Ottawa Observations: Thursday-Friday, May 18-19, 2023

Our compilation of some of the stories of note from the day, reviewing the political developments from the Federal scene for  Thursday-Friday, May 18-19,  2023

Ukraine/Russia War

Biden endorses F16 training for Ukrainians as Zelensky set take part in G7 summit  

Trump's positioning on Ukraine is a problem for Biden

Zelenskyy heads to the G7 summit as Russia is hit with more sanctions 

How the US helping Ukraine acquire F-16s show that for military aid 'no' can become 'yes'

Diplomatic tour by Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy highlights Vladimir Putin's stark isolation 

Globe and Mail

Johnston to decide whether to call public inquiry into Chinese foreign interference

It's time for David Johnston to provide answers on interference in Canada's elections

UCP, NDP in a dead heat as polls show the parties battling for Calgary votes 

The rest teach stakeout: Canadian startups face extinction  as cash runs out and profits remain elusive

Bank of Canada says mortgage payments could spike as much as 40 per cent

Canadians should not expect BoC to return to low rates, Macklem says 

Danielle Smith is choosing her own adventure. Will Albertans follow?

Bill Blair took months to approve CSIS surveillance of Liberal powerbroker, national security source says

Indigenous leaders in Saskatchewan call for full inquiry into death of toddler 

Supreme Court of Canada ruling protects 'counter speech' from defamation lawsuits 

The ugly downside of Canada's costly obsession with electric vehicles  

Trudeau's Seoul visit marks a growing coziness between Canada and South Korea

The public is fed up with open drug use unpack and downtown cores 

WestJet averts strike with deal handing its pilots significant pay raises

Quebecor and Rogers head to arbitration with CRTC over MVNO terms 

Ontario to give more money to Stellantis as Ottawa signals deal is close 

Ottawa's new clean fuel policy will add up to 17 cents to gas prices in 20230, watchdog reports 

E-mails show McKinsey involvement in call with Barton while he was Canada's ambassador to China 

BC defence safer supply as MPs debate harm reduction 

Danielle Smith contends with ethics ruling, UCP candidate's transphobic comments ahead of leaders' debate 

'Fake Job:' Poilievre won't meet watchdog investigation foreign interference 

Alberta Ethics Commissioner rules Danielle Smith interfered in justice system

Poilievre's 'jail not bail' idea may not pass constitutional muster, experts say

Ottawa to join BC Class action accusing McKinsey of 'reckless' opioid marketing

Canada has room for a new Centris party, provided we can define what 'centre' means

No wonder Alberta is on fire. We made this planet into a volcano

Pay me now, Pay me later, pay me again: the Trudeau government's industrial strategy 

    

CBC

Alberta firefighters on high alert as hot, dry weather conditions return 

G7 leaders in Japan preparing for arrival of Zelenskyy

Shadow of War hangs over G7 summit as Trudeau arrives in Hiroshima 

Parents applaud push to close citizenship gap for foreign-born adopted children

New fuel regulations will inches price of fuel and decrease GDP: budget watchdog

Liberal gun control bill headed to Senate following passage by House of Commons

Former China ambassador Barton grilled by MPs about McKinsey brokered meeting 

Workplace probe finds AFN employees faced harassment, reprisals from national chief

Poilievre-backed motion calls for an end too are drug policies and more cash for treatment

Visa and MasterCard agree to lower average credit card interchange fee below 1%

Alberta Premier Smith breached Conflicts of Interest Act, says ethics commissioner  

Liberal proposal to clarify sanctions regime does the opposite, lawyers argue 

Poilievre's 'jail, not bail' idea may not pass constitutional muster, experts say

Canadian forest fires are the latest costly climate disaster that public accounts fail to capture 

Ford says Ontario will 'put more money on the table' to save Stellantis plant in Windsor 

Poilievre declined meeting with Johnston on foreign interference 

David Johnston to reveal Tuesday if public inquiry on foreign interference is needed 

Toronto/Vancouver Star

Seasonal weather to return, but lightning risk speaks new wildfire concern in BC

BC Government announces $11M grant for training single-room occupancy hotel tenants  

Premier David Eby laments BC's 'troubling' overdose numbers, as toxic drugs take 206 more lives 

BC District postpones climate events, citing intimidation, safety, misinformation  

BC Food Banks get $7M for warehouse as it struggles with abundance, not scarcity  

Wildfire service says 'exceptional' hot weather has put BC regions at risk

Telus offering buyouts after investing in customer service tech, self-serve options 

Danielle Smith says 'redemption' is possible for candidate who compared trans kids to faces 

Here's what happened at last night's Danielle Smith vs Rachel Notley debate 

Caroline Mulroney had four years to fix the Metrolinx mess. What has she been doing?

Companies building Eglinton Crosstown LRT seek court's permission to stop construction  

I've Never seen anything like this': Scenes from four parts of Canada grappling with wildfire

David Johnston's advice on public inquiry about foreign interference expected Tuesday  

Lawyers argue Liberals' proposal to clarify sanctions regime does the opposite 

G7 leaders' communiqué to mention foreign interference, Canadian official says

Rewriting history: A look at some historical sites where plaques may be changed 

Passport redesign just the latest battle in the culture war over Canadian identity 

Toronto Sun

Poilievre won't meet with Trudeau's buddy David Johnston 

Liberals use abortion as a political football

Toronto needs to stop overpaying for its construction contracts 

Trudeau Liberals continue to act like a guilty party on China 

An honest assessment of safe injection sites 

Toronto needs to pay attention or Chow will be Mayor?!

Poilievre's right, PM gave Johnston 'fake job' on China

Bickering shows how nasty t could bet Peel-ing region apart 

Carbon Tax 2 conundrum for Canada 

Trudeau's second carbon tax to cost Canadians big time 

Clean fuel regs hit poor hardest: PBO

National Post

Removing 'colonial assumptions' the most common reason for Parks Canada rewrite of historic site plaques

Windsor Police Office pays price for $50 donation to Freedom Convoy

Toronto Police awarded for blocking access needed to hold 'taxpayer-funded agencies accountable'

Scott Moe's not buying any net-zero nonsense 

Left-wing caricatures of Poilievre have failed to convince Canadians 

Liberals' plan to clarify sanctions regime does the opposite, lawyers warn 

Liberals rely on poor quality research to defend safer supply 

Fiscal reality bites for free-spending federal government 

Spending on child care offers little bang for taxpayer's bucks

Someone in charge finally needs to say no to high speed rail

Redesigned passport is yet another step in Canada's decline 

Why Trudeau struck this weird pose in South Korea

RCMP turns 150, with its reputation in tatters 

Alberta election debate: Smith focuses on Public Safety, Notlety targets trust 

Group suspected of hosting Chinese 'police station' received u to $200,000 in federal funding

Poilievre slams 'so-called experts' pushing for government-funded supply of drugs to stop opioid crisis 

Global          

BC Funding $11M in skills training for SRO hotel residents 

Tokens taken from Vancouver residential schools memorial, right before scheduled removal

WestJet avoids strike, Will flights restart in time for the Long weekend?

'Mountain of debt': BC restaurants want extension for COVID-19 loans repayment

Columbia River Treaty talks continue between Canada, US

Employment skills offered to BC people recovering from mental health, addiction issues

BC beach named one of 50 best in the world

'Fear of intimidation' drives BC district to cancel climate town halls

Wildfire smoke causing poor air quality in parts of BC ahead of long weekend

Controversial former BC school trustee's defamation suit dismissed by Canada's top court

140kg of New Zealand bound meth busted at BC port

The US debt ceiling impasse is making Canadian economists nervous 

'Home grow disinformation' a growing threat to Canadian Armed Forces: report

Stellantis talks see 'progress' after Ontario pledges more cash: Champagne

Is the new passport earning Canada's history? What's behind the controversy  

Feds will join class action lawsuit against McKinsey over opioid marketing 

Canada and other G7 nations announce new sanctions on Russia

Trudeau calls out Italy's LGBTQ+ stance during G7 meeting with Meloni

Liberals' controversial gun control bill passes House, heads to Senate

Why Canada has 'no choice' but to move away from China on critical minerals 

Miscellaneous            

Detangling the debate on the 'Wood Wide Web'

How Smith's words and actions made 'trust' a ballot issue

Hitchhiking for the climate

Danielle Smith's Day went bad long before the debate 

'It was dark, and you could hear water rushing'

On Bottle binning in Chinatown

UBC research assistances on why they want a union

Burns Lake Witnesses describe mysterious visits from he RCMP

As Alberta burns, politicians 'Dare not speak' of Climate Change