CBCN - Thursday, May 23, 2024 - 12:00 a.m. (ET) - Segment #37

children born out of the country. We'll speak with mark miller about the bill next here on cbc news network. >> David: hi there. This is power and politics. I'm david cochrane in ottawa. New polling suggests the federal conservatives enjoy a sizable lead no matter what they plan to do when in power. >> We have voted against every single inflationary policy that has forced one quarter of canadians to skip meals. >> It's unbelievable that as they will one hand say they support canadians and on the other hand vote against those supports. >> David: the liberals say conservatives will cut programs that help canadians but how much do voters care? We'll take you through some new revelation about strength in conservative support. >> They will restore citizenship to those we call lost canadians. >> David: a long awaited change for thousands of people who call canada home but don't currently have the right to citizenship. >> It is truly a moment for my family. >> I'm an immigrant in my own country. >> It's monumentous. >> David: the bill reverse a stephen harper crackdown on citizenship deemed unconstitutional. Coming up, minister marc miller on the impact on families and whether he can get the bill passed through parliament. >> No power on earth will stop israel. We will destroy hamas. >> David: nearly 1 million palestinians are uprooted again as israel simultaneously attacks the north and south of gaza. >> We have not been able to bet the sufficient supplies in. We are not distributing food. >> David: relief workers say aid deliveries have slowed to a trickle and we'll speak to one of them inside rafah. Power & politics starts right now. But first there is another controversy surrounding a federal conservative nomination campaign. A town councillor running for the tory nomination in an ontario riding says she was unfairly blocked. She says it's because top conservative party members wanted a different candidate. Now this is the second conservative candidate from the aurora oakridges richmond hill riding have their nomination campaign abruptly come to an end, and cbc's jp tasker joins me now and that was sabrina maddeaux we showed. And what is going on? >> Rachael gillian is making similar claims, and it comes down to the fact she was disqualified and doesn't have a clear reason why. Hasn't been told by the party brass why she is prevented to run for the riding in aurora oakridges richmond hill. She claims there are party brass people in the party who want somebody else to take over the nomination in the riding and that's why she's been held back. They say there was some favorism going on in the -- favoritism going on in the race, and she was not allowed a fair campaign in the pursuit of the nomination. She claims there were irregularities in the race and claiming like maddeaux, the membership list, the list of the conservatives that live in a particular area was unfairly leaked early to another campaign. That does give a big leg up to the candidate if true -- if her claims are true. They can tailor their campaigning to only conservative members in the riding. They don't have to go door to door knocking on everybody door trying to get everyone to vote for them, and they can get conservatives vote for them. It goes against the party rules to have it early. Asked about this and the party spokesperson says ms. Gilliland was disqualified because she broke the rules. They say the local -- rachael gilliland... So you note there is no actual claim by the party as to what rules she broke and we don't know what rule was broken if there was a rule broken. Gilliland says she's in the dark about why she was disqualified, and she can't think of anything in particular that would disqualify her from the conservative candidate. She says I'm a good candidate, I'm a town councillor, sit on the aurora town council and network of supporters in the riding, and signed up 580 new conservative members which doesn't sound like a lot, but a substantial number of people that could have voted for her in a race that likely have a fairly small turnout, and these things usually don't have very many people turn out. It's more than maddeaux signed up.

>> And gilliland, maddeaux, two different women, and same riding, and over a couple of weeks and we have heard of over things. >> Another candidate sent out disparaging emails, and it's a membership list for courting voters, and it can be used for nefarious purposes, and they claimed it was leaked to another party member, and saying that faced with the allegations it was not true, and categorically false, and we take their statement on that. And as you say, there are other campaigns where there has been some claims of party interference. We can look to oxford in southwestern ontario, a parachute candidate there who replaced a local trying to get the nomination. We can look at milton, and 9 905 riding, and former mpp given the green light over the others in the race, and not a nomination, and just given the green light, and eglinton lawrence, and there are allegations that ao another candidate was parachuted in and some grassroots members say we want a say for who the conservative candidate is in the race, and they want to have a say and not have who ottawa tells us to have. >> David: thank you very much, the cbc's jp tasker. >>> The federal government has tabled legislation to amend the citizenship act, and it has big implications for families where the parents are canadians born abroad. If the bill passes, they could now be able to pass on citizenship rights to their children who were born outside of canada. Under a previous conservative government, some of the children lost the right to citizenship in a move later declared unconstitutional. They've been called lost canadians. >> It is truly a moment for my family despite being status, my boys got a rejection letter from citizenship and immigration that they were not considered canadian citizens, and I would rightfully say not only are they not lost canadians, but quite -- quite canadians. You'll see them at the next citizenship event and waving and saying that they are proud and rightful citizens. >> David: marc miller is the minister of immigration refugees and citizenship. Minister, welcome back to the show. >> Thank you for having me on. >> David: the ontario superior court decision you're reacting to. It came down in december and gave you until june 19th to fix this. With the way things are moving through parliament, are you going to hit the deadline? >> We certainly hope so. The reason we're introducing it is we had a senate private bill stalled, and we had good work with all parties, and the conservatives played party shenanigans in driving it down in the order list. We decided to take matters responsibly in our own hands and present a government bill. That may seem like procedural complexities, but it's very important for purposes of answering a court case which was about fairness to canadians who are entitled to citizenship. So ideally we would get it approved at all stages. It copies the senate private bill that had a lot of input from all parties. But again this is something that we don't control as a government. We are just eager to get it through. Obviously we have to approach the court and say we're showing good efforts. At times, courts have been able to extend their judgments. In the meantime, I have discretion to take a number of measures that allows me to grant citizenship. That shouldn't be the way we do things. >> Senate bill -- the private member's bill aside, this was an order given to the government, and here it is may 23rd. I wonder why it took this long to get to this point in the process from your end. >> Yeah, look, fair question. We had high hopes we would get the senate private bill 245 into play, and that seems to have stalled. This is a measure we are working on in expedited fashion to present in front of parliament, and we'll get it approved at all stages, and we'll approach the court and show them the good efforts of the government of canada and I see no reason to stall it because it's the fairness of canadians respecting a charter right. >> David: we saw jenny kwan with you, and the new democrats are supporting that. You have the votes you need to get it through. Will you have to resort to forcing it through? Time allocation that sort of thing. I don't know where the bloc is on this. And you accused the conservatives of delaying the senate bill. Any sense you can get cooperation on the government bill? >> Well, I certainly hope so. The conservatives have said time and time again despite statements to the contrary that they will not affect canadians' rights. This is particular instance in which conservatives -- in which pierre poilievre was a part -- affected canadians' rights and removed something most dear to them, like their citizenship.

hopefully they can demonstrate good faith and not do it again. Parliament importantly have the procedures of second, and third reading, and if they choose to go down the path, we may have to take extra measures to make sure it goes through. The bloc quebecois obviously have their views on being canadian citizenship, but they are practical about that and I think there are some people residents of quebec affected by this, as well. >> David: okay. In the meantime, as this works through parliament, you say you have some discretion as minister to grant citizenship if the often cases that meet the criteria come into the system prior to this being passed. I wonder if you can get I have a sense of how many people could be affected by this? Because second generation born outside the country... I don't know if that is a massive number, a medium number. How many people do you think it could affect? >> It is a really good question and a really important one. The honest answer is we don't know. We have previous experience with amendments to the citizenship act where we thought there was a much larger pool than folks that presented to assert canadian citizenship. It isn't everyone who would have the right pursuant to the court case or the laws to present themselves to get the canadian citizenship. They are perhaps well established in the countries they're in. But we certainly have seen as a matter of fairness, this is something we have to do as a government. It is a right of these folks who have seen their right to be canadian citizens unfairly denied and that is something that we need to fix. We have a managed process in place. And we're very hopeful. I'm actually glad for the people trying to do that. You heard the people today in the press conference, but there are many more waiting for years to see it happen. So this is a bright day for them. >> Under this, the first generation of canadians that wants their citizenship passed on to the second generation of canadians born abroad has to demonstrate the substantial connection test, and 1,095 days spent cumulatively in canada. Basically three years prior to the birth of their child. How did you arrive at that standard, and what is the time frame over which those three years have to have happened? Is there a limit to when the dates count. >> There is not a limit over the time period people can assert their substantial connection of three years to canada. This is something that comes essentially from the naturalization criteria we have already in place. It is a reasonable test. Obviously canadian citizenship is not for everyone. Not everyone is entitled to it. Most people seeking permanent residency have to earn it and that I think makes our canadian citizenship and pride people have in becoming canadians very important. So it isn't for everyone that even has a remote connection to canada. But they have to demonstrate the substantial connection and we thee three years is a fair -- we think that three years is a fair time. >> David: and some of the motivation came the so-called canadians of convenience as they've been called and a lot of people point to the evacuation of lebanon, and 15,000 lebanese canadians came from beirut. What do you have to guard against the so-called canadian of convenience phenomenon or is that something you are overly concerned about as a government? >> You know, david, there is concern. The concern here that was expressed by the conservatives to -- because we were upset they had to foot the bill for people that were entitled to be canadian, I think, is a bit crass. I don't want to at the same time undermine the fact that there are folks that are perhaps not entitled to become canadian citizens. But in the context of a war we're just trying to save lives, it seems odd to use it as an excuse that turned into something that eventually turned out to be illegal and against the charter. Again the substantial connection to canada in having to demonstrate spent three years ago is I think a reasonable one and the court has certainly said the cohort of people that applied to them and won the day in court are ones that never should have been discriminated in the first place. The court noted that this was one disproportionately impacting women. So that's also important. In particularly to this government, but should to be all canadians. >> David: one last point to touch on, minister, the woman -- her name escapes me, there with you today, and born in boston, and had kids there, and that is an easy example that you can see how you would go through the process. Justify your connection, and qualify. Things get a bit more murky, I guess, indigenous people who live in canada because borders are different. Some of their territorial lands go into the united states. How would this apply with indigenous population where life may exist on both sides of the canada U.S. border but still on their traditional lands? >> I would hasten to add that that woman in question was mi'kmaw, as well, and it is complex and I would say by the

same brush stroke, people consider themselves canadian. This is a citizenship that is imposed on them by virtue of law and clearly they have mobility rights and the right to enter and exit canada and that is something we need to move on and facilitate. Should indigenous communities want to come forward and assert their connection to canada, that is a test that would apply to them. There's an overarching question that you rightly point out deal with their mobility rights as enshrined in the united nations declaration of the rights of indigenous peoples that we have to deal with in an expedient fashion and something I am working on perhaps in upcoming legislation, as well, or using my ministerial authority to deal with the issue which is one of basic mobility rights for indigenous people. >> Marc miller, minister of immigration citizenship and refugees. >> David: thank>> Thank you fog for having me on. >> David: Announcer:Closed captioning forthis program is brought to youin part byTour Watch all three episodesofCome and Say G'Day, a paid content series byTourism Australia,onCBC gem. The words in your head, you're the only one that can hear them. Say it! Yes I can, Yes I must. Watch me! Start your 30—day home trial at OnePeloton.ca. Terms apply. ( ) Ever wonder what's around the next corner? ( ) ( ) Past the trees. ( ) Over the mountains? ( ) That's where adventure lives... ( ) Take a Nissan suv and go find it. ( ) [Ambient Sounds] [Ambient Sounds] [Ambient Sounds] [Ambient Sounds] [Silence] This is his why. What's yours? Discover the science behind managing weight at truthaboutweight.ca. (Keys jingling, click of light switch) Your boss' name is Heather And she made you have an awful day Let me sing all your problems away Get started for free on eharmony. Must be 18 or older to join. Get who gets you. eharmony. If you're lost You can look And you will find me Time after time For everything you care about. Intact Insurance. Sometimes the difference between a summer road trip and the road trip of the summer is an ice cold drink from McDonald's. Like a Small McCafe Iced Coffee or a refreshing Coca Cola for $1 plus tax. Step up your summer today. Parrots are incredible animals. [Parrot] Another overdue bill! Yeah. They're also extremely intelligent. [Parrot] Forgot to pay again! They also repeat things they hear a lot. The new bmo eclipse rise Visa card rewards you with points for paying your bill on time every month to help build a routine. [Parrot] Rewards you with points! And you get 5x the points on things like groceries, dining and recurring bill payments. [Parrot] For paying your bill! —But also you can... — [Parrot] Every month! —And just remember. —[Parrot] Build a routine! [Parrot squawking] He is a talker. When a bank helps you make real financial progress. That's the bmo Effect. Bmo Our hero Paul lovesto help others.But today, ...he's helping protecthimself... ...against pneumococcalpneumonia, which can put you in the hospital. He got the Prevnar 20 vaccine. Yes, even heroes... ...should think protection. Ask about Prevnar 20 today. [buzzing] ( ) Get that ojo Feeling with all the latest slot and live casino games plus exclusive games you won't find anywhere else. ( ) feel the fun play ojo >> Adrienne Arsenault: You are constantly on the move, and so are we, making sense of the moments that matter. >> Are you ok? >> Been quite a day, to be honest. >> I'm Adrienne Arsenault. This isThe National. Announcer:Stories that make you think. If it matters in your home or to this country, it's onCanada Tonight with Travis Dhanraj. Watch onCBC News NetworkandCBC Gem. [ ] >> David: some new polling shows the conservatives have a large lead over the governing liberals even if canadians aren't sold on all of the possible policy changes of a future pierre poilievre government. The polls from abacus shows that 41% would vote compared to the liberals and, and 72% said a

poilievre government should not end the national dental care program and 43% said a poilievre government would probably end the program and the same with a serious plan to address climate change. 80% says the conservatives should have one, and yet almost 50% say they believe poilievre won't have there. A lot there, and break it down, david coletto is the ceo of abacus data, and he joins us now. >> Good to see you. >> Numbers show an appetite for change and that is often and obvious and that is reflected in your poll. How can people be for change but against changing policies. Believing pierre poilievre will change the policies and still want to vote for him anyway. >> A few things, and the first things, there are a number of things that the liberal government has done and continues to be popular and the recent budget is an example of that, and many of the items tested by themselves people like. They aren't necessarily happy with the overall state of the country, and there is a lot of dissatisfaction with the prime minister himself. They do want to change the person in charge. They want to change the party. But to your point, they don't want to change a lot of the marquee policies that I think the liberals have brought in which is why we ask these kinds of questions that go deeper and understand what are the perception that the public have about what another government, another party in government would do. In this case, we're really interested in the party that has been leading every poll for the last year. >> David: of course. >> And what we learn is exactly what you said is that there are a number of things that whether you are canadian at large or someone who supports the conservative party that you believe the conservatives will do. Axing the tax. The carbon tax. They have been very successful at bringing people to the point where everyone more or less agrees they're going to do it. And two-thirds of canadians think they should. They're going to keep repeating that over and over because there's alignment there. As you noted, there are two other issues where there's a lot of risk for the conservatives because their coalition is more diverse than it used to be. Keep in mind, 30% of those who today say they would vote conservative did not vote conservative in the last election. And so on issues around climate, on abortion, on ending those new national programs -- very few of them want to see it happen. See those ended or those policies changed. And right now, few think -- at least those conservative voters think the conservatives would. And that is the opportunity for the liberals -- >> Right. >> But a big liability for the conservatives. >> This is the thing that strikes me is that people think the conservatives should or shouldn't do certain things but then they think they will do those. Whether they think they should do it or not and yet they are still willing to vote conservative on that. That is interesting -- they're going to do things I don't want them to do, but let's vote for them. >> Politics comes down sometimes to the most important issue, and we know from the polling, the most important issue that galvanized every canadians every generation is the cost of living and housing. On those two issues the conservatives dominate. And are seen as well ahead. So the lesson here is if those other issues that we talked about, become more salient. If the liberals or the new democrats or anyone who doesn't want to see the conservatives elected start to raise the specter that they might lose things that actually they've got to realize are really valuable, that's when the conservatives can be in trouble. But unless that happens, and the conservatives can keep most of the public -- enough of the public they need to win focused on the other issues, they're going to have an easy time winning the next election. >> Right. But that's where we see the liberals try to go with this. Certainly in the last couple of weeks, they tried to match the pugilistic style as best they can, and presenting a version to be feared. Take away your rights. Scrap the climate plan. Not put a climate plan in place. Can that work or the fear based message is no no longer effective? >> It can work and it worked in other elections and you can think of provincial elections and we'll see if rishi sunak in the U.K. can pull it off. I don't think he can. There's a performative side to being able to pull that off. But I think what I am sure of from the polling is that canadians have a strong desire for change. But what I don't think most people have actually done is really considered what that change will mean if it's Mr. Poilievre. And so I do think still -- you know, he's convinced people that they want a change in government. I'm still not convinced that he has convinced them that he's that alternative that they want. Doesn't mean that's going to be what the next year and a bit is about. But the liberals are certainly trying to. And they're going to have, I think, do a lot more with probably a lot more money behind it to get that message in front of people. >> That's the thing that frustrates a lot of liberals -- I'm sure you hear this. They haven't done the negative ads and the defining ads of

pierre poilievre, and people are wanting change, and they are trying to make the change look ominous and foreboding. They seized on intorption. And seized on a lack of climate plan as they describe it. Are they vulnerable? >> That's the biggest gap of what people don't want to see happen and right now don't think they will. They don't believe the conservatives will do most of those things and they don't want toto do it. If you move the will not do up and should do high, that's a winning issue if ear the liberals. A secondary -- if you're the liberals. The secondary issue is one thing -- you have to trust the person making the argument. And I do think Mr. Trudeau is challenged with a bit of credibility -- a lack of credibility. He's out there trying to litigate the case against Mr. Poilievre. There's a sizable number of canadians who may be open to that message who just won't listen to it because they don't necessarily believe the prime minister's evidence, right, in this case. >> This is something you hear from conservatives about what they realize near the end of the 2015 campaign. That people just weren't going to listen to stephen harper. At this point, they were ready to move on and they eventually did electing justin trudeau to a large majority. When people talk about change, do you see in this data -- I know the prime minister says he's not going anywhere and he's adamant about it and everyone I speak to him around it is equally adamant he's not going anywhere. Would that kind of change satisfy canadians' appetite for change or opened up a whole other set of the problems for the liberals? >> I don't know if it solves the fundamental problem. It's hard to react how canadians would predict to it. Imagine tomorrow afternoon, the prime minister announces he is stepping down in the next election, the conversation completely changes. It's no longer what drives me crazy about him or what I don't like about him or I'm tired about him, and turns to okay who is going to be the next prime minister and what is the future direction of the country. I think it is challenging for a government in this stage of its mandate to get people to start imagining the future. This data suggests there's an -- they can. There's room for them to do it. Whether they can do it or not is something I can't or any poll can tell you. >> All right. David, always appreciate it. David coletto with gc abacus data, thank you so much. The power panel has been listening into this and up next will dig into what the abacus polling numbers could mean as >> Announcer: Breaking news that shapes your world. With localCBC Radio Onelive to connect us closer to home. It's news you can trust, delivered when you want, where you want, on theCBC Newsapp. Download for free. Looking for a natural health product to reduce your joint pain. Try Genacol® Pain Relief. This clinically proven joint care formula contains AminoLock® Collagen and Eggshell Membrane These two ingredients help reduce joint pain associated with osteoarthritis. Thanks to Genacol® Pain Relief, you can start to feel results in just 5 days! Add Canada's #1 Selling Joint Care Supplement to your daily routine and feel the difference! Genacol® Makes me feel so good! ( ) In here... you can expect to find... crystal clear audio... expansive display space... endless entertainment... and more comfort for everyone... But even with all that... we still left room... for all the unpredictability... spontaneity.. and unexpected things... you'll find out here... Jeep. Grand Cherokee. The most awarded suv ever. It's Leon's Storewide Super Sale! Save up to 50% on furniture. Save up to 50% on mattresses. Plus, get an l2 washer and dryer set for only $998 including a 2 year warranty! On now for a limited time! Being a Dad means sometimesmaking decisionsthat don't win youany popularity But you do itbecause you care. That's why I'm taking steps to protect my family'sfinancial future. Welcome to Cover Direct.How can I help? Hi, I'd like toget a quote on Family LifeInsurance please? No problem.There's no complicated forms and you can arrangeeverything right now. If you're a CanadianResident aged 18-70, you can apply for upto $1.5 million of coverage, and help giveyour family some peace of mind. Great. You won't need a medicalor a blood test to get approved,you just need to answer a few healthand lifestyle questions. Sounds good. For a $100,000of coverage, it would be as littleas $10.87 a month forthe first year. That's just 36cents a day. That's less than I thought and it could help pay the mortgage for heror pay for college. Cover Direct FamilyLife Insurance is only availablefrom us, you can't buy itanywhere else. I'll go right ahead. We're Canada'sMost Trusted Direct Life Insurance Provider. To get a FREE,no obligation quote, call one of our trustedinsurance advisors today at 1-844-996-0077 or visit coverdirect.ca Hey!

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