Politics Briefing: Ottawa announces new funding for Indigenous communities

Hello,

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced new funding for Indigenous communities on Friday including $285-million for the public health response to COVID-19.

Mr. Trudeau also announced $270-million to supplement an on-reserve income assistance program and $44.8-million over the next five years to build 12 new shelters for Indigenous women and girls fleeing violence.

Ottawa said the funding will help build 10 shelters in First Nations to support Indigenous women and children and that it will provide $40.8-million for operational costs of these shelters over the last five years.

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TODAY’S HEADLINES

Canada and four other countries are pressuring Iran to release the flight recorders from its Jan. 8 shootdown of a Ukrainian passenger plane, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said Friday.

“The boxes are still in Iran and we continue to exert pressure,” Mr. Garneau said at government briefing on a video link.

Ottawa is also expanding its ban on cruise ships in Canadian waters until the end of October.

Mr. Garneau said Friday that passenger ships with overnight accommodations for more than 100 passengers can’t operate in Canadian waters until at least Oct. 31.

Mr. Trudeau also said the federal government is exploring ways to reunite family members divided by the temporary travel restrictions at the Canada-U.S. border.

Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on why the China-Canada ‘relationship’ is not worth saving: “We cannot have a relationship, in any meaningful sense of the word, with a country that kidnaps our people to enforce its demands, not least when those demands entail interfering in a judicial process and abrogating our treaty obligations. That is not how relationships work.”

Ashley Nunes (The Globe and Mail) on why airline customers have no right to complain about not getting refunds: “Has the pandemic inconvenienced fliers? Yes. Should airlines do something to address consumer concerns? Absolutely. Should consumers be given carte blanche in dictating how those concerns are addressed? Certainly not.”

The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on long-term care: “COVID-19 has preyed on seniors in homes because of obvious vulnerabilities. The combination of ill-trained staff, many underpaid and moving among facilities; the advanced age and underlying health issues of many residents; and close living quarters were a recipe for disaster. The dangers were known, and in many cases not properly prepared for.”

Colby Cosh (The National Post) on what did (and did not) cause disaster in long-term care homes: “The real army came in handy here because there was the equivalent of a natural disaster, and care homes weren’t paying their own staff enough to expect them to risk their lives staying on the job.”

Sean Speer (The National Post) on why the West needs a plan to compete with China and win: “Many experts agree that the U.S.-China geopolitical and technological rivalry will likely shape the rest of this century. How countries such as Canada navigate this new world will be the most important question facing their political leaders in the coming years. The stakes are high.”

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