What three words of encouragement would you give to boost Ottawa’s self-esteem?

People (typically those not from here) love to tease Ottawa, and sometimes, the city makes it very easy to be made fun of—to the point where it inspired a spin-off from the ‘Toronto VS. Everybody’ expression: ‘Ottawa VS. Itself,’ from local designer Dominic Coballe. Despite taking flak for being a boring, buttoned-up government town nestled between trendy TO and charming Montreal, Ottawa really is a happening place for those who take the time to explore beyond the parliamentary precinct. We asked some notable Ottawans—those who call it ‘home’ both full-time, part-time, present, and past—what kind of ‘letter-to- your-thirteen-year-old-self-style’ words of encouragement they would offer to help Canada’s Capital brush its shoulders off.

Senate lobbying up 12 per cent in 2018, Sens. Grant Mitchell, Terry Mercer lobbied most

Senator Grant Mitchell says the interest ‘means the reformed Senate is working,’ while others are reluctant to accept too many meetings.

Green Party commits to full platform cost analysis by PBO, as others indicate piecemeal approach

Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux says his office is reassuring parties about the process after concerns were raised over platform security.

Complainant behind successful UN complaint about Indian Act expects decision to be brushed aside

Sen. Lillian Dyck says the Upper Chamber will apply pressure to ensure the Liberals keep their promise to remove sex discrimination from the Indian Act.

Feds hit the road to seek user feedback for Phoenix replacement

Recommendations on the winning bid for a new pay system are expected to come in spring, but it 'certainly' won't be ready by the end of 2019, says a pay team official.

Controversial pension changes ‘unlikely’ to proceed, say groups watching stalled bill

The National Association of Federal Retirees says it was told in recent meetings with Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s office the government ‘is not moving forward’ with Bill C-27.

‘Not a chance’ Liberals will sweep Atlantic region again in October, say political insiders

The Liberals could lose between ‘six to 11 seats’ of the 32 in the four Atlantic provinces: Prof. Donald Savoie.

‘We’re going to be every bit as active in this federal election’: Dias says unions undeterred by new pre-election ad spending limits 

The government’s elections bill brought in new restraints on third-party advertising before elections, but there's still plenty of room for unions and other big spenders to advertise before the next federal vote.

NDP taking ‘nothing for granted’ in Burnaby South as top Hill staffers, B.C. MPs working to get Singh elected

The federal NDP may be having fundraising woes, but the Burnaby South riding association was the party’s best fundraiser overall in Canada in 2017.

Yellow Vest, other protesters could be wild card in next federal election, says Nanos

Pollster Nik Nanos says he expects protesters will try to disrupt Liberal campaign events during this year’s election campaign and will try to knock Prime Minister Justin Trudeau off his game.