The year 2022 in words | Press

While everything indicates that the start of the political year 2022 in Ottawa will take place under the banner of public health, other issues should also monopolize those elected to Parliament – whether they sit virtually or in person when they return to work, on January 31st. Non-exhaustive overview of themes likely to impose themselves on them.

Melanie Marquis
Press

(Ottawa) Afghanistan

The Immigration Department estimates that it will take about two years in total before the 40,000 Afghan refugees the Liberal government has pledged to welcome arrive in the country. Since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban on August 15, barely 6,000 refugees have arrived on Canadian soil as of December 15. “It remains an issue for Canada’s international reputation,” said Stéphanie Chouinard, professor of political science at the Royal Military College in Kingston. Dissatisfied with the slow progress and anxious to shed light on Canada’s preparation for the announced withdrawal of American troops, the opposition parties forced the creation of a special committee on the issue. The government has promised to inject 1.3 billion over 6 years for the reception and resettlement program for Afghan refugees.

Elections

No, we won’t have any at the federal level. But the citizens of the most populous provinces of the country, Quebec and Ontario, will be called to the polls. “I do not have the impression that in Quebec, the federal government will try to put sticks in the wheels of Mr. Legault, considering the extent of his popularity. The wild card in the report to the federal government, I think, it will be the challenge of law 21 ”, estimates M^me Chouinard. What about Ontario? Here too, the federal Liberals have no advantage in campaigning against Doug Ford – especially since the leader of the Ontario Liberal branch, Steven Del Duca, does not unleash passions, believes the political scientist: “We know very well, in Ottawa, that the chances of the Progressive Conservatives being overthrown in Queen’s Park are slim enough. ”

GHG

The Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, will present his government’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 by March 29 at the latest. the three-month period provided for by the Canadian Carbon Neutral Accountability Act to consult more broadly with provinces, Indigenous groups and interest groups. Canada has pledged to reduce its GHG emissions by 40% to 45% by 2030 from 2005 levels, a much more ambitious target than the previous one of 30%. “The debate on the relevance of acting is definitively closed. Now is the time to determine how, together, we can achieve our goals, ”said Mr. Guilbeault, announcing the launch of the consultation process on December 3.

Inflation

Or “Justinflation”, according to the conservative lexicon. The rising cost of living in Canada promises to continue to fuel debate in the federal parliament. Especially since the budget update presented in December by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland was torched by the conservative opposition, who saw no measures to cool inflation. “This is not the blueprint for the economy. It will be in the budget, ”explained the big money. See you in the spring for the second Freeland budget.

Mutineers

Erin O’Toole has signaled her intention to hang on to the helm of the Conservative ship. With parliamentarians and members who continue to make waves, he is not at the end of his troubles, says Thierry Giasson, director of the political science department at Laval University. “There are tensions, it’s obvious. It is a very big challenge to keep this coalition alive and functional ”, notes the political scientist. The recalcitrant to the vaccination could continue to torment him, just like the conservatives of the fringe on the right who badly digest the refocusing of the party. Senator Denise Batters is one of them. She was kicked out by Chief O’Toole after he started a petition demanding a hasty vote of confidence on the leadership. And the leader has been clear: the same fate awaits those who challenge him.

Protectionism

Justin Trudeau’s government is showing Joe Biden’s administration what it’s all about. After warning that he planned to publish a list of products he could hit punitive tariffs in reaction to the Democratic intention – struggling in the US Congress – to offer a maximum tax credit of $ 12,500 for vehicles electrics assembled in the United States, on December 21 he launched a challenge to the tariffs imposed by Washington on lumber under the new North American Free Trade Agreement (CUSMA). These countervailing duties went from 8.9% to 17.9% on average last November. International Trade Minister Mary Ng has been instructed to tackle “bilateral trade issues and protectionist measures with the United States,” reads Justin Trudeau’s mandate letter to her.

Greens

The Green Party is due to elect someone in 2022 to succeed Annamie Paul, who has left the formation in tatters after a reign marked by infighting and an election campaign the result of which fell short of expectations. “It was a massacre. It has already happened in other parties that the linkage is not made between a new leader and the authorities, but not in such a public way… it was surreal, ”explains Thierry Giasson, citing the battle as an example of dysfunction. which played out in court between the leader and her own party, and the “difficult tie-up” between Annamie Paul and the Quebec green wing. The leadership campaign must be launched by June 24 at the latest. The interim is being held by Amita Kuttner, an astrophysicist who became the first trans person to head a national party.