The country's top court is in for some change this year, after outgoing justice Clement Gascon said he'd be stepping down in April for personal and family reasons. The government's nominee, announced July 10, will take over after Mr. Gascon's departure in September. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Supreme Court nominee to face questions on training for judges, French education rights
Independent Senator Kim Pate, who will be among those in attendance at Nicholas Kasirer's hearing next week, is interested in hearing about his views about how systemic inequality can affect access to justice.
NDP loses Supreme Court appeal bid, ending challenge of BOIE’s $4-million repayment order
No doubt adding to the NDP’s financial woes is the fact the application for leave to appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada was dismissed with costs to the House. Conservative MP Gallant calls for review of St. Lawrence water regulation plan and links to flooding, though experts deny connection
Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant also wrote to Jane Corwin, chair on the International Joint Commission, calling for a review of the water regulation plan and to make adjustments accordingly.Politics This Morning
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Majority of Canadians may support TMX, but the project remains an electoral risk for Liberals: pollsters
It’s up to the prime minister to decide if he ‘wants to go into the next election arresting Indigenous communities and leaders,’ says the Squamish Nation council’s Dustin Rivers.Opposition MPs skirt top soldier, place blame for DND ‘chaos’ on Trudeau, Sajjan
Conservative and NDP MPs say chief of defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance was 'following orders' coming from the PMO and the defence minister. Too much party control in ‘highly uncompetitive’ candidate selection: Samara study
‘Parties effectively get to choose the pool of people who will become Members of Parliament,' says Paul Thomas, based on Samara’s recent analysis of 6,600 candidates between 2004 and 2015.Lack of Inuit language supports a key concern for advocates 20 years after Nunavut formed
Fostering use of Inuit languages was a key aim in creating Nunavut, but 20 years later, NTI president Aluki Kotierk says there's been a 'failure' when it comes to providing essential services to the public in Inuktut.Alberta inquiry into ‘foreign-funded’ anti-energy industry groups latest chapter in ‘misdirected attacks,’ says charity
The provincial NDP critic says inquiry is 'only going to increase opposition to energy development in Alberta,' with one expert calling it attempt to put a 'chill' on activism in Canada.Take a lesson, premiers: women’s soccer leading the charge on gender equality
While Canada's premiers were at a prostates-only party in Saskatoon and Donald Trump was being Donald Trump, the U.S Women’s National soccer team was disrupting all manner of cultural norms.Singh looks to defend Quebec seats in weeklong tour across province
Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is touring key ridings in Quebec this week currently held by New Democrats. The country's top court is in for some change this year, after outgoing justice Clement Gascon said he'd be stepping down in April for personal and family reasons. The government's nominee, announced July 10, will take over after Mr. Gascon's departure in September. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Supreme Court nominee to face questions on training for judges, French education rights
Independent Senator Kim Pate, who will be among those in attendance at Nicholas Kasirer's hearing next week, is interested in hearing about his views about how systemic inequality can affect access to justice.
Oil industry, intensifying partisanship two big barriers to effective climate action in Canada
Liberals and Conservatives provide clearly different climate change policies, yet the reality is that Canada is projected to fall short of meeting its 2030 emissions reduction pledge under either party.Conservatives and Scheer falling behind in Ontario, suggests Campaign Research poll
The Liberals also surpassed the Conservatives nationally for the first time in a year in polls by the Toronto firm.So campaign 2019, the ‘Low Blows Election’ has begun
It's our new Trumpian politics. It goes something like this. You get a famous name to make a controversial allegation against a well-known public figure and hope that it lights up Twitter.
Trudeau’s legislative record unlikely to motivate voters in the fall, with a few exceptions: pollsters
Many achievements and blunders enshrined in legislation are ancient history in the minds of voters, who cast their ballots based on the next thing you can do for them, say politicos and pollsters.Liberals passing the buck on weapons ban
If the Liberal government truly believes that the legal availability of assault weapons puts the public at risk, then why not enact measures that are available to them right now, while they are still in power?Will the Senate respect democracy and First Nations rights?
Three important pieces of legislation sit in the Senate today, subject to the whim of a small group of Senators, which is a gross undermining of the democratic process.
Sri Lankan envoy reflects on ‘very challenging’ first year handling ‘sensitive’ files
‘This is what we can’t accept’: A unanimous House motion in June called on the UN to investigate ‘allegations of genocide’ against the country’s minority Tamils, a term the South Asian nation categorically rejects.
Ukraine: the third revolution
Two showbiz figures, complete novices in politics, trying to run a country of 44 million people (which, by the way, is in a proxy war with Russia). What could possibly go wrong? Honouring our fallen is a noble exercise—but so is questioning the fight
Looking beyond a cenotaph, if Canada really wanted to honour the soldiers, we would conduct a full parliamentary inquiry into how we were drawn into an unwinnable war.
Lobbying watchdog says glitch in system skewed volume of registrations
Lobbying commissioner Nancy Bélanger says she's considering doing 'spot checks' for political activities in an effort to advise lobbyists of how their lobbying activities might be affected in the future.Municipalities close conference with sights set on Election 2019
So coming out of FCM’s conference and heading to the election 2019, municipalities stand ready to continue working with every federal party to empower Canada’s local leaders. Because that’s how we’ll build better lives.Lobbyists increasingly target Senate as Liberals make final legislative push
At 517 lobbying records in the first four months of 2019, the volume of lobbyists targeting the Senate has already surpassed the annual totals common before the Justin Trudeau's government came to power.
‘Sunny’ assistant deputy sergeant-at-arms bids the Hill adieu
Plus, Rosemarie Falk welcomes a baby, and Amita Kuttner revealed as the Green Party's science and innovation critic.
Science and Sport Minister Duncan down a director
Plus, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has a new policy adviser in her office, Pearson Croney-Clark.
‘I started there with Mr. Trudeau and I finished with Mr. Trudeau’: longtime Parliamentary Restaurant stalwart Marguerite Charlebois retires
Plus, Warren Kinsella is added to the Green Party's war room, and Pierre Pettigrew is named Asia Pacific Foundation board chair.
New chief of staff for Public Services Minister Qualtrough
Plus, Women and Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef has a new issues manager in her office. Hillites, lobbyists, public servants, reporters drawn to magic of Ottawa Lawn Summer Nights
Lawn Summer Nights at the Elmdale Lawn Bowling club brings together Hillites for a night of good-natured competition and ridiculous outfits to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Canada.Liberals accuse Conservatives of promoting anti-abortion movie, reopening abortion debate
Plus, Tories flip pancakes, don ten-gallon hats at Calgary Stampede; Conservative react with furor to professor's 'classist' tweet; and former NDP MP John Rafferty has died at 65.
No sign Canada ‘making inroads’ with China, strategy not working as Trudeau claims, say former diplomats
Canada ‘more or less completely passive’ on China file, according to former Canadian diplomat to Beijing Charles Burton.
Feds say clean fuel standard can make LNG ‘more efficient than coal’, despite report’s warning
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers calls the recent Global Energy Monitor report 'misleading', and says Canada has the 'strongest environmental performance' among LNG-producing nations.
No Zoloft for this: KAOS malaise and public health
As the public sphere has become unrecognizably dystopian, the toll on human health includes a range of symptoms it may take more than pharmacology to cure.
Military second-in-command shouldn’t be praised for making a beneficial personal choice
The simple truth of the Wynnyk story is that he followed an existing policy and stretched the rules without breaking them. If he had to make any sacrifice to his lifestyle, this was purely due to his own personal choice.Stepping into an untapped tourist niche for rural Canada
Walking could transform rural tourism and generate jobs and investment in regions once thought of as backwaters, but it requires real effort and vision by local business leaders and elected officials. Why the proposed addition to Ottawa’s Château Laurier should be redesigned
The proposed architectural design has horrified many Canadians for its unsympathetic visual impact on the picturesque heritage values of the Château Laurier, a national historic site. The prime minister should step in.
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Politics This Morning: O’Regan, Bennett to make appearance at Back to Batoche festival
Plus, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is in Toronto to make her pitch, 'A New Deal for Canadian Cities,' which seeks to give municipalities greater control over 'essential services' and more protection from the provinces they're beholden to.
The immigration minister should take note that all of the approaches used so far for the family reunification program have fallen short of meeting the objective of fairness.
The biggest, most ambitious proposals for conserving lands have come from Indigenous nations.
If the Greens are truly looking to make inroads, they should not be soliciting tired advice from politicos of yesteryear.
After 30 years as Canada’s architectural avatar on ‘America’s Main Street,’ the Canadian embassy in Washington has become part of the local furniture.
It may have been unintentional, but the premiers helped define some issues that Canadians need to sort out before the Oct. 21 election.
Minister Amarjeet Sohi’s comments perpetuate a divisive narrative that hurts the country and continue the government’s use of Bill C-69 as a political wedge.
Is democracy possible?
It’s not easy to feel optimistic about democracy these days. In his important new book, Teardown: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up, activist and author Dave Meslin tackles our democratic deficit and proposes meaningful solutions that would encourage more connectivity between citizens and their governments.
Politics This Morning
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New policy directors for ministers Morneau, Champagne, and LeBlanc
Justin To has left the finance minister’s office, and deputy policy director Ian Foucher has already been promoted to replace him. This just in: Olivier Duchesneau joins Liberal HQ as deputy national campaign director
Marjorie Michel has in turn replaced Olivier Duchesneau as chief of staff to Families, Children, and Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos.U.S. Embassy packs NAC for Fourth of July party
Plus, Vassy Kapelos ties the knot, both Stockwell Day and Wayne Easter get another award, and Sarah McLachlan is coming to Ottawa! Trudeau and family pop into the Merry Dairy for ice cream
Plus, People's Party Leader Maxime Bernier ties the knot in Florida, Graham Fraser and Lisa LaFlamme are among recent Order of Canada honorees, and PROC pushes for parallel proposal.Public servants, feds inch closer to contracts with tentative agreements before election
The Public Service Alliance of Canada remains at an impasse with the federal government however, with national president Chris Aylward saying they won’t take an ‘inferior’ deal just to get it done before the election. SAP Canada pitches NextGen plan to standardize human resources processes
When processes are 'standardized, the collective input into a payroll system becomes a lot simpler,' says Robert Conlin, SAP Canada's vice-president of the public sector.U.S. Embassy brings bayou to Bytown for Fourth of July
Though U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft was in Calgary, the U.S. Embassy's Fourth of July party was still filled with food and fun. Hill media descend on 24 Sussex for annual garden party
The prime minister opened up his backyard for one last shindig before politicians and journalists gear up for what's going to be a busy summer. U.S. Ambassador Craft in ‘departure mode’ with ‘unconventional’ Fourth of July, say former diplomats
The outgoing U.S. ambassador was big on relationships and will be remembered for key Trump ties that proved useful during NAFTA renegotiations, says Liberal MP Wayne Easter.Diplomatic spouses find community, give back with Wabano fundraiser
The Heads of Mission Spouses Association is planning a June 11 charity event for the Wabano Centre, helping raise funds for school supplies for 50 children.Top European officials join Trudeau in Montreal for Canada-EU Summit, July 17-18
European Council president Donald Tusk will join Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Montreal July 17-18 for the Canada-European Union Summit. Photograph courtesy of the European Council
A banner that reads, 'This is Algonquin land, unsurrendered—unceded,' hangs on 100 Wellington St., formerly the site of the U.S. embassy. Grand chief Verna Polson of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Council and her supporters have set up tents and chairs outside the building in protest over the fate of site, which is intended to be a space for Indigenous people. Chief Polson has been staging a hunger strike since Monday over what she says has been a lack of consultations on the future of the building. 
Comedian Rick Mercer and then-Reform Party MP Deb Grey, pictured in the late 1990s on Parliament Hill doing a shoot for CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes, which Mr. Mercer hosted at the time. The Hill Times photograph by Terry McDonald 
