A busy year in Ottawa

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QMI agency

Saturday, December 30 2017 12:22

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Saturday, December 30 2017 12:22

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OTTAWA | The year of the 150th of Confederation has been particularly busy in canadian politics.

Scandals of ethics in the ads controversial, the Trudeau government, now at mid-term, has had to put out fires on all fronts.

Abstract 10 records a year of major shocks on the federal scene.

1 – The renegotiation of NAFTA

Dragged by force by the United States in the renegotiation of the free trade Agreement north american (NAFTA), the Trudeau government has had to adjust from the beginning of the year to deal with the administration Trump. The prime minister has reshuffled his cabinet in January, wrapping his minister of foreign Affairs, the veteran Stéphane Dion, to make way for the influential asked by chrystia Freeland. During the first five rounds of talks, the United States submitted applications very demanding, which Canada does not seem ready to want to give up. The negotiations continue in 2018, and there is no indication that the three countries at the table will find a common ground.

2 – The abandonment of the electoral reform

“This is the last election under the current voting procedure,” repeated tirelessly Justin Trudeau during the last election campaign. And yet, the general elections of 2019 will be held according to the system of first-past-the-round. After you have set up a committee where no one is heard and the conclusions of which were not going in the direction hoped for (Justin Trudeau was of the view that the system of preferential voting), the prime minister has simply abandoned the project in February. The rejection of this promise, lighthouse has earned him a flood of criticism, both in the opposition and within the electorate.

3 – Three courses in the leadership

It is the Bloc that started the ball rolling of chiefdoms, in the month of march, bringing it to his head, mla Martine Ouellet. The former pq now sits as an independent in the national Assembly. Among conservatives, the mp of saskatchewan Andrew Scheer has prevailed in the snatch against the big favorite, Maxime Bernier, in may. The campaign has been marked by the application aborted the businessman and star of reality tv Kevin O’leary. The third and last opposition leader to have been elected to the ex-member ontario Jagmeet Singh. His arrival at the head of the New democratic Party in October has not yet been translated into gains in the polls or by-elections.

4 – The legalization of cannabis

The last year has shown that the legalisation of cannabis, as promised by the Trudeau government in July 2018, will not be without difficulty. Filed in April, bill C-45 was adopted by the House of commons in the end of the session. It is now in the hands of the Senate, which promises to take its time. And for good reason. Actors from all walks of life (police, provinces, municipalities, health experts) are out this year to denounce the willingness of the federal government. Justin Trudeau, who suggested at the end of the year that legalization could be done a bit later than in July, would he have heard ?

5 – The inquiry on aboriginal women

The long-awaited national Inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women began its hearings in may of this year, and this on the background of total confusion. While several aboriginal groups have criticized the investigation, many employees and board members have slammed the door, denouncing in particular, a process of “colonialist”. That’s not a problem, audiences have heard more than 300 witnesses to this day. The representatives of the commission, which should be completed by December 31, 2018, have requested this fall that more time and money to carry out their work. The year ended in discord, the Assembly of First nations demanding the resignation of the chief commissioner Marion Buller.

6 – The compensation of Omar Khadr

The federal government has entered into an agreement out of court with Omar Khadr in July, compensating him to the tune of $ 10.5 million the ex-child soldier arrested in 2002 in Afghanistan. The latter sued the federal government for $ 20 million, after the supreme Court had ruled that RCMP officers had violated his rights by asking him to the american prison of Guantanamo. If the government has appeared to have entered into this agreement to avoid paying more on a trial that he was guaranteed to lose, the conservative opposition rose up to the compensation offered to the man who pleaded guilty to the murder of an american soldier before a military court.

7 – Julie Payette named governor general

The former astronaut Julie Payette became the last July the 29th governor general of Canada. If the appointment of the Montreal-based 53-year-old has been unanimously applauded, his first not as a representative of the Queen were not done smoothly. In the days that followed the announcement of his appointment, it was learned that she had already been the subject of an investigation for assault, in 2011 in the United States, a procedure which had finally been removed. The prime minister has defended Ms. Payette, without ever saying if he had been informed of this matter before deciding. In November, the governor general has caused an outcry by criticising, during a speech in Ottawa, the creationists and the climatosceptiques.

8 – The business of Morneau

Since the summer, the minister of Finance Bill Morneau is mired in controversy. It was first presented in July a tax reform, which has earned him a deluge of criticism, forcing him to back down on several of its proposals. Mr. Morneau has then spent all of the fall to explain about his financial assets : why didn’t he put his actions to Morneau Shepell in a blind trust ? How was he able to forget to declare a villa in France ? If it is placed in a conflict of interest with bill C-27 on pension funds ? He sold a block of 680 000 shares just before the announcement of new tax measures ? These are questions that will continue to haunt the grand treasurer of the country in 2018.

9 – The agreement with Netflix

Bombarded with criticisms, the minister for Heritage, Mélanie Joly defends months since the agreement signed with Netflix. The manufacturing agreement of $ 500 million presented in September no provision for a quota of French content and does not include the broadcasting service in line with any form of taxation. Ms. Joly has a nice hammering that she has submitted an agreement for cultural and not a tax deal, she has undergone for months the ire of artists, cultural organizations, broadcasters and entrepreneurs who plead all for fair treatment in the face of foreign competition.

10 – The vacation at the home of the Aga Khan

The year 2017 has ended as it began for Justin Trudeau. The ethical questions about it have begun as early as January, then that was revealed to the great day of his trip in the Holiday season on the private island of the Aga Khan in the Bahamas. Twelve months later, the ethics commissioner Mary Dawson has come full-circle by filing a damning investigative report. Conclusion: the prime minister has violated four articles of the Law on conflict of interests within the framework of his stay in the billionaire spiritual leader. Justin Trudeau apologized and has assured that it will only resume more. Not to expose him to any penalty.