Revenue Minister Lebouthillier hires new press secretary amid string of staff changes
Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier has a new press secretary in her office. She hired Jérémy Ghio, a former aide to Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay, on Jan. 29. Up until the end of January, Mr. Ghio had been working as a legislative assistant to Liberal MP Jean-Claude Poissant on the Hill. Mr. Poissant represents the riding of […]
PMO scoops up Environment Minister McKenna’s press secretary
Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is saying goodbye to her press secretary, Marie-Pascale Des Rosiers, who is set to start in her new role as a special assistant for communications in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office on Feb. 27. Ms. Des Rosiers has been Ms. McKenna’s press secretary since April 2017, and before then had been […]
Finance Minister Morneau’s deputy chief of staff Harvey departs
Finance Minister Bill Morneau recently said goodbye to one of his senior-most staffers, Maryse Harvey, who exited her role as deputy chief of staff and director of strategy and planning to the minister in early February. A former Jean Chrétien-era Liberal cabinet staffer, Ms. Harvey returned to the Hill to work in Mr. Morneau’s ministerial office […]
Some Liberal MPs frustrated with leadership for not sharing anti-abortion political strategy on Canada Summer Jobs program
Some Liberal MPs say they’re frustrated the party leadership did not share the political strategy with the caucus on why the government was so adamant on keeping the new controversial reproductive rights clause in the Canada Summer Jobs applications and are annoyed the uncalled-for “mistake” could risk their re-election chances in 2019 in socially-conservative ridings. […]
#MeToo: trailblazing female ex-MPs weigh in on what needs to change on the Hill
Female former MPs say the current approach the government and federal parties are taking to deal with the Hill’s harassment and the sexual misconduct problem is far better than during their tenure when issues were ignored or swept under the rug, but they say any new system to deal with complaints—which will continue because “biology […]
Liberal VP and Trudeau insider Suzanne Cowan gunning for top party job
One of the architects of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s successful Liberal leadership and 2015 election campaigns, Suzanne Cowan, is hoping to help give the Grits another mandate in 2019 as Liberal Party president. Currently serving as the party’s English national vice-president, Ms. Cowan is the first to throw her hat in the ring to replace the […]
One in, one out for the PMO
Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office said goodbye to special assistant Julie Savard-Shaw last week, and her replacement is already in place. Until recently, Ms. Savard-Shaw had been a special assistant for policy in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) since September 2016, and before that was on the Hill as a policy adviser in Infrastructure […]
Status of Women Minister Monsef hires new D. Comms straight from Public Safety Minister Goodale’s team
Federal Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef last week hired a new director of communications, Justine Villeneuve, to her ministerial office, arriving from the office of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Ralph Goodale. Ms. Villeneuve marked her first day on Ms. Monsef’s political staff team on Feb. 5, and replaces Philippe Charlebois in the […]
Liberals to hold ‘open and frank’ closed-door meetings with MPs, staffers to discuss sexual harassment on the Hill, #MeToo movement
As the #MeToo movement continues to unfold on the Hill, chief government whip Pablo Rodriguez says he and deputy whip Filomena Tassi will hold two special closed-door meetings with MPs and staffers to seek input on how to make Parliament Hill a harassment-free workplace. “It’s something we’re preparing at the whip’s office, we want to […]
Conservatives raised more money than any other party since start of 2015, drawing $68.4-million: Elections Canada statistics
The federal Conservatives’ well-oiled fundraising machine repeatedly outpaced its rivals over the past three years, drumming up more than $66-million in direct party donations alone, despite losing power and being relegated to the opposition ranks, a Hill Times assessment has found. However, the Tories spent more than the Liberals and New Democrats combined on fundraising expenses […]
