Latest news with #MichaelHiggins
CTV News
6 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Expert says Canadians ready for increase in military funding
University of Calgary political science associate professor Jean-Christophe Boucher speaks with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins about Canada's commitment to increased defence spending. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Michael Higgins: This is being described as the biggest increase for Canada since the Second World War. How would you describe this as a turning point for the Canadian Armed Forces? Jean-Christophe Boucher: It's long overdue. For several years now, experts and even allies have suggested that Canada's defence spending was too low for the kind of commitments we wanted to make in the world. The Trudeau government increased those budgets a little bit, but now this is a major inflection point where we're moving into an environment where there's going to be a lot of dollars put on defense spending, a lot new platforms, a lot of transformation in the forces and how we think about defense policy in Canada. I think this is a significant increase. MH: Obviously the military is at the centre of this, but how far do you see this extra funding extending? Where could all of these dollars end up going? JCB: The Government of Canada said they're going to spend 3.5 per cent on defence spending and 1.5 per cent on capital spending associated with national security. There hasn't been a lot of detail on what that 3.5 per cent has been for. A suggestion, for example, was that we would fold the Coast Guard into that funding — the Americans do this. So, there's some moving budget lines between Excel spreadsheet columns. I don't think some of it will not be new money, but there's indications that we're going to start to increase funding for platforms or for different kinds of things, maybe new submarines. There are also conversations in Ottawa about cloud sovereignty, AI sovereignty, and that would be part of the funding. So there's a lot of new things that we want to do in the defence environment that will be part of that funding. MH: But it could extend beyond defense, though, could it not? JCB: Absolutely. So maybe we won't really see this, but right now in Ottawa, everything that touches foreign policy is on the draft block. The Carney government right now wants to push a new foreign policy document, which hasn't been done since the (Paul) Martin years, so that's 20 years ago. There's also a new national security document that's coming in. So although the 3.5 per cent on defence is really kind of the first big announcement on defence policy, we're going to see investment on national security conceived largely in borders, infrastructures, A.I. All across the board, all departments that touch national security or international security in a certain fashion will see their spending increase. That means public safety and a lot of other actors in that ecosystem. So we're going to see a massive change in foreign policy, in our posture and how we're doing things, but also a lot of new money into those capabilities. My sense is that, in the next couple of years, we'll see a much more competent Canada, but also a more assertive one. MH: How do you see Canadians responding to such an expansive change? JCB: For a long time, the common wisdom was that Canadians didn't like defence spending. What I find interesting is that at the University of Calgary, we have had a seven-year look at public opinion on national defence, and what we've seen consistently for the last five years is that Canadians are ready to spend more on defence. In fact, when we're asking Canadians, 'Would you be willing to increase defence spending a lot more?' People would say yes, even more in Quebec than elsewhere. I think when we're looking into this, it also is tied to how Canadians are perceiving the international system. The last couple of years we've seen actors like Russia, like China, like Iran, a lot more aggressive in international space and challenging Western rule-based order. We're seeing right now the United States is less willing to sustain that environment, and somehow Canada now is stuck in an environment where it has to fend for itself. So Canadians have been responding to this, and we've seen this in the polls. I'm not seeing a lot of opposition to that spending. I think most Canadians are ready for that. MH: Does the rest of the world, friend or foe, respond in kind with military buildup to match NATO? What kind of global defence or threat environment could all of this create? JCB: Everywhere in the world there's increased defence spending, not just in Russia or in China, but also amongst NATO allies. Some of the neighbours of Russia for example, Poland or the Baltic states are spending almost four per cent of their GDP on defence. It makes sense because they're bordering Russia, but even in Germany, and France and Japan. Everywhere in the world, people are increasing their spending. It's important for Canada too, because when we go abroad and when we try to co-operate and collaborate with these actors, the first question is always, 'Canada's here. What can you do?' If we have no money or no capabilities, then our capacity to shape these relationships is limited. People are saying, 'Canada is nice, but they can't commit anything'. Whereas now, because our capabilities will increase and because our allies will also increase their capabilities, it means that we'll have a more assertive Western alliance. It also means that we're going to be able to move away from a U.S.-centric environment into a much more multilateral world. MH: The military obviously has a significant presence in our province, CFB Edmonton, Camp Wainwright — maybe most notably Fort Wayne Cold Lake, Canada's busiest fighter base. What is this NATO commitment going to mean for military installations in Alberta? JCB: A couple of things. There are indications that salaries within the Armed Forces will grow. I think that's good news. There's a lot of indications that those didn't match Canadian wages. There's also a lot of these installations and capabilities that are still lagging behind, or they need to be improved, so I think we're going to see spending all across the board, not just on defence or bases but also in our industry. When we listen to the Carney government, they're talking about A.I. cloud computing, they're talking about all sorts of investment in all areas of our defence industry from satellites to bullets and ammunition. So all across the spectrum, across the defence industry, we're going to see a lot of investment into those environments and some trickle down right into our province.
South Wales Argus
4 days ago
- South Wales Argus
South Wales Police fines for drivers using mobile phones
South Wales Police issued 792 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) in 2024, compared to 391 in 2023. This amounts to £278,400 in fines over two years. Michael Higgins, a solicitor at Accident Claims Advice, said: "The number of mobile phone driving offences is extremely worrying – especially given the potentially devastating consequences of someone not paying full attention when operating a vehicle. "A road traffic accident caused by someone looking at their phone while driving could turn a person's life upside down in a split second." By mid-May, 209 more fines had already been recorded in 2025. Injuries have been linked to 15 road traffic accidents involving mobile phone use since 2023. Nearby forces reported lower totals for the same period, with North Wales Police issuing 886 fines and Gwent Police 1,102 FPNs. Using a handheld device while driving has been an offence since 2003, with penalties increasing in 2022.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘An urgent need': Alberta cabinet minister says Bill C-5 needed to fast track nation building projects
Edmonton Centre MP Eleanor Olszewski speaks with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins about Bill C-5 and more on Alberta Primetime. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Michael Higgins: Let's start on Bill C-5. Why rush it through before rising for the summer? Especially considering the degree of opposition from Indigenous groups and environmental groups? Eleanor Olszewski: I would start off by saying that there is an imperative to building projects, Canadian projects, national projects. It's an imperative in terms of national security and in terms of our economy as well. The prime minister and cabinet understand that. There was, in my view, and in the view of many, quite an urgent need to get the legislation in place quickly so that we can get nation building projects moving. MH: Given the pressure that is building on your government to get many of those nation building projects underway, a lot of the loudest voices are here in Alberta. How do you respond to the Albertans that say pipelines, energy corridors, need to be at the top of the list? EO: I would respond very favourably to that. In fact, I met a number of energy leaders at a roundtable in Calgary a few weeks ago with the prime minister and others and they were very excited to hear that we were moving forward with this legislation. It means a lot in terms of economic predictability, in terms of smoothing over the uncertainty, not just from the U.S. tariffs, but all of the uncertainty that surrounds the tariffs. The indirect result of uncertainty as well. That really is a hamper on investment in this province. So they were quite excited to have this bill move ahead. MH: You mentioned Calgary during the G7 Summit. We saw you on the tarmac greeting many of the leaders. At the same time, you were shoulder to shoulder with Premier Danielle Smith. Where do things stand in building new relations with the Alberta government, especially considering your portfolio responsibilities now in the Carney cabinet? EO: I think that relationship is in a very good place. I've had, through the emergency management side of things, the opportunity to have a number of discussions with Mike Ellis and he's the deputy premier but also my counterpart in terms of emergency management in Alberta. I also had the opportunity to spend quite a few hours of time, as you mentioned, on the tarmac with Premier Smith and I think that was a really good use of time, in terms of building a relationship with her. We had some really constructive discussions and some constructive discussions with the mayor of Calgary, who was also on the tarmac. All of those things bode really well for the federal relationship with Alberta. Certainly from my perspective I consider it fundamental to have a cooperative and collaborative relationship with the province. I'm this province's voice in cabinet as well and that's a responsibility that I take very seriously. MH: You bring up deputy premier Mike Ellis. You've very suddenly landed in cabinet with a very important portfolio at a time of year where a lot of provinces are struggling. There are growing calls for creation of a national fire service. Where does that sit on the priorities list? EO: That's actually a number one priority. What I learned over the last number of weeks is there are indeed some gaps in how we deliver emergency management and there's room for some changes. Certainly from my perspective, the safety of Canadians is absolutely top of mind, a top priority. Myself and my department, we'll be looking at changes we can make which will include considering whether or not there should be a national strategy, and if so, what would that look like? Does it cover how we deal with firefighters and bringing over international firefighters? Does it cover provision of equipment such as water bombers? There's a lot of work to do in the next few months and I'm optimistic that by August we'll have a plan for making some changes to the Emergency Management Protocol. MH: The other half of your cabinet portfolio, community resilience. What are you diving into there and how does that impact Alberta? EO: Just with respect to community resilience in general. It's basically making sure that we deal with wildfires and other emergency incidents by preparing for them properly. So by mitigating, by taking steps to make sure that we can keep communities safe. That might be something like in the case of a town that has only one access road, and in the case where there might be a fire on both sides of that road. It's thinking about what we can do in advance to make sure that people in that community are protected. That might mean a different access road leading to a field where we can evacuate people from a small airstrip. It might mean things like ensuring that building codes are appropriate given the situation. With respect to wildfires and other emergencies, it might mean using different kinds of shingles for example, in certain kinds of communities. It might mean having a proper plan for evacuating, especially remote communities. That was one of the most difficult things that we did, certainly in the province of Manitoba, is evacuate First Nations peoples from very small communities that don't have road access, that have a very tiny airstrip, and you can't land a Hercules to evacuate people. So you're bringing helicopters in and moving people out a few at a time. This is the kind of thing that we deal with in terms of emergency management. MH: In the span of a number of weeks you've gone from running to be an MP, to landing in a very key portfolio in the Carney cabinet. What does the road forward look like? EO: It looks busy, I can tell you that. I'm just remembering having a discussion with you, it seems like a few short weeks ago, and I think I had my Canada Strong t-shirt on and a jacket. To your point, things have changed so much for me, and the road ahead is very optimistic. I am very proud indeed to be part of this government. I'm very proud to be a voice for my province and for my city and for my riding. Although this moment in time has a lot of challenges, it's also going to provide us with many economic opportunities, opportunities to strengthen relations with other countries and to reduce our dependence on the United States.
CTV News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
‘People are really angry': NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi says separatism talk turning voters off conservatives
Naheed Nenshi, NDP Leader, speaks with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins about his recent by-election win and plans for the party moving forward.
CTV News
24-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Naheed Nenshi
Edmonton Watch Naheed Nenshi, NDP Leader, speaks with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins about his recent by-election win and plans for the party moving forward.
