Most Hill reporters don’t see merit of bringing White House-style press briefings to Canada
PARLIAMENT HILL—White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s daily press briefings may capture global attention, including Saturday Night Live’s, but many parliamentary press gallery reporters say they don’t see a need for similar daily PMO briefings here on Parliament Hill. Parliamentary press gallery president Tonda MacCharles, a veteran Hill reporter for The Toronto Star, said the […]
Opposition MPs plan House offensive for Trudeau government’s ‘critically important’ budget
Budget day is coming, and opposition parties are ready to pounce. The Conservatives will be on guard for signs of fiscal irresponsibility and new taxes from the Liberal government, while the NDP will be assessing whether the government’s spending plans matches its rhetoric. On Wednesday, March 22, the 2017 federal budget and subsequent budget implementation […]
Politics at its worst in political parties
OTTAWA—Politics is at its worst in political parties. Internal decisions are usually made in secret with little recourse to the rules of due process that apply to normal business decisions. That may change, as a disgruntled New Democrat took his case to the courts last week after his party would not allow him to run […]
Liberals to meet for two-day caucus this week, some Grit MPs dissatisfied with level of cabinet consultation
Liberal MPs will hold a special two-day caucus meeting on Parliament Hill this week to plot parliamentary strategy for the remainder of the current sitting, but some backbenchers say they would like to see cabinet justify its policy positions better and improve its consultations with MPs. The meeting is a replacement for the usual winter caucus […]
MPs take steps to protect themselves as anti-Islamophobia motion sparks threats
PARLIAMENT HILL—With threats against some federal politicians on the rise as a motion condemning Islamophobia makes its way through the House, MPs have been taking measures to keep themselves and those around them safe. In response to rookie Liberal MP Iqra Khalid’s (Mississauga-Erin Mills, Ont.) private member’s motion, M-103, introduced in December and last debated […]
Canadians trust science, CBC, media, government, though Conservatives less trusting: survey
Canadians put a lot of faith in scientific experts, and most have at least some trust in things like the CBC, the news media, and the federal government, according to a new survey conducted by Campaign Research. However, it found those identifying as Conservatives were less trusting of all these institutions. Results shared exclusively with […]
Think Trump politics is invading Canada? Watch the NDP leadership race and think again
MONTREAL—In one of those great moments in multi-streaming the other day, I clicked on a Politico piece called “Trump’s Dictator Chic” in the middle of watching the NDP leadership debate. Just as I was reading author Peter York’s account of where the new American president’s breathtakingly garish Fifth Avenue apartment fits in the pantheon of eerily similar […]
Journalists entering political work not new, but can impact perceptions of bias: experts
A number of former Hill journalists have been scooped up to work for the Liberal government since it took power, with some making the switch in a span of weeks. While journalism experts say it’s far from a new phenomenon or unique to the political sphere, it can risk perceptions, if not the reality, of […]
Liberal MPs exert their independence, and that’s a good thing
It looked like the passage of the Genetic Non-Discrimination Bill, S-201, a Senate public bill, was going to be a nail-biter in the House last week. On the Monday before the vote, the bill’s House sponsor and Liberal MP Rob Oliphant was quoted in The Hill Times saying he was “cautiously optimistic” that it would pass without the […]
Germany’s Merkel now leads a lonely fight for liberal democracy
OTTAWA—Just down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House stands the news museum. Perhaps its most impressive exhibit, right inside the front door, is the stark concrete tower that once held armed guards trained to shoot East Germans escaping to West Berlin. I couldn’t help thinking about that reminder of totalitarian oppression in the lead-up to […]
