Politics Insider for November 1, 2021: A Watered-down Climate Deal; secret talks between liberals and the PND in Ottawa; Whip job
Justin Trudeau said Sunday that Canada wanted a stronger climate agreement of what the leaders agreed at the G20 summit in Rome, the My rabson reports: “There is no doubt that Canada and other countries would have liked stronger language and stronger commitments in the fight against climate change than others,” Trudeau said in his closing press conference. “But we made significant progress in recognizing that 1.5 degrees is the ambition we have to share.”
His comments came as he concluded two days in Rome at the G20 leaders ‘summit, where the leaders’ final communiqué saw them agree for the first time in writing that limiting global warming to 1.5C would be better for everyone. . But the document also diluted numerous parts of an earlier draft, including substituting specific timelines for reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and phasing out coal energy by the late 2030s, with net zero by “the mid-2030s. century “and phase out coal power.” as soon as possible. “
Chinese president Xi Jinping and russian president Vladimir Putin skipped the event. They will also skip the UN COP26 climate talks, where Trudeau and most of the G20 leaders are heading next.
Glasgow pressure: the Balloon Eric Reguly see little progress in Rome.
A draft of the final 17-page G20 communiqué seen by The Globe and Mail largely reflects the wording and promises of previous G20 summits and the 2015 Paris climate agreement itself. The upshot is that the Glasgow summit, known as COP26, which opened on Sunday, will be included even more pressure to find your own solutions.
Don’t blame China: Heather scoffield, who is in Rome for the Toronto star, notes the absence of Xi Jinping, who should have sat next to Trudeau, but writes that Canada should lead by example rather than blame China.
When asked why negotiations towards a concrete path to net zero were so difficult, the Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia freeland did not point the finger on Saturday. Instead, he said it is important to recognize that some countries carry higher costs for ambitious action.
“It is important for us as a rich country to recognize that taking climate action can impose higher costs on some countries than others, and it is important that we recognize this and have real conversations about it. And that is what is happening here, and I think it will be happening at COP26 ”.
The idea is not to establish a coalition, with NDP ministers in the cabinet, but an agreement like the one reached in Ontario in 1985, when then-NDP leader Bob Rae agreed to vote with the Liberals under David Peterson while they worked on an agreed upon agenda for two years. Some people in both parties say such a three-year deal could take the usual pressure off votes of confidence and allow the parties to work on shared priorities.
However, there are likely pressure within both parties to reject such an arrangement, posing political risks for both parties. One issue that complicates the situation is the decision of the Liberals, who announced Friday night, that they intend to appeal an order from the Canadian Court of Human Rights to compensate indigenous children who were mistreated by the welfare system. childish, but also for suspend the litigation and attempt to negotiate a resolution. The political fallout from that announcement, which is happening as I write, could have an impact on the possibility of a supply agreement between the two parties. A senior NDP source, speaking before the decision was published, said the NDP was pushing for liberals to let the decision stand. A senior liberal source confirmed that Singh and Trudeau discussed it at their meeting, and that Singh was pushing for a resolution.
Not in the loop: At Star, Althia raj have a column about bruised feelings of the Liberal deputies, who have not had the opportunity to meet since the elections.
In 2015, Trudeau met with his group on November 5, two and a half weeks after the election. But in 2019, he waited seven weeks for a formal meeting. Arrived on Friday, before the parliamentarians were informed, in the evening, of their next meeting, many deputies said that they had I have no idea why it was taking so long. They used terms like “worried” and “self-interest” to describe the wait.
“It’s kind of like, do we know why the elections were called?” joked a deputy. His suggestion was that “the prime minister doesn’t want it.” “I don’t think Trudeau wants to tackle music anytime soon, and if he can put it off until people get less anxious, then it works for him,” the liberal said.
Whip speaks: CBC has a profile from Steven MacKinnon, the new liberal whip, which faces the task of soothe hurt feelings in the liberal bank, or at least contest them for votes. He is committed to finding ways to express himself: “I see paper as creating enough space so that all members of Parliament in the liberal caucus make sure that their priorities, their passions, their ambitions can find expression within our group ”.
Mulroney Tips: Brian mulroney told CTV Sunday what Erin O’Toole it should expel deputies who do not want to be beaten. “Of course. That’s leadership. Who am I to argue with tens of thousands of brilliant scientists and doctors desperately urging the population to get vaccinated? And we’re going to have some members of my group, for example, who are going to say ‘ I’m not going to do it. ‘They have to. “
Enough plexiglass: On Maclean’s, Justin ling has an interesting article on the lack of official action to change the scientific knowledge on how COVID-19 is actually transmitted, which means that we are wasting our time with measures that are not helpful.
There are overwhelming evidence that airborne transmission is the dominant cause for COVID-19 outbreaks. We still don’t know how often people get sick from touching their eyes – all we know is that there are orders of magnitude less likely than getting it through the air. Putting both explanations side by side gives the completely incorrect perception that they are equally likely. But look through the Public Health Agency of Canada tips for Canadians to fight the virus, and is totally divorced from that reality. The guide recommends that “high-touch surfaces and objects, such as toilets, bedside tables, light switches, door handles, and children’s toys, be first cleaned (to physically remove dirt) and then frequently disinfected.” Which is as effective a use of your time as nailing a horseshoe over your door frame.
A gesture: RoseAnne Archibald, national head of the Assembly of First Nations, told CP On Saturday there must be another symbolic gesture before the flags are raised again in Canada: “You can’t just hoist the flags and replace them with nothing.”
The flags have been flying at half mast since late May, when Trudeau ordered them lowered to mark the discovery of unmarked graves at the site of a residential school near Kamloops. The Royal Canadian Legion says it plans to raise the flag at the Ottawa National War Memorial on November 11.
– Stephen Maher
Reference-www.macleans.ca