Immigration Minister McCallum bolsters staff
Immigration Minister John McCallum has bulked up his ministerial staff team in recent weeks, including hiring an executive assistant and communications staffers. Félix Corriveau joined the minister’s office on March 9 as a senior adviser for strategic communications. Before joining Mr. McCallum’s team, Mr. Corriveau was working as a freelance reporter based in Toronto, according to […]
New PMO staffers, including youth adviser, digital creative lead
A number of new staff recently joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office in the Langevin Block, including Hilary Leftick as an adviser to Mr. Trudeau’s role as youth minister and Dave Sommer as the office’s digital creative lead, among others. Ms. Leftick is a former executive producer of POP Montréal, an international music festival in […]
Politics this morning: Judgment day for Duffy
After 62 days of testimony, stretched out over the course of a year-long-trial, Mike Duffy and the rest of the country will finally learn this morning whether the Senator has been found guilty in the 31 charges he faces related to senate expenses, fraud, and bribery. A statement was issued yesterday from the Speaker of […]
Spotlight: A legendary Liberal says goodbye
He helped two Liberal prime ministers win or hold onto power four times; served in the federal Cabinet for two; and got up close and personal with some of the world’s political heavyweights. After serving in the Senate for nearly 14 years, David Smith ends a Parliamentary career that began a half-century ago when he […]
VISUAL CV: Mauril Bélanger
1994 POLITICAL BEGINNINGS Growing up in the northern Ontario town of Mattawa, Mr. Bélanger says he was convinced from an early age of the virtues of public service. “My family instilled in me a strong sense of community involvement and it’s that spirit that brought me to Ottawa so many years ago,” he tells P&I. […]
Ministers Brison and Garneau hire new ministerial assistants
Treasury Board President Scott Brison recently hired Alexander (Sandy) Schembri to serve as his executive assistant, as well as provide regional advice for the ministerial office’s Atlantic desk. Mr. Schembri was until recently briefly serving as a legislative assistant to new Liberal MP Bernadette Jordan, who was elected as the MP for South Shore-St. Margaret’s, N.S., […]
Liberal promise of infrastructure bank absent from budget
The Liberal party promised in last year’s election campaign that it would establish a Canadian Infrastructure Bank “to provide low-cost financing for new infrastructure projects.” This would allow provinces and municipalities to borrow from the federal government and use its strong credit rating to get low interest rates. “The Canada Infrastructure Bank will provide loan guarantees […]
A modified ‘leap’ could vault the NDP back into contention
GATINEAU, QUE.—Far from dooming the federal NDP to the margins of political life, the Leap Manifesto—or, at least, its central idea—could save the social democratic party from irrelevance. (Not without work, luck and diplomacy—but all successful parties need that.) But first, someone has to take the pruning shears to the hysteria, half-truths and lazy stereotyping […]
Economic experts question Liberals’ definition of infrastructure
As the government rolls out its infrastructure spending plans, many economic experts are skeptical of the broad definition of what constitutes infrastructure under the Liberals. While many economists, including Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz, have encouraged the government’s move to invest in infrastructure, others are raising concerns. “The government ran on a fairly broad definition […]
Goodale to consult MPs, Senators in closed-door meeting on anti-terror law
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and his departmental officials are planning on holding a closed-door technical briefing and consultative meeting with MPs and Senators, in the coming days, to receive feedback on how to improve the Stephen Harper government’s so-called anti-terror legislation, C-51, that Parliament passed last year. “We will take into consideration every recommendation […]
