The Liberals’ midpoint record on defence and security is mixed
OTTAWA—At the midpoint between its ascent to power and the next federal election, the Trudeau government gets an overall grade of a B- on its foreign policy, having improved in some areas while underperforming in others. These are the findings from our Foreign Policy Report Card, produced annually by Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of […]
Conservatives, NDP say they’ve never accessed Facebook profiles to microtarget voters, Liberals point to privacy policy
Conservatives and New Democrats say they have never collected private information on Canadians without their permission, or asked to access their Facebook pages to gather information to microtarget voters, while the governing Liberals say they follow a privacy policy and don’t have access to any Facebook accounts beyond their own. The explosive fallout from the […]
Italian-Canadian MPs frustrated none in Trudeau’s cabinet, says Liberal MP Di Iorio
There were 11 Italian-Canadian MPs elected in 2015, but two-and-a-half years into the Liberals’ four-year mandate, none have been included in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, and one Italian-Canadian backbencher says there’s frustration in the community across the country and among Italian-Canadian MPs. Rookie Liberal MP Nicola Di Iorio (Saint Michel-Saint-Léonard, Que.), who was elected […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
