Politics on TV: The menace of temporary foreign pilots

Here are the three things you should not have missed:

1. Temporary foreign pilots
2. Cyberbullying
3. Peter Penashue’s claims in Labrador

Temporary foreign pilots:

On their third day of focusing on the rules around temporary foreign workers, Power & Politics spoke with Air Transat pilot Gilles Hudicourt, who decried that rival airlines Sunwing and CanJet use temporary foreign pilots from Europe during their busy season rather than hiring Canadian pilots, such as those laid off by Transat, and training them on their fleets. Hudicourt said that these two airlines are abusing the system to gain a commercial advantage. Evan Solomon then spoke with an MP panel of Kellie Leitch, Jinny Sims and Kevin Lamoureux for a third day in a row, and they gave largely the same points – Leitch agreed that Canadians should get first crack at jobs and the government was looking into the issue, Sims said the system was broken and was being abused, and Lamoureux agreed, though he did propose today that a Commons committee head to places like Alberta to study the seriousness of the problem there. A short while later, Solomon spoke with Mark Williams, president of Sunwing Airlines, who disputed Hudicourt’s claims, saying that the issue of training pilots for their fleet was more complicated than five weeks in a classroom, and that Sunwing sends their own pilots to Europe in the summer during the busy season there, and in return, they reciprocate by hiring those European pilots in the winter.

Cyberbullying:

On International Day of Pink to combat bullying, and amidst the fallout of the suicide of Nova Scotia teen Rehtaeh Parsons after she was sexually assaulted and tormented online, Power Play spoke with Liberal Senator Mobina Jaffer, who chaired the committee that looked into cyberbullying. Jaffer said that the committee found there needs to be education, prevention and restorative justice in order to combat cyberbullying, and a focus on “digital codes of conduct” to help youth think before they post. Jaffer said that police told the committee that they have enough laws, and students said they wanted it dealt with at the school level. Jaffer said that Hockey Canada and the Nova Scotia government have contacted them about the report, and unlike other reports, this one had the main report, plus tools created for parents and students.

Peter Penashue:

After Peter Penashue told a crowd of supporters that he held up a Newfoundland project for six months until he could secure $85 million for the trans-Labrador Highway, Solomon had an MP panel of Kellie Leitch, Jack Harris, and Scott Andrews discuss the implications of the revelation. Harris called this the politics of the past, and said that infrastructure funding should be free of political interference. Andrews said that it was no wonder they muzzled Penashue if he keeps saying stupid things, and added that he’s not sure what project Penashue held up for six months but if the Labrador highway was important, it would get funding. Leitch said that she too wasn’t sure which project Penashue was referring to, before she gave an ode to how Penashue was an effective representative, and did ALL THE THINGS for Labrador.

Worth Noting:

• Environment minister Peter Kent announced $10 million to reduce short-lived air pollutants that contribute to global warning.
• BC Premier Christy Clark said the upcoming election of will be about the province’s economic future.
• Liberal leadership candidate Deborah Coyne said that she is in the race to make the argument for the Liberal party to be a unifying national force, and that she will run as an MP in the next election regardless.