'It’s been a real labour of love, and it’s been a real honour to be able to do this work,' says national inquiry chief commissioner Marion Buller, pictured on Dec. 13. 'I’m so genuinely in awe of them [the families and survivors]; their strength, their courage, and their resilience, the will to come back.' The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Amid trauma of missing and murdered Indigenous women, stories of resilience stand out, says chief commissioner
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls held its final hearings in Ottawa last week, featuring closing submissions from parties.
Liberals should be ‘exceptionally concerned’ about potential recession in 2019, voters’ anxiety on ‘unrestricted immigration,’ says Nanos
Conservative MP David Tilson denies that his party is playing politics by opposing the Trudeau Liberal government's decision on the UN Global Compact on Migration.Conservative, Liberal staffers want job descriptions, defined pay scales, but Conservative MPs on BOIE shoot down House proposal to help MPs better manage their offices
Conservative and Liberal staffers say they're overworked, underpaid, and some constituency office staffers say they don't feel their work is valued or adequately appreciated by MPsPolitics This Morning
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After two weeks of fury, it’s time for high-level talks between Canada and China, experts say
Canada and China are in a high-stakes dispute over the arrest of a Huawei executive, and options are limited for cooling the boiling conflict. ‘It’s our workplace and our home,’ Parliamentarians to be consulted on massive renovations to iconic Centre Block over next decade
Officials in charge of Centre Block's renovation told the Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Dec. 10 that the next year would be spent developing a detailed budget, timeline, and plan for work.Freeland named most valuable politician, NAFTA voted biggest story in The Hill Times’ 22nd Annual All Politics Poll
Canada's top diplomat has had a meteoric rise. She was seen to have deftly handled the volatile NAFTA file and kept her cool amid the heated dispute with the Saudi regime over her call for the release of its dissidents. Finance bureaucrats, House committee need to stop working in silos on budget planning, says ex-PBO Page
Liberal House Finance Committee chair Wayne Easter says he thinks the finance minister, his staff and bureaucrats have been listening.Amid holiday festivities, Liberal leadership warns MPs, Hill staffers about ‘zero tolerance’ for harassment, confidential memo shows
'Jokes in bad taste, comments about a colleague’s physical appearance, sustained looks, etc. can constitute harassment,’ reads the memo sent out Liberal MPs and staffers.RCMP forensic lab ‘drowning in work’ as it misses all response targets, internal figures show
Lawyer Rick Woodburn says prosecutors have to wait too long for samples from the lab, leading to worrying court delays and cases being thrown out.Booting of NATO group chair prompts new rules for association oversight
The Joint Interparliamentary Council approved a new process to step in when parliamentary associations lose confidence in their leaders.'It’s been a real labour of love, and it’s been a real honour to be able to do this work,' says national inquiry chief commissioner Marion Buller, pictured on Dec. 13. 'I’m so genuinely in awe of them [the families and survivors]; their strength, their courage, and their resilience, the will to come back.' The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Amid trauma of missing and murdered Indigenous women, stories of resilience stand out, says chief commissioner
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls held its final hearings in Ottawa last week, featuring closing submissions from parties.
Betting on an eventful campaign year
The Liberal contention that voters should take it on faith that the Trudeau government is de facto on the side of angels could lead to unpleasant surprises for the ruling party next fall.
It’s ‘vital’ feds name Conservatives to security committee soon, or it’ll ‘become problematic’: critics, experts
The Conservative Party said it’s offered two names—one several months ago—to fill its spots on the National Security and Intelligence Committee, but hasn’t heard back from the government.First ministers’ meetings have gone from Kumbaya to Welcome to the Jungle
The political theatre they generate can work in the PM’s favour. But as a tool to achieve tangible results for Canadians, they are as useful as Stéphane Dion’s leadership of the Liberal Party.
The Liberals are choosing to make Canada not work
When resource industries are attacked, the result is less money for every province, and for the vital public services Canadians depend on.Natural Resources Canada has evolved into the Department of Oil and Gas
The question that looms larger all the time is how the hell did the fossil fuel lobby take over our government?Building blocks: Why Canada should be the world leader in wood construction
Small policy changes, like using more wood in new construction projects, can make a big impact.
Congo election happening Dec. 23
So is democracy coming to the Congo at last? Don’t count on it. The regime’s choice for a successor, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, is a close colleague of Kabila’s with no independent support base of his own. CSIS, RCMP need more access to foil serious acts of violence
In the end, we have to decide as a society what is more important: universal privacy or universal safety. The two do not have to be mutually exclusive.How to defuse tension with China?
At the moment of crisis, strategic vision, leadership and diplomatic skills are needed in defusing the tensions in bilateral ties. 
Deliberation: can we fix government decision-making?
We believe that using deliberation to support big projects, say, in infrastructure or procurement, would give citizens a more meaningful role in planning and build legitimacy and resilience around the decisions.
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.’
‘How can one person be so lucky to work here?’: MPs say they’ll miss Centre Block
House Speaker Geoff Regan brims with stories about his office, an ornate room, lined with volumes of past parliamentary debates and accented with carvings of symbols that reflect Canada’s colonial ties to Britain.
The Red Violin screening brings together the political and artistic realms for a night on the town
The screening featured the NAC Orchestra playing its original score in celebration of 20th anniversary of the film's release.
Environment Minister McKenna hires a new press secretary
Plus, there’s a new correspondence writer in the Prime Minister’s Office, and Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef has a new policy adviser.
Liberal MP Cuzner’s annual Christmas roast gets lots of laughs from MPs this year
Plus, Andrew Scheer hosts a Christmas reception for Hill scribes, and four new Senators were recently appointed. Beardmore Viking hoax highlights importance of questioning power, authorities, says author
It took two decades and the efforts of a high school teacher and a government geologist to debunk what leading scholars accepted, and defended, as history-altering fact. Lewis’ Power, Prime Ministers and the Press a must-read for Hill journalists
Reflecting on politics can be cathartic for those who bear witness to history. Journalists see how news is constructed.
Is Hillary right? Do progressives need to back away from some principles?
Hillary Clinton offers an important, even if controversial warning that it is time to slow down and take stock of the progressive agenda. Time to be more strategic.
Feds must better support forestry research collaboration, industry and experts say
The Canadian Forest Service is mandated to focus on forest science research, but critics say it needs to be a better team player.
Renewed mineral exploration tax credit will maintain Canada’s tax advantage: Minister Sohi
Scheduled to expire in March 2019, the tax credit’s extension to 2024 will help junior companies raise capital, says the natural resources minister.
Canadian uranium under U.S. tariff threat as national security investigation continues
A 1989 investigation found there was no national security threat from uranium imports, but experts agree times have changed under President Trump.Feds need to move on ridding Canadian lumber of U.S. tariffs, helping forest industry
Every year seems to be a forest fire catastrophe in Canada now, and the losses to the industry and rural communities are incalculable. 
Politics This Morning: Sohi, Carr to announce support for oil and gas sector; NDP Quebec lieutenant to hold year-end presser in Montreal
The press conference is expected to centre on a discussion on areas where the party thinks the Trudeau government is failing to deliver on its mandate. 
No one ever advances evidence of a specific carbon tax, in a specific place, killing specific jobs. Instead, this threat is accompanied by vague warnings.
The murder of The Washington Post contributor is still unfolding, so there is still time for the Liberals to do the right thing. But thus far, Canada has not covered itself in glory.
Decisions to go to war, vigorous disagreement on whether the country should even stay together—all have provided emotional raw material for building Canada. But many of the key battles were not between parties, but between factions in a single party.
Could Justin Trudeau lose? Because, increasingly, some smart politicos, including ones of the Liberal persuasion, are saying it’s possible. Likely, even.
I’m relatively certain that in 2019 we’ll see a strategically-planned contraction of the Liberal Party’s 'Justinian Empire.'
While Canada can proudly call itself a player in some fields, Navdeep Bains and other members of the Trudeau government do the country a disservice by hyping our capabilities.The Hill Times in print
Politics This Morning
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New policy director for Employment Minister Hajdu
Plus, Hana Kokanovic has left Families Minister Jean-Yves Duclos’ office to become a policy adviser to Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor. Ministers Bennett, Joly make director-level staff changes
Plus, Alexandra Bernier is no longer an advance in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office. Liberal MPs celebrate the holiday season in song
Plus, cross-party support for Magnitsky sanctions against Iranian human rights abusers, and NDP MP Fin Donnelly will not seek re-election.James Travers foreign correspondent fellowship to be revealed this week
Plus, politicos and diplomats recently united to mark World AIDS day, and outsiders' row in the House of Commons keeps on growing.Ninety years of Canada-France diplomatic relations celebrated with wine, oysters, and French desserts
The night also celebrated the reopening of the French embassy's Salon de Bouleaux, which had undergone renovations in September.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.Nothing in migration compact tells Canada to ‘open borders,’ says UN refugee agency rep
Also, Kazakhstan celebrates its 27th anniversary of independence and deepening relations with Canada after the historic visit of a Canadian Governor General.Launch of campaign against gender-based violence comes ahead of ‘landmark’ year, says UN official
‘There are particular moments that come in our lives that give us the opportunity to be the best part of ourselves—and such a moment will soon be upon us,' says Lopa Banerjee.Canada-U.K. Inter-Parliamentary Association to take part in bilateral visit on Jan 21 in London and Brussels
The interim Red Chamber, which was previously the Government Conference Centre, is where Senators will move into when the Senate resumes sitting next year.
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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