A tale of two policy conventions Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get it delivered weekday mornings. This weekend, the federal Liberals and NDP both held their annual policy conventions—virtually, for the first time. The NDP convention was marred by technical difficulties that frustrated party members, who also had reason to complain about the short timespans allotted for debates. To wit: only seven resolutions were debated (and passed) on Saturday, adding to two resolutions passed on Friday. Delegates and NDP organizations expressed frustration at the limitations, with one aggravated delegate proposing the whole convention be postponed because "the party is clearly unable and too incompetent to pull this off.” Some of the more contentious NDP resolutions loomed large, including one to endorse the boycott of products from Israeli settlements in support of Palestinians—which passed, much to the dismay of Canadian Jewish organizations. Other approved resolutions include endorsing a $20 minimum hourly wage, establishing a strategy to combat racism, expressing solidarity with striking Indian farmers and providing clean drinking water for Indigenous communities. In his speech on Sunday, leader Jagmeet Singh summed up his party as one of action, rather than words—a distinction he attempted to draw between his team and that of the governing Liberals. (Read the full transcript of Singh's speech here.) Maclean's Shannon Proudfoot summarized his keynote thusly: Singh and his party are currently in a frustrating position that the NDP has been in many times before: ostensibly influential because they hold the balance of power in a minority parliament, but at risk of having the governing Liberals gobble up the credit for each progressive measure they push for. Singh may say he’s not worried about Canadians being prepared to pass a pop quiz on what his party has achieved for them after this year of stress, fear and loss, but his convention speech did a tidy job of laying it all out. The Liberals, meanwhile, attempted to distinguish themselves from the NDP, as well as the Conservatives—whose own convention, last month, was bogged down by debates over the existence of climate change—by appearing totally, seamlessly united behind Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The flip side to this obsession with party unity, as Paul Wells wrote for Maclean's, is the total absence of rigorous debate. Quite literally, the standards for a policy debate are 50 people expressing the desire to have such a debate—and those standards were rarely met, while delegates passed resolutions for a universal basic income, high-speed rail network and national standards for long-term care. As Wells writes: Perhaps you think a government can only do one of these. Perhaps you’ve noticed that this government has not yet done any of them. That must be because you are not a Liberal, because Liberals want to do everything. In fact they are quite sure they are currently in the process of doing everything. And if 50 of them can never be found in favour of debate, it’s because, on every subject, the debate is over. All that is left is agreement. Trudeau's speech took aim chiefly at his Conservative rivals, calling out leader Erin O'Toole directly in an aggressive speech some interpreted as the beginning of an election campaign. (You be the judge: check out the full transcript of his speech here.) The Liberal convention was also noteworthy for the keynote speech by Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, who is now widely speculated to be running for federal office. Despite remaining coy about that prospect, he said he'll do "whatever [he] can" to help Team Trudeau win the next election. Some political prophets believe he'll take a stab at the leadership. Over at CBC News , Aaron Wherry points to someone who should be a distressing precedent for charming fifty-something white men moving to England and returning to speak at a Liberal policy convention, only to stay coy about political aspirations and ultimately lead the whole party: Michael Ignatieff. Speaking of mid-2000s politics: On Saturday, former prime minister Stephen Harper got his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a Shoppers Drug Mart, tweeting out a photo to encourage more Canadians to get theirs. Trudeau replied with a pleasant note of "thanks for sharing". It's a minor interaction, sure, but still nice to see (former) political rivals getting along. The Halifax International Security Forum, one of the world's most prestigious defence gatherings, planned on giving a major award to Tsai Ing-wen, the president of Taiwan, for standing up to international Chinese bullying. Upon hearing this news, the Canadian government—a sponsor of the event—allegedly threatened to withdraw its support and funding if the forum awarded Tsai the prize. The forum is now at a standstill, unsure of how it will proceed. Neither the government nor the forum's organizers are speaking much about this, but Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is slated to appear before the House of Commons' special committee on Canada-China relations this evening, where he will no doubt be grilled as to the reality behind this decision. Chrystia Freeland is set to unveil her first budget next Monday, which means most Members of Parliament—who return today from their two-week spring break—will try and extract as many details as possible on the House floor. While the finance minister will probably stay tight-lipped, her budget will likely earmark big dollars for national child care and green technology—Freeland's fellow cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc said as much on TV yesterday, calling child care an "economic imperative." A disappointing new record: Ontario reported a new daily high of 4,456 COVID cases yesterday, just a few days into its third provincial lockdown, with 1,353 coming from Toronto, 860 from Peel Region, 444 from York Region, and 377 from Ottawa. Nearly 600 COVID patients are in ICUs across the province. You may recall that the feds imposed a mandatory three-day hotel quarantine for incoming travellers to Canada. Well, that only applies to travellers who arrive by air. Returning Canadians who travel overland, aside from providing a negative COVID test from the previous 72 hours, are simply taken on good faith that they'll self-isolate for 14 days. That inconsistency turned out to be an economic boon for American taxi companies out of Buffalo and Vermont that have been driving returning Canadian snowbirds across the border for low three-figure price tags . A quick cross-border hop from Buffalo to Fort Erie will set you back $120, while Toronto-bound travellers will have to pony up $300 for the ride. —Michael Fraiman | 
