Conservatives can’t worry about media criticism as it holds Liberals to account
OAKVILLE, ONT.—I’m no constitutional expert, but I’m pretty certain that under our system of parliamentary government, the main job of an opposition party is, you know, to “oppose.” After all, it’s called “opposition party,” not “go along to get along party,” right? So its odd to see how Canada’s main opposition party—A.K.A. the Conservative Party—has […]
Elizabeth May’s dilemma
GATINEAU, QUE.—It is easy to understand Elizabeth May’s ambivalence about continuing to lead the Green Party. The motion passed at a recent party convention to impose trade sanctions on Israel is mischievous, at worst, and unhelpful at best. Leaving aside the poisoned politics of the BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) movement, the interminable war between […]
Ministers MacAulay, Wilson-Raybould beef up staff teams with new advisers
Amidst the lazy, hazy, slightly-less-crazy days of Parliament’s summer break—when staffers, while still hard at work, get a reprieve from the hectic pace of the parliamentary schedule—a few new political staff have recently been hired to work for the Liberal government, including a new senior policy adviser for Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay. Alison Porter marked […]
Atlantic rookie Liberal MP Fraser says next Supreme Court judge should be from region
Rookie Nova Scotia Liberal MP Colin Fraser says he’s concerned about Atlantic Canada no longer being guaranteed a seat on the Supreme Court of Canada under his government’s new appointment process and wants “strengthened confirmation” that the next candidate will be from the region. “My constituents have expressed their concern that apparently we may not necessarily […]
Poll finds support for PM Trudeau’s preferred electoral system—if it means winner elected with majority support
A new public opinion poll indicates the ranked-ballot electoral system Prime Minister Justin Trudeau favours to replace Canada’s so-called first-past-the-post system of electing federal governments has the approval of only a third of Canadians—until they are told that under the system “the winning party is always elected with the support of the majority.” The unusual Forum […]
New book on Trudeaumania due out in October
We may be living through Trudeaumania 2.0 right now, but there are still opportunities to dig deeper into what the first version was all about. Trudeaumania, written by Paul Litt and published by UBC Press, is due out in October and explores the political phenomenon that swept Canada in the late 1960s as Pierre Elliott […]
Year after election call, ‘this is more than a honeymoon . . .’
OTTAWA—It was a year ago when Justin Trudeau, then leader of the third-place Liberals, marched in Vancouver’s pride parade. It was one of his first acts of the marathon election campaign. Just hours earlier that day, Prime Minister Stephen Harper had gone to Rideau Hall to visit with the Governor General and set in motion […]
This just in: PMO’s Butts tops The Hill Times’ 15th Annual Terrific 25 Staffers in 2016
PARLIAMENT HILL—When it comes to Hill staffers, PMO principal secretary Gerald Butts is the tops. Mr. Butts, who is one of the two most powerful political staffers in the PMO along with the more low profile chief of staff Katie Telford, led this year’s list as the No. 1 staffer in the 15th Annual Terrific 25 Staffers Survey. As well as topping the […]
Results of The Hill Times’ Terrific 25 Staffer Survey: 2016
The Top 25 List Gerald Butts, principal secretary, Prime Minister’s Office Greg McClinchey, member’s assistant, Liberal MP Judy Sgro Sean Murphy, manager of parliamentary affairs, Conservative Whip Gordon Brown Katie Telford, chief of staff, Prime Minister’s Office Vince MacNeil, chief of staff, Government House Leader Dominic LeBlanc Colleen Knight, parliamentary sssistant, Liberal MP T.J. Harvey […]
Foreign Affairs Minister Dion hires a new PSA
Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion, who has been busy this summer meeting with his international counterparts and responding to a number of global incidents, recently hired a new parliamentary secretary assistant, also known as a ‘PSA,’ in his ministerial office. Francis “Josh” Grehan is now working in Mr. Dion’s office as a special assistant to Liberal MP Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, parliamentary […]
