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OTTAWA The federal government has signed the first of what it hopes will be 13 funding agreements for a new rent supplement for low-income households.

The announcement todayon the $1.4-billion joint funding deal with Ontario will help the province roll out the Canada Housing Benefit next spring.

The benefit willgo tofamilies who are already on, or eligible to join,wait lists for social housing units, as well as those already living in community housing.

The Trudeau Liberals plan to sign similar deals with each province and territory, tailored to each jurisdictions needs, which is one reason why negotiations on the deals have taken as long as they have.

Theportable housing benefit is budgetedto cost$4 billion over 10 years, but the plan requires provinces and territories to pick up half the costs.

Federal spending plans peg the average subsidy at $3,000 a year, but Parliaments spending watchdog has warned the amountfalls short of helping the most financially stretched households, and could create pressure to increase rents in subsidized housing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2019.

The Canadian Press

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Ontario signs on to housing help from the federal Liberal government - CityNews Calgary

Last year, the Hong Kong government put forward a bill seeking to ban the sale of alternative smoking products, including electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), heat-not-burntobaccoproducts and herbal cigarettes, provoking a fierce backlash from the industry and local smokers.

It is understood that recently during a meeting with lawmakers, the Food and Health Bureau said firmly that an across-the-board ban on the alternative smoking products is the way to go.

Earlier, the Liberal Party suddenly put forward an amendment to the bill, under which the party agrees that while the sale of e-cigarettes should be banned, heat-not-burn products should be handled separately and that they should be dealt with in the same manner as conventional cigarettes.

Sources have revealed that the Liberal Party has started approaching other political parties in the Legislative Council to lobby for its proposal of regulate but not ban on heat-not-burn products.

It is said that although certain parties are still digging their heels in and favoring a sweeping ban, some others have begun to soften their stance, believing that the government should analyze the reaction of smokers and cigarette retailers from a more rational angle, estimating that the amendment proposed by the Liberal Party may stand a chance of getting passed in Legco.

Peter Shiu Ka-fai, the Liberal lawmaker representing the wholesale and retail sector in the Legco functional constituency and spearheading the regulate but not ban push, has explained that people have often confused e-cigarettes with heat-not-burn products.

The fact is, he said, the two products are completely different when it comes to the substances and chemicals they contain, with heat-not-burn cigarettesbearing a close resemblance to conventional cigarettes in terms of their ingredients.

As such, Shiu argued that if the authorities clamp down on heat-not-burn cigarettes, it will give rise to questions as to why conventional tobacco products are not completely banned as well.

Meanwhile, it is understood that the government has been thrown off guard by the bill amendment put forward by the Liberals, and the fate of Shius proposal of going easy on heat-not-burn cigaretteswill pretty much depend on whether his party can pull off bipartisan support from both the pro-establishment camp and the pan-dems in the legislature.

A few months ago, a number of parties in the pro-democracy camp were still inclined toward banning the alternative smoking products as proposed by the government.

Nevertheless, their attitude on this issue has begun to change recently.

As a pan-democratic figure has said bluntly, while there has been evidence showing the substantial health risks posed by e-cigarettes to the human body and that he agrees that they must be banned, he is not sure if heat-not-burn cigarettes should be banned as well.

Given the similar ingredients contained in heat-not-burn cigarettes and conventional cigarettes, the pan-dem says he doesnt understand the logic behind cracking down on the former but letting off the latter.

Apart from the rationale argument, as we have learned, the Liberals have another advantage, i.e. time.

According to the analysis of another pan-dem, as the Legco House Committee is still unable to elect a new chairperson despite having held 10 meetings, one can assume that it is highly unlikely for the bills committee, which is currently discussing the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2019, to finish its scrutiny anytime soon.

And given that there are only about seven months left in the current Legco session, if some lawmakers mount filibusters in the bills committee meetings, chances are, the government would be unable to arrange for the resumption of second reading of the bill by July next year.

If that scenario comes true, the bill will automatically be dead.

But even so, not all pro-establishment lawmakers are willing to rally behind the Liberal Party on this issue.

For example, Elizabeth Quat Pui-fan of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong has expressed in no uncertain terms her unwavering support for banning all e-cigarettes as well as heat-not-burn cigarettes.

As a lot is at stake for the e-cigarette industry, there is chatter that key players of the sector are now working aggressively to lobby not only major political parties but also lawmakers without any political affiliation.

This article appeared in the Hong Kong Economic Journal on Dec 19

Translation by Alan Lee

[Chinese version ]

Contact us at [emailprotected]

JC/RC

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Liberal Party pushes middle path on alternative smoking products - EJ Insight

A Liberal MP is denying allegations, broadcast on an Iranian-language television network, that he has worked with and accepted money from Iran's government.

"These accusations are absolutely false and unfounded," Majid Jowhari told CBC News in a written statement. "I strongly deny any accusations."

The allegations against the member of Parliament for Richmond Hill were made by freelance journalist Alireza Sassani on the program Window on the Homeland on the Iran-e-Farda network.

CBC News has not been able to independently verify Sassani's claims.

Sassani is described as a close collaborator of Masoud Molavi, an Iranian intelligence agent who defected and revealed details of Iranian influence operations overseas.

Molavi was shot dead on the streets of Istanbul on November 14. He had been granted asylum in Turkeyafter fleeing Iran and had set up a digital channel, BlackBox, which he used to broadcast revelations about corruption and wrongdoing within the Iranian regime.

The U.S. government blamed his assassination on Iran's intelligence services.

Describing Iranian government influence operations in other countries, Sassani said that "Masoud talked to me about someone by the name of Majid Jowhari. He's a member of the Parliament of Canada. He's from the Liberal Party, representing Richmond Hill.

"He said that Jowhari was in touch with some of the intelligence officers of Iran, and that he even visited the representatives of Taeb and Mojtaba Khamenei. He even received financial support from these people.

"Now he's been elected in Canada for a second time."

Hossein Taeb is the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) intelligence division. Mojtaba Khamenei is a son of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and is sometimes described as head of the Basij militia, a pro-regime force that is heavily involved in suppressing protests in Iran.

Since 2010, the IRGC has been a listed entity under Canada's Special Economic Measures Act. The law prohibits Canadians from engaging in any financial, service or goods-related transactionswith listed entities and individuals; Hossein Taebhimself is a listed individual under the law. Part of the IRGC is also listed as a terrorist group in Canada.

Mojtaba Khamenei has not been named as a listedindividual under the Special Economic Measures Act. He was, however, designated last month by the U.S. TreasuryDepartment "for representing the Supreme Leader in an official capacity despite never being elected or appointed to a government position aside from work in the office of his father," according to a press release. The assets of those designated by Treasury are blocked, and Americans are banned from dealing with them.

"The Supreme Leader has delegated a part of his leadership responsibilities toMojtaba Khamenei, who worked closely with the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and also the Basij Resistance Force (Basij) to advance his father's destabilizing regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives," says the Treasury release.

Jowharisaid today that he's being singled out "without a shred of evidence ...

"Those who spread these slanderous and baseless accusations want to instigate hate and fear without providing a single fact to support it. We should stand together against this hateful behaviour."

The allegation is already drawing pointed political reaction, with Conservative Sen. Linda Frum calling for an investigation.

It's not the first time Jowhari has had to push back against claims that he is close to the regime in Iran.

Shortly after he was elected in 2015, he was heavily criticized for inviting three Iranian parliamentarians to visit him in his riding office. He also drew negative attention for some of his tweets including one he sent out during the wave of protests that shook Iran in December 2017.

Jowhari said he hoped the protesters would be able to demonstrate "with the support of their elected government".

Jowhari was condemned by many Iranian-Canadians for appearing to suggest that the regime was "elected"and that it was supporting protesters. In fact, government forces were suppressing the protests with considerable bloodshed.

Thomas Juneau researches Middle Eastern affairs at the University of Ottawa and is a former strategic analyst at the Department of National Defence.

Last year, he conducted a research project on the debate over whether Canada should re-establish ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran, a hugely controversial topic in the Iranian-Canadian community.

Advocates of re-engagement include both regime supportersand people who merely want to make it easier to visit family in Iran or send help to family members in the country.

"[Jowhari's] name did come up on a number of occasions. He was known inside the Liberal caucus as one of the main proponents of re-engagement with Iran a view that I agree with," he said."But he was viewed as being a bit too much of a proponent of that view and a bit too much with individuals associated with the Islamic Republic."

Juneau says many of those he spoke to who supported re-engagement were still reluctant to be seen associating with Jowhari, who had a "controversial history".

But he cautions that an allegation made by an "individual associated with a dead Iranian spy" falls far short of the evidence he would need to see to conclude that Jowhari crossed a line.

"To label an individual an asset of a foreign government is a very serious accusation, and it has to be made on the basis of clear information,"he said. "And we do not have we're not even close to having enough information publicly available to make that accusation toward that MP."

Shortly before the federal election in October, an email was widely distributed in the Richmond Hill riding drafted byLiberals who said they had come "to the regrettable conclusion that we simply could not vote for" Majid Jowhari.

The email quoted four prominent Liberals: former Ontario cabinet minister Reza Moridi, who represented the provincial riding of Richmond Hill for over a decade; Bryon Wilfert, who previously held the federal riding for the Liberal Party; Sarkis Assadourian, who represented the federal riding of Brampton Centre for the Liberals; and Richard Rupp, past president of the Richmond Hill federal Liberal riding association.

In their email, they state that their decision is "based on a review of the Liberal candidate's record and of various media reports regarding some of his activities over the past four years."

They did not give details on which aspects of Jowhari's record they took issue with.

"Team Jowhari" responded on the MP's Facebook page: "This communication represents the worst type of campaign tactics a non-specific note from a group who do not have the courage of their convictions to say what party and policies they do support but are prepared to say only what they don't support."

The rest is here:
'False and unfounded': Liberal MP denies claims that he's worked with Iran - CBC.ca

The New Democratic Party is sitting in fourth place after the fall's divisive federal election and its leader Jagmeet Singh says he is not interested in partnering with the Conservatives to overwhelm Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal minority.

In a year-end interview with The Canadian Press, Singh acknowledged there could be political expediency in having his New Democrats turn to the Conservatives to either defeat or dominate the Liberals.

But Singh has no plans to go down that road.

"When it comes to the values that I have and have been pushing for, I don't see an alignment with the values the Conservatives have pushed forward," he said.

The NDP and Liberals found themselves in a war of words during the fall election campaign to prove which party was more progressive, especially after the New Democrats lost many of the seats they gained in the 2011 "orange wave" to the Liberals in 2015

In general, a weakened Liberal party is good for both the New Democrats and the Conservatives.

Despite this and despite the fact the NDP often struggles to differentiate itself from the Liberal party in its policies, Singh said he still couldn't imagine teaming up with the Conservatives even under a new leader, with Andrew Scheer's recent resignation.

"My goal isn't to defeat the Liberals. My goal is to push them to do better," he said.

Singh said he wants progressive laws that he believes are priorities for many Canadians, including to create national programs to cover drug costs and dental care.

However, Trudeau would be wise not to presume his offer of political help comes without strings, Singh said.

"The frame that I take is the Liberals need to work with somebody. They have 13 votes that they need in this minority government. So they need to get that support from somewhere. I put it out there that I am willing to be that person that supports them," Singh said.

But if the Liberals' goal is to simply "cruise along" and hold onto power, Singh said he's out.

"My leverage and my encouragement comes from if you need something passed that's meaningful, I'm right here. I'm ready to do it. But I'm not going to be taken for granted. I'm not going to support them blindly if it's not good for people."

Singh and his New Democratic Party had a roller-coaster of a year, beginning with Singh spending much of his time in British Columbia in a bid to win a seat in the House of Commons. He won his Burnaby South seat in a February byelection, but appearances in question period and the halls of Parliament did not translate into an immediate bump for the party.

The New Democrats struggled with fundraising after finishing 2018 with nearly $4.5 million in negative net assets the party's worst balance sheet since 2001.

A mass of recognized and well-respected NDP MPs retiring dealt further blows to party morale.

The NDP wasn't able to match the Liberals' and Conservatives' advertising during the campaign, thanks to its smaller war chest, and also only chartered a campaign plane for the last 12 days of the race.

Many pundits were predicting the NDP could lose official party status, thanks to these factors and low polling numbers at the start of the campaign.

However, Singh was able to turn his infectious, seemingly bottomless enthusiasm into upward momentum mid-race. Polling numbers started rising, crowds at his rallies started getting bigger and the spotlight started shining more positively in Singh's direction.

But the momentum didn't translate into enough votes to keep the NDP from losing seats.

The party was reduced to fourth place in the House of Commons behind the Liberals, Conservatives and Bloc Qubcois after winning just 24 seats, down from the 39 it held before the Oct. 21 vote.

The party's losses were especially deep in Quebec, where it lost all but one of 16 seats the party had held onto in 2015.

Singh attributes this to his being new to the federal scene. This election was his "introduction to Canada" and to Quebec, "where I had the biggest introduction to make," he said.

The campaign also saw heated debate among federal leaders over Quebec's controversial law banning religious symbols like hijabs, turbans, kippahs and prominent crucifixes for some civil servants a law that is widely popular among Quebec voters.

Watch: The NDP leader talks about working with the Liberals

Singh admits the law, known as Bill 21, could have played a part in his party's major losses in the province. Singh is a practising Sikh known for his brightly coloured turbans and he wears a symbolic knife.

"I think it was divisive as a bill and I think divisive bills will encourage or create more division. And that might impact me as someone, on first glance if there is something promoting division, because I look different."

Many people face discrimination based on race, gender or country of origin, Singh said, and he hopes to be a voice for those people and show he's willing to take a stand against it and to try to win over the "hearts and minds" of Quebecers.

Looking to 2020, Singh says he hopes to work with the Liberals to implement a universal, single-payer pharmacare program and national dental coverage and to see Indigenous communities finally given access to clean drinking water, housing and equitable child-welfare funding.

He says that even though Canada may be experiencing divisive politics and policies, he believes there is reason to hope.

"While we live in a beautiful place, it's an incredible country. There's so much more that unites us than divides us and there's this real, strong belief that people want to take care of their neighbours. And I want to build on that feeling of camaraderie."

Excerpt from:
From fourth place, Singh says he'd rather push Liberals than work with Tories - CBC.ca

Posted December 21, 2019 05:00:59

Some Liberal MPs are becoming frustrated with the Federal Government's inability to sell its climate change policies and believe the chief salesman, Angus Taylor, is part of the problem.

In the midst of a seemingly relentless drought, record-breaking heatwave and bushfire crisis that's choking cities with smoke, debate about Australia's role in tackling the global challenge has become even more supercharged than usual.

People are getting anxious and "this is not normal" the phrase employed by New South Wales Liberal Minister Matt Kean to describe the apocalyptic skies above Sydney could well become the catch cry of this summer.

Liberal insiders know it is a hot issue and they know voters are increasingly looking to the Government to do something "more".

At a recent meeting of Liberal MPs and senators, the party's federal director Andrew Hirst identified climate change and the economy as the biggest issues confronting the country.

It was an obvious statement but one that carried an important message to the sceptics in the room: don't get caught flat-footed.

"It is a massive issue and we have got to engage on it," said one Liberal who was in the meeting.

Another echoed that sentiment, telling the ABC "we need to demonstrate to the community that we take climate change seriously".

"We've been all over the place on climate change for the past decade," the MP said.

Comparisons have been made between the current circumstances and the "perfect storm" which confronted then prime minister John Howard in 2006, when growing community concerns forced him to reverse his government's stance on climate change.

It was seen as too little, too late and Mr Howard went on to lose government, and his seat, at the following federal election.

The Morrison Government is under pressure to develop a more coherent policy, possibly through a market mechanism, and adopt a more ambitious emissions reduction target (beyond the promised 26 per cent cut by 2030).

But having ruled out so many measures, the Government's options from here are limited and even those MPs pushing for stronger action are not exactly clear on what that action should be.

Notwithstanding the bungled handling of his pre-Christmas family holiday to Hawaii, Scott Morrison has been careful in his language.

As Treasurer, he famously (or infamously) brought a lump of coal into Parliament, proudly holding it up in Question Time to demonstrate his support for the industry.

As Prime Minister, he has acknowledged that climate change is a "factor" in the current bushfire crisis, and insists Australia is cutting emissions in line with its targets, and "playing its part" in the global challenge (emphasis on "global").

That message, according to many of his colleagues, is either not cutting through or not well understood, and they lay at least part of the blame at the feet of the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor.

"I think the biggest problem we face is not so much our suite of policy measures, it's our credibility and sincerity and spokespeople," said one Liberal.

"Angus doesn't have the ability to sell a positive climate change message."

Another MP said Mr Taylor was "not the best person" to be selling the Government's policies, because he was seen (rightly or wrongly) as a "pro-coal climate change denier" who played a key role in the downfall of the Turnbull government's energy policy (which was designed to curb emissions).

The Minister has publicly denied being a climate change sceptic, and he has his defenders who believe the Rhodes Scholar is well credentialed to run the energy portfolio (his grandfather helped build the Snowy Hydro Scheme).

But he has also become a distraction for the Government and ended the year by inflicting enormous damage on himself, using doctored figures to attack the City of Sydney's commitment to tackling climate change.

So far, Mr Morrison has stood by Mr Taylor, refusing to give Labor a political "scalp" so early in his Prime Ministership.

But when the 112 Coalition MPs and Senators return to Parliament having spent Summer listening to their constituents' concerns, Mr Taylor will likely come under serious pressure from his colleagues to devise a more compelling Coalition strategy if not policy on climate.

Topics:government-and-politics,federal-parliament,federal-government,climate-change,liberals,australia

Read more from the original source:
As the nation breaks new heat records, the Government is facing its own perfect storm - ABC News