Stories by Samantha Wright Allen
NDP MPs walk fine line in Alberta-B.C. pipeline dispute dividing their party
As NDP governments in Alberta and British Columbia feud over Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline, NDP MPs are treading a tight line in trying to support both provincial counterparts while also vocally in favour of…
Four months into Jagmeet Singh’s leadership, the NDP is ramping up its fundraising machine with an “aggressive” goal to raise $9-million—double 2017’s haul, which still left the party lagging far behind the Conservatives and Liberals.…
The NDP’s largest-ever policy convention comes to Ottawa this weekend as delegates grapple with the party’s response to recent harassment allegations levelled at an MP and former MP. At least one delegate-driven resolution to strengthen…
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh’s decision to announce that he had appointed a third-party investigator to look into harassment allegations against NDP MP Erin Weir, and to remove the MP from caucus duties, was a “wise…
A cabinet minister's chief of staff is throwing her name in the ring to again become the Liberal candidate to fight in what's expected to be a tight two-way race against the NDP in a…
The upcoming policy convention will serve as a springboard for leader Jagmeet Singh, according to NDP MPs who say he has strengthened the mood in caucus, bringing new energy, ideas, and voices to the party.…
Environment groups say 2018 presents a turning point for environment, with the opportunity for a “major spend” on protected areas to meet international targets and for government to get it right on the environmental assessment…
Canada’s most-lobbied backbench MP in 2017, Francis Drouin, is a “rising star” who's developed a reputation as a rural champion, say lobbyists. Mr. Drouin’s 136 communications posted to the lobbyist registry in 2017 are connected…Author
The cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries handling the innovation, natural resources, and environment files swept the top 10 most lobbied MPs of 2017, with innovation right hand David Lametti fielding the most communications with stakeholders…
Lobbyists meeting Senators at record rates say it's due to the Upper Chamber’s independence, openness to amendments, and numerous newly appointed unknown Senators. This explains an unprecedented spike in communications in 2017, an uptick so…
Last week, trade observers could be forgiven for feeling whiplash after reports swung from Canadian advisers expecting an imminent United States withdrawal from NAFTA to U.S. President Donald Trump musing negotiations could continue past Mexico’s…
The federal government's procurement system isn’t fair or serving taxpayers well, says one longtime supplier whose companies have won government contracts worth millions of dollars. “They’ve got a bogus procurement system, in my opinion. It…
An Ottawa procurement expert with a checkered past has re-emerged with a consulting business and new book that promises to teach suppliers how to get into the inner circle of government and win contracts. Over…
The politicians Robert Lighthizer [caption id="attachment_131075" align="alignright" width="254"] Robert Lighthizer. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade.[/caption] As U.S. Trade Representative, Mr. Lighthizer is tasked with bringing President Donald Trump’s tough talk and America First…
When Canada takes the stage as host of June’s G7 Summit, the Liberals should take advantage of the “international moment” to encourage action on education of girls in crisis, according to the head of World…
Trade talks with the United States and Mexico, China, India, and Trans-Pacific Partnership countries helped make it the top-lobbied issue in November, and cemented its position among the top three lobbied topics over 10 straight…
Employees of private companies that need to pass complex classified screening to work with government face long delays to complete the process, departmental results for the year reveal, which one opposition critic says can impact…
Canada's Veterans Affairs Department is behind on half of its performance targets, department results released last month reveal, which opposition MPs call unacceptable and a “horrible performance” built off systemic problems. Veterans Affairs missed 14…
Canada’s chief NAFTA negotiator told MPs their work travelling south of the border to discuss the 23-year-old trade agreement and Canada-U.S. trade relations is “absolutely essential.” “That kind of outreach work I think will make…
Two MPs with young children are applauding a new House committee report that recommends the House not count parental leave as absence, and formalize that infants are allowed in the House Chamber. Two MPs who are mothers…As Canada rejects what its chief NAFTA negotiator calls “entirely unworkable” U.S. proposals, a deep bench is working around the clock to keep the tripartite agreement alive. After appearing before the House Trade Committee Monday,…
About 16 per cent of government programs tracked at the departmental level missed their performance targets and “require attention,” according to annual results reports released in November. Health Canada had 19 missed targets, and the…
A former president of the Liberal Party’s B.C. chapter who has donated $30,000 to the party since 2004 was appointed to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority this month. Transport Minister Marc Garneau (Notre Dame de…
Almost every day since she was named to the Senate last November, Kim Pate has received a letter or phone call from an inmate. In her Ottawa office, there are boxes full of messages from…
Even though the Liberal cabinet was designed with gender parity in mind, women only represent 40 per cent of the senior staff supporting those ministers’ offices. Those positions—made up of chiefs of staff and their…
For the government's new workplace harassment bill to have the impact the Liberals have said is the goal, union leaders and party critics say they should amend the legislation to define harassment and address repercussions.…
A committee report on the MP-to-MP code of conduct dealing with sexual harassment has been presented to the House of Commons, with minor amendments suggested to the two-year-old policy. Earlier this fall the Procedure and House Affairs…
The RCMP and National Capital Commission are requesting more than $1-million to renovate the prime minister’s country escape in the Gatineau Hills. The Harrington Lake home needs new windows and doors, heating, cooling, and security upgrades…
A small team of reporters from three national newsrooms unearthed a web of Canadian connections in the Paradise Papers as part of a global group working in secret and scouring 13.4 million documents over almost…
Women remain underrepresented in economic and finance ministers’ offices, a political sphere that former cabinet staff say continues to be an “old boys’ club” and especially unavailable to women at the senior level. Long before… More than one-third of the $4.88-billion Parliament will need to approve in its updated budget is connected to public-service employee costs, including new hires and paying up under collective agreements. That amount is larger than…
The Public Service Alliance of Canada is considering taking a case to the Supreme Court, after what it calls a “highly problematic” ruling by a lower court that will threaten union access to workplaces and have…Politics This Morning
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