Tory critic wants a reluctant CBC to hand over Panama Papers
The Conservative Party’s national revenue critic is calling on the CBC to hand over its Panama Papers data to Canada’s tax agency, something the Crown corporation is refusing to do. Ziad Aboultaif (Edmonton Manning, Alta.) says information coming out of a mammoth leak of documents detailing a global transfer of wealth into offshore accounts is […]
Why did the federal budget forget the world’s poorest?
“Canada is back” is our message at the United Nations and in Washington, but on the ground in our priority aid-recipient countries, especially the least developed amongst them, “old usual” seems to be still the norm. Last month’s first Liberal budget speech did not even have a few token words about the promised mandate shift […]
MP airline expenses plunge as reporting requirements beefed
Members of Parliament dramatically reduced spending on free air travel for return trips anywhere in Canada and also sharply curtailed hospitality expenses as the House of Commons expanded expenditure reporting requirements in the fallout over the 2013 Senate expense scandal, MP spending reports for the period show. The number of “special” trips anywhere in the […]
The week ahead in Parliament
Wednesday, April 13, 2016 The House will be debating the Liberal government’s 2016-17 budget. The House will debate Steven Blaney’s (Bellechasse-Les Etchemins-Lévis, Que.) private member’s bill, C-226, Impaired Driving Act, at second reading. The House Official Languages Committee will meet at 3:30 p.m. in Room 253-D, Centre Block, to continue studying the Translation Bureau. It […]
House more cordial, but so far Liberals have thin legislative agenda: Scheer
Despite a “very cordial” relationship among House leaders, the government’s legislative agenda has been thin and unproductive, says Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer as MPs return for a spring sitting after a two-week break. “I’d say it’s cordial but it’s not productive,” Mr. Scheer told The Hill Times. “There’s really nothing that’s been introduced that […]
PBO report damages Liberals’ credibility on transparency
Last week, the Parliamentary Budget Office took the Trudeau government to task on a few aspects of its federal budget released March 22. A key complaint was that it included cost estimates for just two years instead of the normal five years. What’s more, it’s been learned that the Finance Department had provided the PBO […]
Grits busy selling first budget coast to coast, internationally
The House was on break for the last two weeks, but cabinet ministers and government backbenchers were out selling how the new Trudeau government will spend $290-billion this fiscal year. Liberal MP François-Philippe Champagne (Saint-Maurice-Champlain, Que.), parliamentary secretary to the finance minister, called it a “team effort.” “When you meet all these people, it’s always amazing to […]
Politics This Morning: House returns to debate budget
Good Monday morning! Parliament is back today and will sit for the next two weeks. MPs will begin the first of four days of the budget debate, with opposition MPs ready to grill the government on its fiscal plan, which the Parliamentary Budget Officer says is not as transparent as it should be. “I am […]
Primer: week ahead in Parliament, April 11-15
Monday, April 11, 2016 The House will be debating the Liberal government’s 2016-17 budget. The House Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Public Accounts Committee will meet in-camera at 12 p.m. in Room 112-N, Centre Block, to plan future business. The House Health Committee will meet at 3:30 p.m. in Room 268, the Valour […]
Budget adds to immediate NDP woes but potential for rebound remains
VANCOUVER—The first Liberal federal budget has twisted the Trudeau knife further in the wounded New Democratic Party. The first budget of the new government is a big hit with elite centre left voters, a moderate success with populist or struggling groups, and leaves conservative groups infuriated. As a result, the Liberals are up, the NDP […]
