Prime Minister Trudeau continuing historical tradition while presenting indirect critiques of Trump to prevent backlash BY NEIL MOSS

In his decision to offer repeated allusive criticism of U.S.

President Donald Trump, Prime

Minister Justin Trudeau is taking the path of past prime ministers concerned over American back-lash while keeping in mind the added risks that come with the

president’s unorthodox nature.When Mr. Trudeau (Papineau,

Que.) recently took 21-seconds to respond to a reporter’s question over Mr. Trump’s threat to use

military force to quell anti-Black racism protests in the U.S., it continued a trend of the prime

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BY CHARELLE EVELYN

Black public servants, already more likely to report being

victims of racial discrimination

than the rest of the federal bu-reaucracy, are hoping the “Floyd effect” will help drive the changes for which they’ve spent years try-ing to gain traction.

“In some ways, this has had a positive effect in the amount of interest that it has generated and, you know, white people be-ing woke for a moment in time

about the realities of being Black in Canada and the rest of North America,” said Richard Sharpe,

BY MIKE LAPOINTE

As the tumultuous events of the last two weeks have

prompted a “pivotal moment” in the Canadian media industry and “soul-searching in newsrooms across the country,” the leaders of a number of media organizations that report the news from Parlia-ment Hill say they are re-focusing efforts to bring more diverse perspectives and voices into their newsrooms and leadership, including the CBC, The Globe and Mail, CPAC and La Presse.

Advocates for Black journal-ists and journalists of colour in Canada say that they are still waiting to see management “walk the walk” when it comes to mean-ingful change; that they believe this is a moment “when people are fi nally listening,” but also that it’s “just so sad that it took the death of a Black man for it to happen.”

“I do believe this is a pivotal mo-ment,” said Nadia Stewart, executive director at the Canadian Associa-tion of Black Journalists (CABJ).

“It is unfortunate that it took the tragic death of a Black man for it to come to this,” she said, referring to the recent killing of 46-year-old George Floyd by a police offi cer in Minneapolis, an event that sparked outrage and mass demonstrations across both in the United States and in Canada, including on Parliament Hill on June 5.

“We would not be here had it not been for this brutal killing—

‘This is a pivotal moment’: tumultuous two weeks prompt ‘soul-searching’ in newsrooms on the Hill, across Canada ‘It’s a lot of lip service’: Black federal

public servants hope ‘Floyd eff ect’ will fi nally drive change as anti-racism movement grips Canada

Continued on page 28

Continued on page 35

Continued on page 30

News News

News

THIRTY-FIRST YEAR, NO. 1736 CANADA’S POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT NEWSPAPER MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 $5.00

Fifteen per cent of Black federal employees indicated they had been a victim of discrimination on the job in the past 12 months, compared to only eight per cent of the public service, overall, according to last year’s Public Service Employee Survey.

Special report on Canada’s economicrecoverypp. 17-26

Climate is still changing while Canada courts the UN p. 11

Time to demand wholesale change in Canada’s police

forces p. 10

MichaelHarris

p.12

DavidCrane

p.11

Richard Sharpe, founder of the Federal Black Employee Caucus, is pictured in February, 2019. Mr. Sharpe says he’s hoping for faster progress on work to improve working conditions for Black federal public servants that has been years in the making. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

HillClimbers

p.38

As the World Trade Organization comes under heightened strain due

to increasingly protectionist global actors during the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada is brining together 12 other members of the Ottawa Group in order to work towards building consensus around WTO reforms.

Canada will host the Ottawa Group’s fi fth ministerial meeting on June 15. Members of the group include Australia, Brazil, Chile, the European Union, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, and Switzerland. The group was originally formed in 2018 by then-International Trade Diversifi cation minister Jim Carr.

The virtual meeting will address how the rules-based trading system can help the global recovery from COVID-19, ac-cording to a Global Affairs press release, as well as make preparations for a sustain-able recovery and modify trade rules in anticipation of future crises.

“Canadian businesses need long-term stability and predictability to thrive at home and around the world—that is why Canada is leading efforts to modernize the rules-based multilateral trading system for businesses in the 21st century, particu-larly in these extraordinary times. I look forward to continuing to work closely with our international partners to support our businesses as countries begin to gradually reopen their economies,” current Interna-tional Trade Minister Mary Ng said in a statement.

Appearing in a Peterson Institute for International Economics virtual event on May 22, Ms. Ng said that the Ottawa Group “can only do so much.”

“Ultimately, WTO reform efforts will require the engagement of all members to succeed,” she added.

The work of the WTO has been bur-dened by a lack of U.S. cooperation at the international body, which included the blunting of an appellant dispute settlement body. An agreement was reached for a tem-porary arrangement to replace the appeal

body but it is without the U.S.Global Affairs trade offi cial Kendal

Hembroff told the House Committee on International Trade in March that U.S. commitment in the reform effort has been “quite limited.”

The committee had its fi rst meeting for a study on Canada’s efforts to reform the WTO before the House of Commons was adjourned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former iPolitics publisher James Baxter pitching-in at AFN

Former iPolitics publisher James Baxter is helping out in the Assembly of First Nations’ communications shop, where he is serving as a special adviser to National Chief Perry Bellegarde.

Mr. Baxter ran the digital news organi-zation from 2009 until its sale to Torstar in 2018.

He is replacing Don Kelly who left AFN in May, Mr. Bellegarde told The Hill Times earlier this month, as the assembly looks for a full-time director of communications.

Prior to founding iPolitics, Mr. Baxter was a journalist at The Edmonton Journal and The Ottawa Citizen. He also was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.

As part of his role at AFN, he will be assisting Mr. Bellegarde as he works with Prince Charles on “The Great Reset” initia-tive. The initiative is working to promote sustainable growth as the world rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Globe and Mail reporter Stephanie Nolen named latest Atkinson Fellow

Former Globe and Mail reporter Stepha-nie Nolen has been selected as the next Atkinson Fellow where she will look into systematic issues brought to the surface by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Honoured and excited about this new project (although, like so much of what I do, I wish there was no need for it),” Ms. Nolen tweeted on June 11.

The Atkinson Fellowship in Public Poli-cy allots $100,000 to a Canadian journalist to examine a public policy issue of impor-tance. At the end of the fellowship, fellows publish their work in a series of articles in The Toronto Star.

Past fellows have included Toronto Star race and gender columnist Shree Paradkar, Seven Fallen Feathers author Tanya Talaga, investigative journalist Michelle Sheph-ard, and Globe and Mail health columnist André Picard. The most recent fellow was Spacing Magazine writer John Lorinc.

Prior to leaving The Globe last July, Ms. Nolen wrote for the newspaper for 21 years as a foreign correspondent reporting from South Africa, India, and Brazil, among many others.

She recently won a National Newspaper Award—alongside Matthew McClearn and Geoffrey York—for her coverage of Export Development Canada’s lending policies. The prize was Ms. Nolen’s eighth—tied for the most in history.

De Adder has some fans in Hollywood

Michael de Adder continued his note-worthy year with some shout-outs from Hollywood stars.

The editorial cartoons of Mr. de Adder—whose work appears in The Hill Times, The Toronto Star, and The Chronicle Herald, among others—were highlighted by singer Barbra Streisand, who has 679,000 fol-lowers on Twitter, and rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy, who has 644,000 Twitter followers, last week.

Ms. Streisand tweeted a cartoon of Mr. de Adder’s from The Toronto Star that showed U.S. President Donald Trump kneeling on the neck of the Statue of Liber-

ty and Chuck D posted a Chronicle Herald cartoon by Mr. de Adder highlighting that racism exposed though cellphone record-ings is only the tip of the iceberg. The Star cartoon that was tweeted by Ms. Streisand was also featured on the CBS Morning News last week.

Mr. de Addder made international headlines last year after he was released from his contract with Brunswick News Inc., which publishes more than a dozen newspapers in the Maritimes, after he drew

a cartoon depicting Mr. Trump playing golf while two dead migrants lay near a shore-line with the caption, “Do you mind if I play through?” Brunswick News Inc., which is owned by the Irving family, maintained that Mr. de Adder’s release wasn’t related to the cartoon.

For his “elegant yet concise draftsman-ship and his ability to distill complex is-sues into impactful visual statements,” Mr. de Adder was awarded the U.S. Herblock Prize earlier this year for editorial cartoon-ing.

Senator Mobina Jaff er launches new podcast

To explore topics of belonging, integra-tion, and marginalization, Independent British Columbia Senator Mobina Jaffer has launched her new podcast Every Voice Counts.

“I grew up around parents who were al-ways helping people in the community and organizations. I learned early on that every voice counts and each person is special,” Sen. Jaffer said.

Serving in the Red Chamber since 2001, Sen. Jaffer was the fi rst Muslim in the Sen-ate as well as the fi rst South Asian and fi rst African-born Senator.

“So I have a unique voice in Canada’s political landscape,” she said.

The fi rst episode of the podcast looked at Parliament at the time of COVID-19 and the decision in March for Parliament to suspend its sittings.

Sen. Jaffer also offered a comforting word to those away from their family and friends.

“We will get through this—have faith. And we will again meet physically,” she said. “Stay safe, stat at home, and use this opportunity to spend time with your families, to read, to walk, and do things at home that you would never otherwise be able to do.”

Sen. Jaffer isn’t the only Parliamentar-ian to launch a podcast during the pan-demic, fellow Independent Senator Paula Simons launched one looking into Alber-tan identity and Liberal MP Nathaniel Ers-kine-Smith started recording conversation he was having with experts and launched his podcast Uncommons.

nmoss@hilltimes.comThe Hill Times

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES2

by Neil Moss

Heard on the Hill

Canada to virtually host fi fth ministerial meeting of the Ottawa Group on WTO reform

James Baxter, pictured in 2016, was the publisher of iPolitics from 2009 to 2018. The Hill Times file photograph

Stephanie Nolen was a reporter at The Globe and Mail for more than 20 years before leaving the newspaper last July. Photograph courtesy of Twitter/Stephanie Nolen

Michael de Adder, pictured, was awarded the U.S. Herblock Prize this year for editorial cartooning. The Hill Times file photograph

International Trade Minister Mary Ng said in May that the Ottawa Group ‘can only do so much’ and WTO reform efforts will require commitment from all WTO members. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

4

MONTREAL—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s campaign for a United Na-

tions Security Council seat has been fi ring on all cylinders as the June 17 vote approaches. But all those who value a rules-based interna-tional order and a vibrant UN should favour the contenders—Norway and Ireland—over Canada for the coveted positions.

No member state is perfect, but on balance Canada’s competitors for the “Western Europe and Others” seats have better international track records. They are simply more responsible global citizens.

Here are 10 reasons why:1. Ireland and Norway endorsed the

Basel Ban Amendment on eliminating the export of waste from rich to poor coun-tries. Canada refused to support the initia-tive, which became binding last year after 97 countries ratifi ed it.

2. Canada’s Security Council competi-tors also signed the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and

other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treat-ment or Punishment. Ottawa has not.

3. Norway and Ireland have ratifi ed a greater number of International Labour Organization conventions than Canada.

4. Ireland joined most of the world’s countries at the 2017 UN Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, Leading To-wards their Total Elimination. It also signed onto the resulting treaty and is not part of the nuclear-armed NATO alliance.

5. Neither Norway nor Ireland are part of the G7, a US-led alliance of seven wealthy countries. Nor are they members of the Lima Group of countries seeking to overthrow Venezuela’s UN recognized government. Canada launched the Lima Group with Peru in mid-2017 after the Organization of Ameri-can States, primarily Caribbean member states, refused to criticize Venezuela. Norway has sought to mediate the Venezuelan crisis.

6. Unlike Canada, Norway and Ireland are not members of the “Core Group” of foreign ambassadors that have largely determined Haitian affairs since Jean Bertrand Aristide’s government was over-thrown in 2004.

7. Neither of Canada’s competitors have been singled out for criticism by at least fi ve UN bodies for failing to hold their mining companies accountable for their international operations. Despite a litany of environmental and human rights abuses by Canadian extractive fi rms, Ottawa continues to offer some of the most controversial com-panies diplomatic and fi nancial backing.

8. Compared to Canada, both Ireland and Norway have far better records on upholding Palestinian rights at the UN. Since 2000 Canada has voted against 166General Assembly resolutions critical of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. Ireland and Norway haven’t voted against any of these resolutions.

9. Ireland and Norway have contributed far less to climate disturbances ravaging parts of Africa and Asia that bear little responsibil-ity for greenhouse gas emissions. Norway’s per capita emissions are half of Canada’s while Ireland’s are less than two thirds.

10. Even under the terms Ottawa itself has laid down for its Security Council bid, Norway and Ireland are more deserving of the seats. Justin Trudeau claims countries should support Canada for a two year posi-tion on the UN’s most powerful decision making body because “Canada is com-mitted to working with partners around the world to build a better future for all of us—from growing economies that benefi t everyone, to fi ghting climate change, to creating a safer, more peaceful world.” The website promoting Canada’s candidacy for the Security Council says, “climate change represents an existential threat to vulner-able countries” and “Canada understands the importance of rules-based international order.” Based on this criteria, Ireland and Norway are better candidates.

Despite its good reputation, the Trudeau government does not refl ect the desire of most Canadians to be a force for peace and human rights in the world. To reconstruct after the COVID-19 pandemic, the UNSC requires voices that do not follow Washing-ton and rather seek positive change. When Canada has a better foreign policy, focused on overcoming global inequities, then it will deserve the confi dence of the world and a seat on the Security Council.

Bianca Mugyenyi is an author and former co-executive director of The Leap and currently coordinates the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute.

The Hill Times

Opinion

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Bianca Mugyenyi

Opinion

Ten reasons to support Ireland and Norway over Canada for UN Security Council seat

When Canada has a better foreign policy, focused on overcoming global inequities, then it will deserve the confi dence of the world and a seat on the Security Council.

APPOINTMENT NOTICE

Canada’s Building Trades Unions are pleased to

announce that Sean Strickland has joined CBTU as the new Executive Director.

Sean is a well respected, senior construction executive with over 20 years working in the construction sector, with proven results for success. His deep knowledge of the industry combined with a strong government relations background will serve CBTU well to grow the workforce of tomorrow. Sean holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Waterloo, and is a graduate of the Executive Management Program at Wilfrid Laurier University as well as Leadership Development from Harvard University.

Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) Welcomes Sean Strickland as new Canadian Director

Sean Strickland Executive Director

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured June 4, 2020, speaking with reporters outside the Rideau Cottage in Ottawa. Despite its good reputation, the Trudeau government does not refl ect the desire of most Canadians to be a force for peace and human rights in the world. To reconstruct after the COVID-19 pandemic, the UNSC requires voices that do not follow Washington and rather seek positive change, writes Bianca Mugyenyi. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Canada’s untapped cleantech opportunities can transform and help rebuild the economyRe-shaping of country’s workforce key to cleantech sector’s future.

Kevin Nilsen President & CEO, ECO Canada

ECO Canada has been workingwith government and industry

to grow and support the envi-ronmental workforce in Canada for almost 30 years. As a national organization, we provide support across the country to Canadians interested in developing careers in environment-related fields and to the employers looking to fill such roles to grow their business in a sustainable way.

As the steward for the environ-mental workforce, we are currently sharing our views on how enabling more people to work in the grow-ing cleantech sector can enhance the country’s economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no question Canada’s employment landscape has been shaken, and while some areas are facing significant down-turns others such as the cleantech sector are expected to be engines

for growth.

Research points to economic recovery opportunity

According to the report “Cleantech Defined: A Scoping Study of the Sector and its Workforce,” cleantech was a $1.2 trillion industry in 2015 and had been projected to reach $2.5 trillion by 2022. While the pandemic will certainly impact that growth trajectory, we still believe investment and interest from both the public and private sectors in cleantech in Canada will grow.

Our research findings highlight Canada as a top country in the world from a research and innovation perspective. And although this is worth celebrating, it is worrisome that we only rank number 16 in terms of global market share in cleantech.

We must ensure future funding is not only limited to “new” and “innovative,” but also encompasses commer-cialization and the building of a deep workforce. Doing so will help Canada gain a greater slice of that global revenue pie. Canada has a long history of breeding great innovators so with the relaunch of the economy follow-ing COVID-19 we also need to ensure we take the steps to commercialize and capitalize on our innovations.

Pandemic leading people to seek new employment options The COVID-19 pandemic along with recent develop-ments in Canada’s economy, such as stalled energy proj-ects, are prompting workers to consider new industrial sectors for employment. This may be an effective way to build a talent pipeline to the cleantech sector. We know a number of industries are already expanding their de-mand for cleantech expertise in the near term.Energy, mining, manufacturing, forestry and hydro all present massive cleantech opportunities. Agriculture and construction are both making progress in reducing costs while promoting environmental sustainability. Trucking and transportation firms are also committed to looking at ways to reduce their footprints and decrease costs through route optimization and other innovations.

These are sectors of the economy which we want to get re-started and operating efficiently and effectively as they all provide major employment opportunities for Canadians. Jobs in cleantech are broad and range from engineers, geologists, and project managers to trades-people and machine operators. Employers we work with are seeing the marketplace moving away from some of the typical jobs in traditional industries to more opportunities in the cleantech space. These companies see the need for skilled and talented people who find ways to deliver value by developing new technologies, testing new services and producing higher efficiency products.

We know these workers’ expertise and abilities are vital

to us to recover our economy and take a leadership role globally in cleantech.

ECO Canada does a significant amount of research to determine what sectors of the economy will be growing, what skillsets are re-quired, and how the environmen-tal workforce can be developed to meet such demands.

A study we completed in early 2020 just prior to the pandemic outbreak pointed to major oppor-tunities for Canadian workers to enter a growing cleantech sector at a time when jobs were being minimized in other areas of the economy.

We feel just as strongly today that these jobs can be drivers for an economic recovery that benefits the country as well as helps to improve the environment.

Expanding skillsets will be required to develop capabilities According to the report “Cleantech Defined: A Scoping Study of the Sector and its Workforce,” cleantech was a $1.2 trillion industry in 2015 and had been projected to reach $2.5 trillion by 2022. While the pandemic will certainly impact that growth trajectory, we still believe investment and interest from both the public and private sectors in cleantech in Canada will grow.

Our research findings highlight Canada as a top country in the world from a research and innovation perspective. And although this is worth celebrating, it is worrisome that we only rank number 16 in terms of global market share in cleantech.

We must ensure future funding is not only limited to “new” and “innovative,” but also encompasses commer-cialization and the building of a deep workforce. Doing so will help Canada gain a greater slice of that global revenue pie. Canada has a long history of breeding great innovators so with the relaunch of the economy follow-ing COVID-19 we also need to ensure we take the steps to commercialize and capitalize on our innovations.

Our goal is a healthy economic recovery for CanadaA successful cleantech strategy will lead to healthier bottom lines for companies by reducing costs, improv-ing performance, reducing environmental impact and ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources. That’s something all Canadians, as well as our governments, want.

I’m excited by the opportunity new investment in the environmental workforce can bring to Canada’s eco-nomic recovery. We need government and industry working together to recover the economy and to put us on a strong footing globally. We are championing these efforts now.

ECO Canada is perfectly suited to bridge the gap between the people and the evolving skillsets required to support industry as employers generate new ways of doing business and find new markets globally. Our economic recovery depends on us developing such solutions and putting people and their talents to work in environment-related fields. We’ve been doing this successfully for some 30 years.

To review ECO Canada’s Cleantech Report or access other workforce reports, contact us at research@eco.ca.

Learn Moreeco.ca

SPONSORED BY ECO CANADA

6

BY BEATRICE PAEZ

Amid increasing pressure on the government to overhaul

policing services, some experts and Parliamentarians say Ottawa should resist “politically expedi-ent” changes that fail to dismantle the power structures that have left many communities feeling unsafe.

In response to the rallying cry of tens of thousands of protest-ers to defund the police, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Pap-ineau, Que.) made a commitment to adopt the use of body cameras by the RCMP and to ensure better diversity training. Facing immedi-ate pushback that such proposals are far from the transformative change protesters are agitating for, he later clarifi ed that other changes would be examined.

While Ottawa cannot dictate how municipalities with local police forces should reshape their services, it is partially responsible for funding the First Nations Policing Program. It foots 52 per cent of the costs, while provinces cover the balance. The program is one area that will be under renewed scrutiny, with Public Safety Minister Bill Blair (Scar-borough Southwest, Ont.) com-mitting to work with Indigenous communities to develop a new legislative framework for police services in the wake of a string of violent run-ins Indigenous people have had with police in recent weeks.

In the case of Chantel Moore, the 26-year-old First Nations woman was fatally shot in New Brunswick during a wellness check after she had threatened the offi cer with a knife, a coro-ner’s inquest will be conducted.

Under the FNPP program, which applies to nearly 450 First Nations and Inuit communities across the country, there are two types of agreements. Whereas self-administered police service agreements aim to give communi-ties more autonomy in managing

services, community tripartite agreements involve having the RCMP deploy a “dedicated contin-gent of offi cers.”

There’s a key distinction be-tween First Nations and “main-stream” policing, with the latter placing an emphasis on culturally appropriate responses that seek to engender trust in the commu-nity, experts noted.

Kevin Walby, associate profes-sor at the University of Winnipeg’s department of criminal justice, said the federal government should defer to communities as it grapples with what reforms to pursue. He said Mr. Trudeau’s initial response demonstrates he isn’t listening.

“It’s the same kind of colo-nial, paternalistic attitude that politicians and police have had for decades,” he said. “They need to just listen, instead of looking for a solu-tion that’s politically expedient.”

He said that there’s a body of evidence that has shown these changes lead to results that are mixed, inconclusive, or at worse, fatten the police budget.

Independent Senator Mary Jane McCallum (Manitoba), in an inter-view, said these proposals should only be considered as interim measures: “It should not be a per-manent solution if it’s being used to monitor the unfair use of power … because that’s the problem. What we have just witnessed in Canada is the blatant misuse of power.”

A residential school survivor, Sen. McCallum recalled that, as a teenager, some RCMP offi cers would come into her community and make her and her friends feel under surveillance. “They’re able to have so much power, especially with teenagers. We would not be doing anything; we would be standing around, laughing, chat-ting, and there would be two or three of them, acting as we if we’d done something wrong,” she said.

At the same time, Sen. McCal-lum does not want to demonize all RCMP offi cers, saying there are those who make an effort to steer children and youth away from bad choices. “That’s the kind of RCMP you’d like your children to connect with. I’ve seen both examples.”

Sen. McCallum’s experience echoes that of Gabrielle Fayant,

co-founder of Assembly of Seven Generations, who grew up in the northside of Edmonton and in Vanier, an Ottawa neighbourhood.

“In these poor neighbour-hoods, the streets are constantly monitored,” she said. “I saw a cop car rolling around two or three times a day.” Now, having spent three years living in Orleans, a well-to-do suburb of Ottawa rela-tive to Vanier, she said, the sight of a cop car is rarer.

Though Indigenous communi-ties haven’t registered their calls for reform by adopting the slogan of “defunding the police,” she said, there’s much overlap in what many in the Black community are

appealing for. “We’ve never said it in those words before, but it’s something we’ve been needing for decades,” she said. “For many of us, it’s not a new concept at all. The list of systemic racism that exists within most of these institutions are also more openly talked about.”

In the starkest terms, the call to defund the police might mean completely draining its budget. But it can also entail redistribut-ing funds from what critics see as bloated budgets and changing the funding priorities of the police.

Lorraine Whitman, president of the Native Women’s Associa-tion of Canada, said the pervasive fear that many feel in the pres-ence of police may be allayed in part if the offi cers were part of the community. She suggested having dedicated offi cers who take part in community events, whether at bike rodeos, lun-cheons, or suppers.

“That would give that comfort zone to the community, knowing the police offi cer is there,” she said. Those offi cers would have to be properly trained and versed in the community’s cultures, including protocols for engaging with the chief and council and the elders committee, so they’re not viewed as a hostile presence, she said.

“I’m aware of how some RCMP offi cers come in the com-munity, and will be there one, two, three days a week,” she said.

Ms. Fayant said there has to be a shift away from a “top-down ap-proach” to policing that gives way to community groups to respond

to crisis situations police may be woefully trained in handling. As head of an Indigenous youth organization, Ms. Fayant said she has helped write several reports that underscore the lack of fund-ing for youth services that take a preventative approach. Ms. Fay-ant cited the example of the Bear Clan Patrol, a volunteer group in Winnipeg that seeks to use non-violent approaches to providing security to a community.

“Defunding police would mean there’s more services for Indig-enous youth, more mental healths services,” she said.

Prof. Walby agreed the Bear Clan is an example of a “hugely effective” form of providing safety to a community. “They don’t take marching orders from the government. They have a media-tion, reconciliation, restoration approach fi rst,” he said. “They try to get to transgression, confl ict in the north end of Winnipeg before that transgression turns into a big problem in the neighbourhood.”

Recognizing Indigenous police as ‘essential service’ in minister’s mandate

NDP MP Leah Gazan (Win-nipeg Centre, Man.) said there are many organizations in her riding, Winnipeg Centre, Man., which are better suited to respond to certain situations, such as mental health checks, than the police, but don’t have suffi cient fi nancial resources.

“You cannot police addic-tions, you cannot police mental health issues, and the money that is currently being spent would be better allocated back in the community to support people who know what to do in these areas, and work towards models of prevention that are community driven, and community led, rather than models that use punitive measures,” she said.

Sen. McCallum said that it may be necessary, in some cases, to have both an offi cer and a social worker or mental health worker respond in these situations. “We really need to look at what we do with the police, so it doesn’t turn into a spiral,” she said. “But you also need that strength in num-bers. I’ve talked to RCMP about people on meth. Sometimes it takes two, or three people to re-strain that individual to send them to a mental health facility.”

Liberal MP Lenore Zann (Cum-berland-Colchester, N.S.), who sits on the House Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee, said it’s possible to simultaneously have more funding for other front-line responders and for body cams.

“I don’t see why you can’t have both. I don’t think one necessarily means you can’t have the other,” she said. “If police are going to remain doing their job of dealing with crime—murders, theft, and even rape, and I would like to see

sexual-assault nurse examiners involved—then the police need to have the tools they need.”

Ms. Zann said she and other members of the Nova Scotia cau-cus met briefl y to discuss efforts to reform police services, and are looking to propose recommenda-tions to the government after they hear from community stakehold-ers and police. Similar efforts are underway in other caucuses, including among Black and Indig-enous MPs, she said.

In an emailed response to The Hill Times, Mr. Blair’s offi ce said the minister is aware “there is much more work to do to disman-tle the systems that perpetuate” racism. The offi ce pointed to the $291-million boost pledged over fi ve years in 2018 to support the FNPP, while noting “signifi cant challenges remain.”

“We have heard that there is a need for more transformative changes in the way First Nations policing is supported in this coun-try,” the statement read.

Mr. Blair’s mandate letter instructs him to work towards a legislative framework that recog-nizes First Nations policing as an essential service. The feds spend an average of about $160-million on the program. Some $144.4-mil-lion, starting 2018-19, is being spent on “priorities” such as of-fi cer safety, policing equipment, and salaries, according to the minister’s offi ce, while $44.8-mil-lion, starting 2019-2020, has been allocated for adding up to 110 offi cers in existing agreements.

Prof. Walby said “there can’t be a kind of blanket statement on ‘defund police’ everywhere, if that’s not what a community is asking for.”

In the renewed push to re-visit the FNPP, Harley Crowshoe, director of Indigenous health program at the Alberta Health Services, presents both chal-lenges and opportunities. For him, recognizing Indigenous policing as an essential service would mean seeing them as “bona fi de police services” and would entail stable funding and development of long-term projects.

“When you’re delivering polic-ing services, you need long-term funding to develop and design that delivery of service with the com-munity and build trust,” he said.

Mr. Crowshoe was member of an expert panel that produced a 2019 government-commissioned report on policing in First Nations communities released by the Council of Canadian Academies. Among its fi ndings, the report noted that one-third of First Na-tions who qualifi ed do not have agreements, leaving it to other forces, including the RCMP, to look after public safety.

A former RCMP superviser who worked with First Nations people in Alberta and British Columbia, Mr. Crowshoe said the government has a lot of catch-up work to do in getting the program to a place where funding is adequate enough able to provide “proactive” support to communities.

“It’s hard to add that proactive delivery of service, add to that model, when you don’t have the resources,” he said. “That can be challenging. They try to do the best they can with what they have.”

bpaez@hilltimes.comThe Hill Times

In renewed push to overhaul First Nations policing, a call for shift away from ‘colonial’ approach ‘You cannot police addictions, you cannot police mental health issues, and the money that is currently being spent would be better allocated back in the community to support people who know what to do in these areas,’ says NDP MP Leah Gazan.

News

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, pictured May 25, 2020, is responsible for co-developing new legislative framework for police services in the wake of a string of violent run-ins Indigenous people have had with police in recent weeks. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

8

As Independent Nova Scotia Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard, a highly re-

garded social worker, researcher, educator and community activist, told The Hill Times last week, “the reality of anti-Black racism, the violence of racism, the reality of racism in this country, seems to be lost on people. And I fi nd that very annoying … [that] we still insist on this default narrative that says we’re not as bad as they are in the U.S.” For a lot of white people, unfortunately, it took the death of George Floyd, an American Black man, who was killed by a white police offi cer in broad daylight on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while three other police offi cers stood by, to fi nally wake them up. Captured by video, the horrifying and ugly calmness of the violence against one Black man ignited a fi restorm of worldwide protests against anti-Black racism and police brutality in the U.S. But it also ignited a worldwide protest against all racism and police brutality everywhere, including in Canada, which has a long history of both anti-Black racism and anti-Indigenous rac-ism.

Now it’s time to do something about it. Canada’s federal, provincial, municipal lawmakers have to help end it. So do we, the people.

Esi Edugyan, author of the bestselling book Washington Black, told CBC Ra-dio’s Matt Galloway last week, after going through feeling horror and shock over George Floyd’s death, she said she was also feeling a “fragile hope” that things will fi nally change and that there will be structural changes because of the worldwide protests. She said she was encouraged and pleasantly

surprised by the much larger and more diverse protests. “It seems like people are re-ally waking up to the fact that this isn’t just a Black issue or an Indigenous issue, but that this is something that affects everyone and that we all should be outraged.”

But there has to be action.Sen. Bernard, who led a team of re-

searchers between 2002 and 2010 to exam-ine the impacts of racism and violence on the health of Black men in three Canadian cities and led an anti-Black racism inquiry in the last Parliament, recently wrote in Policy magazine: “Canada seems to be stuck in a state of non-action or insuffi cient actions. This cycle of non-action is enabled by con-tinually occupying a state of shock and dis-belief, despite the continuous stream of new deaths, violence and injustices. As Angela Davis said, ‘it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.’ That is also true for remaining in a state of non-action. Remain-ing in a state of non-racism and non-action, at this point, is as harmful as racism itself. This is known as the bystander effect.”

“‘We must do better’ is not a commit-ment to change. What we need to hear is who will take action, and how will they do it? Black communities, Black youth and Black leaders are ready for change. We have been ready, and we need part-ners in action, not just in words. We need collective action,” Sen. Bernard wrote in Policy magazine.

The time for the bystander effect is done. Canada’s federal lawmakers have to take this issue seriously and deal with it urgently. We all do.

The Hill Times

I am writing concerning the events in the United States, the murder of George

Floyd, the resulting protests and demon-strations. We sit here in good, old Canada and condemn those involved saying we have a very diverse country where such things could never happen. Really?

But what if you are Indigenous, Asian, or Black person here in Victoria? Do you feel safe? I have a friend who is a large, yet gentle Black man and he feels that he is in constant danger, even once being hassled by six, yes six, brave white people and when the police eventually arrived, their fi rst concern was to the health of the six white people and couldn’t care less about him. I feel his pain and concern for his children; his daughter has asked him if, as a Black girl, she is somehow not okay. This is heartbreaking and so un-necessary. We are all humans, Black, First Nations, Asians, South Asian, etcetera,

even whites, are supposed to be human but sometimes I wonder.

We pride ourselves as Canadians in being tolerant people and many of us are, but here in Canada we too have our share of hatred, racial prejudice and big-otry, and, frankly, I am tired of it. Most of us, or our parents and our ancestors, came from somewhere else in search of a better life. I know I did when I came from England back in 1967 and now I have to wonder if there is a place on this planet where peace, love, and total ac-ceptance are practised. Perhaps I should have chosen New Zealand instead of Canada.

We are better than this, and it is time to stand up and say so. My friend has my back and I have his, just as it should be and I am proud to know him.

Jeremy ArneySidney, B.C.

Seniors in Canada have experienced some of the most negative impacts of

the COVID-19 pandemic.For many, staying safe at home has

meant added expenses. Deliveries come at a premium and some groceries are costing more. Prescription dispensing fees have increased in many provinces.

The Government of Canada responded early. In April, more than four million low- and middle-income seniors received a supplementary GST credit automati-cally in their bank accounts.

But as the pandemic wore on, seniors were clear that while welcome, it wasn’t enough.

That’s why we’re providing more help this summer. A special one-time, tax-free payment for seniors will be made on the week of July 6.

This payment will provide $2.5-billion for 6.7 million seniors eligible for the Old Age Security, with extra support for the most vulnerable.

For a low-income couple on GIS, the

April and July payments add up to over $1,500 in support to help with increased costs caused by COVID-19.

To help prevent fraud and make it easy to receive, the payment is automatic. Seniors do not need to apply and they should not share any personal or banking information to receive it.

This fi nancial support complements other federal supports for seniors during the pandemic, such as support for chari-ties and community groups to provide essential services, like the delivery of groceries, and community projects help to reduce social isolation.

We continue to look at all the ideas that are coming in on how we could bet-ter help seniors.

During these unprecedented times, we will always to be there for Canadian seniors.

Canada’s Minister for Seniors Deb Schulte

King-Vaughan, Ont.

The Alberta government recently made international headlines after blatantly

admitting they were taking advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to ram through con-troversial fossil fuel projects, while mass protests are on pause. This is what we’re up against.We must invest now in the sustainable economy of the future: in its COVID-19 recovery package, the federal government must prioritize the electri-

fi cation of our economy, by investing in renewable energy projects and making our homes and public buildings energy effi cient.

We don’t inherit the Earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children. “The Earth does not belong to humans, it is humans who belong to the Earth.”

France BergeronOttawa, Ont.

Time for the bystander eff ect is over

‘We are better than this, and it is time to stand up and say so’; tired of racism, hatred in Canada

More pandemic help for seniors coming this summer: Seniors Minister Deb Schulte

We must invest now in the sustainable economy of the future, says Ottawa reader

Editorial Letters to the Editor

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

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OTTAWA—The Liberal COVID-fi ghting honeymoon is over.

Last week two fatal blows were delivered.

One came from the opposition which banded together to derail tough government legislation on COVID subsidy fraudsters.

The second blow was the picture of the prime minister on bended knee attending a crowded protest with thousands of people at the same time his government

is saying you can only gather in groups of fi ve or 10.

Justin Trudeau’s presence at the rally sent an important mes-sage about how Canadians need to tackle the issue of systemic racism. He was right to be there.

But his government is off the mark with continued lockdowns, interprovincial travel warnings and international travel bans.

His presence at the protest sent a message in direct confl ict to the one delivered daily by public health offi cials across the country, who are still placing major restrictions on group gath-erings for fear of viral transmis-sion.

Until recently, we were told that wearing masks in public would not be helpful. Now we are being told it is a mandatory part of public distancing.

The only people who seem to think things are generally going well must be in a parliamentary bubble.

When asked about the con-tinuing travel ban last week, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said, “The arrangement we have today is working and it is working very well.”

Millions of Canadians who have lost their jobs and/or remain huddled in their homes by govern-ment fi at, may not agree with her.

A full-page plea in The Globe and Mail was literally begging the government to reconsider its cur-rent lockdown strategy.

The Canadian Travel and Tour-ism Roundtable enlisted more than 100 companies to support their move to eliminate the 14-day international travel quarantine and reopen the southern border.

As the ad pointed out, the travel/hospitality sector employs 1.8 mil-lion people and contributes $102-bil-lion to the Canadian economy.

Similar backlash is happen-ing against travel restrictions in other parts of the world. The United Kingdom is being sued by airline companies for its decision to retain a 14-day quarantine for internation-al travellers who enter the country.

Last month, air travel in the United States fell by 96 per cent, reaching its lowest level in the his-tory of passenger data collection.

Who are the most vulnerable victims of the interprovincial

travel and tourism lockdowns? It is the young people, who are fac-ing the bleakest job market.

The May unemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-olds was 29.5 per cent. For those planning to return to school in the fall, the number jumped to a shocking 42.1 per cent. And the problem is not just the unemployed. It is also the mental burden of isolation facing single people working from home.

A close colleague is a millen-nial whose job was moved to his home at the beginning of the cri-sis. He was told last week that his offi ce would not reopen until next March. His response was to make an appointment with a mental health professional because the news was so depressing.

It is not surprising that young people are turning their backs on the self-distancing rules of federal and provincial governments. At a younger age, people need more so-cial stimulation. Isolation can kill as quickly as COVID with mental breakdowns and suicides, where the young are most vulnerable.

This lockdown is especially tough on people living alone. Does it make sense to prevent family visits for those who are currently living in long-term care facili-ties? The loneliness that comes from not seeing a familiar face

for months should be considered when quarantines are extended simply based on COVID.

In Ottawa alone, there is now a two-year waiting list for medical procedures cancelled because of COVID. Some postponements are life-threatening, including heart and cancer surgeries that can be fatal if left untreated.

There is going to be a higher death toll in other areas because of the focus on COVID.

The air of parliamentary col-legiality which has characterized pandemic relations went out the window because opposition parties are now sensing the vulnerability of the government’s current position.

In the fi rst two months, the prime minister’s daily press confer-ences were critically acclaimed. Now he is being attacked for spend-ing all his time in scrums while Parliament is mostly muzzled.

The longer we are in lock-down, the more Liberals will lose.

With an under-functioning Parliament and a fl attened CO-VID curve, the government needs to pivot quickly, or any hope of an early election majority may simply be wishful thinking.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister.

The Hill Times

OAKVILLE, ONT.—When run-ning for elected offi ce, politi-

cians often try to win votes by sug-gesting they have access to some sort of magical time machine.

Of course, I don’t mean that literally; it’s just my clever way of saying political appeals often include pledges to either bring us back to a golden age of the past or to fast-track us to a utopian society of the future.

The problem with such ap-peals, however, is that neither the future nor the past can actually co-exist with the present.

Now, I’m not trying to engage in a theoretical discussion involv-ing the “time-space continuum” here, I’m just pointing out that an agenda associated with “political time travel” usually ends up clash-ing with reality.

To see what I mean, let’s consider the oft-used political promise to bring back the “good old days,” a tactic usually associ-ated with the political right; most recently, for instance, U.S. Presi-dent Donald Trump invoked this idea with his let’s “Make Ameri-can Great Again” mantra.

It’s an appeal that’s as old as the hills.

As matter of fact, in the fi fth century BC, the Greek philoso-pher Plato pushed the notion that democratic Athens had actually fallen from the grace of its an-cient past, when supposedly the city had achieved an ideal state, a state ruled by a class of wise “philosopher kings.”

Hence, Plato urged his fellow citizens to reestablish this ideal-ized form of government.

Yet, restoring the old ways would also mean Athenians

would have to give up their pre-cious democracy; a prospect that, as you might imagine, didn’t go over so well. (Fun fact: the word “patriotism” derives from the Greek slogan, “Back to the state of our forefathers.” Maybe Plato should have tried “Make Athens Great Again.”)

At any rate, my point is the problem for politicians who roman-ticize the past is that, yes, people might be nostalgic for yesterday, but they also don’t want to give up the benefi ts they enjoy today.

To take a simple example, voters in Canada might, in theory, support the idea of resurrecting the kind of small government that existed in

the olden days, but they probably wouldn’t like the actual practice of cutting back on popular social programs or other entitlements.

Nor are things any easier for politicians who boast about their plans to vault society into a gran-diose future.

And yes, trying to rush head-long into the future is also an old tactic, which can probably trace its origins back to the early days of Christianity, a time when pious Christians hoped to expedite the prophesized day when the king-dom of heaven would inevitably be established here on Earth.

Eventually, Marxists secu-larized this Christian idea—

they prophesized the inevitable emergence of the “dictatorship of the proletariat”—which has led many politicians on the left to promote platforms designed to hasten humanity into this won-drous brave new world.

But the problem for those promising to speed up the train to a socialist paradise, is that, unless they’re willing to wipe away all elements of “bourgeois capital-ist society” through revolution, their plans will always run into stiff resistance from those with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

To use a simple example, Canadians might, in theory, support the idea of quickly implementing a futuristic “green economy” based on windmills and solar panels, but they probably wouldn’t like the idea of paying massive taxes for gas.

All this might explain why ul-timately voters grow disillusioned with politicians who pledge to either move the clock forward or back.

Simply put, their promises of time travel are promises that just can’t be kept.

Gerry Nicholls is a communi-cations consultant.

The Hill Times

9

PoliticsLiberal COVID-fi ghting honeymoon is over

The problems with political time travel 

The longer we are in lockdown, the more Liberals will lose. With an under-functioning Parliament and a fl attened COVID curve, the government needs to pivot quickly, or any hope of an early election majority may simply be wishful thinking.

Voters grow disillusioned with politicians who pledge to either move the clock forward or back. 

THE HILL TIMES | MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

Canadians might, in theory, support the idea of quickly implementing a futuristic ‘green economy’ based on windmills and solar panels, but they probably wouldn’t like the idea of paying massive taxes for gas, writes Gerry Nicholls. Photograph courtesy of Pexels

Gerry Nicholls

Post-Partisan Pundit

Sheila Copps

Copps’ Corner

10

OTTAWA—In the second quarter of 2020, racism and

police brutality was brought to the forefront of the world’s con-sciousness. Black Americans, Na-tive Americans, and allies closed down American cities as a mea-sure of the stark and desperate urgency to change whole systems.

Racism and police brutality have no place in any democracy.

The movement crossed over into Canada. Thank you to all Black Canadians who are speak-ing out for safety and belonging. Indigenous peoples share the demand for safety and belonging in our own country. Our demands and rights are stronger when we gather together. Obviously, the de-mand and urgency for safety and belonging for Indigenous peoples needs all the help and voice and amplifi cation possible, given that certain high ranking police offi -cers refuse to admit that systemic racism exists.

Yes, systemic racism exists. Indigenous Canadians have a lower income than others, higher unemployment, much higher in-carceration, and this is the result

of systemic racism. An uncounted number of Indigenous individuals have died by police or in custody recently, many without vigorous or completed investigations.

We will not forget.Eishia Hudson, 16.Jason Collins, 36.Stewart Kevin Andrews, 22.Chantal Moore, the young

First Nations woman killed by New Brunswick police during a ‘wellness check,’ 26.

Debralee Chrisjohn, 39.Chief Allan Adam was as-

saulted, an Inuk in Kinngait was doored, Elliot McLeod was kneed, there were 63 complaints of police abuse of Indigenous individuals in Quebec, another 30 in Nunavut… yes, there’s systemic racism.

It’s not just “bad apples” in police forces. The concept of “bad apples” in a police force is about as ludicrous as “bad apple” pilots. It is not too much to expect that police brutality be prosecuted as a crime and punished severely. In fact, it’s part and parcel of main-taining a police force that can be trusted by its citizens. We do pay for the police salaries, they are accountable to us.

Here’s another quote that’s gone viral in social media: privi-lege is when you can learn about racism rather than experience it.

Last week, I was pulled over by police in a routine event. Yes, I’m fi ne. No, I was not charged or fi ned. Here’s the thing: this type of experience might be routine for others, but it is far from rou-tine for Indigenous individuals. I was scared, so scared I was try-ing not to hyperventilate. There were no witnesses nearby. Will the offi cers exhibit racist atti-tudes? Will I get handcuffed? Will I end up with hundreds and hun-dreds of dollars in fi nes, when I know that a non-Indigenous individual wouldn’t be charged in the exact same situation? Will the offi cer overreact?

Please don’t attempt to ratio-nalize this as my problem, be-cause it’s not “my” problem. Fear of police and inability to trust based on historical events, that’s our problem.

Of course, not all police of-fi cers are risky, there are many who have integrity and respect every citizen they meet. It’s too bad the offi cers and senior lead-

ers did not also speak up to pro-tect their organizational integrity, to hold the line inside the force. The silence is deafening, and now it might be too late. Trust is broken.

If this makes you uncomfort-able, good. Discomfort is required in this discussion. Discomfort won’t kill you. But the fear and alarm that Indigenous peoples have when we have to interact with police, it might kill us.

Please use every single oppor-tunity to use your voice, speak out against racism, demand whole-sale change in Canada’s police forces. Police offi cers are not above the law.

So, no, I am not fi ne. Neither should you be.

Rose LeMay is Tlingit from the West Coast and the CEO of the Indigenous Reconciliation Group. She writes twice a month about Indigenous inclusion and recon-ciliation. In Tlingit worldview, the stories are the knowledge system, sometimes told through myth and sometimes contradicting the myths told by others. But always with at least some truth.

The Hill Times

Opinion

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Speak out against racism, demand wholesale change in Canada’s police forces

Indigenous women, pictured Feb. 24, 2020, demonstrating in Ottawa in support of the Wet’suwet’en nation and against the building of the Coastal Gasoline pipeline. In the second quarter of 2020, racism and police brutality was brought to the forefront of the world’s consciousness. Black Americans, Native Americans, and allies closed down American cities as a measure of the stark and desperate urgency to change whole systems. Racism and police brutality have no place in any democracy, writes Rose LeMay. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Rose LeMay

Stories, Myths, and Truths

If this makes you uncomfortable, good. Discomfort is required in this discussion. Discomfort won’t kill you. But the fear and alarm that Indigenous peoples have when we have to interact with police, it might kill us.

11

CHEALSEA, QUE.—The headline was so shocking,

it looked at fi rst like fake news. Temperatures reached 30 C inside the Arctic Circle last week, in a place called Nizhnyaya Pesha in Siberia. Sadly, the story is too true, a dramatic marker in an ab-normally warm winter in north-ern Russia and the continuation of a long-standing trend towards a warming Arctic. Another warn-ing to the world.

Alas, the world is pre-occupied of late. Covid-19, anti-racism protests, and economic uncer-tainty are consuming all available news space. But ice caps are still melting, water levels are rising, glaciers are crashing into the sea in Greenland and Antartica, and permafrost is threatened. This ca-tastrophe is unfolding in slow mo-tion far from where most people live, but it is still happening.

By contrast, Canada’s North was somewhat colder than usual this spring, along with the eastern seaboard in North America, Scan-dinavia, Australia and parts of Southern Asia—a brief reprieve from the inevitable. Elsewhere, the European Union reported the warmest May on record and, in the 12 months prior to May, global temperatures were 1.3 C above pre-industrial levels. That is dangerously close to the 1.5 C threshold agreed to by 200 coun-tries in the 2015 Paris agreement, if the world is to be spared the worst.

Meanwhile, the United Nations World Meteorlogical Organiza-tion reports the past fi ve years have been the hottest on record. By now, this is not breaking news, as governments and scientists have been issuing mounting alarms. Yet, just when climate activism appeared unstoppable, it stops. Or, at best, is cast into

shadow by other, more immediate problems.

The 17-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg tried to bring the issue back into focus last week with a pointed letter to leaders of three dozen small island nations concerning the race for two temporary seats on the United Nations Security Council. Norway, Ireland and Canada are competing for an opportunity to sit on the august body for two years and have been energetically working their diplo-matic contacts. The all-important vote by the general assembly is scheduled for this week.

Thunberg and her co-authors—other youth activists and 22 climate scientists—want the small nations threatened by rising water levels (a 20 per cent voting block) to demand specifi c and urgent climate action from both Norway and Canada. (Ireland, never a fos-sil fuel power, last year committed to ending fossil fuel exploration and is considered a favourite can-didate among European nations.)

Thunberg and company have a big ask: they want Canada to make a temporary ban on Arctic oil exploration permanent and to cancel the Trans Mountain and Keystone pipelines to start. They point out, as others have, that Canada is far from achieving its emissions reductions goals—30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030—and that the Trudeau gov-ernment’s approach to climate has been inherently contradictory. On one hand, a beginner carbon tax; on the other, major public expenditures on a pipeline and hefty ongoing subsidies to oil and gas, the second largest in the G20.

While global emissions are expected to decline by eight to 17 per cent as a result of the pan-demic and attendant shutdown of world economies, that mod-est success is hardly sustainable given how many people it has thrown out of work. Despite the decline in car traffi c, electric-ity generation, transportation of goods and services and manu-facturing continue to produce emissions. Meanwhile, fossil fuel

pollution is expected to rebound as the pandemic passes, as it did after the 2008 fi nancial crisis.

Some governments will be hesitant to “interfere” with the economic recovery in the name of increased carbon taxes and stricter controls on emissions. And talk of a “green recovery”, while heartening, envisions a dramatic move towards alternative energy sources by familiar means—mas-sive upscaling of electric vehicles, more solar and wind-powered electricity, building retrofi ts. These are worthy and venerable ideas, but they are not new and progress so far has been glacial given the urgency of the problem.

At least, during the pandemic, Canadian help for oil and gas (and other large enterprises) comes with strings attached. To be eligible for federal assistance, large companies must present a plausible and transparent plan for reducing emissions. And much-needed assistance for unemployed oil workers comes in the form of federal funding for an ambitious clean-up of thou-sands of abandoned oil wells, mostly in Alberta and British Columbia. That job should be the responsibility of the pollut-ers, of course, but years of lax provincial regulation didn’t help, and the pre-pandemic slump in world oil prices has driven many fossil fuel-related companies into bankruptcy.

For all that, despite its repu-tation as a progressive Nordic nation where everyone drives electric vehicles, Norway’s cli-mate record is somewhat mixed. Just last week, Norway’s govern-ment gave generous tax breaks to that country’s oil sector to open new explorations, including in the Barents Sea.

In the end, more traditional UN concerns may be more infl uential when it comes to the fi nal vote than action on climate change—and there, too, Canada faces signifi cant challenges from both Norway (population 5.4 million) and Ireland (population 4.9 million). While Canada, which originated peacekeeping in the

Pearson era, has only a token presence now, tiny Ireland has re-liably provided troops since 1958. Ireland currently has 475 person-nel involved in peace-keeping, compared to 65 for Norway and 35 for Canada.

When it comes to foreign aid, too, Canada contributes a measly 0.26 of its GDP, compared with 0.4 per cent from Norway, making it the world’s most generous donor on a per capita basis. Norway has pledged US $1-billion for vaccine development, while Canada (popu-lation 37.6 million) is putting up $850-million in Canadian dollars.

Both Canada and Norway are promising to emphasize the issue of climate change as a threat to peace and security at the world body, with Canada promoting the establishment of a special repre-sentative on climate security. As necessary as the UN is, it is not known for decisive action, and another bureaucrat offering regu-lar scoldings will probably not accomplish much. On the other hand, the UN is a good venue for platitudinous speeches, a minor specialty of our current prime minister.

Oddly, Trudeau has never explained clearly why his govern-ment is spending $2-million, why he travelled to Africa to woo the support of despots and democrats alike, why he has invested so much personal effort in the quest for a Security Council seat—other than to best Stephen Harper’s unsuc-cessful attempt in 2010. But there has to be more to it than that.

If Canada doesn’t succeed, for whatever reason, it will hardly be a major setback, either politi-cally or practically. It may, in fact, encourage the prime minister to turn his restless attention to unfi nished business at home, starting with signifi cant green in-vestments and renewed attention to curbing our own emissions and phasing out oil production.

The Arctic can’t wait and nei-ther can the world.

Susan Riley is a veteran political columnist and a regular contributor to the Hill Times.

The Hill Times

Opinion

THE HILL TIMES | MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

Canada’s record on reducing carbon emissions doesn’t match Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s rhetoric.

Climate is still changing while Canada courts the UN

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured at Régimbal Awards and Promotions in Ottawa to highlight how businesses are benefi tting from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy on June 11, 2020, has led a years-long campaign for Canada to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Susan Riley

Impolitic

12

HALIFAX—No matter when the next election comes, the

battle lines were only thinly cam-oufl aged in last week’s political jousting over the government’s fi ght against COVID-19.

For the fi rst time, the opposi-tion parties stymied the govern-ment from even debating the next phase of its pandemic strategy, which includes assistance for disabled Canadians.

The prime minister was energized by the rebuff. If not swinging, he came out jabbing vigorously against the Conserva-tives in particular. It would have been easy to mistake his feisty demeanour with that of a cam-paigning politician.

The Liberals are in a strong position should an election come sooner than later. Unlike several U.S. states and provinces like Alberta and Quebec, Canada has chosen to play by Dr. Fauci Rules—slow and steady wins the race against the deadly virus.

By comparison, if more Al-bertans get sick, Premier Jason Kenney may have to explain why he opened up the province ahead of schedule, despite a doubling of COVID-19 cases in Edmonton. It looks like Kenney and several U.S. governors are following the Bolso-naro Playbook. It’s just the fl u, get over it. If people die, so sad—but not statistically signifi cant.

You remember what Trump said? The oldsters are nearly dead anyway.

Trudeau knows that the ballot question next time will revolve around the hypergiant star of pandemic politics. The govern-ment can justifi ably claim that they came up with an unprec-edented response to an unprec-edented situation—in effect, backstopping millions of Canadi-ans fi nancially, something only a government can do.

Was the response perfect? Of course not.

Did the government stumble start out of the gate? It did.

Is there probable fraud in the CERB program? Obviously. There is fraud in many long-established government programs, so why not in one as new, jammy, and speedy as this one?

Will the day come when government will have to reveal plans to recoup some of the vast amounts spent buffering Canadi-ans from the pandemic? Like the Grim Reaper and the CRA, it will.

But here is the big question: was pulling out all the fi nancial stops, and modifying how parlia-ment works in the face of a global disease for which there is no vac-cine, the right thing to do?

That is what Canadians will decide at the next election. Trudeau & Company have the fi re department defence on their side. When the house is ablaze, you douse the fl ames fi rst and worry about how much water you used later. That obvious truth leaves slim pickings to critics of the government’s actions.

The NDP is particularly neu-tralized by the evolution of our politics in the time of pandemic. To sum it up in one line, no one can run to the left of Justin Trudeau anymore. Jagmeet Singh has had his political property expropriated.

As for the offi cial opposition, it continues to limp through the COVID crisis like a three-legged dog. Their leader is long since out the door of any kind of credibility. The retreating Andrew Scheer’s words carry the weight of a me-diocre has-been pretending to be in charge.

Making matters worse, the Conservative leadership race to replace Scheer is moribund. A couple of stale buns from Harp-er’s cabinet, and three unknowns. Even Conrad Black says the race is not “exciting.”

It comes down to this for the Conservative opposition. They could either cheer or jeer the government’s COVID strategy. They were onboard for the fi rst tranches of public assistance to Canadians impacted by the pandemic. Now they have chosen to jeer. That carries two impera-tives.

First, they have to get the plat-form of parliament back in place as quickly as possible. Second, they must change the channel from the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the re-opening of the economy. Which is why they keep badgering the PM to have Finance Minister Bill Morneau release a fi nancial update.

Once those numbers are released sometime this summer,

numbers that might place the def-icit as high as 20 per cent of GDP, the Conservatives will accuse the Liberals of fi scal profl igacy.

By getting Parliament fully operational again, the party and its lame duck leader will have a forum to showcase their oppo-sition. Until that happens, the megaphone belongs to the PM’s, day-in, day-out.

The Liberals have a powerful advantage in the current align-ment of the political stars. They don’t have to allow themselves to be pushed into issuing a fi nancial update, not as long as COVID-19 hovers over the country, with the spectre of a possible massive resurgence this fall.

Having bet the political farm on unstinting fi nancial support for Canadians during the pan-demic, patience and prudence remain the watchwords of the day for the Liberals.

Canada is doing comparatively well in managing the virus. But all that could be out the window if the government succumbs to pressure to return to “normal” before things are normal. Costing a calamity before it is over would change the channel at exactly the wrong time.

The recent experience in 20 U.S. states that have all seen spikes in Covid-19 cases since reopening, with Florida leading

the way, strengthens the govern-ment’s hand to stay the course until the threat passes.

With COVID-19 cases ris-ing globally, and the spectre of an unpleasant October surprise predicted by experts like Dr. Fauci, the CPC is in a precarious position.

Is it really wise to push for a return to parliament when the reason it was shuttered in the fi rst place is still abroad in the land?

It is true that the Trudeau gov-ernment has invested an immense amount of money in battling the pandemic. But what would the CPC have done had they been the government? Thrown money at corporations like Donald Trump has in the U.S., and reopen come hell or high water?

Do nothing and hope for “herd immunity” that never materialized in Sweden?

Miss the boat, and then the bus, the train, and the plane try-ing to fi gure out what to do, like the U.K.’s Boris Johnson?

There is a fi tting Arab proverb: “The dogs bark but the caravan moves on.”

Who would you vote for?The guy who put out the fi re,

or the one who says he used too much water?

Michael Harris is an award-winning author and journalist.

The Hill Times

Opinion

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Liberals in strong position should an election come sooner than later Unlike several U.S. states and provinces like Alberta and Quebec, Canada has chosen to play by Dr. Fauci Rules—slow and steady wins the race against the deadly virus.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured June 11, 2020, in Ottawa. It is true that the Trudeau government has invested an immense amount of money in battling the pandemic. But what would the CPC have done had they been the government? Thrown money at corporations like Donald Trump has in the U.S., and reopen come hell or high water, asks Michael Harris. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Michael Harris

Harris

LONDON, U.K.—‘Field Mar-shal’ Khalifa Haftar’s re-

treat from Tripoli should not be confused with Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow. Haftar was foolish to try to capture the Libyan capi-tal—it even surprised his foreign backers—but he probably won’t have to retreat very far. His main force is still intact, and it doesn’t snow much in Libya.

It’s probably too generous to call what has been going on in Libya a civil war. After long-ruling dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011, the country actually disintegrated into a series of city-states ruled by rival Islamist militias—and every petty warlord got foreign backers because of Libya’s oil wealth.

Fifty years ago, Khalifa Haftar was one of the young offi cers who helped Gaddafi overthrow the monarchy. Twenty-fi ve years ago, he was a CIA asset living in Virginia and promising to overthrow Gaddafi . Five years ago, he became the commander of the Libyan National Army and started subjugating the ‘Islamist and terrorist’ militias that then dominated the east of the country (Cyrenaica).

As he gained control of Cyre-naica and then the desert south

of the country, Haftar’s foreign backers multiplied—France, Russia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates—for that’s where most of the oilfi elds, pipelines, and oil terminals are. They also liked his strong anti-Islamist line. But they weren’t really interested in reunit-ing Libya, whereas Haftar was.

The various Islamist militias that dominate the capital, Tripoli, and the broader western region of Tripolitania are really just local boys defending their protection rackets. They have no loyalty to the unelected Government of National Accord (GNA) that the United Nations calls legitimate. However the GNA has gained the support of Turkey, probably the strongest country in the Middle East.

Why? Partly because under President Recep Tayyib Erdogan, Turkey has become the key sup-porter of pro-Islamist regimes and parties throughout the Arab world (the GNA is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood), and partly because of oil.

Still with me? Don’t bother to take notes; there won’t be a test.

Turkey didn’t instantly give military aid to the GNA when Haftar sent his forces west 14 months ago to attack Tripoli. That had to wait until Erdogan had extorted a deal last December in which Libya promised to sell Tur-key lots of oil and gas (although it

couldn’t deliver until Haftar was defeated).

The leader of the GNA, Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, also had to agree to a deal in which Turkey and Libya carved up seabed rights in the Mediterranean in a way that gave Turkey valuable gas fi elds and froze both Greece and Cyprus out. (Both strongly objected, of course.) And then Turkey started sending arms, Arab mercenaries (also Islamist), armed drones, and Turkish mili-tary ‘advisers’ to Libya.

By early this year, Haftar was also getting a lot of foreign help: arms shipments from the UAE and Egypt, thousands of mercenaries from Sudan, Chad and Niger, and even a couple of thousand Russian ex-special forces troops now working for the Wagner Group of mercenaries. But Turkey’s bid was higher.

Haftar’s last assault on Tripoli failed late last month, and the GNA-Turkish counter-offensive has already retaken all of western Libya. As I write, militias from Tripoli and Arab mercenaries provided by Turkey are fi ghting in the outskirts of Sirte, Libya’s third city and the gateway to the ‘Oil Crescent,’ where the sea ter-minals of the pipelines are. If they take those, Haftar will be toast.

Except that the ‘alliance of evil,’ as Erdogan calls Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, France and the

UAE, won’t let that happen. More importantly, Russia won’t let it happen—and Russia fl ew more than a dozen state-of-the-art combat planes into a Haftar-con-trolled airbase last month.

Russia doesn’t want to put its own troops on the ground in Libya to save its man, any more than it did in Syria, but air-power alone can probably save him. It doesn’t want a full military confrontation over Turkey either, any more than it did in Syria. But it will probably get its way in Libya anyway, or most of its way, at least—like it did in Syria.

And what’s extraordinary is that despite key words like ‘oil’ and ‘Middle East’ and ‘Russia’ scattered all through this ar-ticle, it hasn’t been necessary to mention the United States even once. There was a telephone call between Erdogan and Donald Trump on June 8, but it’s unlikely to be relevant to the outcome.

The likeliest outcome is that Tur-key backs off, there is a ceasefi re of some sort that freezes the lines, and there is a de facto division of Libya with a Haftar-led Russian client state in the east that shares the oil revenues with Tripoli. And then there will be a generation of quarrels over the shares.

Gwynne Dyer’s new book is ‘Growing Pains: The Future of De-mocracy (and Work)’. This column was released on June 10.

The Hill Times

13

Global

Libya: the incredible irrelevance of America The likeliest outcome is that Turkey backs off , there is a ceasefi re of some sort that freezes the lines, and there is a de facto division of Libya with a Haftar-led Russian client state in the east that shares the oil revenues with Tripoli. And then there will be a generation of quarrels over the shares.

THE HILL TIMES | MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

And what’s extraordinary is that despite key words like ‘oil’ and ‘Middle East’ and ‘Russia’ scattered all through this article, it hasn’t been necessary to mention the United States even once. There was a telephone call between Erdogan and Donald Trump on June 8, but it’s unlikely to be relevant to the outcome, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy Wikimedia Commons and official White House photograph by Shelagh Craighead

Gwynne Dyer

Global Aff airs

14

OTTAWA—When you work in intelli-gence you take your direction on what

to collect or investigate from the govern-ment of the day. This applies differently depending on the organization in question. CSIS’ marching orders are spelled out in the CSIS Act. CSE’s tend to shift. CSIS’ directions take the form of ‘intelligence requirements’ and they do change over time. During my initial years at CSE of

what would become a three-decade career in the Canadian intelli-gence apparatus, most of what we focused on was what the Soviet Union and its allies were up to, and mostly military shenanigans at that. This was still the Cold War after all (remember that era?).

Today, of course, times are different, as are requirements I would imagine. I used to participate in an-nual intelligence needs assessments with our primary clients. As a foreign intelligence service, CSE’s main in-terlocutors all worked at the Lester Pearson Building for Global Af-fairs Canada. There were other interested parties, but GAC was defi nitely at the top of the heap.

This exercise usually resulted in far too many demands on issues that we were challenged to collect on, and I must confess that we found it frustrating at times. Nev-ertheless, we received orders: we did not give them. And we did our best with what we had (I left CSE in 2001, so I am not qualifi ed to comment on how this process functions today).

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a new requirement: information on

this and other viruses that can wreak havoc on our economy and our lives, as we have all witnessed over the past few months. Solid, accurate intelligence on future outbreaks can help governments prepare in advance and perhaps lead to responses that were not as fl y-by-night as those for the novel coronavirus.

It remains an open question, however, of what to collect? Medi-cal lab research (which is normally public anyway)? Government obfuscation (such as what China did with COVID-19)? National positioning on gaining

access to necessary equipment (such as PPE)? And then there is how to collect it. SIGINT? HUMINT? Imagery?

On top of this is the challenge of un-derstanding what is being collected in the fi rst place. To focus on the fi rst requirement suggested above, what kind of knowledge is necessary to interpret scientifi c jargon? I can tell you that none of us at CSE would have been able to understand this kind of data in the 1990s. You cannot analyze what you cannot fathom.

I do not recall any ‘pandemic require-ments’ in my time as a spy. I am quite confi -

dent that has changed of late. Successfully meeting this need for data and insight would necessitate more collaboration than has traditionally taken place in the secre-tive intelligence world. Scientists from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) would most probably have to be seconded to CSE to meet these goals. That is not a bad thing as it would enhance inter-agency cooperation and mutual appreciation.

Alternatively, perhaps raw intercept could be sent to PHAC for their in-house analysis (for all I know this is already happening: we NEVER used to send raw intelligence to clients for any reason). This would necessitate secure communications channels as unassessed material can be-tray sources and methods.

Note that I am referring here primarily to CSE and not CSIS, that ‘other’ agency where I laboured for fi fteen years. I fi nd it diffi cult to come up with how collecting on pandem-ics fi ts into the CSIS mandate. It does not seem to fall under any of the ‘threats’ as out-lined in Sec. 2 of the CSIS Act. Maybe CSE is the best place to leverage this task.

Intelligence collectors and analysts do their utmost to fulfi ll the wishes of their masters. We may not always succeed, but we try our hardest. Good intelligence requires that the best people be assigned to the job. We must allow our spy agencies to get the resources they need to accomplish the task before the next pandemic hits.

Phil Gurski is the director of the secu-rity, economics and technology program at the University of Ottawa and a former strategic analyst at CSE and CSIS.

The Hill Times

Opinion

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Intelligence and the next pandemic Good intelligence requires that the best people be assigned to the job. We must allow our spy agencies to get the resources they need to accomplish the task before the next pandemic hits.

The Canadian Security Establishment building in Ottawa. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a new requirement: information on this and other viruses that can wreak havoc on our economy and our lives, as we have all witnessed over the past few months. Solid, accurate intelligence on future outbreaks can help governments prepare in advance and perhaps lead to responses that were not as fl y-by-night as those for the novel coronavirus, writes Phil Gurski. Photograph courtesy Eshko Timiou/Wikipedia Commons

Phil Gurski

National Security

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson com-plained that he was damned

if he did and damned if he didn’t join the thousands of people who marched for racial justice on Parlia-ment Hill in the middle of the CO-VID-19 pandemic. As it turned out, he did attend and won more praise than criticism for showing up.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who also attended the demon-stration, was damned for show-ing up by Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, but that was to be expected. Unable to conceive of a constructive opposition, and to the dismay of a great num-ber of Conservatives, Scheer remains caught in a time warp,

still fi ghting an election he lost eight months ago. Of course he condemned the PM.

From where I knelt on the pave-ment outside the PMO, I couldn’t see Trudeau as he genufl ected for the now tragically iconic eight minutes and 46 seconds that the Minneapolis police took to choke the life from George Floyd. I was on a part of the street where the crowd was thinner, not exactly socially distanced, but making an attempt at two-metre separations and where many of the knees that were being bent were on the arthritic side.

Not far away, standing together like little groups of nervous, cliqu-ish friends in a schoolyard were the Ottawa police. Some, especially, the policewomen, were making an effort to wave to many of the chil-dren who were accompanying their parents in the protest as they tried to smile through their COVID face masks. Others were signalling with their body language their great discomfi t at the event.

Ottawa’s inspiring Black United Church Minister Anthony Bailey told the crowd, “There is no middle ground here, you are either a racist or an anti-racist.”

I was happy that the PM was there in the middle of the crowd de-spite the pandemic. Perhaps because of the pandemic. Andrew Scheer and others can damn away, I was proud of the PM at that moment. But I was equally happy that Trudeau, some of his cabinet ministers and Watson didn’t take a speaker’s role. If they had not shown up, they would have occupied that middle ground between “racist and anti-racist.” If they had asked for the stage they could have badly misread the anger and grief of the protest.

But pride in politicians’ actions usually dissipates before the next morning’s cup of coffee. Now what? The protest was about insti-tutionalized racism, especially as it corrupts police services. What will these leaders do to follow through?

Many of the several thousand protesters who marched from the Hill to the human rights memo-rial carried signs calling for the defunding of the police. Some said, spend the money instead on social services. It’s not hard to see what they are getting at, but funding or defunding may miss the mark. Tak-ing money away from a problem is sometimes no better that throwing money at it. Before cash is with-held—or spent—policing in Canada needs to be radically reimagined.

Is it too hard to imagine a po-lice force that requires offi cers to be thoroughly trained in confl ict resolution before they take to the street? St. Paul University in Ottawa and others schools across the country offer confl ict and restorative justice programs that should be as important as fi rearms training for police recruits.

Can we also imagine police forces that, while enforcing stricter citizen gun control laws and tighter controls on the massive gun im-ports from the U.S., forego the war zone hardware of anti-insurrection militarism that has become popular in policing since 9/11? How many times have we wondered in North America how a British cop can suc-cessfully enforce the law without carrying a gun? Is that a pie-in-the-sky idea for any country that shares a border with the United States? It might be. But a less mili-tarized police force is a good start.

And then there are police unions. Will municipal and police leaders stand up to union leaders who eat up the dues of good cops by defending the bad ones and justifying violent procedures that put the innocent at risk?

It’s naïve to suggest that good policing doesn’t require personal bravery and the unwavering support of comrades. It is a risky job that requires policewomen and police-men to regularly step into danger. But camaraderie isn’t omerta—the silence of colleagues who will be excommu-nicated if they don’t protect the thugs.

None of these reforms, even at their best, get to the reason thou-sands of people all over the world have taken to the streets in the midst of a pandemic: racism.

When white privilege is matched with a badge, a gun or a chokehold the result is police violence, increas-ingly recorded on the cellphones of citizen bystanders. But racism in police ranks, though it expresses itself more virulently, is only part of the problem. In a Central Park bird sanctuary, an educated upper middle-class white woman from Canada, a senior fi nancial manger, exploited a 911 call to the police to say, “There’s a man, [an] African-American, he is threatening me.”

She appeared to be the kind of person who would never in her life be caught using the hateful “N” word, but she played a race card that could have resulted in the death of an innocent black man.

She also personifi ed a problem that Martin Luther King called out more than 50 years ago when he fi rst took the American struggle for civil rights north out of the American south. He found that institutional racism as it was preserved by gov-ernment policy, economics, health care, education and homeownership was far more deeply entrenched and resistant to reform than the racism of the south. Racism in Canada was and is in many ways no different from that of the northern U.S.: sly, sophisticated and fi brous.

How well political leadership addresses the racist root causes of the entirely justifi ed grief and anger that that has swept Canada will be a source of either future pride or great dismay, and also greater anger.

Jim Creskey is the publisher of The Hill Times.

The Hill Times

ADAM GORDON

OTTAWA—In a bid to enforce COVID-19 quarantines and

isolation measures, governments around the world are turning to increasingly intrusive surveil-lance measures. These include, most notably, laws that allow them to track people through their phone data, as well as measures granting them access to private medical records. Among the governments considering such measures are not just those known for their authoritarian tendencies, but relatively free, privacy-respecting countries such as South Korea, the U.K., and indeed, Canada.

Several authors have already raised human rights and pri-vacy concerns. In Western coun-tries—with the notable excep-tion of Trump’s America—the concern is not so much the use of such measures at all. Given that the coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented crisis, some extraordinary measures that limit our freedom and privacy may be warranted. The attention has instead been on how surveillance is implemented, and, in particular, the reversibility of such measures once the COVID-19 crisis is over.

Two problems have dominated the discussion. The fi rst is that these measures, once passed into law, may simply never be reversed.

In such a scenario, the right to monitor our phones or access our medical records, originally meant only as a response to COVID-19, would remain on the books, and the government would quietly go about fi nding new ways to make use of it. The second problem is that using these policies may create a prec-edent for the use of similar privacy-infringing measures in future, lesser crises. This precedent is not just legal, but social as well; society may develop a greater tolerance for gov-ernment surveillance, allowing future surveillance measures to be implemented with far greater ease.

These concerns are very valid, but the question is what to do about them.

Perhaps the concerns being raised by myself and others will dissuade governments from im-plementing these measures in the fi rst place? Not likely. The depth and urgency of the COVID-19 crisis mean that if governments believe that implementing these measures can help, they will do so (and so they should). At a deeper level, our governments inherently see themselves as responsible and trustworthy. In Western countries, at least, surveillance measures will be implemented with every intention of repeal. However, after governments come to rely on this greater access to our information,

15

CommentThe political test: addressing sly, sophisticated racism

To protect our privacy rights, COVID-19 surveillance measures need a squeaky wheelIf we want to protect ourselves in the long-run from government overreach, we need the measures they implement in the short term to be annoying. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, they say. So let’s make sure that the policy we get squeaks really loudly.

THE HILL TIMES | MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

Jim Creskey

Comment

Continued on page 15

The protest was about institutionalized racism, especially as it corrupts police services. What will leaders like Prime Minister Justin Trudeau do to follow through?

Anti-Black racism protesters, pictured June 5, 2020, on Parliament Hill. Taking money away from a problem is sometimes no better than throwing money at it, writes Hill Times publisher Jim Creskey. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

16

TORONTO—If things go well as we gradually reopen the economy, by the

end of 2021 we should be back to where we were at the end of 2019. That’s progress of sorts. But individual Canadians will, on average, be poorer and many businesses which survived will be weaker than they were two years ago. Individuals, businesses and governments will also be much more heavily in debt.

While this may be the best we can hope for, even bigger challenges lie beyond the immediate reopening, as a team of former

senior policy-makers from the federal government warn in a report published by law firm Bennett Jones. We have to rebuild the economy as well—actually build a new economy—and do it under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. Otherwise, we will end up even poorer.

Rebuilding, as the former federal of-ficials—former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge, former deputy minister of finance Michael Horgan, trade expert John Weekes, and Serge Dupont and Richard Dion, former senior officials in Energy and Finance—say, is not simply an exercise in getting back to where we were. Where we were is no longer there. The world has changed—it will be a more difficult, more competitive and less friendly world—and we have to find our place in it. We will need a more muscular economy and strength-ened social cohesion.

For Canada to get back on a more dynamic growth path, we have to overhaul much of what we do and many of the ar-rangements we have to rebuild the econ-omy while addressing the huge buildup of federal debt and negotiating new fiscal arrangements with the provinces—and do all this while also dealing with unaccept-able levels of inequality and accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy as we face growing problems from climate change.

These challenges will test our institu-tions and our capacity to make really difficult choices. We have to not only deal with the consequences of the pandemic, but also make up for our failure to address deep-rooted problems in the economy and society that we knew were there but chose not to address.

As the report says, even before the pandemic Canada had moderate growth prospects of less than one per cent per capita over the medium term. This meant, even before the pandemic, we were not on track to generate the good jobs and wealth creation we needed along with the fiscal capacity to handle an aging society and provide other public goods we value. We deluded ourselves by thinking we were an energy superpower and counted on oil to generate prosperity. But that was not to be.

Turning things around was always go-ing to be difficult but as the four former public servants argue, after the pandemic “Canada’s challenge will even more daunt-ing and the climb ahead even steeper.”

Partly, the report argues, success de-pends on Canada accelerating the transi-tion to a digital economy, where “tangible assets and physical capital remain at the heart of our intangible modern economies,” but where “intangible capital generates and captures a growing share of the economic value.” Intellectual capital (talent and skills) and intellectual property (patents, copy-right, trade secrets) and creative content are now critical across the broad range of industries that make up the economy.

“Indeed, virtually all industries depend increasingly on innovation, IP, and data ana-lytics for productivity and competitiveness” while “transformational technologies like 5G, big data, artificial intelligence, robotics will further intensify this shift in value from tangible to intangible capital.” Canada has not been a leader in this game, they say, so busi-nesses and government will have to “re-think and adapt strategies to generate, protect, grow and commercialize intangible capital.”

This means that rather than enticing foreign corporations to set up R&D branch plants in Canada to develop intellectual prop-erty for their foreign parents, Canadian gov-ernments and business need to work together to “convert talent and knowledge into capital that can be utilized and commercialized for Canadian prosperity.” We need to build up many more Canadian companies that can compete in the new global marketplace.

For governments, now burdened with massive new debts to get us through the pandemic, the fiscal pressures will be great. They will need to review their spend-ing priorities and the tax system (time for a wealth tax?) and will face what the report calls “hard choices to raise new revenues and cut spending.” After more than a decade of tax cuts we face a future with tax increases. Not only will governments emerge from the pandemic with much more debt—they will also face new fiscal pressures, the Bennett Jones report warns, including public expectations for addi-tional investment in the healthcare system. “There will be no way around raising some

Opinion

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Where we were is no longer there The world has changed—it will be a more difficult, more competitive and less friendly world—and we have to find our place in it. We will need a more muscular economy and strengthened social cohesion.

Meet the Citizens of Tamworth, Ontario. They want to be a Testing Ground for Financial Services at the Post Office.

Featured in Michael Ondaatje’s great Canadian novel In the Skin of a Lion, the village of Tamworth, Ontario describes itself as “a charming village steeped in the

history of the hard work of the generations who laboured to create a life here. Tamworth today… includes all the services of city with the charm of a village. Churches, a bank, hockey arena, a video store, restaurants, a hardware store, grocery store, pharmacy, liquor store, library and many other amenities, make for a great place to raise a family” (www.tamworth.ca).

But Tamworth lost its bank last July, a move consistent with a general exodus of bank branches from rural communities. Tamworth residents now have to travel to the town of Napanee to do their banking and local business operations have been badly affected.

The citizens of Tamworth want to keep financial services in their community and they see combining those services with their post office as the win-win solution. In a letter, they argued that, “non-metropolitan Canada being home to 30% of Canada’s population, about 28% of employed Canadians and the source of approximately 30% of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product… that they should have a business model that would be able to provide profitable operations in that setting … More than accommodating seniors or businesses, having a local financial service provider lends an air of stability and longevity to the lifeblood of a community… Canada Post already delivers some financial services at its 6200 offices, including selling money orders, credit cards and some on-line services. Complementary to this is the fact that the federal government already administers four successful banks

with 242 offices across the country, providing a ready-made opportunity for resource sharing.”

That possibility is now closer to reality because Canada Post has agreed to work with the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association, the union representing rural post office workers, to study and test financial services in several pilot projects.

The closure of institutions such as post offices and bank branches in rural communities eventually starves them of the resources they need to keep thriving. Consolidating postal and financial services would give a boost to both types of infrastructure, helping to rebuild great places like Tamworth for generations to come.

A message from the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association

acmpa.cacpaa.ca

Financial Services at Your Post Office

Continued on page 36

David Crane

Canada & the 21st Century

The Great RebuildingA Special Report on Canada’s Economic Recovery

Second COVID-19 wave could drop GDP by nearly 10 per cent as experts looks to future of relief programs

Mapping the road to recovery: nine

key challenges

How to restart our economy? Boost

an entrepreneurial mindset

What’s wrong with a Great

Rebuilding of the economy post-

COVID-19?

Epidemics and resistance: maintaining public trust in a time of unrest

Economic recovery in the time of COVID

Building Canada

back better: charting a

new path

As we brace for COVID’s second wave, some simple lessons from Taiwan and South Korea

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p. 25p. 21

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Advocating in unusual timesp. 25

The Hill Times, June 15, 2020

Canada is deep in recession. Social distancing and the halt to non-essen-

tial activity were policy actions neces-sary to slow the spread of COVID-19 but the economic implications of the shut-down are becoming evident. In March and April, Canada lost three million jobs—15.6 per cent of our workforce. The total number of hours worked, a truer reflection of the loss in economic activity, was down nearly 28 per cent in April from February levels. Household spending and investment have collapsed, as has global demand for exports. Going forward, Canada’s political and business leaders are facing an unprecedented balancing act—how to boost Canada’s economy with the continued presence and risks of further COVID-19 out-breaks?

Recent weeks have brought a sliver of hope. The spread of COVID-19 seems to be peaking, social distancing measures are being eased, and employment inched back in May, gaining nearly 290,000 from collapsed April levels. Still, the number of hours worked was at 77 per cent of February’s capacity in May. Even as we continue to reopen, for many busi-nesses, the effects of operating in the time of COVID will be a costly challenge until the virus threat is eliminated. The situation will endure until a treatment or vaccine is found and distributed in Canada and globally—something that many experts suggest could take another year or more. In the interim, what sup-port measures can best help lay a path to full recovery?

The lion’s share of federal budgetary measures have been aimed at supporting household income. Direct transfers from government to households, that include the Canada Emergency Response Benefi t (CERB), student benefi t, and others are estimated at over $80-billion. Through to the fi rst week of June, the CERB paid out $43.5-billion to households, effectively

covering lost wages. In fact, despite the lost jobs and reduced hours, we are fore-casting that household income will hold up in 2020. This, coupled with a steep drop in consumer spending, means that house-holds’ savings will swell. The situation is somewhat like pulling back a slingshot, consumers have income and pent up demand, but will they let go the sling and start spending?

The trigger is jobs and confi dence. As social distancing measures are lifted, we need to help lift consumer and business confi dence to accelerate a recovery. To do this, policy measures must now focus on encouraging businesses to open and rehire, by establishing clear guidelines for operating and providing direct support to help deal with elevated costs. We need to move workers off the CERB and back into employment.

To date, business support has come primarily through liquidity measures such as lower interest rates, credit, bond purchases and tax deferrals that total well in excess of $500-billion. Many of these measures will help businesses in Canada survive the temporary shutdowns by providing much needed cash. However, small, medium and large businesses will undoubtedly continue to struggle with the higher costs of operating in an environ-ment that requires physical distancing and other precautionary health measures implemented to contain the spread of the virus. To encourage business opera-tions, provincial and federal governments need to clearly establish guidelines and rules for operating. Clarity will encour-age businesses to open, provide a safe environment for customers, and reduce employer’s liability for those (hopefully few) workers or customers that do con-tract COVID-19.

The federal Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) is key to helping busi-ness deal with the high costs of running a business while COVID-19 is still a threat. The program has gotten little take up thus far, because businesses are just starting to reopen but use will undoubtedly ac-celerate. The federal government initially slated $74-billion for the CEWS, but that amount was reduced to $45-billion despite the program’s extension into August. But additional support will be necessary. The CEWS should be extended well beyond August, especially for those industries where a return to normal is much further down the road.

Emerging from this recession will require restoring business and consumer confidence so that as restrictions are eased, they are ready to hire and spend. Federal support measures are sizeable and are helping maintain household incomes. As the economy starts to open, more use of the federal wage subsidy will help transition workers from income support to employment. To encourage this transition, businesses will need to have clearly established guidelines for operating safely in an environment where the threat of COVID-19 is still present. Governments can support confi-dence by being transparent with respect to when and how restrictions will be phased out, what health and security re-quirements specific businesses will need to adhere to, and what they will do in the event of a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.

Pedro Antunes is the chief economist at the Conference Board of Canada.

The Hill Times

Economic recovery in the time of COVIDGovernments can support confi dence by being transparent with respect to when and how restrictions will be phased out, what health and security requirements specifi c businesses will need to adhere to, and what they will do in the event of a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.

18

The Great Rebuilding MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Pedro Antunes

Opinion

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BY AIDAN CHAMANDY

A recent Léger poll suggests the public is picking up on what

public health offi cials have been warning for months: a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is possible, even likely, if existing preventative measures aren’t kept in place.

Fear of a second wave is widespread, with 76 per cent of respondents to the poll saying they expected one to come. More Canadians report wearing masks than ever before. In some coun-tries, like China and South Korea, case numbers rose after govern-ments eased restrictions, lead-ing to another round of limited lockdowns.

Many jurisdictions have already started easing lockdown measures. Last Friday, Ontario opened patios and hair salons, among other businesses, though those in Toronto and the sur-rounding area remain closed. Elementary schools in Quebec are open for those who wish to attend.

Economic experts and political leaders are grappling with how the lockdowns and various feder-al relief measures, and their affect on the economy, could condition a second wave response.

“If we hit a second wave, we have to make things simple and supportive across the board,” said NDP MP Peter Julian (New West-minster-Burnaby, B.C.), his party’s fi nance critic. “When we look at countries that are weathering this the best, it’s by putting fi rst and foremost income supports and investments in public health.”

Mr. Julian said the lessons he’s learned from the implementation of the CERB, CEWS, and other

government support measures suggest the more universal the programs can get, the better.

Mr. Julian said the NDP “fought for a universal benefi t, and it continues to make sense. When we talk about all of these various programs and all of the people that are left out, they’ve come from this patchwork.”

Mr. Julian also said that he’s been looking to the Spanish Flu for guidance.

The last global pandemic hit in three waves. The second wave, which hit in the fall of 1918, was by far the most deadly.

Mr. Julian said increased investments in public health are necessary, as are “putting into place income supports so that people aren’t going to have to make drastic choices like they did 100 years ago.”

Kevin Page, former Parlia-mentary Budget Offi cer and head of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy at the University of Ottawa, said he believes the government will “have no choice” other than to keep money fl owing in the event of a second wave, regardless of the budgetary con-sequences.

“I don’t think there’s any hard budgetary constraints in this envi-ronment,” Mr. Page said. “There’s this overwhelming concern that if the pandemic really spread it would be at the cost of human life.” In that case, Mr. Page said he would not be surprised to see the defi cit increase to $400-billion.

The PBO’s latest estimate, which covers measures up to April 24, reported the defi cit for 2020-21 could be as high as $252-billion, which would put the defi cit-to-GDP ratio at 12.7 per cent. Another PBO study put the price tag at extending the CERB to January 2021 at $62-billion.

The Organization for Eco-nomic Cooperation and Develop-ment (OECD) released its latest forecast on June 10, looking at the potential effect a second wave could have on countries’ GDP. The OECD presented two “equally probable scenarios—one in which a second wave of infections, with renewed lock-downs, hits before the end of 2020, and one in which another major outbreak is avoided,” the report reads.

Under the single-wave sce-nario, the OECD predicts Cana-da’s GDP will drop by eight per

cent. If a second wave were to hit, Canadian GDP would drop by 9.4 per cent.

The World Bank also released its latest global economic outlook last week, which also looked at the possibility of a second wave.

The report’s baseline forecast sees the global GDP dropping by 5.2 per cent in 2020.

“Should COVID-19 outbreaks persist, should restrictions on movement be extended or rein-troduced, or should disruptions in economic activity be prolonged, the recession could be deeper,” to the tune of an eight per cent reduction in global growth, the report reads.

“In the face of this disquieting outlook, the immediate priority for policymakers is to address the health crisis and contain the short-term economic damage,” the report suggests. “Policies to rebuild both in the short and long-term entail strengthening health services and putting in place targeted stimulus measures to help reignite growth, including support for the private sector and getting money directly to people.”

One factor that could compli-cate how the federal government government chooses to address a potential second wave is the timing of the wave, said Phil-lip Cross, senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and former chief economic analyst at Statistics Canada.

“You have to be very aware of seasonal patterns,” Mr. Cross said.

Economic activity picks up in the spring and hits a peak in the fall as Canadians prepare for the winter months and the Christ-mas season, then falls in January before picking back up again in spring, Mr. Cross said.

“When we shut down the economy in March, it was near its seasonal trough. But if we shut down in October at its seasonal peak, that’s going to be much harder on the economy,” he said, and the government “would have to give a lot more support to people who would need it.”

Losing any part of the Christ-mas shopping season would decimate the retail sector, Mr. Cross said.

Mr. Cross said he is also concerned about the long-term viability of the six-month mortgage deferrals offered by many major

Second wave of virus could cut GDP by nearly 10 per cent, experts looks to future of relief programs A recent OECD study looked at the economic impact of a second wave of COVID-19, and suggested it could cause nearly a double-digit drop in Canada’s GDP.

19

The Great RebuildingTHE HILL TIMES | MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

Continued on page 26

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured June 11, 2020, touring the Régimbal Awards and Promotions assembly line in Ottawa with owner Luc Régimbal and Ottawa-Vanier Liberal MP Mona Fortier all wearing face masks. Founded in 1926, the company’s main services include lazer computerized engraving, etching, silkscreen printing, and sublimation colour transfer, but it’s also now making face masks. As provinces begin to reopen, personal protective equipment will become increasingly important to stem the spread of COVID-19. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade

Taiwan and South Korea successfully managed the

fi rst wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, stemming the spread of the coronavirus and minimizing the number of deaths, all the while keeping their economies running. To date, there have been more than 11,000 confi rmed COVID cases in Korea, though fewer than 300

deaths. Taiwan has recorded fewer than 500 COVID cases and just seven deaths.

Neither government imposed a lockdown. During the pan-demic, businesses continued to operate and people continued to work, albeit socially dis-tanced and wearing face masks. Their economies have taken a hit, as the entire global economy slows, but their paths to recovery will be much less painful and they are already well on their way.

As the world braces for a sec-ond wave of disease—expected by epidemiologists around the world—what lessons can we learn from Taiwan and South Korea?

Clear and consistent commu-nication by the government was critical. Information about CO-VID, viral transmission, and how to mitigate the risks of becoming infected was conveyed clearly and consistently. People were encouraged to socially distance and wear face masks. Health authorities provided daily reports through various media channels, especially on social media. Politicians did not contra-dict the health authorities. This was unlike in the U.K., where gov-ernment leaders initially dis-cussed the idea of herd immunity and then later dismissed it; or the U.S. where President Don-ald Trump was at odds with his own scientifi c advisors; or in Brazil where President Balso-naro downplayed the seriousness of the coronavirus.

The governments in Taiwan and South Korea also responded swiftly to the emerging pandemic. Just days after China confi rmed the fi rst case in Wuhan, immi-gration authorities in Taiwan implemented health screening measures for all travellers from that region. Local manufactur-ers immediately accelerated face mask production. The govern-ment, working with local retailers and civil society groups, launched innovative mobile apps to ration the distribution of masks.

Korea’s government re-sponded quickly too, rapidly ramping-up testing capacity. Collaborating with local health technology fi rms, the govern-ment fast-tracked approvals for testing kits and coordinated rapid scale-up in manufacturing. The government opened six hundred testing sites, including drive-through facilities. With an ample supply of testing kits, anybody, even those not presenting COV-ID symptoms, could be tested. By the end of February, Korea had already conducted 100,000 tests; in comparison, the U.S. had re-corded 3,000.

Early coordinated responses by the Taiwan and Korean govern-ments were critical to combating COVID-19. The spread of virus is fast, and a delay of a few days can make a difference. Recent data from The New York Timesshows that had the U.S. health authorities responded earlier, tens of thousands of COVID-related deaths could have been avoided.

Swift responses by the Tai-wan and Korean governments also allowed them to implement effective quarantining and trac-ing strategies. By acting early, health authorities had more op-tions. Waiting too long, as we have seen in other countries around the world, narrows the range of options and reduces their effec-tiveness. That the US is currently leading the world in COVID test-ing, despite President Trump’s boasting, is less a refl ection of its capacity to respond to the pan-demic than an admission of its lateness and ineffectiveness in responding to the crisis.

The Taiwan government implemented a strict quarantine system, aimed at those who were symptomatic or had recently arrived from a virus hotspot. Em-ploying a “digital fence” around those in quarantine, health authorities tracked the movement of people to ensure they remained in self-isolation. Using Taiwan’s national health insurance data-base, cross-referenced with im-migration data, health authorities followed-up with potential pa-tients. The government provided a daily quarantine subsidy.

Leveraging Korea’s extraor-dinary COVID testing capacity, health authorities quickly identi-fi ed positive cases. The govern-ment employed mobile technolo-gies to help in contact tracing, especially cashless payment and credit card data, as well as patient recall, to trace and alert people to possible transmission.

Taiwan and Korea were pre-pared. The memories and trauma of SARS in Taiwan in 2003 and MERS in Korea in 2015 ensured the governments were ready for the next pandemic. Similarly, we in Canada, and the rest of the world, have to be prepared for the next wave of the pandemic. We have no excuses. The trauma of COVID-19 is fresh in our minds, and there are countries we can emulate.

Taiwan and Korea successfully combatted COVID by respond-ing early, with clear, consistent and authoritative information. The lessons are replicable. More-over, the Taiwan and Korean COVID-19 playbook is repeatable. They did not impose any sig-nifi cant lockdowns, because they responded quickly. Lockdowns, and the economic pains that they bring, are neither sustainable nor repeatable. They are at best, last-resort solutions, imposed when other options are no longer on the table.

Our economies cannot with-stand another lockdown. We need to look to Taiwan and Korea for leadership, as we await and pre-pare for the next COVID-19 wave and future pandemics.

Joseph Wong is the University of Toronto’s vice-provost & associ-ate vice-president, International Student Experience. He is also the Ralph and Roz Halbert professor of innovation at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, and a professor of political science.

The Hill Times

As we brace for COVID’s second wave, some simple lessons from Taiwan and South Korea 

Our economies cannot withstand another lockdown. We need to look to Taiwan and Korea for leadership, as we await and prepare for the next COVID-19 wave and future pandemics.  

Joseph Wong

Opinion

20

The Great Rebuilding MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

A pedestrian crosses an almost empty O’Connor Street in downtown Ottawa on May 14, 2020. As the world braces for a second wave of disease—expected by epidemiologists around the world—what lessons can we learn from Taiwan and South Korea? Clear and consistent communication by the government was critical, writes Joseph Tang. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

For more than 60 years, Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC) has represented the companies that manufacture and distribute the vast majority of the food, beverage and consumer goods found on store

shelves, restaurants and in people’s homes. These companies have stepped up to the plate during the pandemic to make the essential products that Canadians rely on every day. I am proud of what they and their dedicated workforce have accomplished during these exceptional times.

More people work in food and consumer products than any other manufacturing sector in Canada. Our industry employs more than 300,000 Canadians with high quality, middle-class jobs from coast to coast, in more than 6,500 manufacturing sites in every region of the country. Our in-dustry buys more than 40% of the food that farmers grow, and together we produce some of the highest-quality and safest food in the world. With $35.8 billion in Canadian ex-ports, we help grow Canada’s economy and urban and rural communities.

The government has recognized the critical contribution of our industry and the unique role that we play. We com-mend its public recognition of our industry’s 300,000 essen-tial workers and its commitment to keeping the border open for the flow of ingredients, products, and essential workers.

As our members respond to COVID-19, they continue to face immediate and unprecedented challenges, costs and uncertainties that jeopardize the industry’s long-term viability.

Costs associated with the compliance of new health and safety measures for workers and purchasing of personal pro-tective equipment have risen significantly. Productivity has decreased by up to 25% due to infection mitigation mea-sures. Our labour gap of 10,000 vacancies has been exacer-bated by the pandemic with growing levels of absenteeism and illness. Moreover, the growing uncertainty in securing access to ingredients, packaging, people and PPE has re-vealed deep-rooted vulnerabilities in the supply chain.

These costs and uncertainties are not sustainable and undermine the competitiveness of the food and consumer product industry. An action-oriented agenda is required to build resilience for continued challenges, help navigate fu-ture waves of infections, and pave the way for our sector to be a key pillar in Canada’s economic recovery.

As the voice of the country’s largest manufacturing work-force, FCPC will continue to share our members’ concerns and provide timely, critical insights and data with federal and provincial governments to shape the longer-term recovery efforts. Canada, however, must address the underlying con-straints on our competitiveness.

The government will need to focus investments to help build a robust and competitive food and consumer product manufacturing sector and create the domestic capacity to supply the ongoing need for PPE. At the same time, our bor-ders must remain open to allow for the free flow of ingredi-ents, products and people.

A thorough re-evaluation of the federal regulatory agenda is urgently needed. We need to prioritize regulations that improve public health and product safety, and put aside those that add unnecessary costs and discourage job cre-ation, innovation and investment.

We also need to ensure a balanced retail landscape so that Canadians can continue to have access to a wide selec-tion of affordable products.

These constraints have long limited our ability to reach our full manufacturing powerhouse potential.

The products that feed and care for Canadians will always be in demand. The question is where those products will be made and how much they will cost. If properly prioritized, the food and consumer goods manufacturing sector has a unique capacity to power economic recovery.

As other countries look to repatriate manufacturing and become more self-reliant, companies in Canada face grow-ing pressure to leave and take their jobs with them. We can’t let this happen. Canada needs to build a competitive manufacturing sector that incentivizes companies to stay, invest in the country and create jobs for Canadians.

Now is the time for governments, together with industry, to develop a comprehensive domestic manufacturing strat-egy to get us through today’s pandemic, and prepare us for the future.

With our significant economic footprint, the food and consumer products industry can and should play a central role in rebuilding Canada’s economy. The government can count on FCPC as a willing partner to help lead the country through these exceptional times.

Michael GraydonChief Executive Officer

Food & Consumer Products of Canada

Canada Needs a Domestic Manufacturing Strategy

SPONSORED BY FOOD & CONSUMER PRODUCTS OF CANADA

WINNIPEG—Perhaps the most potent symbol yet

of COVID-19’s relationship to inequality, and to resistance, is the mask worn by some of those demonstrating against racism and police violence, inscribed by hand with the words “I Can’t Breathe.” The mask alludes to the pleas of a Black man dying at the hands of state violence; and, simultaneous-ly, to the bodily impact this dis-ease has on us all, but especially upon those who are marginalized in the social order.

Are these recent protests against police violence and sys-temic racial inequality happening

during a disease outbreak only by coincidence? In my research, I have looked at the relationship between the infl uenza pandemic of 1918-1920 and the struggle for greater labour rights and social equality that emerged at the end of the pandemic’s ‘third wave.’ Ep-idemic outbreaks have frequently been accompanied by popular un-rest. What we are living through right now echoes the history of epidemics and resistance.

Epidemic disease lays bare so-cial divisions. Inequities we toler-ate in normal circumstances take on a new urgency. This can fray the legitimacy of the state, and public trust in its representatives, from police to public health offi -cials. As a result, epidemics often act as amplifi ers of long-standing struggles for social change.

Another historical example is the relationship between inequali-ty, popular discontent, and cholera during the 19th century. At a time when the lives of ordinary people were disrupted by the growth of industrial capitalism, imperial-ism, and human migration on a massive global scale, infectious disease outbreaks also grew in-creasingly frequent and deadly in Europe and North America.

Cholera clearly illustrated the relationship between social inequality and disease. It prolif-erated in communities with no clean running water or sewer systems. It was nurtured in the awfulness of urban congestion, labour exploitation, and lack of public investment in health care and sanitation.

In its initial waves in Europe, about one-half of those infected died. Its symptoms, which in-cluded profuse vomiting and diar-rhea, horrifi ed societies increas-ingly obsessed with cleanliness as a form of moral virtue and a marker of class status.

Medicine debated cholera’s transmission routes for decades,

well after John Snow’s now-famous discovery in 1854 that the disease was spread through contaminated water supplies. There was no effective treatment, and no vaccine.

Opposition to public health measures emerged during cholera outbreaks, as did fears of state conspiracies to kill the poor. These “conspiracies” were based in deep social anxieties about the vulnera-bility of poor bodies. For example, in Britain in the 1830s, body-snatching scandals revealed how cadavers were being stolen and sold illegally to medical schools. The state’s response, in 1832, was to pass the Anatomy Act, which simply gave the state and medi-cine legal access to the bodies of the poor and socially isolated.

The same year, working-class protesters who attacked medical providers and public health of-fi cials during cholera’s fi rst wave were dismissed as backwards and superstitious. But they were legitimately afraid their loved ones would be left to die alone in a quarantine hospital, their bod-ies to be taken away by the state without consent to be used as teaching tools.

Similar unrest emerged in British North America. Temporary cholera hospitals, where only the poorest sufferers were sent, were feared and resented. Families of the ill saw confi nement in these inadequate facilities as a death sentence for their loved ones, and sometimes violently resisted health authorities’ attempts to quarantine the sick in them. There was resistance to public health edicts to quickly bury the dead, especially if the bodies of victims were buried in unconse-crated ground. There were also criticisms of the inadequacies of state responses to cholera, such as continued support for mass im-migration, and slow investment in public health infrastructure.

In Lower Canada (present day Quebec), rioting and at-tacks on health providers and hospitals were fuelled by fears that cholera was intentionally spread by the British to kill French Canadians and under-mine their cultural survival. Mistrust of British colonial authorities persisted from 1832 on; in 1849, two thousand French Canadians gutted the interior of a building intended as a cholera hospital.

Cholera swept through Eu-rope in 1832, and again in 1848, coinciding with the climax of revolutionary movements that signalled the birth of commu-nism. As liberal democracies evolved in the 19th and early 20th century, slowly granting (to some) greater rights such as suf-frage, public health itself faced increasing pressure to reform. It began to address differently the social confl icts that arose from measures taken to control disease. The need for individual and public consent for isolation, quarantine, or vaccination, be-came a principle of public health in most Western democracies. Compulsion fell out of favour. This commitment to gaining public trust and cooperation was enhanced by the challenges of the global infl uenza pandemic at the close of the First World War.

Public trust is now one of the most important challenges fac-ing our governments. Whether they are able to maintain it, in a context of growing social unrest, may well defi ne the history of this pandemic, not just for those most oppressed, who are risking their health to bring about social change, but for us all.

Esyllt Jones is the dean of studies at St. John’s College at the University of Manitoba. Professor Jones is a historian of health and disease in Canada.

The Hill Times

Public trust is now one of the most important challenges facing our governments. Whether they are able to maintain it, in a context of growing social unrest, may well defi ne the history of this pandemic, not just for those most oppressed, who are risking their health to bring about social change, but for us all.

Esyllt Jones

Opinion

22

The Great RebuildingMONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Epidemics and resistance: maintaining public trust in a time of unrest

Anti-Black racism protesters, pictured on June 5, 2020, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Are these recent protests against police violence and systemic racial inequality happening during a disease outbreak only by coincidence? In my research, I have looked at the relationship between the infl uenza pandemic of 1918-1920 and the struggle for greater labour rights and social equality that emerged at the end of the pandemic’s ‘third wave.’ Epidemic outbreaks have frequently been accompanied by popular unrest. What we are living through right now echoes the history of epidemics and resistance, writes Esyllt Jones. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Every crisis opens a door to a new-normal, a trajectory into unknown

territory. While the COVID-19 pandemic markedly highlights the fault lines in our society, there are signs, despite the dark-ness, of lasting hope. Together we have an opportunity to defi ne the path towards a new enlightenment.

His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, outlined the path towards addressing the social and economic fallouts from the pan-demic during the June 3, 2020, Great Reset Dialogue hosted by the World Economic Forum that live-streamed to more than 225,000 participants worldwide. His Royal Highness emphasized the need, “to evolve our economic model and put people and planet at the heart of global value creation.” In other words, His Royal Highness pro-poses that nature must be placed, “at the heart of how we operate.”

The plan, entitled ‘The Great Reset,’ is an opportunity to take pause, to reposition and align our core values with our renewed understanding of the world. Earlier this month, the Prince of Wales asked me, as national chief and Indigenous leader, to be a part of the process. That means helping with a forward-oriented dialogue, build-ing global consensus towards ways we can “Build Back Better,” putting our communi-ties and societies fi rst, and resetting our collective mindset.

The Prince of Wales has always had a deep and respectful relationship with First Nations throughout the Commonwealth and around the world. He believes, as do I, that many of the answers we seek can be found in the traditional ways of Indigenous peoples. There are still many Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers who can lead the way. I see it as my role to lift up their voices and wisdom, to help create a healthier world. As Indigenous people, we have long espoused a balanced and harmo-nized relationship with the environment and nature, a relationship that must now be elevated and shown to be the example of a path forward. Our understanding of the interconnectedness of all beings with nature, is a foundational knowledge car-ried down for thousands of years. In Cree, we use the word ‘wâhkôhtowin,’ which speaks to the interconnectedness of all things, and our responsibilities to all those

that we share the world with. ‘Wâhkôh-towin’ affi rms our collective past and recognizes our collective future as relatives and as family.

As resilient peoples, First Nations have been charting new ground in areas that are shining examples of how we can move forward in the Great Reset. Across Canada, First Nations in rural, remote and urban locations are merging traditional and local knowledge with western science-based approaches, fi nding ways to leverage Indigenous world views to respond to an uncertain future.

With committed investments, high-lighted in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Throne Speech, which I had long advocat-ed as national chief, we can begin to build long-term, sustainable communities. These investments, including the commitment to address the infrastructure and housing gap for First Nations, are key to building collec-tive resilience. The Great Reset has the po-tential to close gaps in First Nations’ digital connectivity, community infrastructure,

education facilities, health and housing needs, lifting the economic potential of not only our First Nations and remote commu-nities, but of the Canadian economy writ large. Initiatives, like new climate-positive, clean-energy projects will help to diversify our economy, creating jobs and opportu-nity for those long denied and systemically excluded.

The Great Reset is a wake-up call, an op-portunity to build more inclusive, sustainable societies that are more resilient to climate change, and future pandemics. It goes without saying that this opportunity requires the leadership of our prime minister, who has committed to implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indig-enous peoples, which is the foundation from which this path forward must be charted.

The Great Reset is an exciting op-portunity for First Nations, and for me personally, to support the way towards a new beginning. Finding ways to live with and in harmony with nature is to show Canadians and the world the strength and

richness of Indigenous knowledge. This is our opportunity to change the perspective of how we relate to natural capital, to eco-systems and to ‘the environment’. The key to building momentum post-pandemic is to work together as treaty people, founded in partnership, mutual recognition and respect. And let me be clear. As humans, as the two-leggeds, our original treaties were not only with one another but with all beings in the natural world itself. And now, as we set out together in this Great Reset, lift up the voices of Indigenous peoples and acknowledge the wisdom of balance, harmony, peace, and respect, I believe First Nations are showing us how we can walk this new path together and make our an-cestors and our descendants proud of what we did in this challenging time.

For more information on the Great Reset, go to: https://www.weforum.org/great-reset

Perry Bellegarde is the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

The Hill Times

Building Canada back better: charting a new path It goes without saying that this opportunity requires the leadership of our prime minister, who has committed to implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples, which is the foundation from which this path forward must be charted.

Perry Bellegarde

Opinion

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23

The Great RebuildingTHE HILL TIMES | MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

Demonstrators, pictured in Ottawa on Feb. 24, 2020, supporting the Wet’suwet’en nation against the building of the Coastal Gasoline pipeline. While the COVID-19 pandemic markedly highlights the fault lines in our society, there are signs, despite the darkness, of lasting hope. Together we have an opportunity to defi ne the path towards a new enlightenment, writes AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

In the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic, it is diffi cult for Canadians,

our families, businesses and governments to look beyond confronting the immedi-ate effects of COVID-19. However, even as Canadians continue supporting each other today, we must also begin looking over the horizon to the post-COVID-19 world to start planning how our country and economy can emerge stronger.

While no one can predict with any certainty the economic, political, and cultural changes this crisis will have on Canada and the rest of the world, we know these changes will be signifi cant. The high level of collaboration among governments, businesses, and civil society managing this pandemic should give Canadians confi -dence about our collective ability to deal with the long-lasting changes it will bring.

Where we fi nd ourselves is in a tran-sitional phase where we will have to live with the virus in our midst, without any

absolute guarantees, but managing the risks involved carefully and responsibly while increasing our economic and social activities.

Full recovery is a long way off, but recovery starts with resilience. The govern-ment’s response spared millions of Canadi-ans from economic disaster. Measures like the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and the Canada Emergency Business Account have provided urgently needed assistance to Canadian workers and businesses, help-ing to ensure they will be there to propel our economic recovery.

As provinces and territories begin to reopen, Canada must prepare to transition away from a subsidy-based crisis response toward economic stimulus and getting Canadians back to work, while ensuring their health and safety. We will need to encourage private investment and business activities that will create jobs and generate the revenue needed to offset the extraor-dinarily high levels of public spending during the emergency.

Canada, and the world, have deep economic wounds that require a dedicated plan to make sure we get out of this crisis. Governments must be as agile and deter-mined in pursuing economic growth as they have been in responding to the virus. Our response must rise to the measure of the challenge before it.

That’s why the Canadian Chamber of Commerce developed the Roadmap to Recovery, a substantive document that ex-amines nine key challenges and identifi es 51 specifi c recommendations governments should adopt to overcome them.

The roadmap refl ects the perspectives of Canada’s business community. It was developed in consultation with a vast net-work of over 450 chambers of commerce and boards of trade, and more than 100 of Canada’s leading business and industry associations.

The recovery starts with addressing the following challenges with decisiveness and urgency:

• Getting Canadians back to work• Keeping supply chains and people

moving• Managing debt and defi cits• Navigating global fragmentation

• Adopting technology and innovation• Ensuring a resilient resource sector• Planning for SME business continuity• Strengthening our public health

infrastructure• Rethinking government’s role and

prioritiesThis will be no easy task. For Canada’s

recovery plan to succeed, our policymak-ers will need a singular focus on economic fundamentals and on promoting growth. A growth-focused plan will unlock economic capacity, fuel job creation and promote new business investment. By working to-gether, we can forge a path to recovery that

is inclusive, environmentally responsible and innovative.

We must be bold and innovative, and avoid the temptation to seek comfortable solutions in an increasingly uncomfortable world. We need to start planning how our country and economy can emerge stronger.

Unexpected or not, COVID-19 is chang-ing our world. We must put plans in place now to make sure we’ll like where that change leads.

Trevin Stratton is the vice-president of policy and chief economist at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

The Hill Times

Mapping the road to recovery: nine key challenges We must be bold and innovative, and avoid the temptation to seek comfortable solutions in an increasingly uncomfortable world. We need to start planning how our country and economy can emerge stronger.

Trevin Stratton

Opinion

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The Great Rebuilding MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

As provinces and territories begin to reopen, Canada must prepare to transition away from a subsidy-based crisis response toward economic stimulus and getting Canadians back to work, while ensuring their health and safety, writes Trevin Stratton. Photograph courtesy of Pixabay

The extraordinary increase in government spending and

defi cits in response to the corona-virus pandemic apparently does not deter some from seeing an op-portunity to restructure Canada’s economy. After all, it is tempting to ask, if we can command the huge resources needed to contain the pandemic, why not use the occasion to make fundamental changes to our society?

However, this line of thinking is both fl awed and undemocratic. The vast deployment of govern-ment resources in response to the pandemic was intended to preserve the economy as it was. The 11-point hike in the federal government’s share of GDP was to replace household and business incomes which collapsed almost overnight, especially in industries providing face to face interactions for services such as restaurants, hotels, travel, personal care, and recreation.

This temporary income sup-port was meant to keep labour

and capital in place so these industries could resume normal operations as soon as the virus subsided, whenever that occurs. Making the increase in govern-ment spending permanent by fi nancing programs such as a Guaranteed Annual Income, green energy infrastructure projects, and higher-priced health care would be counter-productive to this short-term goal and harm long-term growth.

Restructuring the economy is problematic no matter what course the virus takes. On the one hand, if the virus does subside, either on its own or due to a vac-cine, we would expect Canadians to resume spending on personal services. If, on top of this, we add a substantial increase in govern-ment spending, soon the economy will surpass its capacity limits. While not at full employment before the crisis, Canada was not several percentage points short of it (the Bank of Canada estimated the output gap was about one per cent late in 2019). We cannot simultaneously resume normal economic activities and funda-mentally restructure the economy, nor would we want to.

On the other hand, if the virus disrupts spending for a prolonged period, Canada faces a very dif-fi cult transition for its capital and labour. People little versed in eco-nomics warn of stranded assets in our fossil fuel industry, but that would pale compared with the hundreds of billions potentially

stranded in aerospace, urban transit, hotels, and commercial and offi ce buildings.

For workers, as widely noted, income and job losses have been concentrated in services indus-tries with low levels of skill, edu-cation and pay. How exactly does a former waitress with a high school education transition to an economy shifting to government infrastructure projects or health care? At a minimum, it would require years of income support for millions of people while new skills were acquired, something that has proved diffi cult even without the lower effi ciency of the on-line courses the virus would necessitate. Restructuring would be a painful and costly exercise at a time when the economy is still struggling with the pandemic.

A more basic question is, do Canadians even want an economy restructured along these lines? In the short term, higher govern-ment spending is replacing some of the record decline in household spending, especially on services that form the basis of much social activity. However, humans are in-herently social beings; Canadians spend substantial amounts on res-taurants, hotels, travel, cinemas, gyms and other personal services, preferring a large variety of these activities at low prices. It is unlikely people will permanently give up this network of social activities to fi nance a guaranteed income, green energy infrastruc-ture, or more health care.

At a minimum, plans to rebuild and restructure our economy need to be transparent, so Canadians can decide if they accept these trade-offs on a permanent basis. A temporary willingness to make sacrifi ces during a crisis should not be confused with a permanent shift in preferences. In past crises, Canadians postponed consump-tion for the common good, but not forever. As World War II ended, a weariness with sacrifi ce resulted in the defeat of Winston Churchill and the near defeat of Mackenzie King. People wanted to spend on their personal well-being after two decades of pent-up demand. Similarly, austerity programs are best implemented quickly before people lose the motivation for shared sacrifi ce.

Unless Canadians choose to lower their consumption for more government spending, plans to impose a restructuring look like another elitist attempt to tell ordi-nary people how to live. The pan-demic supposedly made us more aware of the contribution of blue collar workers, but the sneering contempt of many for blue-collar consumption choices remains just below the surface. Even worse than slowing economic growth by diverting resources into less de-sirable activities, imposing such a choice undermines democracy.

Philip Cross is a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier insti-tute and former chief economic analyst at Statistics Canada.

The Hill Times

As government decision-makers craft policy and funding

decisions at a rapid pace to keep Canadians safe and our economy healthy, government relations professionals and advocacy groups have been important voices inform-ing, updating, and supporting Canada’s path forward during this unprecedented time. COVID-19 has left no business or individual unaffected and those in the govern-

ment relations and public affairs community are no exception.

Communication reports be-tween lobbyists and government fi led with the commissioner of lobbying, spiked 60 per cent in March 2020 and the subject matter of health jumped from fi fth to fi rst. The traditional cycle of Parliament has changed, most non-COVID related government projects are on hold, and the needs of those we represent have been completely upended: this has ultimately shift-ed our clients’ advocacy priorities.

Many organizations now fi nd themselves either entering the world of lobbying for the fi rst time or lobbying in new jurisdic-tions. Some have even shifted their focus to completely new areas that many thought unimagi-nable just a few short months ago. For example, the repurpos-ing of manufacturing capacity by clothing producers and local

breweries to make hand sanitizer or PPE has created a whole new conversation between these com-panies and government.

As people and businesses search for answers and support, government relations and public affairs professionals are uniquely positioned to help organizations navigate the fast-changing govern-ment agenda to gain the assistance and information they need. As gov-ernments work to keep Canadians healthy and revive our economy, our industry continues to provide a critical voice offering tailored solu-tions to stakeholders from a variety of industries, including the not-for-profi t and health charity sectors.

The severity of COVID-19 and its impact on the economy has also created a unique ecosystem for coalitions to fl ourish. Coali-tions are often successful because they provide a unifi ed voice from a specifi c sector and collaboratively work together to approach gov-ernment with meaningful recom-mendations. There is nothing gov-ernment appreciates more than organizations coming together to help them better understand a sector’s respective challenges, and this has been particularly impor-tant with the wave of new policies and programs being established during COVID-19. We have also seen coalitions build thought-provoking digital campaigns, which have effectively reached

government offi cials through digi-tal means. When we do return to some semblance of ‘normal,’ there is no doubt that a number of these coalitions will stay intact, to help with the future advocacy efforts for organizations big and small.

As federal, provincial, and municipal governments shift their thinking to the economic recovery phase of the pandemic, government relations advocates look forward to continuing to share real-world experience with offi cials, helping them align stakeholder priorities with the government’s agenda. Businesses have already started to adapt to the much more stringent health and safety practices in the near-term which has resulted in unforeseen costs, and many small businesses and non-profi ts have had to lay several of their employ-ees off. The ability to successfully navigate these challenges will deter-mine how the private and not-for-profi t sectors rebound.

As for us: we will still serve as translators between organizations and government; we will still fi le our monthly public communication reports; and, we will still communi-cate our messages to elected offi cials even if in-person meetings are off the table for the time being. As an indus-try, we are committed to being open and transparent with Canadians, as we strive to increase the public’s understanding of the role of govern-ment relations through individual

and collective education efforts. Our industry is grateful for all frontline workers and health-care profession-als who are true heroes. And, many of us consider ourselves privileged to have done work with clients in the health charity, life sciences and phar-maceutical realms. Their dedication to support patient groups and their work that is underway to develop a vaccine is truly remarkable.

Our industry looks forward to continuing to work with stakehold-ers from a variety of sectors from across Canada, and play our small role in helping to support and shape Canada’s economic recovery efforts.

Jason Kerr is the vice-presi-dent of the Government Relations Institute of Canada and the se-nior director of government rela-tions at the Canadian Automobile Association. Ryan Eickmeier is the president of the Public Affairs Association of Canada and CEO of Helping Hands Daycare.

The Hill Times

What’s wrong with a Great Rebuilding of the economy post-COVID-19

Advocating in unusual times

Even worse than slowing economic growth by diverting resources into less desirable activities, imposing such a choice undermines democracy.

As federal, provincial, and municipal governments shift their thinking to the economic recovery phase of the pandemic, government relations advocates look forward to continuing to share real-world experience with offi cials, helping them align stakeholder priorities with the government’s agenda.

Philip Cross

Opinion

Jason Kerr & Ryan Eickmeier

Opinion

25

The Great RebuildingTHE HILL TIMES | MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured May 7, 2020, at that day’s press conference. COVID-19 has left no business or individual unaffected and those in the government relations and public affairs community are no exception, write Jason Kerr and Ryan Eickmeier.

Ninety-eight per cent of Canadian businesses have

fewer than 500 employees. These small- and medium-sized enter-prises (SMEs) are critical to our economy. Furthermore, Canada has some of the highest rates of early-stage entrepreneurship in

the OECD. With approximately 15 per cent of the Canadian working-age population having undertaken a business startup in the last three years or running a business that is less than three-and-a-half years old, this vital sector of our population deserves crucial energy and fi nancial sup-port to fl ourish.

Now, more than ever in light of COVID-19 and its aftermath, startups are increasingly es-sential to the economic health of Canada. As our economy experi-ences an unprecedented down-turn, our small businesses and entrepreneurs face extraordinary challenges and uncertainty as to whether their businesses will survive.

Over the coming weeks, we will pay tribute to and celebrate entrepreneurs and innovators across the country—a timely reminder of the critical role these companies play in our economy and will play in economic recov-ery. Organized by the Innovators & Entrepreneurs Foundationin collaboration with Startup Canada, the 2020 CANIE Awards feature fi ve regional ceremonies, which recognize excellence in Canadian innovation and entre-preneurship. Occurring virtually now until June 25, the CANIE Awards aim to inspire by show-casing entrepreneurs and their stories of resilience while bring-ing awareness to the importance of this sector.

For instance, one of the win-ners of CANIE Ontario Awards, Brooke Resende, works to solve one of the toughest challenges for researchers: connecting research studies with participants. Her in-genious startup Research Streamhas the potential to unlock many discoveries—from understand-ing anxiety in the pandemic to determining how insulin levels af-fect the kidneys—that could have greater benefi ts to the community.

As COVID-19 has shown, we live in a rapidly evolving world that requires creativity, drive, and adaptability—all requisite skills to effectively manage through uncertainty and identify new opportunities. Canadian entre-preneurs are not only rising to the challenge, but will be key to restarting our economy.

Even before this crisis, we knew that startups contribute far more deeply to the Canadian economy than makes the news. It is a fact that small businesses cre-ate a signifi cant number of jobs, and to ensure their long-term success and effect on Canadian productivity, it is critical to boost the entrepreneurial mindset and concrete skills of young busi-nesses nationally.

The Government of Canada wants to invest in a highly skilled workforce that can support the country’s long-term prosperity and has deliberately included skills-development into its innovation strategy. Exactly which skills are

essential remains to be defi ned, but there is general agreement that the skills of the future will need to accommodate changes. Accord-ing to the Brookfi eld Institute, in addition to subject-matter and technical knowledge, Canada’s youth will need a broad set of skills that include “creativity, problem solving, social intelligence as well as entrepreneurial abilities, such as managing uncertainty and taking risks.”

Developing this entrepreneur-ial mindset, proactively address-ing marketplace challenges, and leveraging our research talent for innovation, becomes increas-ingly imperative. It’s no surprise that Canadian universities have dramatically increased their support for entrepreneurship activities in recent years with new and innovative programs includ-ing entrepreneurship events, campus-based incubators, as well as sandboxes, accelerators, and other activities—all of which are increasingly playing a role in this skills development.

Perhaps this is in part because students want these opportuni-ties. As an RBC report revealed, although only 29 per cent of Ca-nadian post-secondary students report feeling very confi dent they will fi nd a job in their fi eld after graduation, nearly half (46 per cent) see themselves starting a business.

Mitacs, through its innova-tion internships, simultaneously

builds student skills and supports the development of small busi-nesses—working with universities to support entrepreneurs through-out the various stages of startup, from ideation and concept development through to launch-ing companies. Whether through conducting R&D on university campuses to help small business-es across the country, or through business strategies, marketing or IP, Mitacs internships are helping these companies grow and thrive.

In the annual Mitacs Entrepre-neurship Awards, Mitacs features startups creating game-changing companies that impact outcomes ranging from childhood literacy to smoking cessation. Similar to this and to the CANIE Awards, many other showcases of en-trepreneurship across Canada serve to inspire and recognize this vital sector. Winners of these competitions represent hundreds of fi nalists that prove Canada has the talent and the creativity to develop new ventures and make a global impact.

We know it will take time for Canada’s economy to return to pre-COVID-19 levels. As we re-build our economy, let’s invest in the necessary skills development to make sure that our entrepre-neurs and small companies have the supports they need to estab-lish and grow their businesses. Every dime will pay outstanding returns on Canada’s investment.

Kayla Isabelle is the execu-tive director of Startup Canada, the national rallying community and voice for Canada’s 3.5 million entrepreneurs. John Hepburn isCEO and scientifi c director of Mi-tacs, a not-for-profi t organization that fosters growth and innova-tion in Canada.

The Hill Times

Canadian banks. The program started in March and is set to end in September, right when federal models say a second wave could hit if reopening isn’t handled properly.

“If we have a second round of the virus in the fall, that’s just when banks are going to be saying ‘we’re expect-ing people to start repaying, we can’t just defer forever’,” Mr. Cross said. “I suspect if the government wanted a second round of mortgage deferrals, they would have to pay the banks. They would have to introduce some explicit support.”

Mr. Cross said the CERB has been very effective in supplementing house-hold and individual income, but that the programs targeted at businesses haven’t had the same impact. He fears that should a second wave hit, the gov-ernment would need to focus more on how to better tailor its business-specif-ic programs to ensure those business survive the pandemic.

Many of the sectors that were hardest hit, like restaurants and retail, rely on face-to-face encounters, which

makes them particularly vulnerable to a second wave shutdown. In the event of a second wave, Mr. Cross said the CERB or CERB-like program would help workers, but would do nothing to ensure those jobs remain when the economy eventually reopens for good.

Certain sectors will almost surely need direct support, Mr. Cross said.

Despite questions around how the government could use its fi scal power to mitigate the economic impact of a second wave, Mark Manger, professor of political economy at the University of Toronto, said a more robust public health response is the key to keeping the economy afl oat.

“The key is to target the public health measures to keep as much of the economy open, and to only shut down what is absolutely necessary. If we can go through the winter without major sports events, no concerts, or any large gatherings of people, that’s totally feasible, but doing another shutdown, it’s just not possible with-out completely wrecking the economy,” Prof. Manger said.

achamandy@hilltimes.comThe Hill Times

How to restart our economy? Boost an entrepreneurial mindset

Second wave of virus could cut GDP by nearly 10 per cent, experts looks to future of relief programs

As we rebuild our economy, let’s invest in the necessary skills development to make sure that our entrepreneurs and small companies have the supports they need to establish and grow their businesses.

Kayla Isabelle & John Hepburn

Opinion

26

The Great Rebuilding MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Continued from page 19

27

BY SENATOR MARY JANE MCCALLUM

Article 25 of the Universal Dec-laration of Human Rights,

which underlines social and economic rights, states: “Every-one has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disabil-ity, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstanc-es beyond their control.”

So why have Indigenous Peoples seen so little progress?

In Canada, COVID-19 has highlighted the areas in our soci-ety that operate with insuffi cient social safety nets in place. This is particularly true for First Na-tions which require considerable monetary injections to provide basic human rights in response to many First Nations communi-

ties’ prudent decision to go into lockdown. Thanks to the strong Leadership in these communities, this decision denied COVID-19 the chance to establish a fi rm foothold on-reserve. This was not done out of want but out of necessity, as it represented the only means of protection for these communities despite the economic and social hardships that followed.

Yet the very threat of COVID-19 has exacerbated many of the inequities that exist for these vulnerable populations. These include: food and water insecurity; homelessness; domestic violence; insuffi cient em-ployment opportunities; lack of broadband internet and related infrastructure; lack of primary health care services on some reserves; inability to social distance; inability to practice proper hy-giene; and the lack of adequate data keeping and sharing in rela-tion to the pandemic.

The reality of the urban Indig-enous population is particularly troubling as they were forced to deal with COVID-19 in real time without the delayed onset that the on-reserve population had due to their lockdowns.

As Indigenous Peoples, we are constantly reminded of the

asymmetrical power structures that still dominate our lives. As Senators of Indigenous heritage, the Indigenous Senators Working Group (ISWG) have met virtually a number of times to collaborate on issues impacting Indigenous People that cut across Canada, as well as the unique issues facing different regions. This has allowed us to advocate and give voice to the First Nations, Metis and Inuit perspectives and to bring resolu-tion to many issues facing the

on-reserve and urban Indig-enous communities in light of COVID-19.

Through the work Indig-enous Senators have done surrounding this matter to date, it is clear many of these issues should have been mitigated if federal, provincial, and territorial governments had adequate-ly learned from 2009’s H1N1 virus. Following H1N1, the Senate’s Social Affairs Committee exam-ined Canada’s response to this pandemic, culminating in their 2010 15th Report. This report made 17 recom-mendations, three of which were specifi c to the First Nations, Metis and Inuit due to the excessive number of cases and deaths those populations sustained.

While there has been some progress in the high-lighted issues surrounding

housing and water infrastructure, it will take decades to properly address the countless existing inequities—ones that have been perpetuated by years of neglect by previous governments. This gov-ernmental inertia has subjected Indigenous Peoples to woeful con-ditions that continue to guarantee increased exposure and risk to pandemics and other crises that come up. Why would COVID-19 play out differently today in In-

digenous communities if the same insuffi cient infrastructure exists as was present in 2009?

Author Paul Farmer addresses many such relevant points in his book, Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor. In Chapter 9, entitled, “Rethinking Health and Human Rights: Time for a Para-digm Shift,” he states at page 219:

“Whereas a purely legal view of human rights tends to obscure the dynamics of human rights violations, the contextual-izing disciplines reveal them to be pathologies of power. Social inequalities based on race or ethnicity, gender, religious creed, and—above all—social class are the motor force behind most hu-man rights violations. In other words, violence against indi-viduals is usually embedded in entrenched structural violence.”

As author Brian Stevenson so eloquently puts in his book, Just Mercy: “the opposite of poverty is justice, not wealth.” It is only when justice becomes a reality for Indigenous Peoples that they will be able to self-determine and thus generate the type of social and economic conditions that they wish to have and model—for themselves and for the next 7 generations.

Mary Jane McCallum is a social justice advocate, a First Nations woman, a dentist, and a Senator for Manitoba.

The Hill Times

This month International Trade Minister Mary Ng is planning

to host a virtual meeting of the Ottawa Group of 13 like-minded states dedicated to modernizing the World Trade Organization (WTO), after the Group’s March in-person meeting was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The need to modernize the WTO has been with us for some time, but the lessons from the current pandemic could prompt a deep rethinking of trade rules and how they should be rewritten to ensure that they never impede and always support achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The WTO was in crisis well before COVID-19 hit global trade: failure of member states to negotiate meant that the rules were out of date and not respon-sive to new issues, especially the digital economy and climate change; trade irritants were being dealt with through tariff wars or dispute settlement rather than ne-gotiation; and the appellate body

had ceased to function because no consensus could be reached to appoint new members.

For years there have been con-cerns that the real benefi ciaries of trade were multinational corpora-tions and that trade was leaving many workers behind as jobs moved offshore; that it was insuf-fi ciently responsive to the urgent need for climate action, and that it was not helping to raise labour, health and human rights stan-dards globally.

Then the COVID-19 pan-demic hit, stock markets went into free fall, and within days it was understood that there could be no healthy economy without healthy people. As the economy was switched off by emergency orders banning travel, imposing quarantine and requiring all but essential workers to stay home, we realized that some of the most important jobs in our society are the most precarious, poorly paid and dangerous, and are often relegated to migrant workers

with few rights and little ability to protect themselves through social distancing. We see the tragic impacts in nursing homes, meat processing factories and farm operations. We are seeing the disproportionate impact of CO-VID19 on racialized populations, exposing the effects of historical, unresolved social inequities in Canada and elsewhere.

The massive shut down of the service industry has thrown many women out of work, increasing their economic precarity and their dependence on others, and exposing them to a tsunami of domestic violence around the world. While digital commerce of-fers some potential for women to work online, the existing gender digital gap in access to education, equipment and the internet, risks widening as COVID-19 related economic insecurity increases. While progress had been made in including women, Indigenous peoples and small businesses in international trade, they lack the wealth to ride out a long shut down. Many small enterprises are at risk of disappearing without government intervention.

The pandemic has also shown the consequences of years of neglect of negotiation and diplo-matic failure by many national governments: the inability to co-ordinate efforts globally, distrust of international organizations meant to lead in times of crisis, disruption of international supply chains, and national govern-ments commandeering orders of

personal protective equipment and medical supplies meant for foreign customers.

At the same time the pan-demic has shone a spotlight on what is most important to human survival and resilience. Interna-tional cooperation and solidarity are key: nations need to work together and share knowledge and resources to help each other through the crisis. Negotiation between states is critical to build trust and develop a vision for future global governance where respect for human rights and the right to a healthy and clean envi-ronment are paramount.

In 2015 international negotia-tors successfully established the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Cli-mate Change. In the same spirit of international solidarity, it is time for negotiators to modernize the WTO so that it contributes to creating a more sustainable, in-clusive, equitable and just world. Is the Ottawa Group up to this momentous challenge?

Oonagh E. Fitzgerald was the director of the International Law Research Program at the Centre for International Governance In-novation and is the co-chair of the Canadian Environmental Domestic Advisory Group and member of the board of directors of the Interna-tional Law Association of Canada. She served for many years as a senior federal public servant work-ing on issues of international and domestic law and policy.

The Hill Times

Why would COVID-19 play out diff erently?

Ottawa Group has opportunity to revive WTO modernization

COVID-19 has exacerbated many of the inequities that already existed for vulnerable populations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed longstanding fl aws in the World Trade Organization, and made clear how global trade can be managed better.

Opinion

THE HILL TIMES | MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

Oonagh E. Fitzgerald

Opinion

Senator Mary Jane McCallum has spent years fi ghting for the health and rights of First Nations people in Canada. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

28 29

founder of the Federal Black Em-ployee Caucus (FBEC).

Mr. Sharpe and FBEC have been inundated in the last couple of weeks with calls to speak to and help departments generate ideas to address anti-Black racism in their various organizations.

The documented killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., by a police offi cer has affected white people and moved them to action to a scale Mr. Sharpe said he’s never seen in his lifetime. “We really feel a shift and we’re hoping to take advantage of that to make some progress on this work, maybe faster progress now that there’s some doors that have been opened for us,” he said.

Established in late 2017, FBEC’s primary objectives since its inception have been to get disaggregated employment equity data collected so that employees, employers, and policy-makers can all understand the landscape for Black federal bureaucrats, and to provide an element of support and unity for Black employees who are facing harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

It’s an issue Black public ser-vants have long been raising, but now they’re starting to get some data to back it up. Last year, the annual Public Service Employee Survey for the fi rst time allowed respondents to self-identify as a specifi c visible minority group, instead of all being lumped in to one category.

In a February interview with The Hill Times, Mr. Sharpe said FBEC had a role to play in mak-ing that happen. In the lead-up to the 2019 survey, the group met with 25 to 30 deputy ministers across the public service, he said, as well as the Public Service Man-agement Advisory Committee.

Fifteen per cent of Black em-ployees indicated they had been a victim of discrimination on the job in the past 12 months, com-pared to 11 per cent of non-Black visible minorities, and only eight per cent of the public service, overall.

Of those who said they had experienced discrimination, 75 per cent of Black employees said it was racial, compared to 52 per cent for non-Black visible minori-ties, and 26 per cent for the public service overall. A little more than half of the Black respondents who said they faced discrimination (54 per cent) said it was due to colour (30 per cent for non-Black visible minorities, 16 per cent overall). Black public servants who said they experienced discrimination were less likely than non-Black visible minorities to indicate it was discrimination based on national or ethnic origin—34 per cent of Black employees compared to 43 per cent for non-Black visible minorities.

For FBEC, the results were not surprising. Mr. Sharpe pointed to the fact that there are more than 13,000 people who Statistics Cana-da had said identifi ed as Black who were working with or for the public service (including contractors). A little more than 6,200 of the 182,306 PSES respondents in 86 depart-ments self-identifi ed as Black in the survey, which was conducted between July 22 and Sept. 6, 2019.

Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos (Québec, Que.)

said the statistics are “proof that more information is not only needed, but is useful.” Speaking to The Hill Times after addressing FBEC’s Feb. 24 annual gen-eral meeting, Mr. Duclos said it’s “good news” that employees are now able to self-identify in the survey. “We can therefore work better and more effectively to address the challenges that are revealed by the study.”

Mr. Duclos said the numbers themselves, however, are “abso-lutely unacceptable,” and that the underlying conditions will be bet-ter understood with the data.

“And not only will we under-stand those conditions better, but we will also have the obvious

responsibility to address those challenges, to make sure that things are changing,” he said. “Things have improved over the last years, but there is a lot more work to do and we’re totally com-mitted to do it.”

In his remarks, Mr. Duclos—who hired the Trudeau govern-ment’s fi rst Black chief of staff, Marjorie Michel—spoke of the federal government’s “broad policy and legislative framework” to support diversity and inclu-

sion in the public service. Asked if, based on the baseline numbers of discrimination in the public service, there needs to be not a broad policy, but a very specifi c one for Black employees, Mr. Duclos said that in his current and previous portfolio (he was the families, children, and social development minister in the 42nd Parliament) he frequently observed that diversity was not only a matter of justice and equity, but also one of effi ciency, and led to better decision-making and better implementation those decisions.

“And the fact that Black em-ployees tell us they are unable to be at their full potential is something of great concern to us,” he said. “I will certainly address those concerns and make sure that every federal employee, in-cluding Black employees, has the ability to make the fullest impact on our society.”

Black public servants ‘disappointed’ in lack of message from PCO

In the wake of Mr. Floyd’s death and the protests against anti-Black racism and police bru-tality that have exploded around the world, Mr. Sharpe said there was some disappointment that there hadn’t been any outreach or direct message of support for Black public servants from the top voices—including Privy Coun-cil Offi ce Clerk Ian Shugart—de-spite an ask from FBEC.

FBEC held a general call with about 200 Black employees across the country on June 5. “A large majority of people—because we just let people talk about how they were feeling—felt quite hurt and disappointed that there was no message coming out on the

part of the public service in sup-port of them,” Mr. Sharpe said.

Mr. Sharpe said some depart-ments and deputy ministers have taken the initiative and sent out messages, including Immigra-tion, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, whose associate deputy minister, Caroline Xavier, became the fi rst Black woman to work at that level of the public service in February.

Mr. Duclos’ offi ce did not re-spond directly to a question about whether the minister has reached out to Black public servants specifi cally in the weeks since Mr. Floyd’s death.

Another key member of the deputy minister community, Public Services and Procure-ment Canada’s Bill Matthews, also communicated his support to Black bureaucrats, Mr. Sharpe said.

Earlier this year, Mr. Matthews was named the Deputy Minis-ter Ally for the UN Decade for People of African Descent within the public service. FBEC ap-proached him for the role, which Mr. Sharpe said is necessary for the work they’re doing to be sus-tained at the executive level.

“I’ve been in government long enough to know that when the moment is done, and you don’t have presence around senior man-agement tables on a regular basis, then you’re easily forgotten, and there’s another priority or another crisis that comes in and takes your place,” said Mr. Sharpe.

Though Mr. Matthews is “a white dude that doesn’t really have an equity background,” he has been supporting FBEC in a “full-throated way,” said Mr. Sharpe, and as a former comp-troller general, he brings a high level of pragmatism to his en-

gagements with the group and its quest for data.

“We’re a government that prides itself on informed decision making, but we have no data on a people that are sort of crying out for supports and addressing issues,” Mr. Sharpe said. “So, he found that to be something that needed to be addressed.”

And despite Mr. Matthews’ full plate as the coronavirus pandem-ic hit and the scramble to procure millions of pieces of personal protective equipment began, Mr. Sharpe said he has still been “re-markably available” for the short conversations with the group.

The need for better data prompted FBEC to also seek out its own. It launched a survey in May to dig into Black employees’ experiences with discrimination, harassment, and career progres-sion. The 41-question study closes June 30, and is being completed in collaboration with indepen-dent researcher Gerard Etienne. Mr. Sharpe said more than 1,000 responses have already been col-lected, surpassing their expecta-tions.

In a June 11 follow-up re-sponse to questions, Mr. Duclos’ offi ce reiterated his commitment to better data collection and analysis. The Treasury Board Secretariat and Mr. Duclos “work with partners such as the Asso-ciation of Professional Executives to lead shifts in mindsets and behaviours as the public service embraces diversity and inclusion,” his offi ce said.

‘What we have seen is a pattern of criminalizing Black folks’

Action on improving the con-ditions for Black federal employ-ees can’t come quickly enough for some, who say they’ve been dealing with discrimination and

harassment in their work envi-ronments for years.

Robin Browne began working in the public service in 1999, start-ing in the then-named Human Resources Development Canada, and has been at Environment Canada since 2008.

For the 20-plus years that he’s been in the public service, Mr. Browne told The Hill Times in a February interview he’s also been living with depression. He said he had seen “some discrimina-tory practices,” but had been more focused on managing his mental health.

It was only in the last two years, after the establishment of the Federal Black Employee Cau-cus, that he said he began to push back and question things, such as why he was passed over for advancement in favour of a white, more-junior colleague.

“And her response was, ‘Oh, Robin, your work doesn’t meet expectations.’ And I’m like, ‘Despite my 10 years of good performance reviews?’” He said it was the fi rst time he had heard of any dissatisfaction with his work, and that a week later, his manag-er imposed a formal work action plan, typically the last in a series of steps to address workplace performance issues.

That escalated into him fi ling a grievance against his manager with his union. After noting that the discriminatory behaviour was having an impact on his depres-sion, he said he was told in a meeting the following day that his boss was concerned for his health and safety and that of his colleagues because of “several aggressive incidents in the last two weeks.” He was told to leave, or else he would be escorted out by security, and that he would be off work until he had a medical exam that cleared him as being fi t for work.

The reasoning was especially confusing, he said, because he had just returned 10 days prior from medical leave. Mr. Browne said he still doesn’t know what actions the “aggressive incidents” remark was in reference to.

During his leave, he said he found out that what he called his “mug shot” had been circulated to security guards (which he later obtained through an access to information request), with a notice saying he was banned from all Environment Canada build-ings, to ask him for his pass if he shows up, and if he refuses, to call security and not hesitate to call 911 if he shows signs of violence.

“I did show up to deliver a document to my union rep, because they didn’t tell me they had banned me from the build-ings,” Mr. Browne noted, in a June follow-up email. “If the security guards had called 911, I could have ended up with a knee on my neck.”

In the interim, the manager and the formal work action plan had both moved on, and he was

back at work after a few weeks. On his return, he requested to go on interchange with the Federa-tion of Black Canadians, but that only lasted a few months before his interchange was ter-minated after Mr. Browne said he began asking questions about things he saw as questionable practices.

Along with the termination of his interchange assignment, Environment Canada received from the Federation 10 allegations that Mr. Browne had breached the department’s values and ethics code, for which it hired a third party to pursue.

Among those allegations was that Mr. Browne physically threatened his boss, which he said is untrue. He said the claim was made because of a “sarcastic comment” that was taken out of context from what he thought was a private email to a friend—sent using a work Gmail account—not knowing that the emails were be-ing monitored by the workplace.

“Keep in mind, this is an email from me to a friend of mine, who I’ve known a long and gets my sense of humour, and I was upset with the guy [his boss at FBC],” Mr. Browne said. “I said, ‘Hey man, please stop me from punch-

ing this dick in the face the next time I see him. Oh, and have a nice week.’”

The investigation came to the conclusion that the allegations were founded, and Mr. Browne said he was suspended for three days, without pay. Mr. Browne has sued the investigator—who he said did not appear to have any demonstrated investigative experience—for libel and is await-ing a decision in Small Claims Court, which has been held over due to COVID-19. He also fi led a complaint against Environment Canada with the Canadian Hu-man Rights Tribunal.

“What we have seen is a pat-tern of criminalizing Black folks,” he said. “So, things like banning people from the building, inves-tigating them, labelling them as aggressive, that’s a pattern we defi nitely see.”

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) would only confi rm that Mr. Browne was a departmental employee.

“With respect to the questions related to banned employees from the workplace, complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Com-mission, and grievance, ECCC deals with labour relations issues internally as per the Financial Ad-ministrative Act, the Privacy Act, collective agreements, and other related policies and regulations,” Michael Zinck, director general of communications, said in an email. “Therefore, for reasons of privacy and confi dentiality, ECCC does not publicly share information on individual cases.”

The Hill Times spoke to another Black member of the public service who did not want to be identifi ed. The seven-year federal employee, who also cur-rently works in Environment and Climate Change Canada, said she has experienced discrimination and bullying from white manag-ers.

A few years ago, while work-ing in a different department, she was denied an overseas opportu-nity because her senior manager said he wouldn’t allow her to go. Her union advised her to change sections rather than fi ght it, be-cause the manager had a history of similar treatment to women and Black employees.

She moved to a new depart-ment and carried on, until a new boss came onboard and immediately began to criticize and micromanage her work. She was the only Black person in the unit, and the only one getting this treatment, she said. Despite her classifi cation (program admin-istration), she was relegated to making photocopies and scan-ning documents. Her computer was also given a password that was never disclosed to her. Even-tually she went on medical leave due to the stress.

Despite going out of her way to avoid this manager (including by using a washroom on a differ-ent fl oor), she said she was ac-cused of a physical confrontation, and was threatened with having security called on her a week after the alleged incident took place, despite never being con-tacted for her version of events.

She has fi led a pair of com-plaints through the department’s values and ethics bureau.

The federal employee said FBEC has been a strong resource for her in getting support and information. She said she has not seen much movement within the public service in the day-to-day action towards equity. “It’s a lot of lip service,” she said. “Someone wants to win a medal for some-thing that is not real.”

But she said it’s not enough to drive her out of the public service, and she wants to raise awareness for others who are dealing with similar issues, and be a good ex-ample for her young children.

“If you don’t try to raise your head up, there’s no way you can fi ght for all the people who are already sick, whose postal codes have changed forever because they’re in the hospital through this because for me, without a doubt, stress is a killer.”

Mr. Zinck said diversity and inclusion are “at the forefront” of the department’s priorities, and that ECCC has “developed and implemented in consultation with our employees, comprehensive action plans, strategies and initia-tives that support a diverse and inclusive work environment.” This includes the creation of the Di-versity and Inclusion Leadership Council two years ago. “Based on recent Public Service Employee Surveys, these initiatives are having a positive effect in the workplace.”

The department also has several avenues “available for employees and managers who may be experiencing diffi culties in the workplace,” he wrote. This includes nominating a Senior Offi cer for Disclosure, “whereby employees can relay concerns without fear of reprisal,” as well as an arms-length ECCC Respect Bureau, which reports to the deputy minister, created in 2018.

Earlier this year, FBEC was among a community work-ing with the Canadian Human Rights Commission about its high dismissal rate for race-based complaints. “We’ve since been fol-lowing up with the Canadian Hu-man Rights Commission, directly with the chief commissioner and her people, around ways in which we can use disaggregated race-based data and other processes to address the fact that the system’s not working for Black and racial-ized people,” Mr. Sharpe said.

FBEC has also been working with the Canada School of Public Service, following up after Mr. Sharpe publicly made comments in February noting that the school has a mandate to educate, but produces white managers and staff who per-petuate anti-Black racism.

They are now developing programming that includes the Black experience, the same way that programming already includes lived experience of other equity-seeking groups—as well as having discussions with executive trainers about including educa-tion about anti-Black racism.

“That’s the institutional stuff we’re talking about that depart-ments can do and put in place that would help, we think, over the long term that would make us … more visible and put us in a position where we’re actually a legitimate part of the public service,” Mr. Sharpe said.

cevelyn@hilltimes.comThe Hill Times

‘It’s a lot of lip service’: Black federal public servants hope ‘Floyd eff ect’ will fi nally drive change as anti- racism movement grips Canada Fifteen per cent of Black federal employees indicated they had been a victim of discrimination on the job in the past 12 months, compared to only eight per cent of the public service, overall, according to last year’s Public Service Employee Survey.

News News

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES THE HILL TIMES | MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

Continued from page 1

Continued on page 29

Continued from page 28

Environment Canada employee Robin Browne says he was banned from his workplace and a ‘mug shot’ was circulated in early 2018. ‘If the security guards had called 911, I could have ended up with a knee on my neck.’ The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Public Services and Procurement deputy minister Bill Matthews was named the Deputy Minister Ally for the UN Decade for People of African Descent within the public service earlier this year. Though Mr. Matthews is ‘a white dude that doesn’t really have an equity background,’ he has been supporting FBEC in a “full-throated way,” said Richard Sharpe, founder of the Federal Black Employee Caucus. The Hill Times file photograph

Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos says the percentage of Black federal public servants who say they’ve faced racial discrimination on the job is ‘unacceptable.’ The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Protesters, pictured June 5, 2020, on Parliament Hill. As protests against anti-Black racism and police brutality have exploded around the world, the Federal Black Employee Caucus says it’s hoping to fi nd forward momentum in its quest for better data and education about Black public servants. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

30

the way George Floyd’s life was taken was just deplorable, and we would not be here had it not been for that,” said Ms. Stewart. “I think as newsroom leaders, what needs to happen fi rst and foremost is there has to be a self-examination.”

“The events of the last two weeks are prompting soul-searching in newsrooms across the country,” said Andrea Baillie, editor-in-chief at The Canadian Press, which has more than a dozen reporters stationed in its parliamentary bureau in Ottawa. “That includes CP. We are com-mitted to taking a hard look at ourselves and improving.”

Ms. Baillie told The Hill Times that at The Canadian Press, they are constantly having conver-sations about how to get more diverse voices and perspectives into their newsrooms and their news fi le.

“These discussions have intensifi ed over the last couple of weeks—both in the newsroom and at the executive level, where we have begun work on a more urgent, formalized plan to ac-celerate change on this front,” according to Ms. Baillie. “We are

committed to taking a hard look at ourselves and improving.”

For Canada’s national broad-caster, CBC’s Ottawa bureau chief Rob Russo told The Hill Times that CBC News is on par with the industry across the country in its makeup of diverse and Indigenous peoples—but that “we must do better, particularly in the parliamentary bureau.”

“We are aiming for authentic representation pegged to the modern makeup of Canada,” he said, adding that means the or-ganization needs to grow signifi -cantly.

“There are objectives and policies to ensure we close that gap,” said Mr. Russo. “And CBC needs to focus that effort at the highest leadership and execu-tive levels, where there’s work to do.”

When asked about the makeup of The Globe and Mail’s news-room, the paper’s publisher and CEO Phillip Crawley said “gener-ally the newsroom is not suf-

fi ciently diverse, and we’re well aware of that.”

Mr. Crawley told The Hill Times he conducts a town hall every Tuesday with his staff—meetings that have been conducted remote-ly in the midst of the pandemic—

and that last week, 35 minutes of the 40-minute session were devoted to the issue of improving diversity in the newsroom and in the company as a whole.

“We started asking staff for data back in early 2018,” said Mr. Crawley. “We wanted to get a better picture of just what the patterns of progress were, so we asked people to self-identify, and we got data back then, and we’ve been tracking it in the case of every hire we do for the last two years.”

Sixty per cent of staff par-ticipated in the voluntary survey,

with the results showing 54 per cent of the workforce identify as women, and 23 per cent as visible minorities. The Globe and Mail will be conducting a second em-ployee survey before the end of June 2020 under the Federal Con-tractors Program, and will share results when they are available.

“One of the things I said during [the most recent town hall] is that we’re going to need to respond to the questions and comments from the staff that ask, ‘What else are we now doing, why don’t we have more Black journalists?’ for instance,” said Mr. Crawley. “We need to be doing certain things which help to prove that we’re making progress, and as I say we’ve been tracking data for over two years, but what we will commit to is for sure that any short list for any job has a number of places for visible minority candi-dates, for female candidates.”

Mr. Crawley said he will person-ally supervise every short list and will also be implementing manda-tory training for managers and staff which will begin in the early fall.

“Everybody will be expected to do it, because diversity is one of the commitments we’ve made in the three year plan that The Globe and Mail has,” said Mr. Crawley.

When asked if short-list commitments and training will apply to the Ottawa bureau, Mr. Crawley said he wants to apply those commitments to the whole of the newsroom, and not just the Ottawa bureau.

“The Ottawa bureau is prob-ably not dissimilar to many others, there’s probably a lack of

representation,” said Mr. Crawley. “From what I see across the Cana-dian media landscape, I think this would be seen as a widespread problem beyond Ottawa.”

Peter Van Dusen, CPAC’s ex-ecutive producer and host of the network’s nightly political round-up PrimeTime Politics, confi rmed his newsroom is predominantly white—“and we are aware it is predominantly white.”

“We have made efforts and continue to make efforts to di-versify,” said Mr. Van Dusen, who noted that none of the network’s four main hosts are members of a visible minority.

“We are conscious of that, and we are conscious that change needs to come, and we are com-mitted to that and working on that—not just on air, but in our ed-itorial and management teams as well,” said Mr. Van Dusen, who also said that of CPAC’s 49 full-time employees, 20 per cent of them are members of visible minorities.

‘This is a pivotal moment’: tumultuous two weeks prompt ‘soul-searching’ in newsrooms on the Hill, across Canada ‘We must do better, particularly in the parliamentary bureau,’ says CBC’s Ottawa bureau chief Rob Russo. ‘We are committed to taking a hard look at ourselves and improving,’ says editor-in-chief at The Canadian Press Andrea Baillie.

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MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Continued from page 1

“I do believe this is a pivotal moment. It is unfortunate that it took the tragic death of a Black man for it to come to this.”

—Nadia Stewart, executive director at the Canadian Association of Black Journalists (CABJ)

“The events of the last two weeks are prompting soul-searching in newsrooms across the country."

—Andrea Baillie, editor-in-chief at The Canadian Press

Continued on page 31

Nadia Stewart, executive director at the Canadian Association of Black Journalists (CABJ). Photograph courtesy of LinkedIN

CBC Ottawa bureau chief Rob Russo. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Parliamentary Press Gallery reporters, pictured in the West Block on May 1, 2019, scrumming Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and then-international trade diversifi cation minister Jim Carr, who is now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s special representative for the Prairies. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

31

As someone who has advo-cated for strengthening diversity in media “for half her life” during her time in the industry, Anita Li, co-founder of the Canadian Journalists of Colour (CJOC), told The Hill Times she’s “cautiously optimistic” when asked about re-cent pronouncements from media organizations regarding the di-

versifi cation of their newsrooms.“Having been somebody who’s

done this work for so long, I’m going to withhold any grand state-ments until I see action is taken, and I see people walk the walk,” said Ms. Li. “Canadian institutions have such a long history of paying lip service—it’s something our institutions do best, whether it’s government or media.”

“I’m still being cautious, I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Ms. Li.

Canada’s largest daily print newspaper, The Toronto Star, has endorsed the CJOC/CABJ calls to action released on Jan. 28 earlier this year, and is working to imple-ment them—including a survey of newsroom demographics—ac-cording to Heather Scoffi eld, the paper’s Ottawa bureau chief and economics columnist.

‘It’s hard to deny it, it’s there for all of us to see’

The Hill Times asked a number of representatives from media organizations on the Hill whether or not they believed systemic rac-ism exists in Canada.

“Canadians are speaking,” said Mr. Van Dusen. “I think the coun-try is more alive now than ever to this issue.”

“My experience tells me, when I look around at what I’ve seen, and the various defi nitions of systemic racism or institutional racism that

I’ve heard, I think it’s hard to deny it, it’s there for all of us to see. The country’s been built on a structure that provides greater advantage to white people than it does to people of colour, to Black people in this country, to Indigenous people, so the short answer I would say, is yes,” said Mr. Van Dusen.

Kate Malloy, editor-in-chief of The Hill Times newspaper, echoed Mr. Van Dusen when asked if she believes there is systemic racism at work in Canada.

“Yes I do,” said Ms. Malloy. “From 30 years of being in the media business, talking to people, interviewing people, doing stories on it, yes, defi nitely.”

“It’s a racist history too, that we have—how we’ve treated our Indigenous people from the very beginning, how we’ve treated our Black people, most visible minori-ties—yes, it’s systemic racism.”

Ms. Malloy said she’s been pub-lishing stories on this subject for years, but “it took the George Floyd story to really open my eyes to this really fucking ugly anti-Black rac-ism and police brutality, and do I agree that there is something that’s going to change right now.”

“That was the tipping point for me,” said Ms. Malloy.

The Hill Times newsroom includes 13 editors, reporters, and photographers, eight of whom are white and fi ve of whom are members of a visible minority; 38 per cent of the newsroom are vis-ible minorities. Managing editor Charelle Evelyn is one of a hand-ful of Black newspaper editors in the country.

“Yes, it is predominantly white, and of course we do want to diversify the newsroom,” said Ms. Malloy. “Our newsroom is pretty diverse right now, but we can always do better and we do want to do better.”

Ms. Malloy said she can’t speak for the mainstream media because The Hill Times is more of a niche publication, “but I think you can just see it in the press gallery, it’s mainly white, and that has to change too.”

“If that’s [the case in] all the bureaus in Ottawa that are cover-ing national politics, and [they’re] mostly white, yes, that defi nitely has to change,” said Ms. Malloy.

Corus Entertainment, the parent company of Global TV, one of the larger contingents in the Parliamen-tary Press Gallery, issued a statement on June 10 noting that “in recent days, individuals have shared on social media their personal employment

experiences at Corus Entertainment that leave us deeply troubled.”

“Our company is committed to a culture where we stand up for each other and actively work to challenge our biases and assump-tions,” reads the statement. “This is clearly not the experience of these individuals.”

The company has enlisted the help of independent, external consultant DiversiPro, which will “undertake a thorough review of the concerns raised and the Corus employee experience.”

‘We absolutely have to succeed at hiring, in the next few years, some people of colour’

When asked, Éric Trot-tier, editor-in-chief at La Presse which currently has three report-ers stationed in their Ottawa bureau, said his newsroom was also predominantly white.

“It’s a problem, I must admit,” said Mr. Trottier. “We’ve been working on it for many years now, and it’s not easy for us to fi nd journalists of colour.”

Mr. Trottier has worked in the upper echelons of the newspaper for 15 years, and said that back in 2005, he thought the paper had a problem because the newsroom was almost completely white.

“In Montreal, maybe 50 per cent of the population is coming from recent immigration, so I thought it was unacceptable for many rea-sons,” said Mr. Trottier. “We tried to hire more people of colour, but we

had some diffi culties, I must admit.”Mr. Trottier told The Hill Times

that he thought “more Indigenous people or Black people or people from everywhere around the world would better represent the society of Canada in newspapers if there were coloured people [reporting] in Ottawa.”

“We fully understand it’s not good for a newspaper to not represent well the population of your country or of your province of your city, which is multi-

cultural. We understand that it could be a real big problem for La Presse, because we have to [write] the stories of all the communi-ties and we have to talk to all the communities, and the danger that we have—and I understand that we are not the only newsroom in Quebec with the same problem—

but the danger that we have is we’re going to isolate ourselves from our future readers.”

“We absolutely have to succeed at hiring, in the next few years, some people of colour,” said Mr. Trottier.

Mr. Crawley noted that cur-rently at The Globe and Mail, part of the problem is that “there’s very few short lists” because they’re not doing much hiring in the current circumstance.

“My point to the staff is that we’ll commit to that, but in the short term, there’s not going to be a lot of hiring for the foreseeable future in the current economic climate,” said Mr. Crawley.

“We’ve got to build relation-ships with the universities, with grad schools, with organizations like the Canadian Association of Black Journalists, and we will do that and we will see what we can do to make sure we can build bridges, build relationships, because that’s the way we’re go-ing to make a difference over a period of time,” said Mr. Crawley.

Mr. Russo said CBC News has actively and systematically sought out and encouraged their diverse staff in the parliamentary bureau to apply for the jobs they are now in.

“And that has not led to enough success in this bureau,” said Mr. Russo. “CBC News has a target of 50 per cent diversity in its new hires and at all levels. That’s an aggressive target. We aim to be just as aggressive in retaining our staff.”

According to Wendy Freeman, president of CTV News, “with respect to our hiring processes, we’re committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and acces-sible workplace where every team member feels valued, respected, and supported, and has the oppor-tunity to reach their full potential.”

“However, we recognize the need for increased diversity across our company including our news-rooms and at the senior leadership level, and are focused on ensuring our teams refl ect under-represented communities through talent man-agement strategies and develop-ment programs,” said Ms. Freeman in a statement to The Hill Times.

Phyllise Gelfand, vice presi-dent of communications with Postmedia, also told The Hill Times in a statement that their Ottawa bureau was “indeed primarily white” and that they are “working on increasing the diversity of our workforce.”

“Postmedia, like many com-panies, is taking this moment to re-review our hiring practices to ensure we are doing our best to hire from diverse backgrounds,” said Ms. Gelfand. “We embrace di-versity because we know it makes us stronger as an organization.”

For Ms. Li however, pointing to the economic downturn brought on by COVID-19 in 2020 as a rea-son for low visible minority repre-sentation is “a little misleading.”

“What’s the reasoning for the last several decades?” said Ms. Li. “I feel it’s a little misleading, or not as self-refl ective as I would like to see from newsroom lead-ers in this country for them to say COVID happened.”

“I know, obviously, our industry has been hard hit for a decade plus at this point, but what about prior to that? There are many, many times you could build out a pipeline to journalists of colour by, for example, visiting communities where there are more racialized people, by going to schools that are less elite and more affordable.”

“I’m not generalizing all jour-nalists of colour are fi nancially insecure, I’m just saying these are alternative places that you can fi nd different perspectives from marginalized communi-ties, whether they’re racialized or some other underrepresented community,” said Ms. Li.

Representatives from Ma-clean’s, Bloomberg, Reuters, and Le Devoir either did not or were unable to respond to inter-view requests from The Hill Times before press deadline.

mlapointe@hilltimes.comThe Hill Times

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THE HILL TIMES | MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

Continued from page 30

"CBC News is on par with the industry across the country in its make up of diverse and Indigenous peoples. We must do better, particularly in the parliamentary bureau."

—Rob Russo, CBC's Ottawa bureau chief

"We are conscious that change needs to come, and we are committed to that and working on that—not just on air, but in our editorial and management teams as well.”

—Peter Van Dusen, CPAC’s executive producer and host of the network’s nightly political round-up PrimeTime Politics

"We've got to build relationships with the universities, with grad schools, with organizations like the Canadian Association of Black Journalists, and we will do that and we will see what we can do to make sure we can build bridges, build relationships, because that's the way we're going to make a diff erence over over a period of time."

—Phillip Crawley, publisher and CEO of The Globe and Mail

Phillip Crawley, publisher of The Globe and Mail newspaper. Photograph courtesy of Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail

Peter Van Dusen, CPAC’s executive producer. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright

Anita Li, co-founder of the Canadian Journalists of Colour (CJOC). Photograph courtesy of Anita Li

“Having been somebody who’s done this work for so long, I’m going to withhold any grand statements until I see action is taken, and I see people walk the walk."

—Anita Li, co-founder of the Canadian Journalists of Colour (CJOC)

32

The COVID-19 global pandemic reminds us all that no country

can go it alone. Now more than ever, working together with other countries—to repatriate Canadi-ans from abroad, to search for an effective vaccine, to secure supply

chains—is crucial for our own country’s recovery.

In the months before COVID-19, we travelled on behalf of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Southern Africa, the Gulf, Central America and the Caribbean, to the United Na-tions in New York and more recently, to North Africa. We met with leaders and senior diplomats to discuss shared priorities and ways in which we can work together to address global problems, such as economic insecurity, climate change and con-fl ict. We also took the opportunity to discuss Canada’s candidacy for one of the world’s most important forums, the UN Security Council.

The elections for the UN Se-curity Council are still scheduled for June 17. Canada will be on the ballot, along with Ireland and Norway, for two available seats in our regional group.

Seeking a two-year term on the UN Security Council is not a partisan initiative. It is a national project. One rooted in a deep conviction that Canada can contribute solutions to the world’s toughest peace and security chal-lenges, many of which affect us directly at home.

Canada has a long and proud tradition of constructive engage-ment at the United Nations and a strong track record in contribut-ing to innovative approaches to the world’s challenges.

When Canada last served on the Security Council more than 20 years ago, Canada brought creative solutions that delivered results then and are still affecting the work of the council today—whether it was putting the protection of civilians on the council’s agenda, curtailing the trade of confl ict diamonds in Angola or introducing a new level of transparency and openness to the council’s work.

Over the past 20 years since we last served, our country has grown even more diversifi ed and integrated with the world through its people-to-people ties and trade. And of late, superpow-

ers have adopted more unilateral and polarizing stances while the planet is facing global chal-lenges such as CO-VID-19 and climate change. Canada’s voice is needed now more than ever.

In meetings with world leaders over the past year, it is clear that Canada is recognized as a convenor and trusted partner. Canada is a top contributor to the United Nations. We advance initiatives such as the “Van-couver Principles” to

prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers by armed forces and armed groups and the “Elsie Initia-tive” for Women in Peace Operations to increase the meaningful partici-pation of uniformed women in all aspects of UN peace operations. We currently chair the Peacebuilding Commission, and we have police offi cers in the fi eld in some of the most important UN missions.

Canada’s latest ground break-ing contribution at the UN has been to bring to the table innova-tive private-sector fi nancing to the development debate. As a result of this quiet work in the trenches over

the past several years, UN Secre-tary General António Guterres re-cently asked Canada to co-convene a summit on fi nancing with dozens of world leaders to tackle the CO-VID-19 economic recovery.

Our country is the fi rst to put economic security at the heart of confl ict-prevention efforts and our Security Council priorities. This is the kind of leadership Canadians can be proud of.

A more inclusive and peace-ful world is in Canada’s domestic interests. It improves our security outlook, but also leads to new export markets for our Canadian companies and jobs for Canadians.

As a middle power and a coun-try that prides itself on embracing diversity, Canada understands the importance of working together with other countries, big and small.

Now more than ever, the inter-national community is counting on us to pitch in. We believe that as Canadians need to contribute our ideas, our global connections and our expertise to make the world a better place. We have a lot to offer.

Joe Clark is a former prime minister of Canada. Jean Charest is a former deputy prime minister and premier of Quebec.

Editor’s note: The op-ed was submitted to The Hill Times by Global Affairs Canada on behalf of Mr. Clark and Mr. Charest.

The Hill Times

“A disaster of biblical propor-tions.” That’s what Richard

Cashin, then-president of the Fish Food and Allied Workers Union, said in 1992 when a fi shing mora-torium was announced on New-foundland and Labrador’s once-

great northern cod stock. Some 20,000 people were suddenly out of work, and within 18 months, almost every groundfi sh stock from the border with the U.S. to the north coast of Labrador was shut down. Yet while the disaster seemed sudden, the warning signs were there for years: catches were kept much higher than was scientifi cally recommended, with politicians and managers saying publicly that they were doing so to protect the short-term econom-ics of communities. Some of these communities, and the fi sh popula-tions they once depended on, still haven’t recovered.

Since the late 1980s, this has been the approach to fi sheries management in much of Atlantic

Canada—with the same disap-pointing results. While depleted fi sheries may not feel like a press-ing crisis in the current context, they are a key part of the Atlantic economy. Seafood harvesting and processing still employs around 52,000 people in the Atlantic provinces, while the total value of Canadian commercial fi sheries is well over $5-billion each year. As the country recovers and resets from the impacts of COVID-19, fi sheries have the potential to be a sustainable, long-term source of income and employment—not to mention their social and cultural value. However, time is running out to reverse trends in fi sheries declines across the country, which are projected to increase with climate change. It is long past time that Canada demonstrated some courage and made the hard decisions necessary to restore the fi sh that underpin our commercial and recreational fi sheries.

There are two major ways of restoring fi sh populations—pro-tecting their habitat and reducing catch. Last year, the current gov-ernment enacted a new Fisheries Act that does both. For the fi rst time since 1868, the act was over-hauled: it restored protections for fi sh habitat removed in 2012, in-cluded constitutional obligations to Indigenous peoples, provided legal protection for independent

fi shers in Atlantic Canada, and for the fi rst time required rebuild-ing of depleted fi sh populations.

We know from past mistakes that when decisions are not ulti-mately in the best interest of the resource, the long-term economic benefi t is impacted. We also know that hard decisions, taken early, lead to better outcomes. However, while Canada is now a leader in fi sheries policy development, it’s been a laggard in implementa-tion. As the ongoing northern cod disaster has made clear, Canada has a history of bowing to political pressure and allowing more fi shing than stocks can bear. It is for this reason that many commercially valuable species remain at histori-cal lows. Since the cod collapse, shellfi sh have buoyed the economy of the Atlantic provinces, yet these too are now in jeopardy with de-clines in shrimp and crab, resulting in lower quotas and fi sheries clo-sures. Another effect of a reliance on shellfi sh is the severe depletion of species used for bait—such as mackerel and herring—which now have hit their own lowest levels. These “forage fi sh” are a vital link in the food web, supporting populations of whales, sharks, and seabirds, as well as commercial species such as cod.

Canadians have an expectation that our government will man-age our fi sheries and fi sh habitat

for the public good, as they are mandated to do. But despite the new Fisheries Act, we have yet to see long-term needs win out over what’s politically convenient in the short term. Public trust can only be restored if there are clear decisions, often hard ones, made in the interests of a future in Canada that includes fi sh. To that end, implementation has to start now. Science-based decisions must become the new normal. When species are in danger of falling un-der the Species at Risk Act, their populations need to be recovered, not fi shed.

Unless decision-makers—from the minister of fi sheries and oceans and her offi ce to manag-ers of individual fi sheries—are all on the same page, with march-ing orders to do the right thing, our water bodies will continue to be emptied of fi sh, our coastal communities will become less and less resilient, and our work to strengthen the legal foundations of fi sheries management will be meaningless.

Oceans North supports marine conservation in partnership with Indigenous and coastal communi-ties. Trevor Taylor is a former cod fi sherman, FFAW union board member, and minister of fi sheries and aquaculture in Newfoundland and Labrador. He is vice-presi-dent of Conservation at Oceans North. Susanna Fuller has a PhD from Dalhousie University, where she studied marine sponges and the impacts of deep-sea fi shing. She is Oceans North’s vice-presi-dent of Operations and Projects.

The Hill Times

Opinion

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Joe Clark & Jean Charest

Opinion

Trevor Taylor & Susanna Fuller

Opinion

Why Canada is an eff ective multilateral partner

One year after the new Fisheries Act, Canada has yet to act on troubled fi sheries

When Canada last served on the Security Council more than 20 years ago, it brought creative solutions that delivered results then and are still aff ecting the work of the council today.

Unless decision-makers—from the minister of fi sheries and oceans and her offi ce to managers of individual fi sheries—are all on the same page, with marching orders to do the right thing, our water bodies will continue to be emptied of fi sh, our coastal communities will become less and less resilient, and our work to strengthen the legal foundations of fi sheries management will be meaningless.

Former prime minister Joe Clark and former Quebec premier Jean Charest travelled on behalf of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured, to Southern Africa, the Gulf, Central America and the Caribbean, to the United Nations in New York and more recently, to North Africa. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

33

KINGSTON, ONT.—In the June 8, 2020, edition of The Hill

Times, the headline that called for the abolishment of military tribunals in Canada may have been a bit misleading. Many of the suggestions offered in the accompanying article suggested reform of courts martial, rather than their outright abolishment. A need for reform does not equate to a basis for abolition.

As recently as 2019—a year after the auditor general of Canada published ‘Report 3: Administration of Justice in the Canadian Armed Forces’—the Supreme Court of Canada upheld, in R vs. Stillman, 2019 SCC 40, the continued system of military justice, parallel to, and concurrent with, the civilian criminal justice system. The majority of the court rejected a ‘military nexus’ test. Moreover, the auditor general of Canada recommended reform and improvement, not abolish-ment, of the military justice system.

Canada is obliged under its international commitments to maintain a system of military justice. Her obligations under the additional protocols to the Ge-neva Conventions, and customary international law, require Canada to maintain a system by which it can hold its commanders and sol-diers responsible for adherence to those international commitments. That disciplinary system can take many forms, so let’s consider where the weaknesses arise.

In The Hill Times opinion column, we again read of asser-tions of an overwhelming trend to abolish courts martial. However, the examples that are offered are almost exclusively within Europe-an continental systems. These are countries with a long history of using conscript forces, and whose judicial and legal systems are

markedly different than Canada’s. The sole common law example offered is the United Kingdom, which continues to maintain a separate military disciplinary sys-tem. As do the other anglo com-mon law jurisdictions, with which Canada and the Canadian Forces are most similar and most closely allied: the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Other, jurisdic-tions, with mixed or non-common law judicial systems, and which maintain separate military tribu-nals, include India (the world’s largest democracy), Ireland, and South Africa.

Internationally, there are generally two legitimate trends regarding this subject: (1) incor-porating justice for members of the armed forces within national legal norms, representing an extension of the principle that ‘there’s only one justice’; or, (2) adapting a system of justice to fi t within the specifi c context of the armed forces, representing an extension of the principle that equality does not require unifor-mity. The former tends to prevail in European continental systems. The latter tends to prevail in anglo-common law systems and those infl uenced by British law.

Neither is normatively “better” than the other. Individual nations within these two systems will tend to vary, one from the other, and will be infl uenced by their own legal tradition. Not surpris-ingly, as it follows the anglo-com-mon law tradition, Canada falls within the latter group.

The abolition of courts martial would represent a paradigm change for Canada and would involve abandoning the ‘anglo-common law’ model to move to the Euro-continental one. Doing so has great risk and presents unknowns. It may well raise more problematic issues than it does solutions, as jurists involved would be required to alter their juridical perspective.

While Canada’s court mar-tial system is not inexpensive, neither is the civilian criminal justice system. Many aspects of the administration of the affairs of the Canadian Forces represent a cost to taxpayers. The mere fact that there is a cost does not represent suffi cient justifi cation for abolishing a system. The Ca-nadian Forces maintains separate fi re departments, particularly on bases administered by the Royal Canadian Air Force. Reliance on civilian fi re departments might be cheaper, but such reliance would undermine operational effective-ness. Concerns about cost signal the need for a critical review of where savings can be achieved, not outright abolishment.

Take, for example, the ‘per-manent’ court martial facility at

Asticou Centre in Gatineau, Que. Although the opinion column as-serts that it is not commonly used, no statistics are offered. And, at present, no court, civilian or mili-tary, is functioning as it should due to restrictions imposed dur-ing COVID-19. What is certain is that civilian courts are not better equipped to meet the dynamic needs of the Canadian Forces. They are not suffi ciently portable and fl exible to support the full spectrum of international opera-tions. And, having a two-tiered system (i.e., civilian in peace-time and military during war-time) would give us a false sense of ‘equality’. Moreover, what con-stitutes ‘peace-time’ within the present paradigm?

Due to the nature of the Cana-dian Forces, regardless of where courts martial are convened, participants will have to travel. Even a ‘civilianized’ military justice system will require people to travel. Even if all courts martial were conducted in Ottawa (which would then require multiple court rooms), the accused and witnesses would have to travel. Even if matters were prosecuted before civilian courts, due to the geographically transient nature of military service, it is inevitable that participants would have to travel.

This doesn’t mean that the Code of Service Discipline can-not be improved. Any system of justice for an armed force must benefi t from: (1) independence of the judiciary; (2) expertise; (3) portability; (4) uniformity (within the Armed Forces); and, (5) ef-fi ciency.

Many of the existing short-comings in the court martial system can be addressed by the creation of a permanent court—not just a physical building or structure, but a legislated frame-work in which courts need not be convened on an individual basis. In effect, it would be a standing court, just as civilian courts have permanent standing.

This permanent court would still require judges with exper-tise of military offences, and experience with the military context, either through past experience as legal offi cers or

through particular training. As a permanently established court, they could exercise jurisdiction over a proceeding as soon as the matter is referred to court martial. They would require the resources to hold trials on short notice anywhere in the world—something which civilian courts are unlikely to do. Economies of scale could still be obtained if the permanent courts martial could rely on administrative support from the Federal Court Admin-istration Service. And, while we’re at it, the National Defence Act, which mandates a quadren-nial review for military judicial compensation, could be amended to incorporate this review into the quadrennial review for all other federally-appointed judges.

The independence of the judiciary was raised recently in courts martial R. versus Pett, 2020 CM 4002 and R vs. D’Amico, 2020 CM 2002. However, no notice of constitutional question regarding the specifi c relevant legislative provisions was raised in those proceedings. It has been raised in a more recent court martial and we can anticipate that it will likely be the subject of review by the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada, and perhaps the Su-preme Court of Canada.

The prosecution of Col. Mario Dutil, the former chief military judge, raised many concerns relating to judicial independence. (The military ended its prosecu-tion of its top judge and withdrew all charges against him in March.) The criminal justice system oper-ates concurrently with the Code of Service Discipline. It was open to director of military prosecu-tions (DMP) to pursue that matter before civilian courts. No legisla-tive reform of the code of service discipline was necessary to do so, and the resulting failure of DMP when he pursued that mat-ter before court martial could be characterized as a judicially im-posed correction of problematic prosecutorial discretion.

The chief military judge is not the supreme authority in the military justice system, any more than the chief justice of Canada is the supreme authority for

civilian justice. He is simply the ‘fi rst among equals’. The chief military judge is the head of the military bench and, in that role, has administrative duties, such as assigning judges to courts martial and other management tasks for the Offi ce of the Chief Military Judge. Indeed, his administra-tive role was allegedly part of the factual context of the charges brought against him.

There is merit, however, in the proposition that military judges do not require rank. That was one of the recommendations in the second ‘Five Year Review’ of Bill C-25 conducted by Associ-ate Chief Justice Patrick LeSage. There is scope for exempting military judges from the Code of Service Discipline. That was, es-sentially, the outcome (if as obiter dicta) of the judgments in Pett and D’Amico. And that aspect of independence will be examined in the notice of constitutional ques-tion that has been brought in a more recent court martial.

Contrary to what has been asserted, military courts in the anglo common law world are not being disbanded or ‘completely’ civilianized. Many of the reforms that have been suggested do not require abolishment of the military justice system. Moreover, in light of Canada’s international obligations, Parliament could not completely abandon a system of military justice.

Reform is needed. In addition to the ‘Dutil Saga’ and the audi-tor general’s report, the current challenges in light of COVID-19 offer a further catalyst to legisla-tive reform, as will the judgment arising from the ‘Constitutional Question’ that has been raised relating to military judicial inde-pendence. However, the solution is not to ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater.’ The goal should be meaningful reform of the military justice system in order to ensure independence of the judiciary, expertise, portability, uniformity of application, and effi ciency.

Rory Fowler is a lawyer and PhD candidate in public and administrative law at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.

The Hill Times

Opinion

THE HILL TIMES | MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

Rory Fowler

Opinion

Time for Canada to improve military tribunals, not abolish them Canada is obliged under its international commitments to maintain a system of military justice.

Canadian Armed Forces' medical team members, pictured May 13, 2019, evacuating a simulated casualty in a CH-147F Chinook helicopter during an aeromedical evacuation exercise as part of Operation Presence. Photograph courtesy Cpl. François Charest 430 Tactical Helicopter Squadron (430 Tac Hel Sqn)

BY TERESA KRAMARZ

A common thread that runs through the many opinion

and editorial articles that emerged following the onset of COVID around the world is the insight that the pandemic has exposed the extent of social vulnerabilities and inequalities that surround us. As it turns out, the slogan that “we are all in this together” has not quite measured up to the widely different experiences that popula-tions have had in this pandemic. Environmental disasters caused by climate change have similar unequal impacts. These parallels require more scrutiny.

COVID-19 cases have clustered around poorer, racially marginal-ized populations so much that some have referred to inequality as a comorbidity. The economic impact has also been dispro-

portionately felt by low income households which have suffered the greatest damage to their liveli-hoods. National recovery policies will need to be centrally focused on those populations whose income, education, housing, disabilities and other social determinants of health left them more exposed and least able to respond to the health crisis.

Research on the social deter-minants of resilience to climate change has not developed in the environmental arena to the extent it has in health care. However, the effects of climate disasters like fl oods and wildfi res on vulnerable populations is a pattern well known to scholars of environmental poli-tics. There is a profoundly uneven distribution of harms and capacities to respond to these crises.

In the case of climate change, there is the perverse additive that those least responsible for causing

the problem must now confront its biggest impacts with limited means at their disposal. This is not because marginalized communities lack adaptive capacity, but because they are overwhelmed by poverty.

For instance, in an urban slum in Argentina where I conduct research, I question what kind of adaptive capacity to frequent fl oods can a family be expected to develop when they must continually fend off daily emergencies. Many people are living on a parcel of land without a property title, lacking access to water and sanitation, and are con-sumed by worry as they attend to their children and their own chronic illnesses that are a direct result of the environmental contaminants that surround them because they live next to an oil refi nery. These families must now face the threat of COVID. Living in close quarters, unable to access clean water for fre-

quent hand washing, with already deteriorated health conditions, and lacking access to quality healthcare consolidates the self-reinforcing cycle that will continue to deprive them of the means to protect them-selves from further harms.

Yet, it is the fl oods or the pan-demic that gathers public atten-tion—not the underlying conditions of inequality that compromise the capacity of communities like these to withstand such shocks. We pay attention to events when they have reached critical thresholds. The media gives visibility to envi-ronmental disasters because the devastation is so visually arresting. Disasters concentrate—at least for a time—public attention on the dire effects of climate change.

However, this coverage—and the political attention it garners—privileges the spectacle at the expense of masking the causal

chain of conditions created by social, political, and economic inequalities that underpin a crisis.

The insight that both COVID, and climate disasters have helped to “expose” inequalities suggests that these disparities were hidden from our view. If so, they were hiding in plain sight. As the saying goes, there are none so blind as those who will not see. A key collective challenge for our time is making inequality visible on an ongoing basis rather than wait until the cumulative effects of dispos-session fi nally devastate the poor.

This is undoubtedly a political battle that hinges on what and who we value as a society. It is also one with direct policy implications. For example, when we relegate addressing poverty, race, or gender to the margins of climate-resilience programs, or we identify them as co-benefi ts rather than put these issues on centre stage in policy de-bates, we conceal inequality and its impact on vulnerable communities.

We have an excellent opportuni-ty to recalibrate the central role of inequality in climate resilience ini-tiatives: by focusing investments on the poor and creating explicit links to livelihoods, responding to priori-ties that are locally determined by different communities, and plan-ning for the long term rather than quick technocratic fi xes.

This pandemic has taught us a lot about vulnerability. Living in confi nement, worrying about our own pre-existing health conditions, observing social distancing, wear-ing a face mask when we go gro-cery shopping, watching infection numbers, and the death toll climb around the world, has created a shared and close up experience with vulnerability. This collective experience provides an opening to reconsider that vulnerability is not just a matter of exposure to risk. It is a condition intrinsically linked to lack of access to resources that constrain our capacities to respond.

Teresa Kramarz is an associ-ate professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs.

The Hill Times

Parallel lessons from COVID-19 and climate change All too often, it’s headline-grabbing events such as fl oods or the pandemic that gathers public attention—not the underlying conditions of inequality that compromise the capacity of communities like these to withstand such shocks.

they may become reticent to give the powers back.

Some propose that a solu-tion to surveillance measures is the inclusion of sunset claus-es, which cause the law to expire after a set period of time unless it is renewed by Parliament. But this only solves the problem of the current measures staying in place; it does not address the increased likelihood of similar measures being trotted out every time there is a lesser crisis—fl ooding in Calgary, a pair of kill-ers in northern British Columbia, an amber alert in Toronto.

This is precisely what hap-pened with Canada’s anti-ter-rorism legislation. Enacted after 9/11 (an unprecedented crisis on par with COVID-19), the law contained several extreme mea-sures set to sunset in 2007, which Parliament declined to renew due to concern over the human rights implications. But then in 2013, following the Boston marathon bombing, new legislation with these same provisions was fast-tracked through Parliament.

What’s more, scholars have found that sunset clauses have a tendency to become “democracy’s snooze button,” and the emergency measures they were meant to

end are frequently reauthorized without meaningful evaluation. The problem is that such clauses kick the issue back to the very govern-ment they were meant to constrain.

So what option are we left with? As The Economist recently pointed out, the best defence will be citi-zens, civil society organizations, and the media holding our govern-ments to account to roll back any surveillance measures after CO-VID-19 is done, and abstain from implementing new ones. But here’s the trick: remembering to do so.

When the crisis of this pan-demic begins to pass and life be-gins to return to normal, people’s minds will be on seeing friends and family, on going to restau-rants and movies, on getting back to the offi ce and rebooking that cancelled vacation. The last thing on anyone’s mind will be remem-bering to push the government on some forgotten-about surveil-lance or access to private medical records laws that were passed months ago and that we, too, have grown somewhat accustomed to.

What won’t we forget to push the government for? Allowing us to leave our houses, to visit friends, to open our businesses, to travel

internationally and inter-provin-cially. The thing about rights such as these is that the restriction of them is impossible to ignore. Un-like some digital monitoring that quietly takes place in the back-ground of your phone or on some medical records database, these impositions are right there in our faces, and no one is going to simply forget about them.

So if we are going to start seri-ously considering surveillance and other privacy- and rights-limiting measures, we might, counterin-tuitively, want to consider using measures that are more intrusive. For instance, if we decide that we’re okay with the government tracking our whereabouts to en-force quarantines, then rather than allow them to use our phone data, we should use something more conspicuous, such as electronic monitoring ankle bracelets. We may well forget or simply stop car-ing about the government having access to our phones’ GPS informa-tion. But no one is going to forget or stop caring about an electronic monitoring bracelet. So the minute surveillance is no longer needed for this crisis, Canadians will demand that any surveillance law

be reversed. And when we later are faced with some lesser crisis, it won’t be easy to convince us that such measures are needed again.

While electronic bracelets are a vivid illustration of my point, they are perhaps a tad unrealistic. But the idea that intrusive mea-sures should be in our faces could be implemented in less aggres-sive ways. If our phone data is to be gathered by government, for instance, the law could insist that each day, so long as the policy is in place, all cell phones impacted by it must be sent a notice re-minding its user that their where-abouts are being monitored.

In essence, if we want to protect ourselves in the long-run from government overreach, we need the measures they implement in the short term to be annoying. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, they say. So let’s make sure that the policy we get squeaks really loudly.

Adam Gordon is an interna-tional human rights lawyer based in Ottawa, and previously served as the Masiyiwa-Bernstein Hu-man Rights Fellow for the U.S.-Asia Law Institute of the NYU School of Law from 2017 to 2018.

The Hill Times

To protect our privacy rights, COVID-19 surveillance measures need a squeaky wheel

Continued from page 15

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, pictured at West Block. Environmental disasters concentrate—at least for a time—public attention on the dire effects of climate change, writes Teresa Kramarz of Munk School of Global Affairs. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

34

Opinion

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

35

minister to offer masked condem-nations of his American counter-part.

“You have to be careful,” said historian John English, who au-thored biographies on past prime ministers Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Elliott Trudeau. “You have to choose your moments and you have a margin of disagreement [with a U.S. president] but you don’t have a full range by any means.”

“You have to respond in a clever way that lets Canadian nationals know you are upset at an American policy or a particu-lar American president while at the same time without giving that American president capacity to retaliate that damages your own country,” said Prof. English, a former Liberal MP from 1993 to 1997.

There have been select times when prime ministers have lev-elled direct criticism of American policy, none more acute than the decision of Mr. Pearson to offer a rebuke of then-U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson with the suggestion that the U.S. should pause its Vietnam War bombing operations in his speech at Temple University in Philadelphia in the spring of 1965.

“It ended the relationship,” Prof. English said about the once-close bond between Mr. Pearson and Mr. Johnson. “There was a price paid.”

Just months before in Feb-ruary 1965 at a speech at the Canada Club in Ottawa, Mr. Pear-son said disagreements between the two countries should be levied in private through diplomatic channels but said there was time to offer public comments on dis-agreements of U.S. policy.

“But we must never do this merely for the purpose of rousing a chauvinistic cheer at home. Pulling the eagle’s tail feathers is an easy, but a dangerous way to get a certain temporary popular-ity, as well as a feeling of self-satisfaction at having annoyed the big bird,” Mr. Pearson said as

Prof. English highlighted in his biography of the Nobel Peace Prize winner.

After the speech, Canada’s 14th prime minister met with the American president at Camp Da-vid where the much taller John-son towered over Mr. Pearson and berated him for an hour over his decision to make such a speech on American soil.

“You don’t come here and piss on my rug,” Mr. Johnson infa-mously quipped.

Prof. English said Mr. Trump and Mr. John-son share the willingness to threaten world leaders, but with Mr. Trump doing so more publicly.

When Pierre Trudeau suc-ceeded Mr. Pearson, the relationship between the prime minister and president was equally as fraught as he and then-pres-ident Richard Nixon had a contentious personal relationship.

“[Pierre] Trudeau was weary of offending Nixon,” Prof. English said but added that didn’t stop him from being critical of U.S. policy. Despite reluctance to criticize the Nixon administration on Vietnam, the then-Trudeau government for-warded a House of Commons mo-tion condemning the U.S. bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong in 1973.

For Justin Trudeau’s case, he has offered indirect criticism of

Mr. Trump’s immigration po-lices with a tweet in 2017 saying Canada will welcome all fl eeing persecution regardless of faith following the White House’s at-tempt to ban admission of people from seven countries with Muslim majorities. While speaking at a convocation ceremony in New York City in the summer of 2018, Mr. Trudeau gave a speech urging the rejection of nationalism and embracing diversity.

Mr. Trudeau offered his strongest critique of Mr. Trump later that summer following the G7 summit in Charlevoix, Que., in which he said that Canada wouldn’t be bullied after the U.S. had placed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. In response, Mr. Trump tweeted that Mr. Trudeau was “meek and mild” and “very dis-honest and weak.” He also called the Canadian prime minister “two-faced” after Mr. Trudeau was

caught on a hot-mic commenting on Mr. Trump with other world leaders at a NATO summit last December.

Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kergin, who served as Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. from 2000 to 2005, said if a Cana-dian prime minister offers criti-cism on a subject that is pertinent to the U.S. political agenda at a moment when the White House is facing criticism it could be dam-

aging.“That I think

is probably going across a line which any prime minister is treading with a very risky out-come,” he said.

A Canadian politician may get a bump in domestic sup-port, but Mr. Kergin said, long-term blow-back is being risked.

In response the White House could make life diffi cult for Canada on cer-

tain fi les where those fi les move down in priority in importance for U.S. offi cials, he said.

Mr. Kergin, who was Canada’s top diplomat in D.C. at the start of the Iraq War, said the Ameri-cans were not surprised with the decision by the Jean Chrétien not to take part in the war, but they were caught by surprise by Mr. Chrétien announcing the decision in the House of Com-mons without giving them a pre-warning.

He said that the bigger issue that Bush offi cials took issue with was Mr. Chrétien publicly criticiz-ing the economic record of the president and when an aide to Mr. Chrétien called Mr. Bush a “moron.”

“Those things can be a little more dicey often than if you’re taking on an issue where you have a slight difference in foreign policy issues and we agree to disagree on how we’re going to approach a certain international problem,” he said.

Trudeau’s pushed public criticism of Trump to limits, say former diplomats

Despite calls from the NDP to be more forceful in his condem-nation of Mr. Trump’s actions, for-mer diplomats told The Hill Times that Mr. Trudeau has pushed the line as much as he can without stepping over it.

Mr. Kergin said he’s “quite im-pressed” in how Mr. Trudeau has walked the fi ne line over public criticism of Mr. Trump.

“I would argue that the reason we are in reasonably good repair with the Americans right now is there has been sort of an absence of putting the fi nger in the eye,” he said.

“The default behaviour for a prime minister should always be restraint,” said Roy Norton, diplo-mat-in-residence at the Balsillie School of International Affairs

“It shows a great deal of dis-cipline to refrain from calling out Trump by name,” said Mr. Norton, a former offi cial in Canada’s Embas-sy in Washington, D.C., from 1990 to 1994 and 2006 to 2010. “I think it’s clear from polling and from com-ments after that press conference that Canadians would probably in their heart of hearts love there to be high-level criticism of Trump because there’s not that many Ca-nadians—fewer all the time—that identify with the president.”

“But what does that get us?” remarked Mr. Norton, adding that in recent weeks Mr. Trudeau’s criticism of Mr. Trump has been indirect but not very subtle with the 21-second silence, his atten-dance at a Black Lives Matter protest on Parliament Hill, the acknowledgement of systematic racism in Canada, and wearing a face mask in public.

“He’s been the opposite of Trump on every thing he’s done on this. The Americans would be aware of that. Canadians are certainly aware of it,” he said. “So why do we need the icing on a cake of a jab at Trump?”

If Mr. Trudeau did go down that path, Mr. Trump would feel compelled to act, Mr. Norton said.

“If just adds another irritant that has to be negotiated away,” he said.

nmoss@hilltimes.comThe Hill Times

Trudeau continuing historical tradition while presenting indirect critiques of Trump to prevent backlash ‘Pulling the eagle’s tail feathers is an easy, but a dangerous way to get a certain temporary popularity, as well as a feeling of self-satisfaction at having annoyed the big bird,’ said Lester B. Pearson in 1965.

News

THE HILL TIMES | MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

Continued from page 1

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 13, 2017, has been careful not to offer overly direct criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump since the temperamental president took control of the White House in 2017. White House photograph by Shealah Craighead/Flickr

Past prime minister Pierre Trudeau is pictured at the White House with then-U.S. president Richard Nixon on March 25, 1969. The two world leaders had a fraught relationship. Photograph courtesy of Library and Archives Canada

36

taxes, and cutting some spending,” it says.This also means setting out a fi scal

framework which, they argue, should keep growth in programme spending “well below” growth in revenue to place the defi cit on a downward path and making room for rising debt-servicing costs as future interest rates rise. Moreover, there will be strong pres-sures to renegotiate federal-provincial fi scal arrangements as we redesign income secu-

rity programmes and address health and other transfers. None of this will be easy.

Moreover, these policy choices will also have to pay attention to income distri-bution and the distributional impact of changes in spending and taxation.

As we face a diffi cult future of wide-ranging and diffi cult change, social cohe-sion —building a national consensus on the country’s priorities for a future economy— will require extraordinarily strong leader-ship as various groups compete for resourc-es and every province demands its “fair share” of federal support. “Unity achieved during the crisis will be tested when the bills have to be paid” the report warns. But if we succeed in building a more innovative and productive economy, led by a growing legion of world-class Canadian businesses, the burden will be less.

David Crane can be reached at crane@interlog.com.

The Hill Times

Opinion

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

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Where we were is no longer there

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While this may be the best we can hope for, even bigger challenges lie beyond the immediate reopening, as a team of former senior policy-makers from the federal government warn in a report published by law fi rm Bennett Jones. We have to rebuild the economy as well—actually build a new economy—and do it under extraordinarily diffi cult circumstances. Otherwise, we will end up even poorer, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

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37

Photo Feature

THE HILL TIMES | MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

Thousands of anti-Black racism protesters fl ock to Parliament Hill

The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade

Members of Ottawa’s Black community quickly organized last Friday’s massive protest against anti-Black discrimination, police brutality, and systemic discrimination. Unconfi rmed reports suggest 8,000 people attended the June 5 event and walked the streets of downtown Ottawa in one of hundreds of similar protests worldwide.

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Minister Marco Mendicino recently

hired on two new regional advisers to his offi ce, including Tanveer Sandhu as a special assistant for Ontario regional affairs.

Mr. Sandhu started on the job in mid-May and is a former assistant to Liberal MP Kamal Khera, who’s repre-sented Brampton West, Ont., since 2015. He worked for Ms. Khera for a few months shy of two years, starting in April 2018 and ending last December. Along with her MP duties, Ms. Khera has also been the parliamentary secretary to the minister of international development, now Karina Gould, since August 2018.

A former public affairs intern with Crestview Strategy, Mr. Sandhu has also previously overseen Brampton city coun-cillor Martin Medeiros’ 2018 re-election campaign, and ran his father, Kanwar Sandhu’s successful 2017 campaign for a seat in the Punjab Legislative Assem-bly, as noted on his LinkedIn profi le. Other past roles indicated on his online profi le include a three-month stint as a location scout for season three of the FX Networks show Man Seeking Woman, whose cast included Canadian actor Jay Baruchel.

Now in Mr. Mendicino’s offi ce, he’ll be working closely with fellow Ontario re-gional affairs adviser Casey Richardson.

Also recently joining Mr. Mendicino’s team of regional advisers as of last week is Mahamat Djalal, who was brought on as a special assistant for Quebec regional affairs earlier this month.

Mr. Djalal was previously helping to tackle constituent casework in Justice Minister David Lametti’s riding offi ce as the Liberal MP for LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, Que. He’s also a former aide to then-Quebec Liberal immigration, diversity, and inclusion minister David Heurtel, and has bene active with the Quebec Liberal Party’s youth commission.

Rounding out Mr. Mendicino’s current team of regional advisers are Morgan Kelly, special assistant for the Atlantic, and Eric Gustavson, special assistant for West-ern and Northern regional affairs.

Sebastian Clarke, who had until recently also been covering the Ontario desk in the immigration minister’s offi ce since January 2018, is now a policy adviser. Before January 2018, Mr. Clarke was a spe-cial assistant for operations in the offi ce, having fi rst joined the offi ce in June 2017 under then-minister Ahmed Hussen.

Mr. Clarke is a former director of the federal Liberal Markham-Stouffville riding association and previously worked on the Hill as an assistant to the Ontario riding’s now-former MP, Jane Philpott, after help-ing Ms. Philpott get elected in 2015.

Now tackling policy, Mr. Clarke is working under Mr. Mendicino’s director of policy, Olga Radchenko and joins fellow policy advisers Kyle Nicholson and Mat-thew Paisley.

Cyndi Jenkins is chief of staff to Mr. Mendicino, whose offi ce also currently includes: Michael Jones, director of issues management; Olivier Cullen, director of operations and outreach; Lisa Cheskes, director of case management; Marie-Pierre Richard, director of communications; Kevin Lemkay, press secretary; Nyagua Chiek, manager of parliamentary affairs; Kyle Nicholson, senior adviser; Émilie Simard, issues manager; and Christopher Masotti, executive assistant.

Catching up with former staff ersPatricia Beh, who previously served as

director of policy to the heritage minister, has since joined the federal justice depart-ment as a legal counsel.

Ms. Beh had led the policy team in then-heritage minister Pablo Rodriguez’s offi ce from September 2018 up until late Decem-ber 2019. Before working on the Hill, she’d worked as a lawyer with the Newfound-land and Labrador Legal Aid Commission and has also been a legal offi cer for the Canadian Armed Forces.

Jenny Demers, who was last working on the Hill as senior adviser for Quebec to then-families, children, and social develop-ment minister Jean-Yves Duclos, is now a lawyer with the business law fi rm BCF in Montreal.

Before leaving Ottawa post-election last December, she’d spent roughly a year and a half working for Mr. Duclos, and before then was a regional adviser for Quebec to then-infrastructure and communities min-ister Amarjeet Sohi. Ms. Demers is also a former assistant to Quebec Liberal MP Joël

Lightbound and a former associate with Mitchell Gattuso S.E.N.C.

Matthew Conley, who up until last December had spent almost two and a half years working in the immigration minis-ter’s offi ce, is now a senior consultant with Deloitte Canada.

Mr. Conley fi rst joined the offi ce under then-minister Mr. Hussen in August 2017 and served as a special assistant for West-ern and Northern regional affairs. Before then, he was a consultant with Deloitte Digital in Calgary.

Dan Lussier, who was director of policy to the agriculture minister up until Decem-ber, is now working as a part-time technol-ogy integration adviser for the Manitoba-based Enterprise Machine Intelligence & Learning Initiative (EMILI Canada).

A former constituency assistant to Saint-Boniface-Saint-Vital, Man., Liberal MP Dan Vandal, who is now also minis-ter of northern affairs, Mr. Lussier fi rst joined then-agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay’s offi ce as a policy adviser in August 2017. About a year later, he left to do policy work for then-trade diversifi ca-tion minister Jim Carr (another Manitoba MP), but returned to the agriculture minis-ter’s offi ce, by then under current minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, as policy director in April 2019.

Laura D’Angelo, who was senior manager of the executive offi cer in the Prime Minister’s Offi ce for two years end-ing at the beginning of this year, is now general manager of Equality Fund, which describes itself as being focused on sup-porting “women’s rights organizations and feminist movements in Canada and around the world.”

Ms. D’Angelo was director of campaign operations and budget for the federal Lib-erals during the 2019 election, and before joining the PMO in 2018 had been an ac-count director with Ensight Canada.

Mark O’Halloran, who left his post as a senior special assistant to Fisheries Min-ister Bernadette Jordan in February, has since joined the department of fi sheries and oceans as a policy analyst.

Mr. O’Halloran had worked in the min-ister’s offi ce since September 2016, starting under then-fi sheries minister Dominic LeBlanc. He had previously worked as a special assistant to Mr. LeBlanc as then-government House leader. Amongst other past experience, Mr. O’Halloran is also a former executive director of the Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island.

lryckewaert@hilltimes.comThe Hill Times

Plus, Hill Climbers catches up on where some more former staff ers have landed since leaving the Hill.

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020 | THE HILL TIMES

Immigration Minister Mendicino hires new Ontario, Quebec assistants

by Laura Ryckewaert

hill climbers

38

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Mahamat Djalal is now working for the immigration minister. Photograph courtesy of LinkedIn

Jenny Demers is now with the law fi rm BCF in Montreal. Photograph courtesy of LinkedIn

Dan Lussier is now working with EMILI Canada. Photograph courtesy of LinkedIn

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Minister Marco Mendicino, pictured during a press conference on COVID-19 in the West Block on June 8. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

MONDAY, JUNE 15 House Sitting—The House is

suspended until Wednesday, June 17. During this adjournment time, a Special COVID-19 Pandemic Committee has been established, composed of all members of the House, and will meet on an expanded schedule of Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednes-days, and Thursdays until June 18. As per a government motion tabled May 25, the House will sit Wednesday, June 17, to consider supplementary spending estimates, and again on July 8, July 22, Aug. 12, Aug. 26. The House is then scheduled to return in the fall on Monday, Sept. 21, for three straight weeks, as per the original sitting calendar. It was scheduled to adjourn for one week and to sit again from Oct. 19 until Nov. 6. It was scheduled to break again for one week and to sit again from Nov. 16 to Dec. 11. And that would be it for 2020. We’ll update you once the House calendar has been confi rmed.

Senate Not Sitting—The Senate has extended its suspension due to the CO-VID-19 virus until June 16. The Senate was scheduled to sit June 2-4; June 9-11; June 16-18; and June 22, 23, it was scheduled to break on June 24 for St. Jean Baptiste Day; and it was scheduled to sit June 25 and June 26. The Senate was scheduled to break from June 29 until Sept. 22. The Senate’s possible September sitting days are Sept. 21, 25, 28. It’s scheduled to sit Sept. 22-24 and Sept. 29-Oct. 1, with a possible sitting day on Friday, Oct. 2. The possible Senate sitting days are Oct. 5, 9, 19, 23, 26, and 30. It’s scheduled to sit Oct. 6-8; it takes a break from Oct. 12-16; it will sit Oct. 20-22; and Oct. 27-29. The November possible Senate days are: Nov. 2, 6, 16, 20, 23, 27, 30. It’s scheduled to sit Nov. 3-5; it will take a break from Nov. 9-13; it will sit Nov. 17-19; and Nov. 24-26. The possible December Senate sitting days are: Dec. 4, 7, and 11. The Senate is scheduled to sit Dec. 1-3; Dec. 8-10 and it will sit Dec. 14-18. We’ll also update you once the Senate calendar has been confi rmed.

The Future of Work 2020—The Public Sector Network hosts a webinar on “The Future of Work 2020–Canada.” Participants include Gail Johnson, chief human resources offi cer, Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Simon Gascon, director, IT Research, Employment and Social Development Canada; and April Howe, executive director, People and Culture Division, Nova Scotia Public Service Commission. This virtual event runs from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Monday, June 15. Register online.

Famous Five Virtual Pink Tea Conversa-tion—As Nellie McClung said, “No nation rises higher than its women.” So now’s the time for us to rise. Olympian Beckie Scott will help launch these conversations on Monday, June 15, at 1 p.m. MT/3 p.m. ET. Join us and be inspired by how Beckie is using her skills to thrive during COVID-19 and learn her strategies for overcoming adversity. While Pink Teas were used to gather women together to strategize how best to gain the vote and right to run for elected offi ce, our Pink Teas will feature a variety of female leaders so we learn about various issues and opportunities. Hopefully, we will be inspired and work together to re-alize their dreams—or perhaps your dream. Register via Eventbrite.

Panel Discussion: Canada’s Bid for the UN Security Council (Webinar)—The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy presents Peggy Mason, former Canadian ambassador for disarmament to the UN and president of the Rideau Institute; and Adam Chapnick, professor of defence studies at the Royal Military College of Canada. June 15, 2020, 6 p.m.-7 p.m. EST. Livestream on Zoom at PeaceDiplomacy.Org

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17 & THURSDAY, JUNE 18

Conservative Party Leadership De-bates—The Conservative Party will host leadership debates on June 17 (French) and June 18 (English) in Toronto. Both debates will be live-streamed at con-servative.ca starting at 7 p.m., and Canadians will have the opportunity to submit questions for the candidates in advance. The debates will be moderated by the Leadership Election Organizing Committee co-chairs Dan Nowlan and Lisa Raitt. The debates will exclusively feature questions from the public, and Canadians are asked to submit their

video recorded questions to our Con-servative Leadership website www.cpc-leadership2020.ca by June 10.

SATURDAY, JUNE 27Canada Summit for National Progress

2020— The Canada Summit for National Progress is a ground-breaking gathering of established leaders, emerging leaders, dreamers and doers who are committed to building a strong Canada for future generations. If you are a business person, non-profi t organization leader, elected offi cial, community leader, community volunteer, student, senior or anyone with a heart for Canada and a desire to work for tangible change, then this event is for you. Presenters include Stockwell Day, former opposition leader; Niels Veldhuis, Fraser Institute president; Tony Clement, former federal health minister; and Joy Smith, former Conservative MP. Event participants will hear from prominent national voices on key issues and have the option of participating in think tank

sessions. The summit is a free, two-day event, taking place on Saturday, June 13 and Saturday, June 27. Register at canadasummit.ca.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 8Canada’s Foremost Fintech Conference

FFCON20—Featuring high-growth start-ups and leading industry experts across fi ntech sectors including digital banking, P2P fi nance, AI, capital markets, Wealthtech, payments, crypto, and blockchain. July 8-9. Speakers include: Robert Asselin, senior director public policy, BlackBerry; Paul Schulte, founder and editor, Schulte Research; Craig Asano, founder and CEO, NCFA; George Bordianu, co-founder and CEO, Balance; Julien Brazeau, partner, Deloitte; Alixe Cormick, president, Venture Law Corporation; Nikola Danaylov, founder, keynote speaker, author futurist, Singulari-ty Media; Pam Draper, president and CEO, Bitvo; Justin Hartzman, co-founder and CEO, CoinSmart; Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, founder & CEO, FrontFundr; Cynthia

Huang, CEO and co-founder, Altcoin Fan-tasy; Austin Hubbel, CEO and co-founder, Consilium Crypto; Patrick Mandic, CEO, Mavennet; Mark Morissette, co-founder & CEO, Foxquilt; Cato Pastoll, co-founder & CEO, Lending Loop; Bernd Petak, investment partner, Northmark Ventures; Ali Pourdad, Pourdad Capital Partners, Family Offi ce; Richard Prior, global head of policy and research, FDATA; Richard Remillard, president, Remillard Consult-ing Group; Jennifer Reynolds, president & CEO, Toronto Finance International; Jason Saltzman, partner, Gowling WLG Canada; James Wallace, co-chair and co-CEO, Exponential; Alan Wunsche, CEO & chief token offi cer, Tokenfunder; and Danish Yusuf, founder and CEO, Zensurance. For more information, please visit: https://fi n-techandfunding.com/.

FRIDAY, AUG. 21Conservative Party Leadership—The

federal Conservative Party’s Leadership Election Organizing Committee, also known

as LEOC, announced on April 29 that Aug. 21 is the deadline for mail-in ballots, after the leadership was suspended on March 26 due to the global pandemic. The party says the winner will be announced once the ballots can be safely counted.

THURSDAY, OCT. 15PPF Testimonial Dinner and Awards—

Join us at the 33rd annual event to network and celebrate as the Public Policy Forum honours Canadians who have made their mark on policy and leadership. Anne McLellan and Senator Peter Harder will take their place among a cohort of other stellar Canadians who we’ve honoured over the last 33 years, people who have dedicated themselves to making Canada a better place through policy leadership and public service. The gala event will be held on Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front St. W., Toronto.

SATURDAY, OCT. 24Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner—The

Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner happens on Saturday, Oct. 24, in the Sir John A. Macdonald Building on Wellington Street in Ottawa.

FRIDAY, OCT. 30CJF Awards Celebrating 30 Years of

Excellence in Journalism—The Canadian Journalism Foundation Awards will be held on Oct. 30, 2020, at the Ritz-Carlton, Toronto, hosted by Rick Mercer, former host of The Rick Mercer Report. The CBC’s Anna Maria Tremonti will be honoured. Tables are $7,500 and tickets are $750. For more information on tables and sponsorship opportunities, contact Josh Gurfi nkel at jgurfi nkel@cjf-fjc.ca or 416-955-0394.

TUESDAY, NOV. 3 U.S. Presidential Election—The U.S.

presidential election is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. U.S. President Donald Trump is the Republican candidate and former vice-president Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic candidate. The winner is scheduled to be inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2021.

THURSDAY, NOV. 12Liberal Party National Convention—The

Liberal Party of Canada announced the 2020 Liberal National Convention will be hosted in Ottawa, from Nov. 12-15. For more information, please contact: media@liberal.ca, 613-627-2384.

FRIDAY, NOV. 13Bridging Divides in Wake of a Global

Pandemic—The University of Victoria (UVic) and the Senate of Canada are bringing together change-makers at the Victoria Forum to help generate solutions to some of the world’s most divisive problems. The two-day virtual forum will be held Nov. 13-14 to examine issues that fall under the theme of “Bridging divides in the wake of a global pandemic.” The forum will draw on emerging trends and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic through biweekly webinars. For more information or to regis-ter, visit www.victoriaforum.ca.

The Parliamentary Calendar is a free events listing. Send in your political, cultural, diplomatic, or governmental event in a paragraph with all the relevant details under the subject line ‘Parlia-mentary Calendar’ to news@hilltimes.com by Wednesday at noon before the Monday paper or by Friday at noon for the Wednesday paper. We can’t guarantee inclusion of every event, but we will defi-nitely do our best. Events can be updated daily online, too.

The Hill Times

39

Feature

THE HILL TIMES | MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

Extra! Extra! Read the full Parliamentary Calendar Parliamentary Calendar

online

Parliamentary Calendar

Conservative Party leadership debates happen June 17 (French) and June 18 (English) in Toronto

This just in: CPC leadership contenders Peter MacKay, top left, Erin O’Toole, top right, Leslyn Lewis, above left, and Derek Sloan, above right, will take part in their French and English televised debates on June 17 and June 18 in Toronto. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade, le photo, and photographs courtesy of Twitter

Inside Ottawa includes:• Federal riding profiles • MP contact details, both Hill and constituency• House committee clerks and membership• Senators’ contact details and committee membership• Current photos in colour• Prime Minister’s Office and Privy Council Office staff contacts• Ministers’ offices staff contacts• Speaker’s office contacts• Committee charts with current photos• List of shadow cabinet and opposition critics• Key political, government and media contacts• Sitting calendar 2020• Renumeration• Session tip sheet

Inside Canada includes:Contacts for every Province and Territorial Government:• Legislature key contacts• Members of the Legislative Assembly with photos• Cabinet ministers’ executive departments• Party and Government Posts (ministers and critics)• Opposition contacts• Agencies of Parliament• Media contacts• Remuneration• Committees members and clerks• Sitting calendars for 2020• Seat breakdown by province• Next election forecast

Save time, have all political phone numbers and email addresses at your fingertips.

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