Liberal MP Adam Vaughan, left, Conservative MP Karen Vecchio, NDP MP Scott Duvall, and NDP MP Brian Masse. 'It’s getting worse—we are going backwards, we’re not going forward in Hamilton—we’re getting higher cases,' said Mr. Duvall, who says the federal government could play a larger role in getting a handle on the worsening situation in Ontario. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade, photograph courtesy of Karen Vecchio's Twitter
‘It’s getting worse, we’re going backwards’: Ontario MPs say constituents confused, frustrated, angry with vaccine supply issues, and partisan ‘finger-pointing’ as COVID cases skyrocket
Vaccine clinics have been cancelled due to supply shortages, already overburdened intensive care units are beyond capacity, and new cases of COVID-19 have hit all-time highs in Ontario.
Toronto ‘getting shortchanged’ on vaccine distribution, say some Toronto Grit MPs
Liberal MP Adam Vaughan wants the Doug Ford government to publicly release the allocation criteria used for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in different regions of Ontario.Bill to raise debt ceiling to $1.8-trillion advances to Senate
The Liberal government is planning to push the federal debt close to the new ceiling by 2024.Politics This Morning
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Liberals tight-lipped on labour standoff near party’s Montreal heartland
The government must keep workers on the job, say business lobby groups. The longshoremen's union says the Liberals should publicly rule out the use of back-to-work legislation.Feds dole out millions for harm-reduction projects amid opioid overdose uptick
Nearly 2,700 people in Canada died from an opioid-related overdose between April 2020 and September 2020, according to the Special Advisory Committee on the Epidemic of Opioid Overdoses. ‘There’s so much at stake with this’: Liberal MPs want landmark federal budget focused on economics, not politics
The April 19 budget ‘will be the election budget any way that you cut it,’ says pollster Nik Nanos of Nanos ResearchFeds likely to be drawn into talks on standardizing use of vaccine passports, despite reticence to wade in
Barring residents who haven’t been vaccinated from travelling to another province may be the unlikeliest of scenarios, but Prof. Krishnamurthy says he sees certificates being used to confer benefits to pass holders.Don’t miss out on getting vaccine, urge MPs, Senators amid concerns over rare blood clots
The political instinct is to ‘accept no risk’ when solving a problem, but that’s not how the ‘real world of medicine’ works, says former emergency-room doctor and Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski.Trudeau says eight million more Pfizer shots to arrive starting May, as Moderna halves April deliveries
‘We need to hang in there and hunker down for a number of more weeks,’ the prime minister told Canadians.Appeal court overturns suspension of Canada-U.S. asylum agreement
Last July, a landmark Federal Court ruling declared the 17-year-old refugee pact violated the Charter. Today, the appeal court disagreed, and so the treaty will remain in effect.
Liberal MP Adam Vaughan, left, Conservative MP Karen Vecchio, NDP MP Scott Duvall, and NDP MP Brian Masse. 'It’s getting worse—we are going backwards, we’re not going forward in Hamilton—we’re getting higher cases,' said Mr. Duvall, who says the federal government could play a larger role in getting a handle on the worsening situation in Ontario. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade, photograph courtesy of Karen Vecchio's Twitter
‘It’s getting worse, we’re going backwards’: Ontario MPs say constituents confused, frustrated, angry with vaccine supply issues, and partisan ‘finger-pointing’ as COVID cases skyrocket
Vaccine clinics have been cancelled due to supply shortages, already overburdened intensive care units are beyond capacity, and new cases of COVID-19 have hit all-time highs in Ontario.
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Canadians Are Ready to Embrace “Virtual First” in Health Care
Tip for belly-aching politicians: mute yourselves!
There will be plenty of time for an inquiry once the crisis has passed. But for now, a little co-operation, even the occasional word of support for the other side. Let's assume everyone is trying to do their best.If the plan is to turn Labrador or some other part of the country into a nuclear dump, the public should know why
With the stakes as high as they are with nuclear energy, the very least Canadians deserve before the government expands its reliance on nuclear power is a full, free national debate.Canada’s doomsday approach a stark contrast to what’s happening in other parts of the world
As medical specialists ratchet up the message of concern around the virulent spread of the COVID variants, the public is simply not listening.
With great financial power comes great responsibility
Corporate social responsibility must be enforced by law, and it must be enforced through the ethical investment of our pension funds.Amid COVID-19, grieving support bill ‘really hit home’ for MPs, says Jeneroux
'It makes sense that we all get together and we show the country what Canada really is, and it’s a compassionate country,' says Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux, who introduced Bill C-220.Liberal delay in moving on Bill C-19 ‘puzzling’ given election posturing, says NDP’s Blaikie
After being ‘in a hurry’ to table the bill in December amid strong public polling, Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu says she thinks the delay now is a reflection of a dip in Liberal fortunes. 
In the shadow of COVID-19, the spectre of famine
With such a lukewarm commitment, the world may very well see another plague make a deadly comeback soon.Feds say too early to talk opening Canada-U.S. border, but experts push for plan
There are a 'whole series of very complicated questions that nobody is talking about,' says border expert Edward Alden on the lack of planning for an eventual border reopening. Syrian security situation used as guise for not having political will to repatriate detained Canadians, say experts
'I think [the Canadian government] needs to demonstrate a stronger case that there is a real security problem and it has never been able to do so,' says former diplomat Daniel Livermore. 
New quarantine measures won’t affect hotel industry’s bottom line, but may create more stress, say stakeholders
'I don’t really see this as a benefit to hotels because of the incredible applications in logistics that would have to occur,' says Conservative transport critic Stephanie Kusie.Former innovation minister Bains was most-lobbied minister in 2020
Mr. Bains, who was lobbied 214 times in 2020, took the top spot from the 2019 leader, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. Finance Committee chair Easter top non-cabinet-MP target for lobbyists in 2020
Non-cabinet MPs were lobbied nearly 10,000 times in 2020. 
Revenue Minister Lebouthillier hires new policy director, Jessica Morrison
Plus, Sadie Ghosn has bade Employment, Workforce Development, and Disability Inclusion Minister Carla Qualtrough’s team farewell.
‘Below the belt’: Grit MP Amos’ naked camera hiccup prompts calls for investigation into who leaked photo
Plus, both of Canada's top doctors have now been vaccinated against COVID-19, and an Ottawa-born adventure seeker has a new book out detailing his travels.
Political figures share stories of Prince Philip, Ottawa commemoration set for April 17
Plus, Scott Brison has a new job, and the Liberals have announced the party's next national campaign committee co-chairs.
Operations director, press secretary among recent additions to Minister Carr’s team
Plus, a new videographer has been hired by the Prime Minister’s Office, and Julie Robinson has been promoted to deputy director of human resources.Senate eyes filling The Chambers as renovation plans progress
More interim office space will be needed to house Senators who are set to be displaced by future renovation projects in the Parliamentary Precinct. Tsai-Klassen returns to Hill as chief of staff to International Development Minister Gould
Plus, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has a new press secretary: Josie Sabatino.
Canada will need ‘intensive collaboration’ between provinces, territories, and federal government for next pandemic, say experts
A new approach to healthcare governance and an increased focus on the social determinants of health are two key lessons, among many more, that experts say are crucial to learn from this pandemic to prepare for the next o
The COVID-19 vaccine rollout debacle: how did we get here?
The COVID-19 vaccine rollout illustrates core principles of behavioural economics, mainly bounded rationality, which states that rationality is limited when people or governments make decisions.
Learning from the mental health challenges of the pandemic
Mental health is not simply about feeling good all the time. It is about learning how to traverse the existential challenges we face.
A nurse is not just a nurse
Nurses are under-appreciated and underrepresented. They have a wide variety of skills that make them an essential part of the healthcare system. We need nurses to be at the decision-making table. We need to give a voice to those driven young nurses who will be our leaders come the next pandemic.Scathing audit highlights PHAC failures
Attention and accountability are urgently needed to address the shortcomings highlighted in the Auditor General report. 
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.
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Politics This Morning: Long-awaited budget to drop, as feds pledge to send reinforcements to Ontario
Plus, the feds plan to send health-care workers, equipment, and reallocated drugs to treat severe pneumonia in ill COVID-19 patients.
The gender entitlement to leadership and decision-making is costing lives. This patriarchal approach to who is catapulted into the position to make these bad decisions is a feature, not a bug. 
As events have developed, the nationwide rollout has been anything but a clear-cut victory, and Ontario, in particular, has received one of the worst provincial rankings.
If authorities fail to be consistent in managing the pandemic, the numbers of the disaffected are bound to increase.
Has anyone really done the cost-benefit analysis of preserving aspects of physical health while continuing to pay little attention to mental turmoil?The Top 100 Most Influential 2021
Pandemic edition: Top 100 most influential people to watch in 2021
The Hot Room Podcast
Should Canada have 100 million people?
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Politics This Morning
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We now have a once-in-a-century opportunity to fashion workable economic solutions to poverty, discrimination, homelessness, youth unemployment, the lack of mental health supports and inadequate childcare.
Canada can’t rely on the imaginary protections from U.S. assurances the detained Canadians are being treated as if they ‘were American citizens,’ and instead must deal directly with China. 
The government could stick with the current process. But it would preclude DND from acquiring any new equipment at all and from adequately maintaining its current inventory. 
A drama is unfolding about the affordability of the CSC program. It may mean starting from scratch and paying Irving extra severance fees as the former prime contractor. But it may mean affordability and accountability. 
Several studies have shown that more jobs are created from expenditures on education, health care, and clean energy than from the same amount spent on defence.
When MPs handpick witnesses, not for enlightenment, but to feel the embrace of reinforcing messages, it is only fair that they shoulder part of the blame when things go wrong.‘They have a tipping point’: Alexandra Morton on her unrelenting fight to save B.C.’s wild salmon
The whale biologist says 'for the first time,' she and the federal government are in sync in their push to phase out fish farms on the Discovery Islands in B.C.Webster’s Newspapering a cracking good read with much to teach
Norman Webster, reporter, editor-in-chief, and word-farmer extraordinaire, sheds light on reporting and more in a riveting collection of columns spanning his decades in 'newspapering.'Staffing moves for ministers Vandal, Freeland, and Wilkinson
Plus, Hill Climbers takes a look at two waivers granted to ex-staffers by Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion.Transport Minister Alghabra hires new director, assistants
Plus, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair has a new regional affairs adviser for B.C., the West, and the North on his team.
Renowned Canadian Supreme Court Justice headed to Harvard
Plus, Justice Minister David Lametti gets his COVID-19 jab, while giving a nod to his alma mater, Oxford, whose researchers developed the AstraZeneca vaccine.Ford’s critiques of federal vaccine procurement rebutted by Minister Anand
Plus, Liberal MPP Michael Coteau is officially seeking federal Liberal nomination and the producers for the next round of federal leaders' debates were recently announced. 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.
As union members face COVID-19 pandemic ‘head on,’ PSAC calls for feds to return to bargaining table
Treasury Board spokesperson Martin Potvin says the government's goal is to take 'constructive steps to keep meeting and to prepare for negotiations when they resume.'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. Greece felt ‘very happy’ to have Canada’s top diplomat in Athens last year amid pandemic, says new Greek envoy
Greek Ambassador Konstantina Athanassiadou says there is political will in Athens to ratify Canada's free trade pact with the European Union. Herbert Norman, Raymond Chrétien, Marie-Lucie Morin among 10 named as ‘Ambassadors of Note’
The 'Ambassador of Note' distinction is given to envoys that were involved in an 'ongoing activity or a single major event' that had 'significant impact on Canadian foreign policy or on how Canada was seen in the world.'
It’s federal budget day, first one in more than two years
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, pictured Sept. 14, 2020, arriving for a fall cabinet retreat in Ottawa, will table the federal government's budget on Monday, April 19, 2021, at 4 p.m. EDT. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured March 30, 2021, leaves the Sir John A. Macdonald Building, after addressing reporters. He announced Canada is expected to receive five million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by June, earlier than expected. The news came as the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine hit another snag. Federal health officials and the advisory panel on immunization jointly recommended suspending its use for people under the age of 55, pending a new risk-benefit assessment.
