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Revelations about talks in Washington where Alberta separatists suggested exchanging water and oil for U.S. support, and in Calgary where separatists met secretly with Republican strategists, have sparked an outcry from federalists – and a call for legislative change.
Over the weekend, Globe reporters Carrie Tait, Grant Robertson and Nathan VanderKlippe released an investigation about the cross-border effort to sway Alberta’s secession vote.
Corey Hogan, Calgary’s lone Liberal member of Parliament, said that Canada needs to consider overhauling its laws to address the kind of freelance negotiating trips that separatist leaders have made to D.C. in advance of the Oct. 19 provincial referendum.
Mr. Hogan does not think the discussions between the separatists and the U.S. State Department meet the bar for treason, but that does not make the cross-border talks innocent.
“They’re wrong,” he said in an interview Sunday. “If we don’t have a law that covers them, I think we should at least be thinking about whether we need one.”
Meanwhile, NDP MP Heather McPherson’s request for an emergency debate into “reports of foreign interference in Alberta’s upcoming referendum” was denied by the Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia, who said it doesn’t meet the requirements of the House of Commons standing orders “at this time.”
Open this photo in gallery:
Alberta separatists rally outside the offices of Elections Alberta in Edmonton in May.Todd Korol/Reuters
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What else is going on
Sources say Ottawa to turn defence procurement agency into Crown corporation
Canada plans to turn its new agency for speeding up the purchase of military gear into a Crown corporation, three sources say, according to reporting from Steven Chase and Marieke Walsh.
Canadian security agencies to probe activities of alleged NATO spy
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree says Canadian security agencies will probe the activities in Canada of Biwei Zhang, the NATO intern arrested in July by Belgian authorities on espionage charges.
Canadian diplomats say their children still suffer from Havana Syndrome
Canadian diplomats who served in Cuba nearly a decade ago say their children continue to suffer unexplained health symptoms that have been linked in recent years to possible attacks by Russian intelligence using sonic weaponry.
Does Canada punish murder too harshly?
If B.C.’s top provincial court affirms the restoration of faint hope, it would likely presage a high-profile showdown at the Supreme Court of Canada.
On our radar
Quote of the Day
“Votez, votez, votez.” – Prime Minister Mark Carney, telling Quebec residents to “vote, vote, vote,” when asked if he had a message to the province’s voters.
Question period
With Quebec heading to the polls today, what was the seat count for the parties and independents when the election was called on Aug. 27?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Alberta’s separatists would sell us out to the Americans
If you’re going to fight for an independent Alberta you ought, at least, to fight for independence, and not for vassalage to one’s neighbour.
— Tyler Dawson
Here’s what Pierre Poilievre is focused on these days
Mr. Poilievre has been relegated to “Oh, right, that guy” status, even as his MPs leave by the fistful, though the chicken-and-egg sequence there is up for debate.
— Shannon Proudfoot
Sadly, we might be repeating Britain’s high-speed rail mistakes
But before we get too carried away, we might want to take a look across the pond at a similar effort in Britain. It’s a cautionary tale if there ever was one.
— Marcus Gee
Go deeper
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The answer to today’s question: When the election was called, the CAQ held 79 seats, the Liberals had 18, Québec solidaire 11 and the PQ held seven seats. There were nine Independents and one Conservative. Securing a majority government requires winning 64 out of the 127 seats in Quebec’s legislature.
