Pablo Rodriquez has integrated beautifully into the Quebec political world, and is widely recognized as a great organizer in all regions. That would make his decision to leave even tougher for Prime Minister Trudeau as there is no lieutenant heir apparent waiting in the wings.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on August 12, 2024.

OTTAWA—Pablo Rodriguez is considering a run at the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party.

When the news broke last week, he neither confirmed nor denied but his response made it fairly obvious that he will be going.

“As minister of transport and Quebec lieutenant in Justin Trudeau’s government, I am proud to work hard for the good of all Quebecers and all Canadians. I am sincerely touched by the many requests I have received to return to where it all began for me,” was the comment he offered up after Radio Canada ran a story saying he was considering the move.

The Quebec Liberal Party leadership will be held in Quebec City on June 14 of next year.

Denis Coderre, former federal Liberal cabinet minister and former Montreal mayor, is currently the only candidate in the race.

By the sounds of Rodriguez’ statement, he will be joining Coderre in the near future.

Rodriquez began his political career as a member of the Quebec Liberal Party’s youth commission in the 1990s.

As the son of an immigrant who studied in Sherbrooke, Que., Rodriquez has a reputation as a great political organizer. He is also seen as more of a team player than Coderre.

Rodriquez has maintained good relationships with members in both the provincial and federal parties, which is not always the case.

The last provincial Liberal premier was Jean Charest, who was obviously not a federal Liberal. In many instances, there has been huge antipathy between the two organizations.

Someone who could bring them together would be seen as an attractive political alternative.

Rodriguez has been struggling to establish his political footprint at Transport Canada, a department notorious for boring its ministers to death with operational minutiae and very little in the way of public profile.

Rodriguez has found some success in his attempt to stem the tide of Canadian car thefts, with stolen vehicles exiting through the port of Montreal. By spearheading a national anti-theft strategy, he has managed to command some media attention.

But he misses his former portfolio in Canadian Heritage, where the length and breadth of cultural issues were perfect for a minister whose mother tongue was neither English nor French.

Rodriquez has integrated beautifully into the Quebec political world, and is widely recognized as a great organizer in all regions.

That would make his decision to leave even tougher for Prime Minister Trudeau as there is no lieutenant heir apparent waiting in the wings.

Other current Quebec ministers are either short on experience or not very political.

And the one thing a lieutenant needs is political antennae, especially in the leadup to what is likely to be a very tough campaign for the federal Liberals next year.

It is the second time in as many weeks that Trudeau is receiving what could turn out to be bad news from his ministers.

The decision of Seamus O’Regan to retire from politics was announced on July 18.

O’Regan said he was stepping down for family reasons, but everyone knows re-election in his riding of St. John’s South-Mount Pearl, N.L., would be tough.

The relatively new riding includes about 95 per cent of the former St. John’s West, which has been largely dominated by Conservatives. The most notable Tory was John Crosbie who held the seat for 16 years.

O’Regan has been victorious in his riding since 2015, but that could change. If current polling continues, his riding is highly likely to go Tory.

As a personal friend of the prime minister, who even served in his wedding party, O’Regan’s decision to leave is pretty clearly based on a keen reading of the tea leaves.

O’Regan was a broadcaster before entering politics. He, more than most, understands that it is only a rising tide that lifts all boats. The current Liberal tide does not appear to be rising.

If the party’s polling numbers don’t improve, more Liberals can be expected to ponder on their own futures after spending time in their constituencies.

They are no doubt getting an earful from disgruntled voters.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez’s potential departure would leave a huge gap in the Liberal electoral machine in Quebec.

Quebec is the one region that has spurned the political advances of Pierre Poilievre and will likely continue to support a native son in the next election.

But races will be tight, and the party needs good on-the-ground support to recruit candidates and organizers.

Rodriguez was key to that structure. His leave taking could create an unfillable political hole.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on August 14, 2023.

OTTAWA—While forest fires rage around the world, some Canadian leaders continue to deny climate change.

Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault launched regulations last week to build a net-zero electricity grid by 2035, as opponents lined up against him.

Canada’s official opposition leader continues his “Axe the Tax” campaign while premiers in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba add their voices to those who want to get rid of carbon pricing.

National pollsters added fuel to the debate with findings that the majority of Canadians do not think the carbon pricing has actually positively influenced the environment.

A poll published last week by Nanos research said two-thirds of Canadians say it is a poor time to increase the cost of carbon, and a majority who said they believe the carbon price increase is ineffective at tackling climate change.

That result was not surprising. When is there ever a good time for a tax increase in most peoples’ minds?

To be fair, ordinary Canadians are not involved in the minute details of what needs to be done to tackle climate change.

But the notion that an increase in the cost of carbon will not affect carbon use is simply not logical, whatever the polling says.

It was the increase in the cost of gas during the climate crisis in the last century that encouraged the introduction of smaller vehicles and increased focus on reducing emissions.

Emissions are reduced when less carbon is burned. Less carbon is burned when vehicles are lighter, smaller and more fuel efficient.

The rise in the purchase of hybrid vehicles and electric cars is directly linked to the increasing cost of fuel.

One only has to travel to Europe or Asia to see how the high price of gasoline has encouraged people to move into smaller cars, and multiple means of lower-emitting forms of transportation.

A poll about taxation or carbon pricing does not delve deeply enough into the real problem.

The question should be comparative. Are you willing to pay more in energy costs to reduce fires and floods? That is the real cost-benefit analysis that must be done by governments, companies, and consumers.

According to Driving, most recent 2021 statistics show that one in four vehicles purchased in Canada is a pickup truck. The highest number of pickup truck users are in Alberta with the highest per capita usage of trucks in Saskatchewan.

Ontario’s population is more than three times greater than that of Alberta, but consumers in Canada’s most populous province don’t buy as many trucks. Ontario’s rural footprint is also much larger than Alberta’s.

The more it costs to fill up those vehicles, the more consumers will make decisions to move to smaller and more energy-efficient vehicles.

Carbon pricing will affect purchasing practices, but changes won’t show up immediately.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston was on the news last week attacking the federal carbon pricing program.

But he is also lined up looking for financial help in the wake of disastrous loss of life and property caused by fires and floods resulting from global warming in his province.

The federal government pays 90 per cent of the cost of disaster relief.

This year will likely be the most expensive for disaster relief payouts in history based on the number of forest fires and floods across the country.

Houston did not have a plan to tackle climate change. He did refer to the potential of ocean wind power, and blamed the lack of wind investment on the federal government.

Houston kept repeating that he believed in solutions to climate change, but had nothing specific to offer except opposition to increase the price of carbon.

Nobody likes to pay more for anything.

But if we are serious about tackling the reality of climate change, something has to give.

Not all carbon pricing opponents are in denial. Houston kept repeating that he realized there is a problem. But he seemed ill-equipped or unprepared to offer alternatives.

The only way to move consumers toward energy efficiencies is to increase the cost of pollution caused by burning carbon.

When the world was facing a growing hole in the ozone layer, the solution was a replacement to the chemical in use as a coolant in refrigerators and air conditioners.

The new coolant was vastly more expensive. Not surprisingly, wastage dropped dramatically solving the ozone layer problem.

When things cost more, people conserve. When energy costs more, they cut back on consumption.

When transportation costs more, people’s driving habits change.

Pricing pollution is key.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

But at the end of the day, the bulk of the blame will be borne by the federal government.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on June 13, 2022.

OTTAWA—To mask or not to mask. That is the question.

As the provinces move to end requirements for wearing masks in public places, the federal government continues to insist that COVID rules will not be loosened.

As passengers return to air travel, they are continuing to experience massive delays, the blame for which is falling directly on the shoulders of the government.

The chaos at Pearson International Airport is so bad that a former National Hockey Leaguer has dubbed the airport “the worst place on Earth.”

Ryan Whitney, who hosts a popular podcast, tweeted about Pearson after taking 30 hours to complete an Air Canada flight from Edmonton to Boston.

One video showed Whitney waiting for six hours to rebook a cancelled flight only to be turned away. His documented video went viral with more than one million views.

Upon arriving home in Boston, Whitney declined media requests but posted his final unmistakeable global rebuke: “God bless anyone who ever has to step foot in that hellhole.”

Air Canada, and the airport, are blaming delays on federally required pandemic related tests and mandatory vaccination questionnaires.

Frustration has reached such a point that pro-Liberal Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie has been on the news calling the situation “completely unacceptable. It is not how we want to be viewed by the rest of the world. … Tourism season is on us. We need to get this fixed!”

Finger-pointing will continue between governments, the airport management, the airlines, and national regulatory authorities like the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, which is responsible for all screening.

But at the end of the day, the bulk of the blame will be borne by the federal government.

As the summer season looms, the last thing anyone wants is chaos at Canada’s largest airport.

Fifty countries around the world have already decided to drop their COVID airport screening requirements.

But instead of following their lead, the federal government is continuing to require lengthy screening processes, notwithstanding the request by everyone in the airline business to ease up on COVID processes.

“This is not the face we want to show the world,” Crombie told CTV news in a wide-ranging interview explaining how Pearson’s problems are affecting business and tourism in the region.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra has been working double overtime, trying to ensure that security and airport screening hires are made and trained quickly.

Agencies involved in the hirings have even allowed employees in training to go right to the frontlines of work at the airport.

The transport minister announced the hiring of 865 more screening employees, who must go through training before they are fully operational.

Alghabra’s hands are tied on the health front, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated last week that science dictates a requirement for airport rules should remain in place.

He reminded Canadians we are still experiencing the pandemic. Travel rules will remain in place until at least Canada Day.

Alghabra has to simply keep reassuring stranded travellers that his department is working hard to fix the problem.

Non-travellers are not worried about lineups, but for those trying to get back to pre-COVID business normalcy, the delays are damaging.

With such a large contingent of GTA Liberals, it is hard to see a solution to the political pressure they must be feeling.

Passport delays are further adding to travel grief, with long lineups reported at many offices across the country.

Add the Pearson mess to dismal provincial Liberal results in the Ontario election, and members going home for the summer will be getting an earful from their constituents.

Most Canadians are not personally invested when government programs face glitches.

But when it comes to travel, every single Canadian who intends to leave the country needs a passport.

Likewise, tourism operators who have been starving during COVID are hoping to see a springboard to normalcy this summer.

But with all the bad news on Pearson going global, many foreign travellers may think twice before making Canada their chosen destination.

One answer would be to end COVID screening requirements on all flights.

There is no doubt that certain health risks are attached to those measures, but with provincial governments de-masking most activities in their provinces, the danger of going into a crowded restaurant is probably equivalent to passenger travel risk on planes.

Medical professionals may not be happy with the de-masking requirements, but the general population is ready to embrace the new normal.

After more than two years in lockdown, people want to be free.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

By Sheila Copps

First published in The Hill Times on July 9, 2018.

OTTAWA—Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s very first political act was to scrap the provincial cap and trade system.

He framed the decision as “promise made, promise kept,” circulating a video tweet that features gas tank prices going down.

As of last Thursday, 32,000 people had viewed the tweet and almost 2,000 liked what they saw. But the Twitter discussion following the announcement seemed more focused on Ford family dynamics than the substantive setback for real climate action that Ford has set in motion.

The premier’s ill-conceived plan to dump the cap and trade system without having anything to replace it is eerily reminiscent of the decision-making style ushered in by Donald Trump. Don’t bother with the facts, don’t consult the experts, don’t involve your cabinet. Simply govern by Twitter. And if the number of followers grow, and they like what they see, you can simply bypass conventional media sources to sow the information seeds you would like on your own mini-communication network.

The Ford feed included a brief comment from his minister of environment, conservation and parks, reassuring citizens this would be a seamless transition. Minister Rod Phillips used all the right calming vocabulary, promising to work with stakeholders to ensure that the course correction on climate change is not going to cause any problems.

But the single biggest culprit in global warming is the automobile. The more we are able to encourage public transit, bicycling, and alternative fuels, the fewer greenhouse gases will be created.

Leadership involves making the link between consumer choices and our collective carbon footprint. It is simple for politicians to blame all environmental problems on some anonymous smokestack. Asking people to pay for their own pollution comes at a price.

The previous Liberal government took a huge political hit in on energy files; from gas plant locations to hydro prices. But reminding the public that there is a cost to the energy we consume is what leadership should be all about. If Canadians are truly interested in climate solutions, we need to change the way we move around the planet.

Almost one-third of American greenhouse gases come directly from the automobile. Giant, gas-guzzling super trucks are the vehicle of choice in many major cities, where only a single person is driving the vehicle at any given time.

The premier’s move serves to sabotage environmental responsibility. By cutting government taxes on gasoline, he is actually decreasing the envelope available for investment in public transit expansion across the province.

Until last week, every time an Ontarian gassed up at the pump, 2 cents per litre of the fill-up was being turned over to municipalities to improve public transit. According to the Ontario ministry of transportation, for every $100-million of public infrastructure investment, the province’s GDP is increased by $114-million, especially in construction and manufacturing sectors.

More importantly, easily accessible rapid transit is what gets people out of their cars and opting for public transportation. A single bus takes 40 cars off the road, accounting for 25 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

By abolishing the cap and trade system, and reducing gas prices by 10 cents a litre, Ford has restricted available government revenue sources for infrastructure designed to reduce our emissions via public transit, and kneecapped the plan to put a real price on the creation of carbon. Now the government must either cut spending, reduce public transit investment, or increase general taxes to cover the shortfall. A general tax hike has the perverse effect of forcing the poor, senior citizens and those without cars to subsidize gas guzzlers and polluting corporations.

The move to encourage more use of public transit has been working. According to Ontario ministry statistics, in 2014, there was a hike of more than 217 million trips on municipal transit systems, compared to 2003—equivalent to cancelling approximately 181 million car trips.

But Ontario also supplanted Alberta last year as the province with the most per capita new automobile purchases. In a province that loves its’ cars, Ford has dialled back the clock and doomed future generations to pollution problems with no real solutions.

The province’s population is also slated to grow by 40 per cent by 2041, spawning more energy consumption, urban sprawl, and dependence on automobile transport.

The cap and trade plan provided a roadmap in our fight to reduce carbon emissions.

Thanks to last week’s announcement, Ontario has turned back the clock in the fight against climate change.

Bad promise made and kept. Trump that, Doug Ford.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.