Controversial $7-billion fund hasn’t sped up budget implementation: PBO
The Liberal government’s $7-billion fund meant to speed up 2018 budget-implementation measures hasn’t worked, says Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux. In fact, it’s slower than the year before. Outlined in a Feb. 7 report on the second set of spending estimates for the current fiscal year, known as Supplementary Estimates ‘B,’ which were tabled by […]
We’ve got all the ingredients to make Canada an innovation leader. So why aren’t we?
If a Canadian innovates but no users benefit, did the innovation ever really happen? This “tree falling in the woods” analogy focuses on an important question: if we cannot reliably generate social benefits and economic opportunities (jobs and wealth, in other words) from our exceptional research capacity, are we putting our future investments in discovery […]
PSAC threatens strike ‘practice run’ to pressure Trudeau on wage boost
The largest federal public sector union is considering holding a large demonstration to amp up the pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to give his negotiators the ability to offer a larger wage boost to 90,000 of its members. Public Service Alliance of Canada national president Chris Aylward said he’s not afraid of calling a strike, […]
Fiscal con game lives on while poor suffer
OTTAWA—In the next nine months, we’ll be hearing a lot about the current federal government’s budget deficit and alleged wasteful spending. So far, the deficit issue appears to pass for most of what the Conservatives would call a campaign platform, with leader Andrew Scheer suggesting, like United States President Donald Trump, that he alone can […]
Why MPs should drop by seniors’ ‘care home’
Why should the feds take an active role in supporting seniors’ care? Because you care. We should live in a society where seniors live with dignity and comfort in their own home. When a senior moves into long-term care—it should be known as their home, not referred to as a “facility.” Last year, for the […]
Polytechnics and colleges, natural allies to businesses, deserve more access to government funding
Canada is at an innovation crossroads. Productivity measures have long lagged behind our international counterparts and, as a country of small businesses, our firms often lack the internal resources to fulfill their potential. Developing new prototypes, adopting new technologies, and designing new processes takes time, money, and human resources. As Canada’s economic engines, small- […]
How Trudeau needs to boost the economy, as it emerges as key election issue
OTTAWA—I remember sitting in London, U.K., in the summer of 2007 reading the first stories about the financial cliff the world was about to tumble over. I think the original articles had to do with an angry consumer vandalizing a car belonging to the head of a big Scottish bank. Most Western countries have long […]
Meet the top-lobbied political gatekeepers in 2018
Canada’s most-lobbied political aide is Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains’ policy director, a man whose job, as one lobbyist put it, is basically to be lobbied. For the second year in a row, David McFarlane, like the minister he reports to, racked up the most communications reports of political staffers with lobbyists in 2018. Some 334 […]
No snow pants allowed: here’s your guide to the hottest winter and spring shindigs
Just so we’re all clear, snow pants are okay for commuting, but they’re not proper party attire. The wintry outerwear has sparked a hot debate among Ottawa residents lately about whether snow pants are in fact needed to wear to work during Ottawa’s bone-chilling winters or too hideous to wear in public. Party Central is […]
Innovation minister, Finance Committee chair, member top most-lobbied MPs of 2018
A committee chair, a minister, and a backbencher were 2018’s top-lobbied MPs, according to a Hill Times analysis that observers said made sense given the Parliamentarians’ close contact with budget planning and the Liberals’ much-touted innovation mandate. Chair of the House Finance Committee Wayne Easter notched 182 mentions in communications reports from registered lobbyists, followed […]
