Juno News - May 27, 2025


What Canadians can expect from the throne speech


Episode Stats


Length

11 minutes

Words per minute

150.85666

Word count

1,805

Sentence count

95


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

The Liberals' Throne Speech today will likely be a repackaging of old Liberal priorities with a few new announcements. The CBC received the largest payout from Google's government-mandated bailout fund. Liberal MP Francis Garpaleggia has been elected as the Speaker of the House of Commons.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
00:00:00.000 The Liberals' throne speech today will likely be a repackaging of old Liberal priorities with
00:00:10.960 a few new announcements. The CBC received the largest payout from Google's government-mandated
00:00:16.900 bailout fund. Liberal MP Francis Garpaleggia, a long-serving representative, has been elected
00:00:24.380 as the Speaker of the House of Commons. Hello Canada, it's Tuesday, May 27th, and this
00:00:30.520 is the True North Daily Brief. I'm Cosmin Georgia. And I'm Jeff Knight. We've got you covered
00:00:35.500 with all the news you need to know. Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North
00:00:40.880 exclusives you won't hear anywhere else. Prime Minister Mark Carney's throne speech today
00:00:49.080 will likely offer Canadians a repackaging of tired Liberal priorities from the Trudeau era
00:00:55.140 punctuated by a few largely cosmetic new policy announcements. A key headline will be a promised
00:01:01.400 income tax cut for the middle class set to take effect by Canada Day 2025. The move is likely to
00:01:08.520 serve as the cornerstone of the government's attempt to tackle affordability. However, details on how
00:01:14.540 the government intends to pay for this tax relief amid mounting federal debt and new spending
00:01:19.600 commitments remain unclear. The speech will also likely touch on the ongoing trade war with the
00:01:25.180 U.S. particularly measures to deal with the impact on the manufacturing and auto sector, but recent policy
00:01:31.860 decisions paint a more conciliatory picture from Carney towards President Donald Trump. Despite pledging a
00:01:39.060 hardline approach during the election, Carney quietly introduced six-month exemptions in April for many
00:01:45.120 U.S. products affected by Canada's retaliatory tariffs. Analysts say these carve-outs effectively
00:01:51.140 undo most of the tariffs, raising questions about the government's willingness to stand firm in trade
00:01:57.520 disputes. While the controversial consumer carbon tax has been reduced to zero only following years of
00:02:03.260 backlash from working Canadians, the throne speech is expected to reaffirm the Liberals' broader
00:02:08.520 climate goals. Carney has vowed the continuance of the industrial carbon tax and Canadian Culture
00:02:14.580 Minister Stephen Guilbeault has also spoken out against the viability of pipelines. The Liberals
00:02:20.940 have indicated that they will continue with past policies introduced by Trudeau, including net-zero
00:02:26.000 commitments, and Carney himself has vowed not to repeal Bill C-69, also known as the No More Pipelines Act.
00:02:33.680 Housing is also expected to dominate the throne speech following Carney's release of a cabinet
00:02:38.720 mandate letter prioritizing affordability, but don't expect pledges to make homes cheaper. In fact,
00:02:44.980 Housing Minister Gregor Robertson has explicitly ruled out efforts to lower home prices, citing the
00:02:50.780 need to make sure the market is stable and acknowledging the housing market as a huge part of our economy.
00:02:56.780 Instead, the government will likely lean heavily on promises to double residential construction to
00:03:03.440 500,000 homes annually, particularly by expanding modular and factory-built housing.
00:03:09.860 So, Jeff, are there any specific areas you will be paying attention to today during the throne speech?
00:03:16.520 Well, first I'm interested in the details of the middle-class tax cuts set for Canada Day,
00:03:21.260 specifically how Carney plans to fund the estimated $27 billion cost over five years amidst rising
00:03:27.400 federal debt and new spending. With no clear financial plan yet, I'll be looking at any hints
00:03:32.980 of fiscal trade-off or whether this will just add to the deficit, especially given Fitch Rating's
00:03:37.580 earlier warnings about Canada's credit profile. There's also the trade war rhetoric with the U.S.,
00:03:42.180 particularly on manufacturing and the auto sector. Carney's recent six-month exemptions on
00:03:47.060 retaliatory tariffs in April suggest a softer stance towards Trump than his campaign promised,
00:03:52.580 so I'll be listening for whether the speech doubles down on this conciliatory approach or
00:03:56.400 signals for a tougher line, especially after Honda and Stellantis shifted operations south.
00:04:01.060 Lastly, on housing, I'm curious if Carney will address public frustration over high prices,
00:04:06.140 despite Gregor Robertson's stance against lowering them. The promise to double construction to 500,000
00:04:11.200 homes annually sounds ambitious, but I'll be looking for concrete steps like funding for Build Canada
00:04:16.300 homes or specific on modular housing that show that this isn't just a repackaged Trudeau-era goal.
00:04:21.820 These areas will reveal how Carney balances his minority government's priorities with economic realities.
00:04:30.720 Google's government-mandated media fund distributed its largest payout to the CBC out of all organizations.
00:04:37.100 The Canadian Journalism Collective, responsible for distributing over $100 million of annual funds
00:04:42.320 to eligible media organizations, is in the process of publicly disclosing $15.6 million sent to 22 news
00:04:49.280 organizations. The latest recipient organizations were listed in the collective's second round of
00:04:54.080 disclosures, in addition to the $22.2 million for 108 news organizations already revealed earlier this
00:05:00.680 month. In the latest round of public disclosure, the collective recently paid the CBC over $6.8 million,
00:05:07.280 becoming the biggest beneficiary of Google's media subsidies in the country. Bell Media,
00:05:12.680 encompassing properties like CTV News, BNN Bloomberg, and several radio stations, is the next
00:05:17.720 largest recipient of Google's media subsidies, receiving a $5.2 million payout. The Toronto Star
00:05:23.380 received $1.6 million from the CJC, in addition to the $1.9 million that Metroland Media Group received
00:05:30.460 in the last payment period, also a subsidiary of Torstar. Other legacy media organizations that received
00:05:36.120 money during the last disclosure period include the Globe and Mail, which received $2 million,
00:05:40.920 the Canadian Press, which received $1.4 million, and Post Media's $4.3 million payout. The coalition
00:05:48.340 is a non-profit that was established for the express purpose of divvying up funds for the government
00:05:52.680 brokered payout scheme, with Google in compliance with the Liberal government's Online News Act.
00:05:57.520 Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has instead decided to pull all news content from
00:06:02.100 Meta platforms rather than complying with the legislation.
00:06:04.400 Any outlet that meets the government's distinction as a qualified Canadian journalism organization
00:06:09.000 is eligible for the program upon application. The funds an outlet receives are calculated based
00:06:14.200 on the total number of hours paid to employees for tasks dedicated to the production of online news.
00:06:19.320 So, Cosmin, are Canadian media outlets too reliant on government funds to sustain themselves?
00:06:23.980 What other payouts have they recently received from the Liberals?
00:06:26.640 Yeah, so if you look at the track record of the Liberal government, it's been one of hefty payouts and bailouts
00:06:35.660 for the legacy media. Going all the way back to 2018, which was arguably the largest payout,
00:06:43.920 and that was the $600 million bailout that Trudeau announced over five years.
00:06:49.920 Now, that has presumably dried up since 2023, but that's half a billion dollars just to pay off
00:06:59.160 failing legacy media businesses in Canada. And we're still feeling the repercussions of that.
00:07:05.960 And that's not it. There's also the Local Journalism Initiative, which is an annual program
00:07:10.880 that distributes funds to organizations that apply for it, funding journalists being hired by these
00:07:18.900 organizations. And they're supposed to cover specific topics that the program itself lays out.
00:07:25.860 And there's also digital news tax credits that the Liberals have introduced for media companies.
00:07:32.760 And not to forget all of the emergency media funding that came during the COVID pandemic.
00:07:38.900 They spent over $60 million in extra support for the media industry, including big players like CBC,
00:07:46.980 Post Media, Toronto Starz, and others already mentioned. Additionally, there's the labor tax credit
00:07:53.280 expansion. So media companies can now apply for up to 35% of certain journalists' salaries to be
00:08:01.300 covered by this tax credit. So there's a lot of different programs available for the media.
00:08:05.780 But I think the most egregious one was the 2018 media bailout and this current program,
00:08:12.600 which forces companies like Google to essentially fund media that's sympathetic to the liberal
00:08:20.300 government. I also wanted to add that during Prime Minister Mark Carney's campaign earlier this year,
00:08:27.740 he promised to increase the funding for the CBC. And they're the biggest winners from this bailout by
00:08:35.760 Google that was forced by the liberal government. They got the largest amount of money from this
00:08:42.640 bailout. But in comparison to how much money they get from taxpayers, which is $1.4 billion annually,
00:08:49.700 it's not that much. And Mark Carney pledged to even increase that further while he was on the
00:08:57.260 campaign trail. He promised an additional $150 million for the CBC.
00:09:06.880 Long-time Liberal MP Francis Scarpeleggia was elected Speaker of the House of Commons.
00:09:12.880 Scarpeleggia, the member for Lac-Saint-Louis, will become the 39th Speaker of the House,
00:09:18.240 replacing fellow Liberal MP Greg Fergus. Scarpeleggia is a veteran Liberal in the House of Commons,
00:09:24.900 serving his Quebec riding for nearly 21 years since first being elected in 2004. While Scarpeleggia
00:09:31.520 did not have a role in Cabinet during his extended time in the House, he has stood on several standing
00:09:37.420 committees in Parliament, most recently chairing the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable
00:09:42.900 Development. The Speaker of the House of Commons is entrusted with presiding over the business of the
00:09:48.060 House, ensuring order, guiding parliamentarians through the business before the House, and
00:09:53.220 applying the parliamentary rules in a fair, even-handed manner. Scarpeleggia assumes the
00:09:58.780 Speakership as the two previous men in the role sustained significant scrutiny for their conduct in
00:10:04.820 carrying out the duties of the job. So covering federal politics, the last two elected Liberal
00:10:10.700 speakers had their shortcomings. Jeff, could you refresh our memories on what some of those scandals
00:10:17.620 that plagued Anthony Rota and Greg Fergus were?
00:10:21.420 Yeah, Cosmin. So first, Anthony Rota, who served from 2019 to 2023, resigned in September 2023 after
00:10:29.400 inviting Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian veteran, to a parliamentary session honoring Ukrainian
00:10:35.780 President Volodymyr Zelensky. Hunka was given a standing ovation, but it later emerged he had
00:10:40.540 served in a Nazi-affiliated unit during World War II, which sparked international outrage and
00:10:45.660 accusations of poor vetting. Rota took full responsibility, stating he was unaware of Hunka's
00:10:50.380 past, but the incident embarrassed the Liberal government and led to his exit. Greg Fergus, who
00:10:55.040 succeeded Rota and served until May 26 of this year, also faced controversy that undermined his
00:11:00.380 impartiality as Speaker. In December 2023, Fergus appeared in a video tribute to outgoing Ontario
00:11:05.860 Liberal Party leader John Fraser, dressed in his Speaker's robes, which was played at the party's
00:11:10.900 leadership convention. This breached the Speaker's required neutrality, as it suggested partisan bias,
00:11:16.380 leading to a non-confidence motion from the Conservatives. Although Fergus survived a vote to
00:11:21.020 remove him in May 2024, with Liberals, Greens, and NDP voting to keep him, the incident damaged his
00:11:26.900 credibility. Additionally, in February 2023, Fergus was found to have violated the Conflict of Interest
00:11:32.780 Act by writing a letter supporting a television channel's CRTC application, further fueling perceptions
00:11:38.380 of partisanship.
00:11:42.900 That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. You can stay on top of new episodes every weekday by
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