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Apr 2 2024

Food billion. Trying trusts. Trump gag : The Roundup

Apr 2, 2024
David Akin's Roundup
Clippings of #cdnpoli, #media, and #tech content aimed at those with an interest in Canadian politics and policy. And sometimes Canadian postage stamps.
Canada
Carbon tax increase fuels affordability politics
The federal carbon tax has increased by 23 per cent, meaning burning fossil fuels will cost most Canadians more money, but they'll also get more money in rebates. David Akin explains why hundreds of economists support the hike; how politicians from all sides are criticizing the increase; how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is responding; and why the Liberals' poor communication is contributing to the criticism. [Global National]
The federal government is promising to spend $1 billion over the next five years for a national school lunch program, which is supposed to feed an additional 400,000 children per year. Mackenzie Gray reports on how advocates are welcoming the announcement after decades of pushing for the initiative; and how this program could have benefits beyond the classroom. [Global National]
Paul Wells: "One senses a characteristic Liberal reflex. When the polls go badly, progressive governments, and I think particularly Liberal governments, start to spew new program announcements in every direction. Not in an orderly way that would tend to increase voters’ faith in public effort to address widespread problems, but in a kind of convulsion. I saw this when I covered Kathleen Wynne’s last provincial Liberal budget in Ontario. It offered $19 billion for hospitals, $534 million for child care, 30,000 long-term beds for senior care, $16 billion for schools, $700 in drug and dental coverage for each family of four. More astonishing munificence in a single budget than in the decade before. Ontarians, unmoved, elected Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives instead." [Substack]
Many Canadians have already filed their taxes, but the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has now paused new reporting requirements for bare trusts, giving thousands an unnecessary bill. Abigail Bimman explains what a bare trust is, why the CRA made the last-minute change, the fury from accountants, and how it could affect your tax returns. [Global National]

Experts said that wealthy investors with second or third properties are pricing out first-time homebuyers and reducing the overall housing supply in the real estate market. [Global]
Airlines and marine shippers have asked Ottawa to beef up funding for sustainable transport, money they hope will flow toward green supply chains and upgrades to existing infrastructure. [CP]
From the Provinces
Manitoba premier says he'll take up PM's challenge to find carbon tax alternative
Premier Wab Kinew says Manitoba will make the case that it doesn't need the federal carbon tax to meet emissions targets because it has its own credible plan to get there. [CBC]

Demand has doubled at a food bank in Oromocto, N.B., its executive director says. Members of the Canadian Forces and more seniors needing support are part of the increase. [Global]

New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds those in B.C. who support the federal Conservatives are more likely to support the provincial Conservatives than BC United in the pending B.C. election. [Angus Reid Institute]

The N.W.T. government's heating fuel exemption came into effect on Monday. There will be a three-year pause on the carbon tax for diesel heating fuel, and a reduction in cost of living offset payments for all residents of the territory. [CBC]

Barriere Mayor Ward Stamer will be running in the newly redrawn Kamloops-North Thompson riding, while Dennis Giesbrecht will be doing so in newly-created Kamloops-Centre riding. [Radio NL]
Elsewhere
Al-Shifa Hospital in shambles after Israeli raid
Al-Shifa Hospital, which was Gaza's largest medical complex, is now mostly destroyed after a two-week raid by Israel during its war on Hamas. Crystal Goomansingh reports on the scale of the destruction; what one patient says he and staff experienced; and what the loss of the facility means for Palestinians who are still alive. [Global National]

Citizens from Australia, Britain and Poland were among seven people working for celebrity chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza, the NGO said. [Reuters]
Donald Trump had in recent days targeted the daughter of Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing his criminal trial in Manhattan, in blistering social media posts. [NYT]
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Media
On Monday, through his attorney, Eric Meyer, owner of Marion County Record, filed a federal lawsuit against several city and county officials who they say helped orchestrate the raids that he believes led to his mother's death. [KSHB]
Science and Tech
Microsoft will stop packaging its Teams videoconferencing app with its Office software after the practice attracted antitrust scrutiny. [AP]
Telegram users will get access to the app's new business features for free -- if they have a paid Premium account. [Endgadget]
4 ways to use Google Search to check facts, images and sources
For International Fact\u002DChecking Day, we’re sharing four Search features to help you evaluate information and get key context online. [Google]
The Calendar
  • 1030 ET: London, ON - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and NPD MP Lindsay Mathyssen visits a school of medicine and dentistry.
  • 1130 ET: Halifax - PM Trudeau and Housing and Infrastructure Min Sean Fraser makes a housing announcement.
  • 1145 ET: London, ON - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and NPD MP Lindsay Mathyssen visits a food charity.
  • 1330 ET: Watson Lake, YT - LPC MP Brendan Hanley makes a funding announcement. 
  • 1300 ET: Ottawa - IND MP Han Dong will testify at the Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference
  • 1415 ET: London, ON - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks with Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath
  • 1200 ET: Kitchener, ON - Deputy PM and Fin Min Chrystia Freeland makes a funding announcement. 
  • 1230 ET: Toronto - Defence Min Bill Blair makes a funding announcement. 
  • 1230 ET: Edmonton - Employment Min Randy Boissonnault makes a funding announcement. 
  • 1330 ET: Moncton - ACOA Min Gudie Hutchings tours a housing project.
  • 1300 ET: Montreal - CEDQR Min Soraya Martinez Ferrada makes a funding announcement. 
  • 1345 ET: Richmond, BC - PACIFICCan Min Harjit Sajjan , Agriculture Min Lawrence MacAulay, Sport Min Carla Qualtrough, and LPC MP Wilson Miao make a funding announcement. 
  • 1400 ET: via videoconference - Families and Social Development Min Jenna Sudds and LPC MP Élisabeth Brière speak about a national food program.
  • 1445 ET: Halifax - PM Trudeau visits a daycare facility.
Issued this day ...
… in 2004: Sc #2020: Tourist Attractions: St Joseph’s Oratory, QC. Design: Bradbury Branding and Design.
When you're driving towards Montréal, this is the probably the first bit of it you see: The Oratoire Saint-Joseph-du-Mont-Royal that sits atop Mount Royal and, as the result of its location as well as its own height, is the highest point in the city. Wiki: "It is a National Historic Site of Canada and is Canada's largest church, with one of the largest church domes in the world. The Oratory is recognizable not just in Montreal but around the world, attracting more than 2 million visitors and pilgrims to its steps each year."

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