Politics This Morning: Joly, Wilkinson testify on gas turbines

Good Thursday morning, It’s shaping up to be a muggy day in Ottawa. If you’re out and about, bring an umbrella because you might get caught in a thunderstorm. It might be early August, but the people of Ottawa and the polisphere are doing their best to keep things lively for PTM readers. The prime minister has gone on vacation, generating at least one news-cycle’s worth of political pundits getting into their feelings about wasteful spending, GHG emissions, family values, and the various crises underway at present. Someone crashed an amphibious bus into the fence around 24 Sussex, and someone else tried to bust down the gates of Parliament Hill (now that we mention it, where was Pierre yesterday?). More pertinently, MPs have called in two ministers to testify today about the government’s decision to allow a Canadian company to repair and return essential equipment to Russian state-owned gas producer Gazprom. Foreign Minister MÉLANIE JOLY will appear, and will very likely be asked to explain why and how Canada’s government created an exemption from sanctions that are intended to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. She will likely repeat the explanation given by the prime minister and German political leaders: in essence, Germany isn’t prepared to freeze in the dark without Russian gas, and now Russia won’t have an excuse to stop the flow of gas to Germany. Whether Canada should have sided with Germany or Ukraine on this matter is a more complicated question. Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON has also been summoned to appear before the committee. Conservative members will push Wilkinson to explain what (if anything) his government has done to enable the emergency construction of eastward pipelines (economically viable or not) to facilitate the shipment of Western Canadian natural gas to Germany. Deputy PM CHYSTIA FREELAND addressed that question at a press conference yesterday, and gave her support for the idea in very general terms, but did not commit to any specific action, as per reporting by Global News’ AMANDA CONNOLLY. Senior departmental officials will also testify, as will the president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, ALEXANDRA CHYCZIJ. You can watch it all here, beginning at 1 p.m. After a short break, the committee will return at 3:30 p.m. to hear from Ukrainian Ambassador YULIIA KOVALIV, Germany Ambassador SABINE SPARWASSER, and EU ambassador MELITA GABRIČ. MPs on the committee very well may take the opportunity to ask Kovaliv what she thinks about a recent Globe and Mail report that Canada’s Global Affairs Department ordered its diplomats to leave Kyiv when the Russians invaded, and to hang the locally-engaged Ukrainian staff out to dry while they were at it. What else is happening today? Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT is weighing whether or not to support the construction of an open-pit mine a few kilometres away from a nature reserve on the northern shore of Lake Superior. The business behind the proposed mine, Generation PGM Inc., estimated that it would cause the loss of 12 hectares of fish habitat. The review panel that examined the proposal determined that the mine would likely cause a “significant adverse cumulative effect” on the habitat of Lake Sturgeon, an endangered freshwater fish that can grow to nearly 400 pounds. Ditto for a pair of endangered bats, and locally-endangered caribou (though the caribou might be toast before the mine is even built.) Members of some nearby First Nations would lose access to traditional trap lines, and possibly fishing sites. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, a former environmental activist, will have to decide whether a proposed open-pit mine in Ontario would unduly harm the environment. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade The project would chew up 1,116 hectares of land altogether, and keep more than 400 people employed for 13 years if all goes to plan. The company is aiming to mine palladium, a mineral used to build catalytic converters for cars, among other things. Technically, Guilbeault will have to decide whether or not he believes the project will cause "significant adverse environmental effects." If he decides that it will, the cabinet as a whole gets the final say on whether to give it a green light. Singh talks health NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH is holding a press conference on Parliament Hill at 2 p.m. with the president of the Ontario Nurses Association, CATHRYN HOY, in which the two will call on the federal Liberal government to “fix Canada’s health-care system.” The constitution might like a word. New Statscan data Statistics Canada is releasing new data today on foreign trade, Canadian internet use, building permits, and a survey of non-bank mortgage lenders. What’s cabinet up to? Deputy PM Freeland is in Dartmouth, N.S. today, where she will meet with truck drivers and hold a press conference, before moving on to Halifax, where she will hold a “roundtable” discussion with local executives to discuss “opportunities in Atlantic Canada to advance energy security.” Public Safety Minister MARCO MENDICINO and Heritage Minister PABLO RODRIGUEZ are making an announcement of “federal support for organizations on the front lines of the fight against gun and gang violence in Québec” in Montreal today at a youth space in a local library. Defence Minister ANITA ANAND is in Toronto, where she will hold a press conference to announce “the next steps of the Canadian Armed Forces’ efforts to support Ukraine” at 11 a.m. Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister MARC MILLER and KELLY WOLFE, the chief of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, will hold a press conference in the Saskatchewan First Nation at 10 a.m. to “conclude” the 1919 Soldier Settlement Specific Claim, a deal that will transfer $127-million to the nation. Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller is finalizing a big settlement with Saskatchewan's Muskeg Lake Cree Nation today. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Minister DAN VANDAL, who is responsible for the economic subsidy agency for the Prairies, is cutting the ribbon on a new service centre for the agency in Thompson, Man., and announcing new cash for the Hudson Bay Railway and other projects while he’s there. Minister GINETTE PETITPAS TAYLOR, who is responsible for the Atlantic subsidy agency, is doling out funds for various projects in Kensington, P.E.I. In the news KEVIN PHILIPUPILLAI has a deep dive on how Canada’s ethnic communities are organizing to make their mark in Canadian politics. You can find it here. In case you missed it Statistics Canada released a report yesterday that found that the lowest-income and youngest households grew their wealth faster than older, richer Canadians in the first quarter of 2022. It also released another report that found that income inequality grew anyway over the same period, as wealthier cohorts grew their disposable income quicker. Send your news tips to pmazereeuw@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: Joly, Wilkinson testify on gas turbines

Plus, Anita Anand is announcing the next gesture of support for Ukraine in Toronto.

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Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: Joly, Wilkinson testify on gas turbines

Plus, Anita Anand is announcing the next gesture of support for Ukraine in Toronto.

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