Today: May 12, 2022

Today: May 12, 2022

By Andrew Thomson | UPDATED 3:12pmET

Conservative Leadership Debate

Did you miss yesterday's debate in Edmonton?

Watch the full event and what the candidates told reporters afterwards.

Singh responds to Ontario campaign incident

Here's what NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters on Parliament Hill about being harassed and called a "traitor" while campaigning this week for the Ontario NDP in Peterborough:

In the House

The Conservatives use their an opposition day to seek a re-creation of the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations that met during the last Parliament. 

The motion argues:

That, given that the House recognize (i) that Canadians of Chinese descent have made immeasurable contributions to Canada,

(ii) that the people of China are part of an ancient civilization that has contributed much to humanity,

(iii) the distinction between the people of China and the Chinese state, as embodied by the Communist Party of China and the government of the People's Republic of China,

(iv) that authoritarian states, including the People's Republic of China, increasingly pose a threat to the rules-based international order,

the House appoint a special committee with the mandate to conduct hearings to examine and review all aspects of the Canada-People's Republic of China relationship, including but not limited to diplomatic, consular, legal, security and economic relations.

The committee would sit following the final report of the Special Committee on Afghanistan and consider the "evidence and documentation" given to the previous committee during the 43rd Parliament. 

Watch today's question period:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not in the chamber but held a joint news conference with Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš:

Watch the full news conference:

Also today:

  • The House of Commons will sit through the evening and consider the government's official languages bill (C-13).
  • MPs have second-reading votes on the online streaming bill (C-11), including Conservative amendments to discard the legislation. 
  • Bill S-206, which would create an exception to the jury secrecy rule for jurors needing confidential mental health services, arrives in the House of Commons for second-reading debate.

In Committee

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser appears at the Standing Committee on Immigration as part of the estimates process. 11am ET / 8am PT

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc and former governor general David Johnston, head of the Leaders’ Debate Commission, go before the Commons procedure committee at 11am ET / 8am PT. The commission's recent report for the 2021 debates concluded that they "did not deliver as well as they should have on informing voters about parties' policies. The two major weaknesses identified, especially with respect to the English-language debate, were format and moderation."

CSIS, RCMP, and senior federal officials appear at the public safety committee as MPs study ideologically motivated violent extremism. 11am ET / 8am PT

The human resources committee continues to hear testimony on the Housing Accelerator Fund. 3:30pm ET / 12:30pm PT

Mario Dion, the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner, appears at the ethics committee. 4:30pm ET / 1:30pm PT

Wilkinson, U.S. energy secretary speak in Washington

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and U.S. Energy Secretary Hennifer Granholm took part in a conversation hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Moderated by Joseph Majkut, director of the CSIS energy security and climate change program, the conversation focused on U.S.-Canada energy cooperation, the current global energy crisis, and efforts to enhance North American energy security.

Today in Politics Podcast: Mark Sutcliffe and John Ivison

Has anything changed after the first official debate among contenders for the Conservative leadership? The Liberals announce funding to expand access to abortion services. And with the Ontario Progressive Conservatives leading in the polls one week into an election campaign, leader Doug Ford continues to take aim at his Liberal rival.