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    • Don Martin: Nice try, Prime Minister Trudeau. But it's too little, too late

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    Nice try, prime minister. But likely too little, too late and too transparently desperate to serve as a realistic government-salvage strategy.

    In a Hail Mary course correction designed to stop the Liberal death spiral, Justin Trudeau resurrected the ghost of rejected promises past, took notes from opposition ideas minutes before their release and delivered an empty ultimatum for excessively profitable grocery chains to stabilize prices.

    It was a startling act of political self-preservation by the chronically inactive Trudeau, a realization that his iron grip on the caucus was slipping with potential electoral annihilation foreshadowed in the polls.

    This is, after all, a prime minister who can be bombarded by negative news and act like he hears only the Hallelujah Chorus singing as he tiptoes through fields of tulips.

    Perhaps that’s a tune-out skill that is essential for someone who faces enough prime ministerial fury and personal loathing to send any mere mortal into a fetal position whimpering for a mommy hug

    But a reality of sorts finally got through to Trudeau this week at the Liberal caucus retreat.

    THE HOUSING CRISIS HAS BEEN HERE FOR YEARS

    He remains unapologetic about failing to act urgently on affordable housing, insisting circumstances have changed enough that enacting a broken 2015 Liberal promise to rebate the federal GST for rental housing construction makes sense now.

    This is, of course, bovine-enhanced fertilizer, as any wannabe homeowner will tell you. The housing crisis has been here for years and gotten steadily worse while the federal government fiddled about for eight years.

    But fresh from a second Delhi debacle, it appeared to be a slightly humbled Trudeau who emerged to repeatedly salute his MPs and unveil something resembling an action plan.

    A prime minister notoriously deaf to caucus concerns listened to MPs warning of grim truths and electoral consequences if the housing and cost-of-living issues were ignored much longer.

    Of course, devoid of original ideas for instant enactment, Trudeau simply lifted from others.

    He claimed the GST exemption for rental housing, a move leaked just minutes before the Conservatives unveiled the same thing and an idea the NDP has supported for years.

    An hour after CTV News’ Rachel Aiello broke news that the NDP leader would propose a bill to empower the Competition Bureau to tackle price gouging, Trudeau told MPs of plans to toughen up the Competition Act for similar purposes.

    THE SAME-OLD, SAME-OLD RESPONSE

    Beyond copy-catting, Trudeau retreated to his standard same-old, same-old response to any crisis: He called for a consultation.

    Enter grocery chain executives, who will thus be summoned to a meeting within two weeks to demand price stability in their stores. Or else.

    Good luck with that. They’ve been on the MP hot seat before to no discernable effect at the checkout.

    But Trudeau and his minister warn this time it will be different. There will be unspecified “consequences†if undefined “meaningful action†on prices isn’t delivered.

    This raises a lot of questions.

    If they defiantly ignore the government and keep on boosting prices, will price controls be imposed? Will the government cut the carbon tax on fuel if the chains blame high gas prices? And what prevents chains that reject a price freeze from simply passing along any tax penalties imposed on them by the government? Short answers: No, no and it doesn’t.

    Or course there’s the obvious bottom-line question: Will any of these moves stop the bleeding-out of Liberal support in the polls?

    Nobody knows for sure. But by the time future renters move into any housing constructed courtesy of the GST rebate, Canadians will have long gone to the polls.

    And grocery stores can vow cost reductions only to move prices around to preserve their profitable bottom line in a way no government could ever monitor.

    But it’s a start as Trudeau has his come-to-Jesus moment in front of a caucus that is unhappy but not yet ready to revolt against their leader.

    They forced their leader to snap out of his usual thought bubbles and unveil policy - be it old, new, borrowed or Tory blue.

    And they loudly applauded Trudeau for promising further announcements on the hot button files. He just has to wait until the opposition parties come up with the ideas.

    That’s the bottom line.

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

    A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

    When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

    CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

    Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

    The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

    Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

    The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

    Canada

    • Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

    • Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

    • The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

    • The second-degree murder trial of Thomas Hamp is being adjourned until December so an expert witness central to the trial can testify.

    • In the middle of the small crowd — near the tents, the lineup of kids awaiting face painting, the snack table — stood a jubilant Chiara Padovani. 'When I say 'tenant, you say 'power,'' she commanded to several dozen tenants, who chanted back with gusto. What looked like a summer block party in front of two north-end Toronto apartment buildings last month was a celebration of what renters who withheld payments for months called a 'huge victory.'

    • For the last seven-and-half months, Toronto resident Heather McArthur has been living out what she describes as her 'worst nightmare.' On Feb. 7, her then three-year-old son Jacob along with his father Loc Phu 'Jay' Le departed for what was supposed to be a week-long visit to Vietnam to celebrate the Lunar New Year with family, McArthur says.

    World

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    Entertainment

    • Lawyers representing the producers of 'Russians at War' say they may pursue legal action against Ontario's public broadcaster for pulling support for the controversial documentary amid outcry from the Ukrainian community and some Canadian politicians.

    • Viewers of Jeopardy got a chance to test their knowledge of trivia about B.C.'s biggest city Wednesday night.

    Business

    Lifestyle

    • They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    Sports

    • The Winnipeg Jets have some huge holes to fill on both offence and defence this season.

    • Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he's been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season's playoffs.

    Autos

    • An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

    • Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.

    • The plant was expected to produce batteries for a million electric vehicles a year. Once up and running, it was supposed to create hundreds of permanent jobs in a small southeastern Ontario municipality. But two years later, spending on the construction of the Umicore plant has been delayed in what the company calls a "significant worsening of the EV market context."

    Local Spotlight

    They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

    Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

    The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

    It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

    A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

    David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

    Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

    • Thousands of protesters are expected to march into downtown Vancouver on Friday, demanding more action from their government to address the growing climate crisis.

    • There have been more reports of a Bitcoin extortion scam seeking to exploit viewers of "adult content" in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, according to the RCMP.

    • Getting a bed at one of British Columbia's drug detoxification facilities is like winning the lottery, the vice-president on the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council says.

    • The Ford government is considering restricting Ontario municipalities from installing new bike lanes that would require the removal of lanes of traffic, a source confirms to CTV News Toronto.

    • For the last seven-and-half months, Toronto resident Heather McArthur has been living out what she describes as her 'worst nightmare.' On Feb. 7, her then three-year-old son Jacob along with his father Loc Phu 'Jay' Le departed for what was supposed to be a week-long visit to Vietnam to celebrate the Lunar New Year with family, McArthur says.

    • An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

    • Defence counsel for accused murderer John-Christopher Arrizza argues he was in an “altered state of mind†due to days of drug and alcohol use, sleep deprivation and not eating, when he fatally stabbed a man at a Banff nightclub in 2022.

    • Injury prevention experts are urging Calgarians to ride carefully as e-scooter crashes land hundreds of people in the hospital.

    • WEATHER

      WEATHER

      Friday will be cool and wet with intermittent showers likely through most of the day.

    • WATCH LIVE AT 1 P.M.

      WATCH LIVE AT 1 P.M.

      CTV News has learned “significant news†is coming Friday regarding ongoing discussions to build a new downtown arena for the Ottawa Senators.

    • Police say a man, 34, who was taken to hospital in critical condition after being shot Thursday night has died.

    • The Ford government is considering restricting Ontario municipalities from installing new bike lanes that would require the removal of lanes of traffic, a source confirms to CTV News Toronto.

    • The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

    • Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has invited his Quebec counterpart to the negotiating table to reach an agreement on caribou before Christmas. He noted that the province could benefit from hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to protect biodiversity.

    • The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    • DEVELOPING

      DEVELOPING

      Edmonton police are warning about traffic disruptions on Friday near the headquarters of the Alberta Teachers' Association, where a protest against the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in school curricula will be taking place.

    • A mother and daughter say they woke up to flames encroaching on their third-floor apartment near Commonwealth Stadium early Friday morning.

    • WEATHER

      WEATHER

      The big weather story today won't really be rain, it'll be the cooler and breezier conditions.

    • A Nova Scotia woman has applied for a medically assisted death, saying after years of battling to receive out-of-country surgery for an illness that causes "indescribable" pain, she struggles to maintain the will to live.

    • Gas prices increased in all three Maritime provinces for the first time in more than a month.

    • A section of Herring Cove Road in the Spryfield area of Halifax is closed to traffic in both directions following a single-vehicle collision Friday morning.

    • The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) has made an arrest following a fire that claimed the lives of two people.

    • Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

    • A Winnipeg pet rescue is putting out a warning to dog owners across the city about a possible parvovirus in the province.

    • Driving into the tunnels of Nutrien's Rocanville mine, the largest potash mine in the world by production volume, feels like driving down a lonely highway in the middle of the night.

    • Regina police, fire and EMS were called to what appeared to be a three vehicle collision in the east end of the city shortly before 9 a.m. Friday morning.

    • The second-degree murder trial of Thomas Hamp is being adjourned until December so an expert witness central to the trial can testify.

    • Amber and Adam Brueckner have a pool-shaped hole in their backyard – and their wallets.

    • The missing family that was last seen in Kitchener, Ont. on Sept. 1 has been found safe, according to police.

    • A 43-year-old Guelph woman is wanted after police say she broke into a house and made herself at home.

    • The second-degree murder trial of Thomas Hamp is being adjourned until December so an expert witness central to the trial can testify.

    • A gym teacher at a private Christian school in Saskatoon has been charged. Terra MacEwan, 44, is charged with assault with a weapon. A Saskatoon mother who spoke with CTV News says her autistic son was MacEwan's victim.

    • Driving into the tunnels of Nutrien's Rocanville mine, the largest potash mine in the world by production volume, feels like driving down a lonely highway in the middle of the night.

    • Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

    • An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

    • A research team in London is looking into whether or not ChatGPT can be used as a diagnostic tool for medical learners and clinicians.

    • Police say just before 7:00 p.m. four teens entered a business in the 1000 block of Adelaide Street North.

    • Police were focusing their attention on the northeast corner of Richmond and Horton, with members of the emergency response unit taking up positions at the scene.

    • Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.

    • The Barrie Transit Field Trip Pass Program offers free elementary and high school transportation for students and teachers, removing the hassle of booking charter buses and managing the costs.

    • Check your lottery tickets because someone who purchased a ticket in Grey County is an overnight multi-millionaire, having won half of the historic lottery jackpot.

    • Windsor police say a 25-year-old mother has been charged with the drowning death of her 5-year-old child in the family’s backyard pool.

    • On Thursday, just after 9:30 a.m., a man was found and taken to police headquarters, where he was released with conditions and a future court date.

    • Windsor police are asking for help finding a missing 66-year-old man.

    • In a rare move, the Greater Victoria School District Board of Education has been slapped with a ministerial order from the province requiring it to update a student safety plan – drawing concern around political posturing leading up to an election.

    • Getting a bed at one of British Columbia's drug detoxification facilities is like winning the lottery, the vice-president on the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council says.

    • The Union of B.C. Municipalities is asking the provincial government to make transit free for teenagers.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.

    • A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.

    • A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.

    • Lethbridge residents who live near the police range can expect to hear plenty of shots fired Wednesday and Thursday.

    • A new community health profile in the Algoma District shows the area is significantly below provincial averages in a number of health metrics.

    • North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.

    • Three northern Ontario residents are charged with drug trafficking after the vehicle they were in got stuck along a bush road off Highway 17 on Monday.

    N.L.

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