Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pictured with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Feb. 8, 2020, in Addis Ababa. Photograph courtesy of Twitter/Justin Trudeau
Canada’s measured response to Ethiopian crisis leaves some wanting more forceful action
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has spoken with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed twice in the last month, but it is unclear how involved Canada is with the peace process.
International Development Minister Sajjan taps Ashley Wright to lead his new office
Chiefs of staff have also been confirmed in the offices of ministers Dominic LeBlanc, Dan Vandal, Kamal Khera, and Helena Jaczek.Feds must ‘better understand’ cryptocurrencies, say NDP, but Conservatives warn Ottawa could ‘get in the way’
While the Bank of Canada has said cryptocurrencies do not pose 'any significant risk' to the financial system or economy, higher inflation could result in more Canadians using them as a store of wealth, says CPC MP.‘We’re still here’: MP Idlout on bringing Inuktitut to the House
Governor General Mary Simon's use of Inuktitut during last month's Throne Speech was a historic first, and new Nunavut MP Lori Idlout is making efforts of her own to incorporate her mother tongue into her work. Advocates, NDP welcome ‘long overdue’ paid sick day legislation for federally regulated employees
But the CFIB says it's wary of the legislation, saying it would expect the government to introduce bills favouring economic growth—and not additional costs to be bared by small business owners. New Fisheries Minister Murray has list of ‘urgent’ priorities to grapple with
In a big portfolio with major decisions ranging from Indigenous rights, to environmental concerns, to shipbuilding, observers say ‘hard-working’ Joyce Murray has a lot of pressure on her shoulders. ‘In this fight we shouldn’t be left alone’: Kosovo urges Canada to combat influence of Russia, China in Western Balkans
President Vjosa Osmani says that Kosovo is 'absolutely ready' to join NATO to have the protection of the military alliance, but also to contribute to its work.‘Extremely dangerous’ nuclear weapons arms race needs to be confronted, says Austrian diplomat
'The famous doomsday clock is now standing at 100 seconds before midnight, which is actually closer to midnight than at any time during the Cold War,' says Austria's Alexander Kmentt.‘Absolutely shameful’: RCMP conduct, arrest of journalists in spotlight as Wet’suwet’en opposition to pipeline flares up
The Canadian Association of Journalists and 40 other news organizations and press freedom groups have written to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino asking for him to drop the charges against two journalists arrested.‘Fasten your seatbelts’: Fortier’s quick rise to oversee ‘enormous’ Treasury Board amid historic spending
Treasury Board President Mona Fortier's job will be improving public service recruitment, and strengthening oversight on spending and financial reporting in the government's multi-billion-dollar spending estimates.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pictured with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Feb. 8, 2020, in Addis Ababa. Photograph courtesy of Twitter/Justin Trudeau
Canada’s measured response to Ethiopian crisis leaves some wanting more forceful action
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has spoken with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed twice in the last month, but it is unclear how involved Canada is with the peace process.
This is not the time for the Conservatives to bury their heads in the sand
Did you know that Justin Trudeau is responsible for the high price of chicken, and diapers? Canada, the Conservatives claimed, is not suffering from inflation. It is suffering from Trudeau inflation. Politicians should save their personal attacks for elections
The Throne Speech made it clear that management of the pandemic was front and centre on the Liberal agenda. It's been a winner for them. For the Tories to continue to muddy the COVID waters is a huge political mistake.O’Toole should confront his dissidents head-on and call an immediate leadership review: Tom Lukiwski
My bet is that Erin O’Toole would easily win a vote like that. If he did, the rebels would have no option but to shut up—forever.
Time to adopt legislation to address the human cost of low prices
Since 2018, there have been three attempts to pass modern slavery legislation in Canada—one in the House and two in the Senate, but all died when elections were called. A fourth will be tabled when Parliament resumes.The online harms call is coming from inside the House
The Liberals are reintroducing a bill intended to protect those from marginalized communities from online abuse and violence by using institutions and technological practices known to threaten their very safety. Data-protection bill needs to be on parliamentary agenda this session, says privacy-law expert
'People have also been clamouring for significant penalties, which don’t exist in Canada,' says David Fraser. 'But one thing that was clear with C-11 is that it didn’t make anyone happy.'
Vaccine apartheid spreading the same strain of racism
Not only do Black lives not matter in Canada, in interpreting the actions of the Liberal government, they’re worth less around the world. Canada must act now to stop Duterte’s war against the Filipino people
Canada must also legislate mandatory measures to hold Canadian businesses accountable. This includes ensuring that Canadian resource extraction companies are not contributing to the war on vulnerable people. Ukraine ‘crisis’ unlikely to lead to war
It would be colossally stupid for Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine, and he is not a stupid man. He would end up occupying a country of 45 million people most of whom resent the Russian occupation.
End of 2021 will be a boom time for lobbying, say GR consultants
A new cabinet, mostly filled with ministers in new roles, creates an opportunity for advocacy groups to get traction for their priorities, say lobbyists.‘It can only benefit the conversation’: connecting leaders with frontline stakeholders a priority for lobbyists on Indigenous-related files
Advocacy work over the past year has emphasized to decision-makers that their approaches to major issues continuing to affect Indigenous people were also of interest to the wider public, says NWAC head Lynne Groulx.Let’s not go back to the way we engaged with government pre-pandemic
Virtual meetings with government, while clearly not a panacea, allow for more inclusive and accessible engagement, are more environmentally conscious and can support caregiving responsibilities. Let’s not go back. 
Saint-Germain, Dean to take over as leaders of Senate’s biggest crew
Plus, an apology to survivors of sexual misconduct in the military is upcoming next month and the Green Party has appointed Canada's first-ever trans party leader.
Small NAC soirée previews bigger GGPAA May gala
Friday’s GGPAA crowd included diplomats living in the capital, such as Germany’s and Japan’s envoys to Canada.
Labour Minister O’Regan sets his senior staff lineup
Plus, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser has named Mike Jones as his chief of staff.Former environment staffers dominate Natural Resources Minister Wilkinson’s team
Plus, Karl Sasseville has been made deputy chief of staff to Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos.Health Minister Duclos names chief of staff, policy head
Plus, new Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings has hired Alex Howell to run her office. 
There is an answer to avoid a climate catastrophe, so what are we waiting for?
We know nuclear must be in the mix to reach net zero, and if we don't produce our own, we will end up buying it and compromise the socio-economic benefits.
Food banks’ COVID experience validated federal aid but the crisis for Canada’s poor is worsening
As government support payments were phased out and the pandemic-driven burst of inflation took hold, the situation has grown steadily worse for the unemployed, low-income workers, and those on social assistance.
Reforms to aviation sector business model needed to support COVID-19 recovery, says Canadian Airports Council president
The federal government 'needs to recognize the strides the industry is making, especially when it comes to climate and sustainability efforts,' says Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux.
Canada may be back at pre-pandemic employment levels, but the hard part isn’t over, say experts
'Once the tide rolls out on all of this rebound, we’re expecting fairly weak economic growth for Canada,' says the Conference Board of Canada's Pedro Antunes. It’s time to double down on Canada’s aerospace industry
Canada needs a national aerospace strategy that enshrines these measures and brings together government, labour, business, and training sectors through an industrial development council.
The definitive history of Canada’s role on the United Nations Security Council
The first definitive history of Canada's time on the UN Security Council is a must read for anyone interested in Canadian foreign policy.
Harold Johnson’s book Peace and Good Order is among five shortlisted books for this year's Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. 
'I kind of just go ahead and do what I feel I should do, and get myself into situations where I’m thinking, "Oh, everybody here knows more than I do. But anyway, here goes." It served me very well,' says former Supreme Court chief justice Beverley McLachlin.
Patterns of interference, intimidation, and harassment of individual Canadians by the Chinese Communist Party ‘demand a response’ from the Canadian government, says veteran journalist Jonathan Manthorpe in his 2019 book. 
COVID-19: economic impacts and prospects
There are some potential game changers for outcomes—a vaccine; and a resurgence in international leadership and cooperation. Closer to home, we need a Canadian economic recovery plan that will boost confidence in the future with strategic and measured investments in long-term challenges and adjustment support for Canadians and businesses left behind by the coronavirus.
In what was supposed to be a period in which backbenchers and the opposition could wield more influence over the political debate, power and influence is arguably even more concentrated among a narrow cast of mostly familiar figures.
If we want to really honour Shannen Koostachin and the many children like her—we need to speak up, keep talking until government takes immediate action to end the inequality. If they don’t—vote them out because kids like Shannen are worth the money. The time for patience is over.- The 50 MPs in ridings where 142 former residential schools are located
- All the federal leaders' stops during the 2021 campaign
- The 24 ridings AFN says First Nations voters can decide the election outcome
- The former MPs who are running again in 2021
- How Trudeau's cabinet ministers did in the last election
- The 95 MPs who won by 10% or less in 2019
- The 14 rural ridings that Liberals won in 2015 but lost in 2019
- The 13 suburban ridings that will be key battlegrounds this election
Annual Features
Contact list
Politics This Morning: Fall update on the way
Plus, MPs move on to the sick leave bill, and a Senate update.
That 'not this again' feeling is hard to shake off, given the one thing COVID-19 has been is unpredictable. Just when you think you have turned a corner, it finds a way to rain on the parade like some atmospheric river. 
The number of international students may rise this year compared to 2020, but travel restrictions related to COVID-19 variants may be a roadblock, according to Paul Davidson, the president of Universities Canada.
We need democracy back—stronger, wiser, and more open to new ideas—with all its checks and balances restored.
The reluctance to imbue the federal government with a full leadership role or embrace dynamic national cohesion is part of the reason Canadians have been stuck in COVID hell for 16 months.Terrific 25 Staffer Survey
The Hot Room Podcast
Inside the Senate, with Raymonde Saint-Germain
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When the times comes and when all the nations of the world begin to find their way out of this death spiral, they will need the help of people like the 24 who recently gathered in Ottawa.
The Greens cannot move forward with May remaining in Parliament. There’s a reason why Stephen Harper and Thomas Mulcair stepped down as party leaders and left Ottawa after their time was up.
In 2018, the government created the Office of Public Service Accessibility with the goal of making Canada’s federal public service the most accessible and inclusive in the world. 
Our allies are not fooled by the amount of maple leaves on our generals’ shoulders. They care about the military competency that we can bring to the alliance.
NWAC lost confidence in the previous government’s commitment to meaningfully address the 231 calls for justice outlined in the MMIWG national inquiry report, walking away from the discussion table.
There has been significant opposition to new regulations from multiple stakeholders who express concerns that this will hollow out Canada’s medical R&D sector and delay the introduction of new drugs here by as muchDon Oliver, on his life as Canada’s first Black man appointed to the Senate
Former Senator Donald Oliver talks about his book, A Matter of Equality: The Life's Work of Senator, and about growing up Black in Canada in the 1940s and 1950s, and why he hopes it will become a call to action for leadership in all levels of society. ‘I did not stop and I did not die’: Rwandan recounts surviving the genocide in his book Die Walking: A Child’s Journey Through Genocide
Rwandan author Obadiah M, who writes under a pseudonym for safety, tells his experience of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and its aftermath.Who’s who among senior political staff confirmed so far
Recently confirmed cabinet chiefs of staff include Sandra Aubé, who’ll run Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly’s office, and Michael Power, who’s running Defence Minister Anita Anand’s team. Crown-Indigenous Minister Miller brings old chief of staff to new role
Mike Burton announced he would be joining Marc Miller’s new office as minister of Crown-Indigenous relations on Twitter on Nov. 11.
Embattled Greens look to fill in their leader spot on an interim basis
Plus, former NDP MP Pierre Nantel steps into Quebec's provincial political arena, and Christmas lights are set to glow for Canada.Ontario Sen. Josée Forest-Niesing dies following bout with COVID-19
Plus, Democracy Watch pitches media on flagging when feds have hidden information, former Conservative Senator Tkachuk awarded Japanese honour, Politics This Morning gets a new editor at its helm.Trudeau announces major shakeup in senior ranks of public service, also appoints new deputy clerk of the Privy Council Office before Sunday’s election call
Former deputy clerk of the Privy Council Christyne Tremblay will remain in the PCO as a senior official.Federal cybersecurity workers heading for strike votes following bargaining impasse
With the two sides having been at the bargaining table for almost two years following the expiry of the most recent collective agreement, strike votes are scheduled to run from Feb. 11 to 24.
No more Hill parties, after coronavirus pandemic forces Parliament Hill to shut down
'Politics and the Pen is probably the exact opposite of social distancing. We cram so many people into the ballroom that you can barely keep one to two inches away,' says Jim Armour. Sorbara makes ’em howl at the Métropolitain
Pat Sorbara's new book, Let 'em Howl, offers lessons learned over a more than four-decade career in federal and provincial politics as a high-ranking Liberal backroomer. The loneliest ambassador in Ottawa: Afghan envoy vows to press on without a government
'Our commitment to continuing our work remains firm,' says Afghan Ambassador Hassan Soroosh, noting embassy resources are 'very, very limited.'Canada should be ‘very loud’ in support of Ukraine’s NATO bid, says departing envoy
'We have the knowledge of Russia. We know how to fight against them,' says outgoing Ambassador Andriy Shevchenko, who wants to see Canada expand its training mission in Ukraine. 
Rick Mercer explains Talking to Canadians at Writers’ Festival on Dec. 5
The Ottawa International Writers' Festival hosts comedian Rick Mercer, who will discuss his new book, Talking to Canadians, with author and journalist Linden MacIntyre on Sunday, Dec. 5 at the Christ Church Cathedral. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, sporting her signature pearls and some sensible footwear on her way to West Block on Dec. 2, 2021. 
Then-auditor general Sheila Fraser (2001-2011), pictured Nov. 23, 2007, with her AG staffers before they appeared before the Procedure and House Affairs Committee in Room 112-N in Centre Block. 
