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THE TITLES OF THE DAY

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Chrystia Freeland will remain Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister.

Trudeau announced the decision Tuesday during his first extended media availability since the September 20 federal election.

Ms. Freeland, former Minister of International Trade and Foreign Affairs, has been Minister of Finance since August 2020. She is Canada’s first female Minister of Finance.

The prime minister said the new cabinet will be sworn in in October and the House will return before the end of the fall, with specific dates to be released. He said the new cabinet will be gender balanced, calling gender parity a “basic starting point” for any cabinet he appoints.

Speaking to the media after visiting a vaccination clinic, Trudeau also said the pandemic remains his top priority and that he is particularly concerned about the cases in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

It was Trudeau’s first extended media availability since the September 20 federal election. Last Friday, Trudeau answered a few questions as he announced the departure of Michael Kovrig and James Spavor from China.

Please consult the Globe and Mail for more details on Mr. Trudeau’s post-election press conference.

THE TWO MICHAELS

BIDEN ENCOURAGED TALKS ON THE RELEASE OF TWO MICHAELS – Negotiations leading to the freedom of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig intensified in early August after US President Joe Biden made a serious pledge to end a legal deadlock with China, according to sources. Biden insisted that any deal to drop the US extradition case against Huawei Technologies chief Meng Wanzhou and postpone the criminal charges could not go through unless the two Canadians are released. the same time.

MORE CANADIANS REMAIN IN CHINA CUSTODY – Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have returned to Canada after more than 1,000 days in Chinese custody, but more than 115 Canadians remain behind. Asia correspondent James Griffiths tells some of their stories here.

CANADA WILL REMEMBER THE EXPERIENCE OF TWO MICHAELS: GARNEAU – Foreign Minister Marc Garneau spoke at the General Debate of the 76th United Nations General Assembly on Monday, saying, on the case of the two Michaels, that the two men “paid a heavy price” for Canada’s commitment to the rule of law. “Canada will never forget this experience and this lesson. We will continue to press for an end to arbitrary detention, wherever and however it occurs, ”he said. The text of Mr. Garneau’s speech is here.

KOVRIG AT HOME – And here there is a compelling picture of the arrival of Mr. Kovrig residence and a tweet here of Mr. Kovrig arriving to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and his booth here on vaccination.

DURING THIS TIME

PAUL LEAVES AS GREEN LEADER – Annamie Paul is stepping down as leader of the Green Party, calling the experience leading the party “the worst time of my life in many ways.” Story here.

CRITICAL PARTY CAMPAIGN OF DEFEATED CPC MEMBERS – A former Conservative MP who lost his seat in British Columbia in the recent election believes the party could have done a better job speaking directly to Chinese Canadians. Story here.

QUEBEC ATTORNEYS DEFEND SNC AGREEMENT – Offer Canadian engineering giant SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. the opportunity to negotiate an agreement to avoid trial on criminal charges related to a bridge contract nearly two years ago decades is the appropriate route to avoid collateral damage to company stakeholders, Quebec prosecutors say.

BAINS FOLLOWS OTHER EX-BAY STREET CABINET MINISTERS – Former Federal Cabinet Minister Navdeep Bains hired as an executive at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reflects a trend that has seen the bank and Bay Street embrace former politicians. Tim Kiladze explains here.

WHO COULD REPLACE SAJJAN? – Global News examines the issue of Harjit Sajjan’s retention as Minister of Defense despite the military sexual harassment crisis, and assesses the three names who have been repeatedly presented as potential replacements for Mr. Sajjan. Story here.

SIMMS EXIT INTERVIEW – After serving as an MP for 17 years for the Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame constituency in Newfoundland and Labrador, Scott Sims said he couldn’t get past the desire for change. “The level of anger and anxiety was higher than in previous campaigns,” the Liberal told CBC. The loss of Mr. Simms comes with big Conservative strides elsewhere in rural Newfoundland as the party slashed its margins but won just one seat. Story here.

THE DECIBEL

The latest edition of the Globe and Mail podcast features political scientist Yves Tiberghien of the University of British Columbia explaining details of the events that saw Meng Wanzhou return to China and the release of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Listen now.

PRIME MINISTER’S DAY

The Prime Minister holds private meetings. With a group that includes Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, he visits a vaccination clinic to thank healthcare workers, then holds a media availability.

LEADERS

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh addresses the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs Annual General Meeting by zoom.

No schedule published for other party leaders.

OPINION

The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on Canada’s challenge to find a balance in its relations with the Chinese government: “Just a few years ago, the Trudeau government’s goal was closer economic integration with China. It is now clear that Canadian foreign policy must tilt in the opposite direction, so that the growth of trade and investment ties with China is not maximized, as Beijing would like, but rather minimized, for the protection of China. independence of Canada. Canada should seek an economic relationship with China that, to the extent possible, is regulated by multilateral forums, and it should aim to not be more dependent on China than is absolutely necessary. Ties with Japan, South Korea, India and others must be strengthened, with the aim of limiting the relative size of the connection with China. “

Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on Annamie Paul leaving a Green Party that cannot put its goals first: “The job that outgoing green leader Annamie Paul has described as worse than a thankless task is now up for grabs. It doesn’t seem to be rewarding for the next leader, either. It is a party so deeply mired in dysfunction that it intended to tear itself apart, electoral or not. It was clear that he was not as busy dealing with a climate emergency as he was dealing with internal disputes. On Monday, Ms Paul said she no longer had the heart for it. Any sane person who aspires to replace her will have to ask themselves if the party can save itself. “

Brad Wall (The National Post) on the arguments in favor of keeping Erin O’Toole at the head of the Conservative Party and a turn to try to gain power without Quebec: “Rather than an erroneous focus on leadership, the party could also deal with developing a campaign strategy to win without Quebec. The endorsement of a popular premier of Quebec and the embarrassing reverence to discriminatory Bill 21 did nothing for the party in terms of seats. Perhaps it is time to realize that wooing those votes is almost futile. And given the principles that need to be compromised and the anger it causes in the rest of Canada, it just isn’t worth it. Consider how voters might view the only national party to oppose things like Bill 21 and offer an alternative to asymmetric federalism. (Yes, that’s right, this country even has an academic-sounding term for a province treated differently from all the others.) ”

Jamie Bradburn (TVO) on how the 1974 (Pierre) Trudeau Liberals sought to move from an NDP-backed minority government to a majority government: “When the budget was debated on May 7, 1974, [Prime Minister Pierre] Trudeau gave a two-hour speech that lambasted the opposition. While he accused Progressive Conservative Party leader Robert Stanfield of being friends with the oil companies, much of his outrage was aimed at [NDP Leader David] Lewis. “David, the daisy, plucking its petals one by one,” Trudeau said mockingly. “Will we have an election? will we not have an election. Social Credit chief Real Caouette told parliament that some of Lewis’s voters in Toronto’s York South constituency, who generally supported the NDP, told him they would vote against Lewis if an election were to be held. The budget debate also marked the debut of two-year-old Justin Trudeau in the House of Commons. According to the Canadian Press, the future prime minister “showed up in short pants and squirmed next to his mother in a rostrum chair. At one point, he tried to plug in an earphone to hear what his father was saying downstairs. “

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