Ford and Freeland will hammer out sick leave Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get it delivered weekday mornings. The Newfoundland Nine, a team of health-care workers dispatched from The Rock to reinforce exhausted hospital workers in Ontario, arrived yesterday at Pearson Airport. Tom Polodec, a photojournalist, captured the moment on camera. The number of daily cases in the province might be reaching a plateau, but hospitalizations keep on ticking upward. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared maybe somewhat open to Premier Doug Ford's new sick-leave plan, which the province hopes would double an existing federal benefit (so long as the feds keep on administering the program). The PM has tapped Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, a noted pandemic pal of Ford's, to work out the details. Still, Trudeau emphasized that Ontario should work directly with provincially regulated workplaces. Queen's Park is on high alert this morning for news from the province's auditor general. Bonnie Lysyk will drop her report on "Pandemic Readiness and Response in Long-Term Care," which will surely overtake the news cycle. More vaccine diplomacy: Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe announced that North Dakotans would offer the same kindness to his province's essential workers as those in neighbouring Manitoba. The border state will offer vaccines to cross-border essential workers, including truck drivers and essential workers. What did the PMO know? Back in 2013, then-PM Stephen Harper denied any knowledge of his chief of staff's decision to cut a cheque that covered Sen. Mike Duffy's improperly claimed expenses. At the time, Trudeau was newly Liberal leader and attacked Harper repeatedly for not taking responsibility for the scandal—and demanding he testify under oath . These days, Trudeau sounds an awful lot like his predecessor when he's asked about the Vance scandal. A former senior PMO aide, Elder Marques, recently told the Commons defence committee that he knew about a misconduct allegation against the general in 2018—and kept Trudeau's top aide, Katie Telford, in the loop. The PM has claimed he learned about the allegations from journalists, and yesterday said no one in his office knew the complaint about Vance was related to sexual misconduct. But Global News unearthed emails in which bureaucrats probing the allegation were using the words "sexual harassment." Help for India: Development Minister Karina Gould announced a $10-million spend on humanitarian assistance to the Canadian Red Cross, which supports the Indian Red Cross Society’s response to a horrifying COVID-19 crisis. The federal money will pay for essential supplies and medicine, "including oxygen cylinders for clinics and ambulances." Earlier, Trudeau acknowledged the scope of the disaster—and pledged Canada's support: "As we see the terrible and tragic images coming out of India, we know we need to be there for our friends." Make 'em pay: The NDP is not content with a luxury tax for wealthy folks who buy their own boats and planes, the budget measure that passes for soaking the rich in Liberal land. New Democrats are squarely focused on big corporations that have thrived in the pandemic era. NDP MP Peter Julian asked the parliamentary budget officer to run the numbers on a hypothetical excess profits tax that would double the tax rate on all profit over and above the five-year average earned by companies with at least $10 million in annual revenue. The PBO's estimated tax haul for 2020: $7.9 billion. The latest polling: The federal horse race won't budge. Abacus Data's latest survey pegs the Liberals at 36 per cent, seven points ahead of the Conservatives. New Democrats are sitting at 17 per cent. Most of Abacus's line charts resemble undulating prairie more than spiky alpine terrain. Canada-China relations: Conservative MPs are using written questions on the parliamentary order paper to probe for details on Canada's fraught relationship with the emerging superpower. First, John Williamson asked how many times Canadian ships have transited the South China Sea—a provocative sailing route through disputed waters—since 2018. The answer: five. James Bezan asked how many times, since 2017, Canada's military has conducted joint exercises or operations with Chinese counterparts. That answer: six. The last event on the list wrapped up on Sept. 20, 2018. McKinsey's influence: Tory MP Ben Lobb queried the feds about the various and sundry contracts inked with a certain global consultancy, formerly run by Canada's ambassador to China, since the Liberals took office in 2015. The 110-page response lists 26 contracts, both big and small. The most lucrative saw McKinsey get paid $24.8 million over two years to help one department "manage and execute ... service transformation strategy, maximize the potential benefits of the transformational initiatives and provide ongoing guidance towards the evolution of the transformation roadmap, implementation approach and plan." Not right now: Everyone outside of Toronto loves to make fun of Toronto, right? Well, yesterday a council committee kiboshed a pilot project that would have allowed alcohol consumption in parks. The Toronto Star reported that longtime councillor Michael Thompson didn't want to say no—just "not right now." Sometimes, Canada's biggest city challenges the nation's capital for the title of city that fun forgot. Though even remote campgrounds in between are no better. —Nick Taylor-Vaisey | 