New fuel regulations will increase price of fuel and decrease GDP: budget watchdog
CBC
23-05-18 21:51
Canada's planned Clean Fuel Regulations will raise the price of fuel by as much as C$0.17 ($0.13) a liter and reduce economic activity by as much as C$9bn ($7bn) by 2030, according to the country's government budget watchdog, the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The legislation will require oil and diesel suppliers in Canada to reduce the carbon intensity of their fuels, incentivizing investment in cleaner alternatives like hydrogen and biofuels. The PBO report did not consider the costs of not doing anything about climate change, such as increasingly intense storms and wildfires.
Dominic Barton, the former global managing partner of McKinsey, appeared before the Canadian House of Commons committee to answer questions about ties between the Canadian Infrastructure Bank (CIB) and McKinsey. One of the main talking points regarding the matter was newly released emails showing Zak Cutler, a McKinsey partner, organized a CIB workshop which included Barton, even though he had told Parliament that he had no contact with McKinsey during his brief tenure as Canada’s ambassador to China earlier this year. The committee had obtained the emails as evidence in an examination of McKinsey’s role in the creation of CIB, and there were concerns over the ties between McKinsey with Barton, who chaired the economic advisory council that recommended the creation of the CIB while at McKinsey. McKinsey has received over $100m in federal contract work since the Liberals formed government back in 2015.
Rishi Sunak has ruled out a coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) after the next general election, closing off one option for the Conservative government to retain power. Political analysts have suggested there is a high likelihood of a hung parliament after the vote, due by early 2025. Despite the Labour Party’s double-digit lead in current opinion polls, an absence of an overall majority makes a pact between political parties at least possibly important. Sunak’s refusal of a coalition with the DUP means he would have few potential allies except the Liberal Democrats.
Ginni Thomas, wife of US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has become the focus of a number of ethical controversies, which has renewed interest in her 34-year-long career as a right-wing political lobbyist and Washington DC operator, and exposed gaps in disclosure obligations for justices’ families. New questions have emerged about her business dealings, including payments to one of her companies from a group that had business before the Supreme Court, according to investigative outlet ProPublica. Legal ethics experts call the payments “eye-popping.” Last year, she was investigated by law enforcement for a politically motivated “hit list.”
Americans are being forced to support those who aren't working, according to James Piereson, President of the Roosevelt Group thinktank. Writing in The Wall Street Journal, he argues that welfare benefits have provided a disincentive for people to get back to work, and says that in many states, a family can receive annualized unemployment benefits or healthcare subsidies for a family of four which exceed a six-figure income. He claims that while businesses are competing against each other to find workers, they are also fighting the incentive of excessive state benefits.
The National Conservatism conference in London brought together young and articulate British Conservatives who were critical of the Tory Party for failing to enact conservative policies. Attendees voiced concerns over broken promises on immigration and leftward drift on social issues. The Conservative Party has alienated both young left-leaning voters and those with more traditional views by becoming a socially liberal party under David Cameron. The Tories have been outflanked by Labour on social issues, so if they merely replicate their opponents, they risk losing their core principles and electorate. The conference touched on controversial issues such as demography, history, immigration, and culture, where the Conservative Party has been historically wrong.
‘Pierre Poilievre has decided to pander … leaving those of us disgusted by Justin Trudeau without a clear option.’ Conservative contrarians, plus other letters to the editor for May 19
The Globe and Mail
23-05-19 08:00
Canadians must seek to protect their country from the violence and division that has become rife in America, according to a letter in the Globe and Mail. The missive’s writer, expat Don Gayton, wrote that Canada should attempt to understand the causes of the problems in the US so that the twin issues of violence and division do not come north over the border. In related comments, other respondents noted the gun laws which enable violence south of the border but are not in place in Canada, a division of political opinion which has no bearing on geography and a surge in anger in the right-wing conservative movement.
Greeks are set to go to the polls on Sunday 7 July to elect a new leader. The ruling party is the centre-right New Democracy, led by prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is seeking a second term. The country is recovering from years of national debt and financial turmoil that left many households struggling, but Mitsotakis is credited with high growth, a drop in unemployment, and paying off debts to the International Monetary Fund. Nevertheless, securing a second term is by no means guaranteed, with opponents set to include opponents ranging from the far-right to the Communist Party.
Labour's policy in the Starmer era seems to be a "sequel to a rerun" of previous ideas and there does not appear to be an overarching strategy behind the projects and proposals, writes Matthew Lynn in The Telegraph. He suggests the Tories outflanked Labour by imploding before their first healthy majority since 1987 had even run its course, giving Labour presidential-style politics and has hinted at a return to Clause IV, but with nothing definite put forward, it looks more and more like a lost decade.
A new political party in Canada could offer a sensible, distinct and useful alternative to those on offer from the other parties, writes Andrew Coyne in the National Post. In the article, Coyne argues that centrist parties tend to attract criticism from both the left and the right, with many seeing them as having no fixed beliefs and always splitting the difference between the two parties. He adds that opinions on the centre ground also tend to be vague and undefined, meaning that political start-ups have an opportunity to set out their stall in a way that resonates with voters.
Coyne suggests that a new centre party could take steps to cover off three key categories of policy, namely policies that command a high degree of consensus among expert opinion that are nonetheless ignored by the established parties, policies that represent a synthesis of left and right, and policies that are freely borrowed from other parties where they have merit. He argues that such a party could also serve as a threat to the other parties’ vested interests, without necessarily needing to stand much of a chance of ever taking power.
Finally, Coyne argues that Canada is ready for a new party that behaves better than some of the established options. He suggests that voters are tired of voting for the lesser of many evils and are ready for a grown-up party that treats them like grown-ups.
US Republican Congress member John Curtis, chairman of the Conservative Climate Caucus, has been criticised for claiming $10,000 in clean-energy tax credits as part of the Democratic Inflation Reduction Act which every Republican voted against. Curtis revealed that he has used the subsidies to buy 30 rooftop solar panels and a geothermal heat pump for his Utah home. Curtis has said he bought the technology to make climate-friendly upgrades to his home well before President Biden signed the climate legislation into law and that it was not his intention to claim federal tax credits. Conservatives including Benji Backer, president and founder of the American Conservation Coalition, defended Curtis and called for a lower-cost version of the Inflation Reduction Act without liberal priorities unrelated to climate change. The GOP's debt limit bill passed by the House which includes a phase-down of solar energy tax credit has met with strong resistance from the White House and Republicans concerned about the potential impact on their constituents.
Former Governor-General David Johnston is reportedly set to recommend a "wide-ranging public enquiry" into Chinese interference in Canadian elections in response to allegations that the Chinese government attempted to influence Canada’s democratic process by supporting certain candidates. Johnston has been given a broad remit to examine the “extent and impact of foreign interference in Canada’s electoral processes” and any other relevant matter. This has included assessing how the government has responded to interference in previous elections and the most recent two. The publicly available evidence suggests that an enquiry is required rather than just strengthening Australian-Chinese relations.
Johnston’s report will reportedly come after allegations that the Chinese government supported the campaign of several candidates, favouring Liberal Party members, together with accusations that the Chinese consulate in Vancouver attempted to influence the outcome of the October 2022 election. It also followed reports of attempts by Beijing to interfere with the family of Michael Chong, the MP behind the effort by the House of Commons to condemn genocidal practices against China’s Uyghur community. Reports of Canadian allegations against China have varied, with analysts predicting risks including canola, pork and retail exports there, but others have suggested the Chinese government is hoping that interference accusations will fade away.
Meanwhile, Eddie Goldenberg, who was senior adviser to ex-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, has called for both strategic and economic reasons to encourage closer relations with China. However, a properly conducted public inquiry could help rather than hinder the relationship, the article concludes. The inquiry could help ensure transparency and improve trust, rather than simply relying on potential political accusations risking further economic damage.
The UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has suggested that legal migration is “too high”, but declined to put an exact figure on what is acceptable. His comments come ahead of figures expected next week detailing levels of net migration to the country. Prime minister Boris Johnson has faced calls to reduce migrant numbers, in line with a Conservative manifesto pledge to do so in 2019. Increases in migration have been primarily driven by non-EU nationals, including Ukrainian refugees, although some firms have warned that restrictions on immigration could damage businesses at a time of low unemployment.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said he is committed to reducing net migration, but was unwilling to promise to bring levels below 500,000 by the next general election. The pledge was promised in the Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto, but levels are expected to reach one million following the pandemic and the end of the Brexit transition period. Sunak said that last year’s numbers had also been artificially high due to the welcoming of Ukrainian refugees. Home Secretary Priti Patel has this week launched a consultation on reforms to the asylum system that would end the right of refugees to be granted asylum on the basis of their method of arrival.
David Johnston to reveal Tuesday if public inquiry on foreign interference is needed
CBC
23-05-19 15:48
The result of a report by former governor general David Johnston on whether a public inquiry should be called to investigate concerns about foreign interference in Canadian elections will be released on 23 May. The appointment of Johnston, as the independent special rapporteur on foreign interference, was made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in March. Among other things, the terms of reference for the role required Johnston to assess the extent and impact of foreign interference in Canada's elections, review the government's responses and share significant findings with the public.
UK household energy bills could rise by around £118 ($155) per year under plans being considered by the government to meet its net-zero targets and improve gas and electricity supply security, according to a study by think tank Onward. Downing Street supports low-carbon hydrogen gas production to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. However, the “regressive and unfair” levy could cost £118 per year for the average dual fuel household, directly benefitting fewer customers, Onward warned. Jack Richardson, the think tank's head of energy and climate called for "carbon taxes on heavy industry" instead of household levies.
Lithuania's Conservative Party has announced its intention to call a snap parliamentary election, with the government potentially resigning if the request is rejected.
UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has cautioned that pessimism could trigger a "self-fulfilling prophecy" of economic decline in the UK. In an opinion piece for The Telegraph, he blamed both the Left and the Right for portraying the country in a negative light, insisting that there are clear signs of economic improvement under Chancellor Rishi Sunak; inflation is falling, a recession is likely to be avoided and there will soon be a reduction in energy bills. However, Hunt revealed that critics have tried to question their economic priorities - especially within the context of local election losses.
Rishi Sunak, the UK's chancellor, has refused to reveal the level of legal migration that would be deemed "acceptable" and insists that the government must prioritise the economy over its pledge to reduce overall migration figures. Total migration numbers, which account for net migration, are set to reach a new high of over 700,000 from within the year of 2021 to 2022. Despite this, Sunak refused to specify when or how the UK's government expects to reduce the overall number. Sunak has said that the number of legal migrants is currently "too high."
China’s ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, has urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau not to provoke further retaliation from China as Canada decides whether to launch an investigation into alleged meddling in Canadian politics by China. The controversy centres on leaks claiming Chinese officials covertly interfered in the last two elections. Cong suggested that Canada should consider pursuing an independent foreign policy rather than constantly following the lead of the US. He has also denied all Chinese meddling in Canadian affairs and suggested that the allegations were the result of “ideological bias”.
