Cabinet staffing continues, further chief of staff changes
Further chief of staff changes have taken place in ministerial offices of late, with Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould both changing chiefs. Kirsten Mercer is no longer chief of staff to Ms. Wilson-Raybould. Ms. Mercer, a former senior justice policy adviser to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and a former associate […]
Liberals have yet to ‘walk the talk’ on renewing nation-to-nation indigenous relationship, ‘Silence is deafening’
Helen Knott’s blood runs thick with the history of First Nations peoples in Canada. Her great-great grandfather was the last First Nations chief to sign Treaty 8—one of 11 land agreement treaties made between First Nations peoples and the Government of Canada in the late 1800s and early 1900s when it was realized there was […]
Future of pipelines, Canadian oil could be next ballot box question, industry experts say
Oil industry experts outlined a gloomy forecast of economic prospects not just in Alberta, but across Canada, with no sea change in public views about pipelines and, most notably, Alberta’s oil sands industry at the Manning Centre Conference in Ottawa Saturday. The oil sands, a principal source of most negative opinion about the oil industry, […]
Politics This Morning: ‘A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian’
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister John McCallum introduced changes to the Citizenship Act, repealing several measures passed by the former Conservative government, including the provisions that would revoke the citizenship of dual citizens guilty of terrorism crimes. “We had two classes of citizens and we believe very strongly there should be only one class of […]
Conservatives are anything but dead
When Justin Trudeau in an interview with an influential BBC current affairs show in London right after his stunning election victory said, “I left them in the dust,” this was more impulsive optimism than reality. Not quite! Actually, Mr. Trudeau won his majority with 39 per cent of the vote, precisely as did prime minister Stephen […]
Fisheries Minister Tootoo hires chief of staff, Heritage Minister Joly hires Carr as director
Former Liberal party national director George Young has been recruited to serve as chief of staff to Fisheries and Oceans Minister Hunter Tootoo, Hill Climbers has learned. Mr. Young, who started last week, was until recently, working for the City of Ottawa as a strategic support coordinator and is a former communications director for the […]
Ottawa’s popular watering hole, Hy’s, approaches final day
Hy’s Steakhouse’s Ottawa location is poised to close after Feb. 27, putting an end to an establishment that for more than three decades has been a regular gathering place for politicians, their staffers, lobbyists, journalists, and other players on the Ottawa political scene. After failing to come to an agreement with its landlords at the […]
Liberals’ $2.4-million research bureau headed by Thalmann, Bosch
Now in government, the Liberals’ $2.4-million research bureau is now “fully functioning” with almost 30 staffers. Whether a party is in government or opposition, parliamentary-funded caucus research bureaus are a “very important part of the whole operation,” says Warren Kinsella, CEO of Daisy Consulting and a former Liberal war-room strategist. “The prime minister would be […]
Conservative, NDP candidates ramped up ad spending in final weeks of election in face of increasing Liberal support: expense reports
Conservative and NDP candidates neared spending limits of $200,000 and more as they fought to defend their Commons seats in the face of the Liberal wave in the final stages of the federal general election last year, initial rounds of published campaign returns by Elections Canada show. Although the majority of campaign filings are still […]
Next generation: Annie Donolo, Dan Boudria join Trudeau Cabinet ministers’ offices
Finance Minister Bill Morneau has hired Annie Donolo, a former Queen’s Park staffer and daughter of veteran Liberal staffer and strategist Peter Donolo, to be his ministerial press secretary, and she’s been working closely alongside communications director Daniel Lauzon in the minister’s office since January, Hill Climbers has learned. “I had the chance to work […]
