Congratulations to new and old colleagues who were sworn in today. This moment calls for a capable team ready to get to work quickly.

It’s nice to see a number of colleagues receive overdue recognition and I’m hopeful we’ll see a lot accomplished in the coming months. /1 I ran again because of the opportunity to make an even bigger difference around the cabinet table and to help fix the housing crisis. I’m not back in any role, unfortunately, so it may not surprise you to learn that it’s been a strange day on my end. /2

There’s a lot in today’s housing announcement, but the key takeaway is ambition.

We are meeting the challenge with a comprehensive plan to drive down the costs of home building and to reassert a forceful government role in getting affordable housing built.

https://twitter.com/markjcarney/status/1906695287000764723

To drive down the costs of home building, we will reduce development charges, massively invest in innovation and off-site construction, and double down on efforts to cut red tape and speed up approval timelines.

Generational fairness, the theme of this year's budget, is now being tested by Parliament.

The Bloc's demand to increase old age security (supported by the CPC and the NDP so far) is too expensive and poorly targeted.

It's bad policy. But I also think it's bad politics. /1 First, consider who benefits. The median income for seniors is less than $35,000. But if you're 65 and earn up to $90k, you get the full OAS benefit of $8700+.

It gets clawed back above $90k, phased out completely around $150k. A senior earning $120k still receives 4 grand. /2

There must be accountability for those who have assisted foreign states and worked against our national interest.

Due process is also essential, with a credible opportunity to clear one's name.

And, yes, intelligence sources must be protected. /1

cbc.ca/player/play/vi… The NSICOP report is damning in parts.

It finds that some elected officials "wittingly assisted foreign state actors" including by by providing "confidential information to Indian officials."

It "notes a particularly concerning case of a then-member of Parliament maintaining a relationship with a foreign intelligence officer. According to CSIS, the member of Parliament sought to arrange a meeting in a foreign state with a senior intelligence official and also proactively provided the intelligence officer with information provided in confidence." /2

nsicop-cpsnr.ca/reports/rp-202…

The sky hasn’t fallen. The slope isn’t slippery.

Medical assistance in dying has been an overwhelming success in Canada.

It has enhanced freedom, reduced suffering, and provided a dignified death to thousands of people in need.

Read more here: uncommons.ca/p/fearmongerin… 96.5% of MAID provision was for people whose natural death was reasonably foreseeable.

The average age was 77 years.

And a majority of people suffered from cancer.

Of the 463 people whose natural death was not reasonably foreseeable, a total of 123 were under the age of 65.

The Greenbelt land swaps have always been corruption in plain sight.

The AG’s report is damning and warrants further investigation. Minister Clark needs to resign.

Friends of the gov't will receive billions from what “cannot be described as a standard or defensible process.” /1 Here is what is at stake: “Owners of the 15 land sites removed from the Greenbelt could ultimately see a collective $8.3 billion increase to the value of their properties.”

As the AG finds, these developers received “preferential treatment.” /2

Here in Windsor, housing affordability concerns have come up repeatedly, focused both on getting more homes built and also the impact of the rapid rise in interest rates on homeowners.

Too many people are past their stress test and struggling to keep their homes. /1 The province needs to lead in building more homes and the feds should ensure there’s interim relief (at no public cost) through a set of rules re amortization and interest only schedules that are clearly communicated to consumers. /2

Ontario’s healthcare system is notably struggling.

We need to expand access to primary and community care, strengthen our healthcare workforce, and deliver integration to increase care quality and reduce costs.

We also need to defend equity and our public healthcare system. /1 At the same time as it underfunds a healthcare system in crisis, the Ford government calls the expansion of for-profit surgery clinics a "bold" answer.

It strikes me as a lazy one at best, with no concern for equity or efficiency. /2

cbc.ca/news/canada/to…

I abstained on the Conservative motion to immediately revert to pre-pandemic travel measures.

I didn’t support the idea of dropping masks right away, but I’ve also made it clear to the government that a two-dose vaccine mandate without accommodation is no longer justified. /1 We first debated these questions at the end of February. At that time, Dr. Tam had indicated that a review of mandates was warranted.

As I noted in my reasons then, an immediate and transparent re-evaluation should have taken place at that time. /2

https://twitter.com/beynate/status/1493351910673457153

A new and comprehensive package of sensible gun control policies is now before our parliament, and it meant a lot to see support for these measures from the Danforth Families for Safe Communities and so many others directly impacted by gun violence.

https://twitter.com/danforthfsc/status/1531433400833384450

A huge effort today for Mary-Margaret McMahon’s campaign here in Beaches-East York. When I first started in politics, Mary-Margaret was our local councillor. We worked well together, she's been a strong supporter of my advocacy, and I've known her to be passionate, hard working, and a relentless advocate for our east end community.

I voted against today's Conservative opposition motion to table a plan by February 28 to lift all federal mandates and restrictions.

To put it simply, we should put public health before politics. /1 Conservative colleagues have been quick to accuse the Prime Minister of politicizing the pandemic, but there’s a lot of hypocrisy in that charge given the timing of this motion amidst the protests and illegal blockades. /2

Given my occasional independent streak, I've had a number of questions about recent comments from my Quebec colleague Joel Lightbound.

So here are some of my thoughts. /1 First, I respect Joel a great deal and I'm glad he's a colleague of mine. It's probably obvious enough for those who know me, but I also think greater independence in our politics should be embraced. /2

I've been thinking a lot about the fact that Friday's #LPC campaign event was cancelled for safety reasons.

We've seen a glimpse of some frustration with the Prime Minister in our own door knocking, but thankfully not such vicious hostility. /1

cbc.ca/news/politics/… As Trudeau said: "we need to meet that anger with compassion." I would add that we also need to meet that anger firmly with the facts.

With a busy week of door knocking behind us, I'm thankful for our hard working local team and the continued support from so many neighbours.

The most common question we’ve received so far is: “why is there a federal election right now?”

Here are some thoughts. I admit to having mixed feelings about the election. In my first speech after the 2019 election, I said that minority parliaments hold the potential for greatness. I still think that’s true.

I'll confess to liking @mattgurney too, but when it comes to climate science I put more stock in experts like Professor @MarkJaccard. And he sees a significant difference between the Conservative and Liberal climate plans.

theglobeandmail.com/opinion/articl… While it is true that we are not yet on pace to meet our international obligations, without question this Liberal government has made significant and meaningful progress where previous governments (both Conservative and Liberal) have failed.

The families and friends who came together today to call for safer gun control all showed incredible courage. Out of the terrible tragedy on the Danforth, this is important leadership. #DanforthStrong I know this must have been especially hard for Noor and Quinn, with all that they have gone through and lost, and they both showed great poise. Very proud of their advocacy.

I’ll defend Ontario Proud’s right to say ridiculous things, but there a number of remaining concerns and questions after OP’s appearance at our committee yesterday. We were told that Ontario Proud complies with all provincial privacy laws. When I pointed out that PIPEDA is the operative law that applies to commercial orgs in Ontario, but does not apply to non-commercial orgs like OP, we were told they comply with the “spirit” of that law.