Politics this morning: Monsef holds online voting roundtable, Morneau kicks off pre-budget consultations
Today is Monday, September 26. Here’s what you should know before you start your day: Maryam Monsef, minister of Democratic Institutions, will be holding a roundtable discussion on the topic of online voting today at the University of Ottawa. Ms. Monsef will be joined at the event—which begins at 9 a.m. (all times local)—by Yvonne […]
Ottawa must bolster tracking of infrastructure dollars to maintain public trust: ex-PBO
The federal government must improve reporting and managing standards for the next wave of infrastructure spending after failing to implement internationally recognized accountability standards in the 2016 budget, according to former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page. The Liberals promised during the 2015 election campaign to spend an extra $60-billion over 10 years on infrastructure. The funds, to be split between […]
Saskatoon MPs see big rise in child benefit reviews by CRA
Members of Parliament in all Saskatoon ridings are complaining that the Canada Revenue Agency has stepped up reviews of the Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) for their constituents. An email from the CRA clarified that these are reviews, however most MPs have referred to them as audits when talking to The Hill Times. Three of the four Saskatoon […]
G20 summit: Bringing homegrown solutions to global challenges
Leaders from the most powerful developed and emerging states will descend on Hangzhou, China in a few days to deliberate on the state of the world’s economy. The G20 Forum—a brainchild of our own former prime minister (then finance minister) Paul Martin—was established nearly 20 years ago in response to the Asian financial crisis that […]
Who said infrastructure’s not sexy?
Contrary to comedian John Oliver’s famous depiction of infrastructure as not being sexy, except for when it is being blown up in Hollywood movies, author Ryan Gravel claims that infrastructure can be sexy when “done right.” In his book Where We Want to Live: Reclaiming Infrastructure for a New Generation of Cities, Gravel says that […]
Despite problem-plagued email, pay system, Liberals push ahead on government-wide HR amalgamation
Although the government’s email migration to @canada.ca is more than a year behind schedule with no resolution in sight, and the centralization of federal pay to the Phoenix system has left thousands in precarious financial situations, the government is pushing ahead with plans to take on an all-of-government amalgamation of human resources, financial, and information […]
Enough shirtless Trudeau pics: time for work
Enough of summer silly-season stories. Justin Trudeau’s biggest problem isn’t that he has spent August wearing only half his clothes. It’s that Canada has spent 2016 wearing only half its economic growth. Fixing the latter challenge will be way harder than throwing on a shirt. The other day I caught up with a Liberal who’s […]
Ottawa and the disappearing recovery
OTTAWA—Canadians are sleepwalking into a long period of economic hardship—or worse. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has at least recognized the need for Ottawa to take a hand in the situation—a major improvement over Stephen Harper’s laissez-faire mentality. But the happy-go-lucky Liberals continue to miss the magnitude of the changes that Canadians face in the […]
Opposition slams government for removing regional development cabinet posts
A former Conservative MP is accusing the Liberal government of being “shortsighted” for eliminating separate cabinet posts for regional economic development agencies, saying the decision has cost communities an invaluable and knowledgable senior-level advocate. Scott Armstrong, who represented a central Nova Scotia riding from 2009 until his defeat in the 2015 election, said the decision by the […]
NDP slams Liberals for stalling on measures to tame hot housing markets
The NDP is calling on the Trudeau government to take decisive action to help residents struggling in overheated housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver, though the Liberals are cautioning against rolling out any policy remedies that could impact the broader national housing picture before extensive study. NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.) accused the […]
