Health ministers meeting, Emergencies Act inquiry continues : In The News for Nov. 7

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of Nov. 7 …

What we are watching in Canada …

Canada’s health ministers are set to meet in British Columbia this week, four months after premiers from across the country gathered in Victoria to show a united front of frustration over what they called a “crumbling” health-care system.

All 13 provincial and territorial health ministers are expected to meet with their federal counterpart, Jean-Yves Duclos, today and tomorrow in Vancouver.

A media advisory from Health Canada says it’s the first time all of the health ministers from different levels of government have met in person since 2018.

The meeting comes after Canada’s premiers met in Victoria last July, where they asked Ottawa to boost the Canada Health Transfer, the money each jurisdiction gets for health care, to 35 per cent, up from what they said amounts to 22 per cent.

Prime Minister Trudeau responded by saying the federal government wants to make sure the billions of dollars transferred to the provinces and territories deliver “real, tangible results for Canadians,” with shorter wait times and better services.

The premiers have renewed their calls to boost the transfer with a Canada-wide awareness campaign launched last month to promote “the critical need for a new and sustainable health-care funding partnership with Ottawa.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix has said the extra cash is needed as the province tackles nursing and doctor shortages, works to improve access to digital health care, and boosts mental health and substance-use services related to the toxic drug crisis.

The Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Nurses Association and HealthCareCAN, which represents various organizations and hospitals, also teamed up ahead of this week’s meetings to push the health ministers to work together on urgent solutions to staffing shortages, burnout and other ills plaguing the system.

The groups are jointly calling for measures including incentives to retain workers, such as increased mental health supports, as well as a Canada-wide strategy to gather data on the workforce to allow doctors to be licensed more easily wherever they’re most needed. They have also called for improved access to primary care and virtual visits.

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Also this …

The mayor of Windsor, Ont., will testify today at a public inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act to clear ‘Freedom Convoy’ protesters blockading streets around Parliament Hill and several border crossings. 

The scheduled testimony from Drew Dilkens comes as a piece of evidence shows he exchanged texts with Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, who sought the mayor’s support for “any additional authorities” to keep the Ambassador Bridge open, hours before the legislation was announced. 

A summary of the exchange is contained in a timeline the City of Windsor submitted to the Public Order Emergency Commission before today’s hearing, which provides a blow-by-blow account of its response to the blockade. 

Protesters decrying COVID-19 mandates moved in on the Ambassador Bridge on the evening of Feb. 7, setting off alarm bells on both sides of the Windsor-Detroit link — the busiest border crossing between Canada and the U.S.

Hundreds of millions of dollars of trade are carried across the bridge daily, particularly for the automotive industry, which the city says suffered under the temporary closure. 

Police armed with a court injunction ultimately removed protesters who refused to leave, and the bridge reopened to traffic in the early hours of Feb. 14. 

According to the city’s timeline of events, Mendicino texted Dilkens later that morning about the situation. 

“Mayor Dilkens inquires as to whether the federal government is taking action (regarding) the Emergencies Act,” the timeline reads.

“Minister asks, ‘to the extent you can be supportive of any additional authorities that gets Windsor the resources you need to keep the bridge open, people safe, that would be great.'”

The afternoon of Feb. 14 is when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would invoke the never-before-used Emergencies Act to deal with ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests. 

The central question facing the inquiry is whether Trudeau’s government was justified in using the Emergencies Act to clear last winter’s demonstrations. It’s set to hear public testimony from witnesses until Nov. 25. 

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And this too …

The Competition Tribunal’s public hearing on Rogers Communications Inc.’s $26-billion proposed takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. begins today as the telecom companies look to take the deal across the finish line.

The hearing will aim to resolve the impasse between the Commissioner of Competition and Rogers and Shaw, and comes after weeks of talks and a short mediation period in late October that reached a stalemate.

The Competition Bureau is one of three regulatory agencies that must approve the deal before it can close, in addition to the CRTC and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. 

Last week, the competition watchdog doubled down on its intention to fully block the deal.

It reiterated its position that the planned sale of Shaw-owned wireless carrier Freedom Mobile to Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron Ltd. is not enough to eliminate its concerns that the merger would lead to worse services and higher prices for consumers.

The hearing is expected to last four weeks with oral arguments scheduled for mid-December.

Chief Justice Paul Crampton will be heading the Competition Tribunal panel during the hearing.

Rogers is hoping to close the Shaw deal by the end of the year, with a possible further extension to Jan. 31, 2023.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

WASHINGTON _ An election year that unfolded against the backdrop of economic turmoil, the elimination of federal abortion rights and broad concerns about the future of democracy is concluding with a final full day of campaigning in which leaders of both parties will issue urgent appeals to their supporters.

U.S. President Joe Biden is holding a Monday evening rally in Maryland, where Democrats have one of their best opportunities to reclaim a Republican-held governor’s seat. The appearance is in line with Biden’s late-campaign strategy of sticking largely to Democratic strongholds rather than stumping in more competitive territory, where control of Congress may ultimately be decided.

His predecessor, former president Donald Trump, will hold his final rally of the campaign in Ohio. As he readies another run for the White House, Ohio holds special meaning for the former president because it was one of the first places where he was able to prove his enduring power among Republican voters. His backing of JD Vance was crucial in helping the author and venture capitalist _ and one-time Trump critic _ secure the GOP’s nomination for a Senate seat.

With more than 41 million ballots already cast, Monday’s focus will be ensuring that supporters either meet early voting deadlines or make plans to show up in person on Tuesday. The results will have a powerful impact on the final two years of Biden’s presidency, shaping policy on everything from government spending to military support for Ukraine.

In the first national election since the violent Jan. 6 insurrection, the final days of the campaign focused on fundamental questions about the nation’s political values.

Campaigning in New York for Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday, Biden said Republicans were willing to condone last year’s mob attack at the Capitol and that, after the recent assault of Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, some in that party made “light of it” or were “making excuses.”

“There’s never been a time in my career where we’ve glorified violence based on a political preference,” the president said.

Meanwhile, a Sunday evening Trump rally in Miami, a reference to Nancy Pelosi prompted changes of “Lock her up!” _ a stark reminder of the nation’s deep divide.

Trump was campaigning for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s reelection, but also focused on his own political future. After telling a crowd in Iowa last week that he’s “very, very, very probably” going to run for president again, he again teased the possibility on Sunday and encouraged supporters to watch his Ohio rally.

“I will probably have to do it again, but stay tuned,” Trump said, teasing the Monday event. “We have a big, big rally. Stay tuned for tomorrow night.”

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt _ More than 100 world leaders are about to discuss a worsening problem that scientists’ call Earth’s biggest challenge, yet observers don’t expect much from it, maybe not even a lot of attention.

Nearly 50 heads of states or governments on Monday will take the stage in the first day of “high-level” international climate talks in Egypt with more to come in the following days. Much of the focus will be on national leaders telling their stories of being devastated by climate disasters, culminating on Tuesday with a speech by Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Sharif, whose country’s summer flood caused at least $40 billion in damage and displaced millions of people.

But it may not quite have the drama or headlines that past such meetings have had, due to bad timing and who isn’t showing up, is coming late or are dithering about it.

Most of the leaders are meeting Monday and Tuesday, just as the United States has a potentially policy-shifting midterm election.

Then the leaders of the world’s 20 wealthiest nations will have their powerful-only club confab in Bali in Indonesia days later. Add to that, “there are big climate summits and little climate summits and this was never expected to be a big one,” said Climate Advisers CEO Nigel Purvis, a former U.S. negotiator.

Leaders of two of the three biggest carbon polluting nations _ China and India _ appear to be skipping the climate talks, although underlings are here negotiating. The leader of the other top polluting country _ U.S. President Joe Biden _ is coming days later than most of the other presidents and prime ministers on his way to Bali.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was initially going to avoid the negotiations, but public pressure and predecessor Boris Johnson’s plans to come changed his mind. New King Charles III, a longtime environment advocate, won’t attend because of his new role. And Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine created energy chaos that reverberates in the world of climate negotiations, won’t be here.

“We always want more” leaders, United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell said in a Sunday news conference. “But I believe there is sufficient (leadership) right now for us to have a very productive outcome.”

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On this day in 1983 …

The world’s first successful single-lung transplant was performed in Toronto. Tom Hall, a 58-year-old hardware executive, lived for another six years after receiving the lung of a 13-year-old car accident victim.

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In entertainment …

Canada’s literati are folding up their reading glasses and breaking out their finest garb ahead of tonight’s Scotiabank Giller Prize.

One of five writers will receive the $100,000 award this evening during a televised gala at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto.

Among the nominees are Kim Fu, for “Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century”; Rawi Hage, for his short story collection “Stray Dogs”; and Tsering Yangzom Lama, nominated for her novel “We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies.”

Rounding out the shortlist are Suzette Mayr, nominated for her novel “The Sleeping Car Porter” and Noor Naga, for her novel “If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English.”

Poet and social media phenom Rupi Kaur and actress-producer Sarah Gadon will host the festivities.

The winner will be announced at 9 p.m., with the ceremony broadcast live on CBC.

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Did you see this?

Travellers found themselves facing long lineups and cancelled flights on Sunday after a system-wide outage at WestJet airlines over the weekend.

The Calgary-based airline said it has resolved Saturday’s outage, which affected its entire network, but cautioned further disruptions are expected in the days ahead.

Chief Operating Officer Diederik Pen released a statement on Sunday saying the outage was caused by a “cooling issue” in its primary data centre, and more than 200 flights had to be cancelled.

“Unfortunately, due to the scope of yesterday’s network impact, we continue to see residual disruptions. Further delays and cancellations in the coming days will be required, as we work diligently to recover our operations,” Pen said in the statement.

He said all systems were back online, but noted the airline is “still experiencing some instability.”

Passengers, however, faced hours-long lineups to re-book cancelled flights, and some had already been through the process more than once.

WestJet said the outage prevented its contact centre from accessing guest reservations.

It also apologized to customers for the inconvenience.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2022.

The Canadian Press