We’re starting the newsletter with Industry Minister Mélanie Joly addressing the elephant in the room that’s been the talk of the Hill this week.

Joly flatly rejected claims that Ottawa was warned its aggressive stance toward Stellantis was jeopardizing Canada-U.S. trade talks, pushing back against reporting that tensions with Detroit automakers helped derail a near-complete agreement with the White House last fall.

Asked directly whether American officials or members of her own government told her that efforts to penalize Stellantis for failing to honour employment commitments were undermining negotiations with Washington, Joly responded: “First, no.”

“I must say we will always fight for auto workers,” she said. “We know that the American tariffs are illegal and unjustified.”

The comments are a direct rebuttal to allegations raised in a recent report by POLITICO, which detailed the collapse of trade discussions between Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump after what had initially been described as a breakthrough meeting at the White House.

Barbara Patrocinio has more. 

Now, if you think the Senate is taking a break in the next two weeks, no they’re not.

Senators have passed a motion to allow members of the human rights committee to sit over the upcoming two-week break to begin their study of the Liberals’ anti-hate bill.

The move comes after iPolitics reported that senior figures in the Carney government were growing frustrated with the Senate’s slow pace in moving legislation.

In a voice vote on Thursday, senators supported Patti Laboucane-Benson’s motion to allow the human rights committee to study Bill C-9 when the Senate is sitting or during break weeks.

At its core, Bill C-9 creates new penalties to criminalize efforts to harass or obstruct access to places of worship. It comes directly from a campaign promise from the Liberals in the run-up to last year’s election, largely in response to concerns about anti-Israel protesters behaving aggressively towards Jewish residents and making chants glorifying violence against Jews.

Marco Vigliotti has this one. 

Also, the government estimates that implementing a co-pay from asylum seekers and refugee claimants for some health care services will cut public costs by about $140 million.

To address a soaring price tag for the Interim Federal Health Program, the government introduced the new co-pay on May 1 for supplementary and prescription health coverage.

Claimants will cover a $4 fee for prescriptions and cover 30 per cent of the cost for services not typically covered by the public health care system, such as dental and vision care.

Data provided by the government in response to an order paper question from NDP MP Heather McPherson shows $93 million in savings will come from dental care.

Routine doctor visits and emergency medicine continue to be fully covered by the program.

The Canadian Press has more. 

In Other Headlines

Internationally

Elsewhere, a refusal by Saudi Arabia to allow the US to use its bases and airspace to provide a military escort for oil tankers passing through the strait of Hormuz lay behind Donald Trump’s decision to shelve the plan days after it had been launched.

Riyadh told the White House it would not allow its Prince Sultan airbase to be used to mount the operation billed as Project Freedom, which the US presented as the successor to the bombing campaign called Operation Epic Fury.

Saudi Arabia refused to drop its objections despite a personal call between the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and Trump, NBC reported.

The confrontation – not denied by Riyadh – underlines Saudi Arabia’s desire for a permanent end to the damaging US-Israel war on Iran on almost any terms, in contrast to its more assertive Gulf neighbour, the United Arab Emirates.

The Guardian has more. 

Meanwhile, health authorities across four continents Thursday were tracking down and monitoring passengers who disembarked a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship before its deadly outbreak was detected, and trying to trace others who may have come into contact with them since then.

In Argentina, a team of investigators has yet to leave for the southern town they suspect the outbreak originated when a Dutch couple may have contracted the virus while on a bird-watching trip before they boarded the cruise ship, officials from the country’s Health Ministry told The Associated Press on Thursday.

On April 24, nearly two weeks after the first passenger had died on board, more than two dozen people from at least 12 different countries left the ship without contact tracing, the ship’s operator and Dutch officials said Thursday.

Three passengers have died in the outbreak — a Dutch couple and a German national — and several others are sick. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.

The Associated Press has more. 

In Other International Headlines

The Kicker

Ottawa’s indie theatre scene just got a little better.

The Gladstone, an independent theatre in Little Italy, will be hosting this season’s launch party.

The theatre says tickets for the showcase sold out within a week, as audiences snapped up previews for a 21-show lineup feature AI love stories, Leonard Cohen tributes, Dracula, and even a clown-inspired Alice in Wonderland adaptation.

Find out more from here.