Leader Kevin Vickers accused Mr. Higgs, a Progressive Conservative, of "political opportunism" for triggering the election. The election could offer a preview of what it will be like for federal parties to campaign in the face of COVID-19. After more than a decade since the G20 protests in Toronto, which led to mass arrests, the police board settled a $16.5-million class-action suit involving some 1,100 individuals. The settlement would offer between $5,000 and $24,700 in compensation that will be dependent on their experiences, and is subject to final approval by an Ontario Superior Court judge in October. It would also commit the police to changing how it conducts its operations during demonstrations, including a pledge to avoid the use of containment measures "unless it is necessary to prevent a substantial and imminent risk of harm to a person" and "strict compliance" with search procedures. The vast majority of protesters who demonstrated against the G20 gathering were peacefully marching, but there were some instances of vandalism. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, who was the city's chief of police at the time, faced scrutiny over the police force's handling of the protests during his first run for office under the Liberal banner. In an op-ed for The Globe at the time, he wrote that, while the summit presented "unprecedented challenges to police," he "never wavered from" protecting the safety of Torontonians and that "public concerns were addressed." He pointed to a review that the police undertook aimed at assessing the ways in which the force could improve its practices. In other news, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the appointment of Canada's new ambassador to Lebanon, Chantal Chastenay, who is currently posted at the Canadian embassy in Mexico. Mr. Champagne said Ms. Chastenay will lead the co-ordination of Canada's "ongoing support in response to the crisis which includes addressing the immediate humanitarian crisis & providing support to rebuilding efforts going forward." She'll be replacing Emmanuelle Lamoureux, who, prior to her appointment as ambassador, served as director of Gulf states relation at Global Affairs Canada, according to her LinkedIn profile. The appointment comes at a tumultuous time for Lebanon and amid calls for the president to step down following the resignation of other members of the government in response to the deadly explosions. The Hill Times

Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: Morneau resigns as finance minister amid reports of rifts over policy

Plus, New Brunswickers are set to head to the polls next month, making it the first province to hold an election since the onset of COVID-19. The province's experience could offer a preview of what campaigning will be like in the face of the pandemic.

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Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: Morneau resigns as finance minister amid reports of rifts over policy

Plus, New Brunswickers are set to head to the polls next month, making it the first province to hold an election since the onset of COVID-19. The province's experience could offer a preview of what campaigning will be like in the face of the pandemic.

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