Liberal-turned-Independent MP Raj Grewal, pictured in this file photo on the Hill, announced three weeks ago that he was resigning from his seat, but recently said in a video statement posted on his Facebook page that he was reconsidering his decision and would make a final announcement about his future before the House returns for the winter sitting in late January. He was kicked out of the Liberal caucus last Saturday. The Hill Times file photograph
NDP MP Cullen wants Canada Elections commissioner to investigate Grewal’s April $600,000 fundraiser, Grewal’s lawyer says he did nothing wrong
According to Ind. MP Raj Grewal’s Facebook posts, the cost to attend the April 6 fundraiser was $500 per person, and 1,200 people attended the event
Liberals all talk, no action a year after LGBTQ apology, say critics, advocates
‘We’ve got a team of six full-time public servants working on LGBTQ matters every day, every week. That’s not something we had two years ago,” says LGBTQ adviser Randy Boissonnault.‘Ambitious’ feminist aid targets potential victim of Liberal ‘gender washing,’ says report
'If Canada actually achieves these targets smoothly, we should seriously question that,' says researcher Aniket Bhushan.Politics This Morning
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Liberal government unlikely to suspend Saudi arms deal as pressure to respond to Khashoggi killing grows elsewhere, experts say
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland wouldn't rule out suspending already-approved arms export permits when asked by reporters in the lead up to the G20 Summit in Argentina. Feds’ opening offer in contract talks an ‘insult,’ would put 90,000 bureaucrats in a virtual wage freeze: PSAC
Meanwhile, contract negotiation talks are also slow-going between the Union of Taxation Employees and the Canada Revenue Agency, said UTE president Marc Brière.Federal departments miss quarter of annual targets: results report
In the last fiscal year, federal departments and agencies missed 610 performance targets out of a total 2,587 tracked.Majority of Canadians not sold on feds’ plan to tackle climate change, poll suggests
To turn public opinion around, the Liberals need to make a more credible case for why their plan is more effective, drawing clear distinctions between theirs and what the provinces are proposing, says Lorne Bozinoff. ‘Scheer needed this,’ federal Tories tighten hold on Leeds-Grenville riding in byelection
For the Liberals, the five per cent dip in support should be taken as a sign that the party needs to evaluate whether its strategy, says Joe Jordan of Bluesky Strategy Group. Conservatives win Leeds-Grenville byelection, maintaining grip on riding
The last time the riding was in the Liberals’ hands was in 2004.House should set up permanent Commons committee on digital issues, says NDP MP Angus, after unprecedented international summit
‘While we have been playing on our phones and apps, our democratic institutions and our civil conversation seem to have been upended by frat boy billionaires from California,’ said Mr. Angus at the U.K. meeting Nov. 27. Liberal-turned-Independent MP Raj Grewal, pictured in this file photo on the Hill, announced three weeks ago that he was resigning from his seat, but recently said in a video statement posted on his Facebook page that he was reconsidering his decision and would make a final announcement about his future before the House returns for the winter sitting in late January. He was kicked out of the Liberal caucus last Saturday. The Hill Times file photograph
NDP MP Cullen wants Canada Elections commissioner to investigate Grewal’s April $600,000 fundraiser, Grewal’s lawyer says he did nothing wrong
According to Ind. MP Raj Grewal’s Facebook posts, the cost to attend the April 6 fundraiser was $500 per person, and 1,200 people attended the event
Ukraine-Russia sea spat no place for NATO intervention
It would be foolhardy for NATO to heed Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s request for warships to escalate the tension in the Sea of Azov.Canadian science needs non-partisan alliances to weather political winds of change
Politicized science policy can suffer, alongside politicians, a decline in public trust.Rachel Notley getting the knives out, cutting the ties that bind Alberta NDP to Trudeau Liberals
The Alberta premier can’t transform herself into a Jason Kenney clone, but the Angry Albertan fist pumper is more appealing to voters.
Senators push back on Liberal plan to expand voting rights for Canadians abroad
Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould says that restoring expat voting rights is the ‘right thing to do.’Astronaut Saint-Jacques will be busy on his six-month ISS stay, says CSA head Sylvain Laporte
David Saint-Jacques blasts off to space on Dec. 3, along with Russian Oleg Kononenko and American Anne McClain.Canada’s exclusion of irregular migrants from health care violates international law
At present, people living in Canada with irregular legal status generally receive no health benefits whatsoever and must pay out of pocket for health needs and emergencies or rely on charitable care. It’s time that changed.
Committee calls for review of rules for kidnapped Canadians, while former diplomats say to make changes now
‘Weakness’ in House Foreign Affairs Committee report lies in its lack of direct recommendations for action, says Gar Pardy.Parliamentarians form feminist association, say getting recognized ‘won’t be easy’
The group just reached the 50 members needed to file an application to be a formal body and hopes to join the 13 groups that receive annual Parliamentary funding.Yes, CSIS should be allowed to look into university campuses as possible radicalization sites
To say that campuses should act as sanctuaries for those who threaten public safety is a daft idea and one that I doubt will gain any traction in Canada. This mode of thinking has no place in our national security realm.
Sky’s the limit for small business exporters
Ottawa needs to ensure that officials are committed to understanding the unique challenges faced by smaller companies when it comes to accessing and successfully using federal assistance measures.Fourth year of governing more crucial than first three combined, says Dalton McGuinty, tougher as partisanship spikes
Panellists at the Pearson Centre’s Year 4 conference say campaigns kick into high gear, and the ex-premier says governing is like a ‘political straitjacket.’
Independent Senators pick up more committee seats
After negotiations, the ISG, which has 53 per cent of members in the Senate, has about half of the Chamber’s committee seats.
Bains issues notice of libel to the National Post over report of alleged involvement in Brampton real estate deal
Plus, Parliamentarians honour George H.W. Bush, and reservations for February tours of West Block and new Senate Building now available.
Ministers Sohi, Duncan, Ng nab new talent from Liberal research bureau
There’s been a string of recent staffing changes in the Liberal caucus’ research bureau, including five new hires.
PMO hires new special assistant for Canada-U.S. relations team
Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould has bid farewell to her press secretary, Nicky Cayer.
Not a lot of MPs present during Notley’s Chateau Laurier speech
Meanwhile, the Speakers and Parliamentary leaders said goodbye to Centre Block, along with about 300-400 other guests.Poutine and Tim’s: a new book looks at Canada’s motifs
Plus, Ian Waddell's memoir hits shelves, urging for increased bipartisanship in politics, and politicos mark the passing of Harry Leslie Smith.More than 50 years later, PPS constable honours family’s place in Canadian history
Plus, Vice's Supreme Court press freedom decision to be delivered Friday, and the former iPolitics publisher catches the acting bug.
House committee report a good first step to improving help for Canadians in trouble overseas
The report on consular services for Canadians overseas will only have meaning if reflected in appropriate action by the government.
Eastern promises: Canada should look to Asia to shift away from a sole export market, say experts
By 2030, China will surpass the United States as the largest global consumer of oil. At the same time, its government is trying to diversify its oil dependency on the Middle East.
Natural Resources Minister Sohi calls oil market access an ‘urgent priority’ as Indigenous consultations continue on Trans Mountain
Mr. Sohi talks about policy priorities in the lead up to next October's federal election, the small modular reactor roadmap, and the fall economic update.
Nuclear industry eyes more federal support of ‘small modular reactors,’ as advocates push for Ottawa to hit pause
Proponents tout 'small modular reactors' as nuclear energy's renaissance, but advocates don't buy their arguments.‘Eagle Spirit’ pipeline gaining momentum as other projects stonewalled, says proponent
Eagle Spirit has the support of First Nations along the route, but faces a tanker ban law and economic issues. 
Politics This Morning: Trudeau in Montreal for First Ministers’ Meeting
Human rights activists are gathering in Ottawa today for a presser on a recent report released by the UN Committee Against Torture, which found that Indigenous women continue to be coerced into sterilization.
As the fantasies fade and reality bites, the members of House of Commons (of whom a majority always supported Remain, even if many hid their views in order to survive politically) have become an extraordinarily volatile.
We need federal protections for farmers and third-party independent mechanics to access the software on farmers’ machines in Canada, similar to American exemptions.
The patriarch of America’s Republican political dynasty defined leadership as duty, honour, country. His death is a reminder of how much character counts.
If USMCA is approved by Congress, Donald Trump claims he fixed a bad trade deal. If not, he blames the Democrats for the damage to the industrial and agricultural sectors.
Ignoring the brokerage formula is a risk, even in our atomized, Trumpian, internet-dominated political landscape.
Jagmeet Singh can turn things around if he brings back strategists who know strategy, runs in the Brampton byelection and starts crafting policies that are both progressive and popular.The Hill Times in print
Politics This Morning
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Ministers LeBlanc, Joly, Garneau hire policy advisers
Plus, ex-MP’s assistant and CJPAC fellow Miled Hill is now a policy adviser to Transport Minister Marc Garneau. New policy director, adviser for Justice Minister Wilson-Raybould
Elizabeth Cheesbrough recently joined Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale’s office as a new senior policy adviser. Niki Ashton to meet Bernie Sanders in Vermont
Plus, Grit MP Raj Grewal has resigned, and Pearson Centre will look at the last year before the October 2019 federal election. Bill Morneau to talk fall economic update at the Economic Club
Plus, NDP tout the chance to eat with Jagmeet, while B.C. federal Liberals huddled in Kelowna and feted Hedy Fry's quarter century in politics.Chicken Farmers party with Olympians, while MacAulay celebrates 30 years, and Newfoundland Shed shindig draws hundreds
Now-retired Rio Olympic swimmers Brittany McLean and Hillary Caldwell were at the Chicken Farmers' event, promoting a partnership between the Chicken Farmers and Swimming Canada.Nathan Cullen wins Maclean’s Parliamentarian of the Year, NDP caucus cheers loudly; Dewar tells parties to ‘put our swords down’
Meanwhile, 47 college students showed off their applied research projects at the annual Colleges and Institutes Canada's annual student showcase.Canada’s expertise, funding could help Lesotho’s reforms as it seeks renewed ties, says new envoy
Lesotho's new high commissioner says Canadian know-how on democratic institutions and small business skills are of use to Lesotho, which faces widespread unemployment.E-governance a ‘mutual interest’ with Canada, says Estonian envoy
The Baltic country tries to ‘push the envelope’ in the information and communications technology sector, which Toomas Lukk says is the ‘future of humankind.’
First ministers, Indigenous leaders to meet Friday in Montreal
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet in Montreal this week with provincial, territorial and national Indigenous leaders such as Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Assembly of First Nations national chief Perry Bellegarde, and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh addresses NDP staffers on the Hill, working to rally his team amid the party's waning appeal among voters. The latest survey from Nanos Research suggests the NDP has a favourability rating of 14 per cent, compared to the Liberals who are polling at 37.9 per cent and Conservatives at 32.2 per cent.
Felix Holtmann, pictured in his Hill office in April 1990, became a household name when he added fuel to the national firestorm after the National Gallery of Canada announced it had bought a $1.8-million abstract painting, Voice of Fire, by American painter Barnett Newman, as the country was slipping into a recession. Mr. Holtmann, a Progressive Conservative MP at the time, told one interviewer that the painting ‘looks like two cans of paint and two rollers and about 10 minutes would do the trick.’Annual Features
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