Politics This Morning: First COVID-19 doses available to all Canadians by June, Tam says

Good Thursday morning, In comments ahead of the Easter long weekend Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam says now isn’t the time for mass gatherings. It’s a “challenging” stage and Canadians need to allow time for the vaccines to work, Ms. Tam said during a Facebook Q & A, covered by CBC News. Due to vaccine deliveries—including more than one million weekly doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's throughout May—she said all Canadians who want a vaccine should get their first shot by the end of June. "We need to give it our best effort right now because the vaccines need time to take hold. There are many people who are not vaccinated right now in Canada, so I would say this period is one of the most challenging periods," she said, per CBC. After almost a quarter-century in federal politics, Liberal MP Geoff Regan has made the call not to run for a ninth term. The longtime Nova Scotia MP’s eight election wins were interrupted in 1997 but three years later he was back in Parliament. In his 13-minute video send-off, Mr. Regan said he’ll serve until the next election comes but it’s “the right time” to step aside. Among his words of gratitude, Mr. Regan highlighted the “humbling” experience of becoming Canada’s 36th Speaker of the House of Commons, a post he held from 2015 to 2019. “I did my utmost to be fair, neutral, and non-partisan and to uphold the rules and improve the image of the House of Commons, the institution at the core of democracy,” he said. That decorum was not on display at the House Ethics Committee, whose opposition members have been battling with their Liberal counterparts over witnesses they want to hear on the WE Charity scandal. On Wednesday, the government again offered up a minister instead of the summoned Liberal political staffer, ignoring a Conservative-sponsored motion in the House that passed last week. On Monday, the committee agreed to hear from their uninvited guest, Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez, but on Wednesday they declined to continue that trend. After 20 minutes, the committee opted to adjourn, declining to hear from Associate Finance Minister Mona Fortier, per The Canadian Press. In other election-related news, provincial Liberal leadership runner-up and MPP and Michael Coteau is running to become the Grit’s Don Valley East, Ont. candidate. The move comes after weeks of speculation, The Toronto Star reported, with the longtime provincial politician expected to run federally in the key Toronto battleground, currently held Independent MP Yasmin Ratansi. Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux is projecting a $363.4-billion deficit this fiscal year in a pre-budget report that questions whether the Liberal’s planned stimulus spending is really necessary. In her fall fiscal statement, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Ottawa would earmark up to $100-billion in the 2021 budget That’s coming in April, but Mr. Giroux said the “size and timing” of such a stimulus “may be miscalibrated,” given he’s already projecting “almost all of the ground lost in the labour market due to the pandemic will be made up by the end of 2021-22,” per The Hill Times. New disturbing details have been reported by CBC News about the allegations against military's head of personnel.Vice-Admiral Haydn Edmundson has been accused of raping a then 19-year-old junior officer while they were deployed on the same ship three decades ago. He has been put on indefinite leave with pay as the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service continues its investigation. The CBC previously detailed allegations from four sources that suggested a pattern of inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power by Vice-Admiral Edmundson, who until the allegations came to light held one of the most senior posts in the Canadian Armed Forces. No longer in the military, Stéphanie Viau told CBC she wants an independent investigation and for charges to be laid. She previously named him in her application to join the military sexual misconduct class action settlement. He has denied the allegations. Women and Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef told Global News the military is facing a “reckoning” as it contends with allegations against senior members of the Canadian Armed Forces that have come to light since the outlet first reported on the former chief of defence staff. Only two House committees are on the docket today, with the Finance Committee continuing its study of COVID-19 spending and programs, while the Special Canada-U.S. committee hears from International Trade Minister Mary Ng. She’ll have a busy day, also hosting a public chat with Florent Menegaux, Michelin’s Chief Executive Officer, on the final day of Canada’s virtual trade mission to France. Over in the Senate, the Internal Economy Committee will meet and the Legal Affairs Committee will hear from Justice Department officials and start clause-by-clause consideration on Bill C-3, legislation the Liberals revived from last Parliament that requires new superior court judges to get training in sexual-assault law. Two Progressive Senators will also appear before the Social Affairs Committee to discuss bills they’ve put forward again after they died on the order paper last Parliament. Senator Jim Munson’s has reintroduced his 2018 push for an act to create a Kindness Week with Bill S-223. Senator Patricia Bovey, meanwhile, is again proposing to create a Canadian visual artist laureate with Bill S-205, which would amend the Parliament of Canada Act. In other scheduled events, at 10 a.m. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair will announce funds the feds are earmarking for survivors of human trafficking. Ms. Fortier will be at that event and another with Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna for an announcement on that file. At noon, Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole will speak at a Penticton and Wine Country Chamber of Commerce event. The Hill Time

Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: First COVID-19 doses available to all Canadians by June, Tam says

Plus, former House Speaker and eight-term Nova Scotia MP Geoff Regan says he won’t run for re-election.

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Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: First COVID-19 doses available to all Canadians by June, Tam says

Plus, former House Speaker and eight-term Nova Scotia MP Geoff Regan says he won’t run for re-election.

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