PMO’s Maka exits to become director to Social Development Minister Duclos
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently bade farewell to one of his political aides, Mike Maka, who left his job as senior planning manager in the office’s communications and planning unit to join Families, Children, and Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos’ office. Mr. Maka had been working in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) since the beginning, starting […]
Grit MP Casey says party conditions to avoid nomination challenges for incumbent MPs ‘fair,’ but he can’t meet them by deadline
One Liberal MP says his party’s conditions for incumbent MPs to avoid nomination challenges are “fair” but will be “impossible” for him to meet by the Oct. 1 deadline, and has “no problem” facing a nomination challenge. “I’m open to a challenge but I still think the rules are fair,” said two-term Liberal MP Sean […]
CIMS seems kind of quaint now
TORONTO—It almost seems kind of quaint, doesn’t it? Back when the Conservative Party was running things, the commentariat were apoplectic about something called CIMS: the constituent information management system (CIMS). “Tory database draws ire of privacy experts,” went one CTV News headline. An “unethical invasion of Canadians’ privacy,” thundered then Conservative-turned-Liberal MP Garth Turner. It was […]
As Bill C-33 gathers dust, opposition MPs want to know why ‘critical’ election law changes haven’t moved since first reading
The Liberals’ promised changes to Canada’s elections laws have been gathering dust since November 2016 when Bill C-33 was first introduced, but with the next election in October 2019, opposition MPs want to know why the government hasn’t moved on the “unloved” bill. “There’s a lot here [in Bill C-33] that’s critical to a healthy, functioning […]
PMO’s Purchase, McNair welcome babies
The luck of the Irish came for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s director of communications Kate Purchase who gave birth to baby boy Xristos Thomas Periklis Tsergas on St. Patrick’s Day. “Befitting a Greek Irish boy, our Son Xristos (but we call him Kit) Thomas Periklis Tsergas as born this morning, on St Patrick’s Day at […]
Feds shell out $250K to bureaucrats for Phoenix-related financial losses
The government has doled out nearly $250,000 since September 2016 to cover financial losses public servants have incurred because of the Phoenix pay system, according to the Treasury Board, which unions say indicates the program is working well despite seemingly low engagement. From September 2016 to January 31, 2018, 1,452 claims have been processed government-wide, […]
Conservative leader Scheer hires new stakeholder relations aide
Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer recently bolstered his official opposition staff by one, having hired Stephanie Keron as a special assistant and stakeholder relations adviser. Ms. Keron was previously working as executive assistant to Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs on the Hill since the 2015 federal election, before which she’d been executive assistant to then-Conservative MP Chris […]
Environment Minister McKenna hires a new press secretary
Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna has found a new press secretary to help handle her various media requests and interactions, after her press secretary Marie-Pascale Des Rosiers was scooped up by the Prime Minister’s Office in late February. Caroline Thériault officially started on the job as Ms. McKenna’s new press secretary on March 6, having […]
Two more promoted in PMO after operations team split
Two more staffers in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office have been promoted as a result of a January decision to split up the office’s operations unit ahead of former operations director John Zerucelli’s impending departure. Geoff Hall, who until recently had been working in the Prime Minister’s Office as Mr. Trudeau’s scheduler since January 2016, […]
Ageism on the Hill means experience doesn’t count for much
OTTAWA—Many years ago, the late Liberal Senator Keith Davey, known as “the rainmaker” for his success in getting his party elected, penned the “Ten Commandments of Canadian Liberalism.” Among them was Commandment Nine: “Recruit new, bright young people.” In an attempt to renew the Liberal brand, the new government embraced this commandment in 2015, hiring […]
