Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen, pictured in this file photo on the Hill. The federal Liberal government is seeking to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S. to close a loophole surrounding claims at non-official points of entry. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Pollsters point to rising public racism, Quebec seats to explain Liberals’ U-turn on refugees
Getting tough on refugee claimants could help the Grits to block out the Bloc Québécois in Quebec in the next election, says Greg Lyle.
Federal government ad spending rises after PM’s department bumps up limit 45 per cent in election year
The CRA used its newly beefed-up budget to run ads touting the Canada Child Benefit and two other tax benefits on buses and in prime-time TV commercials.Federal spending hits $300-billion, with 2019-20 main estimates up 8.6 per cent
On top of $301.8-billion in planned spending in the 2019-10 main estimates—combining $299.6-billion in budgetary spending and $2.2-billion in non-budgetary expenses—is another $51.2-billion in statutory expenses. Politics This Morning
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Anxious Liberals want Grits to fill all-important national campaign director position soon
Liberal Party headquarters is still undecided on whether former PMO principal secretary Gerald Butts, a key architect of the 2015 election win, will have any role in the October federal election.Crowded field of candidates expected for Liberal nomination in GTA swing riding of Oakville
Former Ontario Liberal MPP Kevin Flynn and University of Toronto law professor Anita Anand are seeking the Liberal nomination in Oakville, Ont.Kenney’s Alberta win both good, bad for Trudeau, Scheer, say strategists
Conservative MPs Michael Cooper and Matt Jeneroux, both from Alberta, are sympathetic to Jason Kenney’s threat to 'turn off the taps' of gas to B.C.‘We’re finding our way’: MP Gord Brown’s widow reflects on year that changed her whole life
Claudine Courtois is planning a May 2 reception to mark the first anniversary of his death, saying she’s touched by Hill community support. Bring in quotas, financial incentives to get more women to run, says House committee
After studying barriers facing women in politics, the Status of Women Committee also suggests calling for a crackdown on gender-based heckling.ISG Senators say poll shores up Red Chamber reforms, but feds running out of time to make them law
‘We are committed to making legislative changes’ to continue with Senate modernization, says the office of Government House Leader Bardish Chagger.Defeated MPs to get access to more support services to navigate life after the Hill
‘Imagine losing your job, getting fired, but you’re fired by basically your entire riding and your whole life has been serving these people, and there’s just a lot wrapped up in it:’ Tory House leader Candice Bergen.Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen, pictured in this file photo on the Hill. The federal Liberal government is seeking to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S. to close a loophole surrounding claims at non-official points of entry. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Pollsters point to rising public racism, Quebec seats to explain Liberals’ U-turn on refugees
Getting tough on refugee claimants could help the Grits to block out the Bloc Québécois in Quebec in the next election, says Greg Lyle.
This just in: carbon tax is not a cash grab, not a job-killer, and not an attack on Alberta
It is a flawed attempt to buy permission for a major industry to continue producing a product that is harming the planet and that is increasingly reviled globally. That this is the best we can do is distressing.Care Bear Trudeau is out; Terminator Trudeau is in
Yes, our one-time super-sensitive, super-empathetic, touchy feely prime minister is officially now a tough guy. We see evidence of this transformation all over the place.My Alberta buddies say the province is going to teach Trudeau a lesson in October
Justin Trudeau may not have been on the ballot in Alberta, but he surely helped determine the result, more than any other Canadian politician. He helped elect Jason Kenney and defeat Rachel Notley.
Senate amends access-to-info bill to forbid using code names to block documents
The Senate committee studying Bill C-58 is proposing changes to close a ‘loophole’ around terms that may be used to avoid release of documents and that will protect the power of the Senate.Senate committee blows holes in Liberal gun bill
The National Security and Defence Committee stripped away key elements of Bill C-71, which sponsor Sen. André Pratte says he hopes will be restored before the Chamber’s final vote.‘This is cultural genocide’: activists call on Liberals to act now to fix Indian Act sex discrimination
The Trudeau cabinet could make the decision ‘on any given Tuesday’ to make the necessary changes, says Sharon McIvor, who brought the most recent complaint to a UN human rights body.
Call religious extremism what it is: terrorism
I know the Canadian government has an on-again, off-again relationship with intelligence. But can it not at least take what its protectors give it at face value and use it to craft policies that make sense?French Embassy’s Ambassador for a Day program aims to shatter glass ceiling
It helps to have women like French Ambassador Kareen Rispal ‘open the door,’ says the program’s first student Juliana Trapolino.Beards and bare legs: This is no longer your grandfather’s military
I dare say that it is a slippery slope once you start making allowances to accommodate individual tastes in an institution whose core value is disciplined conformity.
SNC-Lavalin nuclear contracts at risk if it’s convicted
Whether SNC is allowed to meet and make billions of dollars of new contractual obligations over the next decade will be crucial to the global nuclear industry and Canada’s future development.Pre-budget focus, Hill days sustain steady February lobbying
February produced 2,487 lobby records, doubling the slow holiday months as groups organized Hill days and focused on asks ahead of the March budget.
‘Civil wars’ are ‘incredibly damaging’: Trudeau boots Wilson-Raybould, Philpott from caucus
Ex-minister Jody Wilson-Raybould says she has 'no regrets' for speaking out. 'I spoke the truth as I will continue to do.'
One in, two out for Treasury Board President Murray’s staff team
Jonathan Robinson has joined Treasury Board President Joyce Murray’s office as a special assistant.
Meslin’s Teardown: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up calls ‘for a revolution against our own cynicism’
Plus, Liberal candidate Allan Thompson releases book on Rwandan genocide, and MLI names Charles Burton and J. Michael Cole as new fellows.
Pierre Trudeau-era Liberals gather to celebrate 37th anniversary of the Constitution
Familiar faces included former prime minister Jean Chrétien, Tom Axworthy, Monique Bégin, Judy Erola, and Marlene Catterall, among others.
‘I always knew that my public policy research had, at some point, to address the First Peoples’: Courchene
The following is an excerpt from Indigenous Nationals Canadian Citizens: From First Contact to Canada 150 and Beyond, by Thomas J. Courchene, which has been shortlisted for this year's Donner Prize. ‘Passionate, outspoken’ Ghislain Maltais bids adieu to the Red Chamber
Plus, Tory MP Mark Warawa is hoping for a 'miracle' as he battles cancer, and Supreme Court Justice Clément Gascon is set to retire from the top court in the fall. Policy, parliamentary affairs directors named in Minister Bibeau’s office
Plus, Employment Minister Patty Hajdu has a new senior communications aide, and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has a new issues manager.
Budget misses the mark on international development
Poll results tell us there is widespread public support for foreign aid. But this budget doesn’t reflect that priority.
Diving into uncertainty: Canada’s submarine crisis
Canada’s aging sub fleet needs to be replaced, but from a political standpoint, it’s more convenient to fix the existing fleet than start a costly procurement process in an election year.
Growing global population: burden or boon to the environment?
The following is an excerpt from Population Bombed! Exploding the Link Between Overpopulation and Climate Change, short-listed along with four other books for this year’s Donner Prize, the best public policy book of the year by a Canadian. The winner will be announced on May 1 in Toronto.
New NAFTA deal gets it right on digital trade
The agreement balances Canada’s national and business interests with regional economic progress and creates a stable foundation for long-term growth of the digital economy.The North needs more infrastructure to unlock its wealth potential
The future of Canada’s mining industry lies increasingly in remote and northern regions, but the infrastructure deficit challenges project economics in this part of the country.Annual Features
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Politics This Morning: Singh in Victoria to talk climate plan
Plus, the parliamentary budget officer is releasing a new report at 10 a.m. on the cost of the feds' 'middle-class tax cut.'Bill C-48 proposes a ban against oil tankers off most of Canada’s West Coast. The bill threatens national unity severely and significantly by pitting one region against another and communities against communities.
Both sides have a choice: politicize and drive wedges, or lower the temperature and bring people together. Weaponize the debate or bring more people on to the side of combating division, supremacy, and phobias. 
Former NDP MP Libby Davies talks about what made her a good MP and about her book, Outside In: Political Memoir.
By working together, Canada and Indigenous nations can sustain these important lands for future generations. We can offer a model for the world of conservation rooted in respect, responsibility and reconciliation. 
But projections for the next few years suggest it is too low to meet our needs.
The Alberta politician isn’t the villainous, heartless character out to destroy the planet, as some of his political opponents ridiculously try to characterize him.Growing global population: burden or boon to the environment?
The following is an excerpt from Population Bombed! Exploding the Link Between Overpopulation and Climate Change, short-listed along with four other books for this year’s Donner Prize, the best public policy book of the year by a Canadian. The winner will be announced on May 1 in Toronto. Basic income’s about more than welfare reform, it benefits all Canadians
The following is an excerpt from Basic Income for Canadians: The Key to a Healthier, Happier, More Secure Life For All, by Evelyn L. Forget, which has been short-listed along with four other books for this year's Donner Prize, the best public policy book of the year by a Canadian. The winner will be announced on May 1 in Toronto.The Hill Times in print
Politics This Morning
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Indigenous Services Minister O’Regan needs a new comms team after two recent exits
Andrew MacKendrick says he decided to step away from the Hill, in part, for his own mental health, after recent events took a toll. Foreign minister shuffles policy shop
Plus, Labour Minister Patty Hajdu has hired a new Quebec regional adviser. Kenney readies for Tuesday’s election with a little help from his friend, Stephen Harper
Plus, veteran Conservative MP Rob Nicholson adds his name to growing list of MPs saying farewell to the House of Commons, and John Ivison pens book on Justin Trudeau.Inuit carver’s new West Block sculpture ‘part of the healing,’ reconciliation
Plus, the Canadian Press and National Post are losing their top editors, CPAC launches its Democracy Project, and the Donner Canadian Foundation shortlists your next read.Women on the Hill reception elegant, empowering, and filled with politicos
NDP MP Niki Ashton and her partner, Bruce Moncur, had their arms full with their one-year-old twins, Leonidas and Stephanos, winning over the hearts of anyone around them.Daughters of the Vote, Camp Day on the Hill festivities include selfies, s’mores, and a lot of Parliamentarians
Jody Wilson-Raybould, who was expelled from the Liberal caucus April 11, had a line-up of supporters at the Daughters of the Vote welcome reception that day, although other Parliamentarians were also popular.Taiwan-Canada relations ‘on the rise,’ says rep at annual bash
Taiwan Night was the hot ticket in town last week, with dozens of Parliamentarians in attendance.Peaceful transfer of power key to keeping international standing, says Kazakh envoy
After nearly 30 years in power, Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, resigned last month, but his ambassador in Ottawa says his priorities remain the same.Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians to honour Jean Charest with Lifetime Achievement Award April 23 in Montreal
Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie shares a laugh with Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould at the Procedure and House Affairs Committee on April 11. Ms. Kusie told The Hill Times' photographer to make sure to capture this collegial exchange. 
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 
