Capital Dispatch: Is a trade ‘irritant’ in the eye of the beholder?

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Is a trade ‘irritant’ in the eye of the beholder? Liberals move for more committee control

Remember the Canada-U.S. trade war? The issue U.S. President Donald Trump has been posting less about since zeroing in on Iran. Well, talk of cross-border “irritants” were back up for discussion in a big way this week.

Plus, what the Liberal majority takeover of committees means for the future of this Parliament.

The week that was

It felt like a lot happened on the trade file this week, even though very little actually changed.

The update that seemed to spark a revival of focus on the Canada-U.S. trade war, was Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiling a revised advisory council, comprised of as he described it, a “diverse group” of leaders in business, industry, finance, and from across the political spectrum.

Chaired by Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, the panel of heavy-hitters will meet for the first time next week, as the anticipation builds towards this summer’s mandatory Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) review.

Then, both U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer chimed in about the review, making comments which caught Canadians’ attention. As did something Canada’s new chief trade negotiator said during a fireside chat in Ottawa that shed more light on Canada’s position heading into talks.

Janice Charette referred to the July deadline as “kind of a checkpoint,” rather than “a cliff.” She said the trade deal is not being entirely renegotiated or rewritten, but rather reviewed. “We are hoping that the resolution that comes will deal both sides with tariffs, as well as the underlying framework,” she said.

“I think what we heard through the consultations is really important here,” she added. “That is (CUSMA) is a very good, strong agreement. There is no need to renegotiate, there’s no need to open it up and change fundamental underpinnings of it. It is a robust agreement.”

Both Lutnick and Greer, meanwhile seemed to fixate on one of Canada’s retaliatory measures: several provinces banning the sale of U.S. booze on liquor store shelves. Reporting from some outlets suggested there may be some concept of Canada needing to pay an “entry fee” for talks to start, namely being concessions on irritants such as this.

Pressed on Thursday about what, if anything, the prime minister intended to do about this, Carney made his position clear: “Look, you know what’s an irritant? A 50 per cent tariff on steel, 50 per cent tariff on aluminum, 25 per cent tariff on automobiles, all the tariffs on forest products.”

“Those are more than irritants,” he said. “Those are violations of our trade deal.” Though in the eyes of Americans, Canada’s booze bans are also a contravention of their trade pact.

“What we want to do is make progress as the whole,” Carney said. “These issues, issues such as decisions on which alcohol to put on the shelves, we can make progress very quickly on that, with progress in other areas.”

On the Hill, the big “irritant” of the week for the opposition, was Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon making good on his pledge to reconfigure the makeup of House committees to reflect the Liberals’ new majority standing.

On Wednesday, MacKinnon unveiled his proposal: Increasing the number of members on most committees from 10 to 12, resulting in there being seven Liberals, four Conservatives, and one Bloc Québécois member sitting around each table. The exception being for a few committees that are traditionally opposition-chaired: access to information and ethics, government operations, public accounts, and status of women.

He told reporters this was the best of two options. The other would have meant reducing the number of Conservative MPs on committees and forcing the chair to routinely have to break ties.

“In Parliament there is a long-standing principle, a party that has the majority of seats in the House also has the majority in committees. This is at the core of our Westminster system of government,” he said.

That explanation though, did not fly with Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer. As Dispatch covered last week, Scheer sough to pre-empt this move by arguing it broke with tradition. This week, he moved swiftly to propose an amendment that would see key oversight-centric committees keep their current opposition-control. That was quickly slapped down.

Why does any of this matter, you may ask? Well, committees are the workhorse of Parliament. They are where legislation gets the most intimately scrutinized and amended. Bad clauses in bills going forward may have a reduced chance of being removed if the government is set on their wording.

Committees are also where forward-looking policy studies happen, and now that means the Liberals most likely will decide which societally pressing topics take precedence.

These rooms are also where government mismanagement and ethical conflicts can be aired out in great detail. Think: “ArriveScam” or the SNC-Lavalin scandal. It is for this reason it should come as no surprise this is the opposition’s favourite use, and the one the governing Liberals taking control of committees impacts the most. Though, for those who have been around long enough you’ll recall SNC came to light during Justin Trudeau’s Liberal majority era, so it’s still possible future controversies can be exposed this way.

The motion came up for debate Thursday, but it isn’t expected to get much more House time before it is voted on and implemented.

Not to be missed

National flood insurance program? Not anytime soon

As several places across the country were under flood warnings, Federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski said she couldn’t promise the government will deliver a National Flood Insurance Program “in the near future.” The minister went on to say it is an “incredibly complicated discussion and a complicated thing to put in place for Canadians. Especially to determine the most viable structure for such an insurance program,” she said. “But absolutely, it’s top of mind for us.” As The Canadian Press’ Nick Murray reports, the program was first promised by former prime minister Justin Trudeau during the 2019 federal election campaign, but the government didn’t start working on the program until 2023. A year later, the Liberals committed to implementing it by the end of 2025.

Doug Ford reluctantly returns private jet

Ontario Premier Doug Ford confirmed midweek that, following public outcry, the province has sold off a private jet it purchased for $28.9 million. “I can announce we sold the plane for the same price right back to Bombardier,” Ford said at a Toronto event Wednesday. The comment comes days after Ford’s office said he’d sell the plane. It’s not yet clear what additional expenses the province incurred around the jet purchase, which was slammed by critics as being “out of touch” during an affordability crisis. As CP24’s Joshua Freeman reports, Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles has called on Ford to personally repay any additional costs around the jet purchase and sale. For his part, Ford said earlier this week he believes the jet was needed, telling reporters it was “kind of embarrassing” that a province the size of Ontario doesn’t have a government plane. He suggested the jet could have been used to ferry around other cabinet ministers, and perhaps even to assist in rescues from Northern Ontario communities. That prompted opposition critics to quickly point out that a Challenger jet cannot land on most of the gavel runways in Northern Ontario.

Hope on the horizon for Don Martin after cancer prognosis

And, in a special piece for CTVNews.ca, former host of Power Play Don Martin shared an important and uplifting update about his cancer fight. As he writes: “After a pair of major surgeries, two years of immunotherapy and a daunting round of radiation, the results were in: The insidious beast was still alive and raging within me after a small mole on my neck, which had tested positive for malignant melanoma two years earlier, went metastatic into my lungs with spots on my scalp and hip. The prognosis? ‘You’ve got 12 to 18 months,’ my oncologist said with the weary empathy of someone who has delivered too many terminal verdicts too often.” But then, as he tells it: “A faint hope appeared on the horizon.” Read the full update, here.

Quote of the week

The week ahead

Tuesday is going to be the big day next week, with the unveiling of Carney’s first-ever spring economic statement at 4 p.m. ET in the House of Commons.

The Liberals keep alluding to an awareness of ongoing affordability challenges, will they take further action?

Covering the latest political news from CTV’s parliamentary bureau in Ottawa, Rachel Aiello offers exclusive analysis on political developments straight from Ottawa.