McGill grads, Queen’s Park staffers landing top Hill jobs
Work to staff the new Liberal Cabinet continues to ramp up ahead of Parliament’s return next week, with a noticeable trend of McGill grads and Queen’s Park staffers landing Hill jobs. As of deadline, only Fisheries and Oceans Minister Hunter Tootoo had yet to hire a chief of staff. Families, Children and Social Development Minister […]
Trudeau Cabinet meets ahead of ‘ambitious’ legislative winter agenda, first real test
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his 30 Cabinet ministers are meeting for a three-day retreat in New Brunswick this week to review his government’s activist agenda before Parliament returns on Monday and before the real tough test of governing begins, after winning a majority government on Oct. 19. Prime Minister Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) and his […]
‘I’ve never done anything quite like this before’: McCallum on helping to bring in 25,000 Syrian refugees
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister John McCallum, 65, has seen a lot in politics. But as one of the government’s lead ministers trying to get 25,000 Syrian refugees into Canada by the end of February, he says this work is incomparable to anything he’s done since he was first elected in 2000. “It’s a pretty […]
NDP loses $3-million in caucus office, research funding
The NDP has been hit with a $3.3-million loss in House of Commons funding for vital research staff, political and strategic aides in party leader Tom Mulcair’s office and other caucus work after the Commons governing board of MPs and Cabinet ministers realigned House budgets following the October general election. The cut in funding areas, […]
Politics This Morning: Canadians divided on more economic stimulus
With the economy in decline Canadians are divided on whether the Liberal government should do more or continue on the economic plan the party campaigned on, according to a new poll. “The economy is no doubt a growing cause of concern for Canadians and will test the level of confidence in this government, as it […]
Liberals fail badly on innovation strategy
TORONTO—The Liberal government portrays itself as the champion of the middle class. Indeed, it can barely utter a promise without declaring how it will benefit the middle class. Yet, unless it can encourage a much stronger growth path for the economy, it will fail the middle class. Modest middle-class tax cuts won’t do it. An […]
To referendum or not to referendum, not the only voting question
OTTAWA—To referendum or not to referendum: that is not the only question in the ongoing debate about reforming Canada’s voting system. The overall issue is ensuring the review process, including any referendum, meets best-practice democratic standards. If Canada’s current voting system had been subject to a referendum in 1867, only wealthy white men (about 10 […]
Trudeau’s PMO enthusiastic, but swamped: ‘It’s not a hill, it’s a mountain they’re about to climb’
Staffers in the new Liberal Prime Minister’s Office are still feeling invigorated three months after their party won a surprising majority government and are “enthusiastic” to get to work on the government’s stacked agenda, say Liberal sources, but it’s also “enormously daunting.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) has a long list of platform promises […]
Liberals plan to repeal ‘anti-union’ bills C-377 and C-525 once House returns
The government will be “putting the furniture back” and will restore Canadian labour laws over the next little while, says Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner, parliamentary secretary to the country’s new federal employment and labour minister. “Really what we saw through, especially the last Parliament, was an unprecedented attack on unions in this country. Bills C-377, […]
Why are we still suckers for the siren call of tax cuts?
GATINEAU, QUE.—I don’t know about you, but I am having trouble imagining how I am going to spend my federal income tax windfall. Multiply my happy confusion by millions of middle-class Canadians with this extra tax money in their pockets—as much as $2.43 every two weeks, in some cases!—and you get a measure of the […]
