July 2024

THE Parliamentary Budget Officer believes that the staffing of new regulators within the Liberals Online Harms Act will cost about $200 million over five years. The federal government wants to create a Digital Safety Commission to regulate social media companies and force them to limit harmful content online. If the government’s bill passes through parliament, the commission will establish a set of regulations and have the power to impose fines on companies that break the rules. The online harms bill also proposes the creation of a digital safety ombudsman to whom Canadians can report their concerns, as well as a new digital safety office. In a report released Thursday morning, the DPB said the Heritage Department estimates the new entities will employ about 300 people when fully operational. The story continues below the advertisement 2:16 Online Harm Response Act “The PBO estimates that from 2024-25 to 2028-29, total operating costs will be $201 million, less any administrative monetary penalties, fines…or regulatory fees collected by the commission, the ombudsman and the office,” it reads. Financial news and information delivered to your email every Saturday. The report notes that the government could raise revenue by fining companies that don’t comply, but the estimated cost does not include an analysis of what that might look like. “There is a high degree of uncertainty about the revenue that will be generated, as it depends on the willingness of outside companies to comply with the requirements set by the Commission and the Online Harms Act.” Fashionable now Greece to introduce 6-day workweek. Could Canada follow? This Chicken Takes The Bus To School. Now He’s Been Declared The World’s Smartest Chicken Costs may also be higher if new entities decide to use external consulting services or legal support, the report says. The watchdog points out that the government’s staffing estimates are based on those of other Canadian and international regulatory bodies. The story continues below the advertisement 5:58 Analysis of the draft law on online harms Law Minister Arif Virani introduced the Online Harms Bill in February, saying social media giants must take responsibility for harmful content. But opposition conservatives have been critical, saying it would create a new bureaucracy. Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner has asked the PBO to conduct an analysis of the costs involved in implementing the new system. She argued the government could instead amend existing laws and regulators to ensure Canadians are better protected online. © 2024 The Canadian Press Source link

The last weeks crushing defeat in by-elections in a Toronto riding has sparked “a lot of conversation” within the Liberal PartyPrime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday, as questions also swirl around his political future. Since the Conservatives’ surprise victory in Toronto-St. Paul’s — a Liberal stronghold for more than three decades — Trudeau said the party has “engaged in many important conversations.” “Let’s be very clear, the byelection loss last week, without sugarcoating it, was difficult, it’s something we have to take seriously,” he told reporters in Montreal, Que., where he made an announcement about community infrastructure. “We had many important conversations,” Trudeau said. “I’ve had many calls with different members of caucus, from across the country, not just the Greater Toronto Area, to talk about how we make sure that we continue to work to connect with Canadians to continue to meet people’s needs.” The story continues below the advertisement Trudeau’s comments on Wednesday come as some Liberal MPs and a former cabinet minister have called for his resignation in recent days. following the disrupted by-elections. “These are the things we need to continue to focus on as Canadians face challenging times right now and we will continue to do so,” the Prime Minister said. 2:14 Gould, Champagne back Trudeau despite speculation about his political future He calls for Trudeau’s resignation Last week, Backbencher Wayne Long He said it was time for the Liberal Party to find a new leader. The story continues below the advertisement Long said in an email to the party caucus obtained by Global News that “new leadership” was needed. Latest news from Canada and around the world sent to your email address, as it happens. “For the future of our party and for the good of our country, we need new leadership and new direction,” Long wrote. “Voters have made it clear they want change. I agree.” Ken McDonald, a Liberal MP from Newfoundland and Labrador, in a separate response to Long’s post, appeared to echo his comments, saying only “well said.” These feelings were shared on Friday. by Catherine McKenna, former Liberal MP and environment minister who served under Trudeau. Fashionable now Lieutenant-General Jennie Carignan will be the first woman to serve as Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff Groom fighting for life after being shot twice in the head at wedding She said in a statement to Global News that “the Liberal Party is not just about one person.” 2:51 What does the future hold for Trudeau’s political career? Within caucus, Trudeau said “the conversations we’re all having as Liberals are going to continue.” The story continues below the advertisement “As always, there are a range of perspectives and voices within the Liberal Party, and it’s really, really important that we listen to all of those voices and give them the time to express themselves,” Trudeau said. When asked by reporters if he would hold an urgent in-person national caucus meeting, Trudeau responded: “I will continue to engage, to talk and listen, to meet with all my MPs across the country to discuss how we can both understand what we need to improve, given the by-election loss last week, but also how we can continue to be there for Canadians in a really important moment.” Support for Trudeau and his party is low among Canadians, according to a recent poll. An Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News last month found that support for him is near “rock bottom,” with nearly seven in 10 Canadians saying it is time for Trudeau to resign. The poll, conducted among 1,001 Canadians between June 12 and 14, also found that 75 per cent of Canadians want another party to take over from the Liberals. — with information from Touria Izri of Global News © 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. Source link

Opponents of France National Rally The National Democratic Party (RN) stepped up its efforts to block the far-right party from gaining power on Tuesday, as more candidates agreed to withdraw from this weekend’s runoff election to avoid splitting the anti-RN vote. More than 200 candidates have confirmed they will not run in Sunday’s second round of parliamentary elections, according to local media estimates. The others have until 6:00 p.m. (1600 GMT) to make their choice. Marine Le Pen’s RN came out on top in Sunday’s first round, after President Emmanuel Macron’s gamble on early elections failed, leaving her centrist camp in a modest third place behind the RN and a hastily formed left-wing alliance. But even before the maneuvers of the last 24 hours to create a “republican front” to block the anti-immigrant and eurosceptic party, it was far from obvious that the RN could win the 289 seats needed for a majority. The story continues below the advertisement 2:16 French legislative elections: far-right National Rally in the lead in first round Pollsters have calculated that the RN could win between 250 and 300 seats in the first round. But that was before tactical withdrawals and cross-party calls for voters to back the candidate best placed to defeat their local RN rival. “The game is not over. We must mobilize all our forces,” declared the socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, on France 2. The RN is hostile to deeper integration with the European Union and would cut EU funding. Human rights groups have raised concerns about how its “national preference” and anti-migrant policies could apply to ethnic minorities, while economists question whether its big spending plans are fully funded. The email you need for the day the main news from Canada and around the world. In Warsaw, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on pro-EU parties to do more to address the concerns of ordinary voters and counter rising nationalism, after talks with his German counterpart Olaf Scholz. The story continues below the advertisement Financial markets rose on Monday, relieved that the far right had not fared better, but the reaction was muted by the knowledge that a parliament without an absolute majority would also risk paralyzing Macron’s policies until 2027. There was some initial confusion over whether Macron’s allies would withdraw from local elections in favour of better-placed rival candidates if they came from Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s radical left La France Insoumise (LFI) party. Macron, however, said on Monday, during a closed-door meeting of ministers at the Elysée Palace, that the top priority was to prevent the RN from coming to power and that LFI candidates could be supported if necessary. The “republican front” has worked before, as in 2002, when voters from all sides rallied behind Jacques Chirac to defeat Marine Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie, in a presidential election. The story continues below the advertisement It is not clear, however, that today’s voters are prepared to follow political leaders’ advice on where to vote, given that Marine Le Pen’s efforts to soften her party’s image have made it less of a pariah to millions. Fashionable now Elon Musk Announces Birth of 12th Child, Third with Neuralink Executive Five more suspected Iranian regime members face deportation from Canada A poll by the Ifop institute shows that a small majority of those who voted conservative in the first round would support the left-wing candidate best placed to beat an RN rival in the second round – unless that candidate comes from Mélenchon’s LFI party. On Tuesday, Le Pen reiterated her assertion that the RN would not attempt to form a government if it did not have a viable majority in parliament, but added that this could also involve reaching out to allies if the RN itself failed to secure 289 seats. “We cannot agree to form a government if we are not capable of acting. That would be the worst betrayal of our voters,” she said on France Inter radio. 2:03 France braces for snap elections after Macron’s defeat in European elections Assuming no group has a clear majority after Sunday, politicians of all stripes have proposed various ways to proceed with the remainder of Macron’s presidency. The story continues below the advertisement Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has suggested that the main parties of the right, left and centre could form ad hoc alliances to vote on individual bills in the new parliament. Xavier Bertrand, a leader of the centre-right Les Républicains (LR) party, called on Tuesday for the formation of a “provisional government” to lead France until the next presidential election. In a foretaste of the sour mood that would prevail if Macron were to “cohabit” in power with an RN-led government, Le Pen referred to media speculation that he was considering making key public sector appointments aimed at preventing the RN from implementing its policies. Without saying she had any evidence of what was happening, Marine Le Pen said such a move would amount to an “administrative coup.” In a statement, Macron’s office said only that discussions about such appointments had taken place at weekly cabinet meetings for 66 years and that there were no plans to change the arrangement. Source link

Calls have intensified for Justin Trudeau to resign as leader of the party he almost single-handedly pulled back from the brink after a crushing election defeat in 2011. Despite this, Trudeau remained firm in his intention to lead the party in the next election. But even if several former Liberal elected officials, party loyalists and strategists say it is time for the Prime Minister to step down for fear of dragging the party down with his personal results in the polls, many also admit that a Running for the leadership of the Liberal Party would be a risky and complicated affair. . The party has not chosen a new leader since 2013, when the Liberals changed the rules to give ordinary citizens more say over who would take the reins of the party. This was part of the board’s “road map to renewal” plan to rebuild the party. The story continues below the advertisement The changes allowed a political movement to form behind Trudeau, who won the race easily and reinvigorated the party after a period of crisis. 5:01 p.m. St. Paul’s by-election: NDP withdrawal of Liberal support ‘not a decision’ for today, says Singh “I don’t care if you’re a Chrétien Liberal, a Turner Liberal, a Martin Liberal or any other kind of Liberal,” Trudeau told the cheering crowd after he was elected. “The era of the hyphenated liberals ends here, now, tonight.” His leadership ushered in a new era of Liberal unity, but conservative strategist Ginny Roth said the party had also been remade in his image. “The Liberal Party was sort of rebuilt around Trudeau as a sort of cult of personality, and it worked when he was popular,” said Roth, who served as Pierre Poilievre’s communications director during his leadership race. Story continues below advertisement Now that this is no longer true, the very identity of the party is at stake. 1:21 Trudeau discusses Liberal defeat in Toronto riding while in Vancouver for announcement “I think a lot of Liberals are worried about what a leadership race might mean because there’s no real establishment.” The email you need for the day the main news from Canada and around the world. If Trudeau were to step down before the next election, the party would not only have to find a new leader before the next election, but also redefine what it means to be a Liberal. “Today, the Liberal Party brand has become synonymous with Justin Trudeau,” said Andrew Perez, a longtime Liberal and strategist at Perez Strategies. He recently called on Trudeau to resign, but he admits it’s a difficult task with the next election less than a year and a half away. It’s a risk, he said, especially given the rules that brought Trudeau to power. The story continues below the advertisement The aim was to make it easier for people to vote for the Liberal leader by allowing them to join the party as a “supporter”, so they could vote without having to pay for a membership. In 2016, they went even further by completely eliminating party membership fees. At the time, the party said it was intended to make the Liberals more “open and accessible.” But some strategists say it also makes the next leadership race susceptible to inference by special interest groups. “It is obvious that the system could be exploited in a party leadership race,” Mr. Perez said. He is particularly concerned about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the divisive effect it is having on Canadian politics. 0:38 St. Paul by-election: “I hear people’s concerns and frustrations,” says Trudeau “I am concerned about the role of special interests, which can mobilize around an issue and decide, on the basis of a single issue, who will lead the party.” The story continues below the advertisement While some decisions regarding a leadership race could be made by the party’s board of directors, more significant changes to the party’s membership would require an amendment to the party’s bylaws. This would have to go through a vote of the membership. Talks are underway to hold a party congress next spring – too late to change the rules in the event of an early leadership race. The timetable would be strict enough to appoint a new leader before Canadians go to the polls, although several Liberals – including Perez – say the crisis is not insurmountable. In fashion now New airline rivalries: Air Canada vs. Porter, WestJet vs. Flair More WestJet flight cancellations as strike hits tens of thousands of travellers Leadership races typically last at least months. Officially, the leadership race won by Trudeau lasted only five months, but the candidates had been preparing for it for almost two years. It also took the Conservatives two years to elect a new leader after Stephen Harper resigned after the 2015 election. The race that brought Pierre Poilievre to lead the Conservatives lasted eight months. All these people had the luxury of time, which is currently rare. The next elections will take place in fifteen months at most. Any elected leader would be propelled into almost immediate elections. In Ottawa, many have cited former Prime Minister Kim Campbell as a warning. She replaced the highly unpopular Brian Mulroney as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and Prime Minister in June 1993 and served only six months in the role. The story continues below the advertisement 3:09 St. Paul by-election: Freeland calls Liberal loss to Conservatives ‘disappointing’ She was soundly defeated in the 1993 election and the party was left with just two seats in the House of Commons. Scott Reid, who worked as former prime minister Paul Martin’s communications director, said people had drawn false conclusions from the story. “People think Kim Campbell was doomed. She wasn’t,” he said. Campbell’s poll numbers jumped after her leadership bid, but she simply wasn’t able to sustain people’s imagination once she captured it, he said. “There’s no precluding the possibility that a…