SNC-Lavalin controversy and Wilson-Raybould’s cabinet resignation ‘serious concern’ for Liberal MPs, Hill staffers, and Liberal insiders
The unfolding SNC-Lavalin affair is causing “serious concerns” among Liberals worried about the perception that the governing party has one set of rules for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s inner circle and his home province Quebec, and another for the rest of the county, with some Liberals raising questions about the unity of the Liberal caucus. […]
Minister LeBlanc nabs policy aide from Minister Duclos’s team
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc recently added a new senior policy adviser to his political staff team, plucking Shannon Zimmerman from Families, Children, and Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos’s office. She marked her first day working for Mr. LeBlanc on Jan. 28, and in the minister’s office joins fellow senior policy adviser Samuel Yorke and […]
Staffers on the move post-shuffle as Rural Economic Development Minister Jordan continues to build team
Rural Economic Development Minister Bernadette Jordan is slowly building up an experienced ministerial staff team. She recently hired Brian Kaufmann to take over as her director of communications. Mr. Kaufmann started on the job tackling media and communications for Ms. Jordan on Feb. 4, and before then was director of parliamentary affairs and operations in the Indigenous […]
How to reduce the regulatory burden
Ottawa recently expressed its intention to eliminate outdated regulatory requirements. While this is a welcome admission that the Canadian regulatory burden is weighing down our competitiveness compared with the United States, it would be even better to have a concrete plan to effectively reduce it. Even when regulation does serve a seemingly reasonable purpose—as it usually […]
Duclos’s rise to Treasury Board vice-chair shows his ‘quiet competence’: observers
Observers say that among the few changes made to cabinet committee membership last week, the prominence given to Quebec ministers is most interesting, with one former cabinet minister highlighting Families Minister Jean-Yves Duclos’s new post as vice-chair of the Treasury Board as a “significant” development. Of the seven cabinet committees, the powerful Treasury Board was one of that […]
Critics decry new minister as election ploy, say Liberals dropping ball on rural internet access
Shifting responsibility for getting better internet connectivity in rural areas to a new cabinet minister may just be a “smoke screen” for the Liberals dropping the ball on the file and other rural issues, say opposition MPs. But Liberals and stakeholders say there’s time for real progress on broadband and other rural files before the […]
Director-level changes in offices of ministers Carr, Sohi, Joly
International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr has new directors of communications and policy in his ministerial office, filling two recently vacated holes in his staffing roster. Michael Jones, who until recently was an issues manager in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), has been hired as Mr. Carr’s new director of communications. His first day on […]
Liberal base ‘less than enthusiastic’ as Trudeau prepares to defend four-year record to ‘volatile electorate,’ say Grit insiders
The federal Liberals made history by leaping from third place to winning a majority in 2015, but the upcoming October election will have totally different dynamics than the last time, including a volatile electorate, new party leaders and positions, and a lack of enthusiasm amongst some key players in the Liberal Party base who feel they’re […]
House sitting last opportunity for Trudeau Liberals to highlight achievements, control the agenda and the message, says a leading pollster
With the Liberals and Conservatives running neck and neck in public opinion polls, the 13-week sitting of the House is the last opportunity for the governing Grits to highlight their achievements and to control the agenda before the campaign gets into high gear in the summer, says a leading pollster. “It’s their last chance to […]
Rebecca Caldwell joins Finance Minister Morneau’s team
Finance Minister Bill Morneau has made some changes to his ministerial staffing roster, including recently hiring on Rebecca Caldwell as a new senior adviser. Ms. Caldwell was previously chief of staff to Women and Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef. She was recently replaced in that role by former Google Canada head Leslie Church, who was […]
