NAFTA players top Canada’s 40 most-influential foreign-policy minds
When it comes to who is influencing Canadian foreign policy, there’s the people working on files related to the United States, and then there’s everyone else. The constant focus of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement with an adversarial United States President Donald Trump has necessarily sucked resources and […]
New business coalition makes late-stage play in NAFTA talks to keep trade free
With Canada and the United States in the late stages of NAFTA trade talks, a new coalition of entrenched business interests is lobbying to preserve the trilateral agreement. In an effort to demonstrate the business community’s alignment on NAFTA, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce has been stringing together a collective of like-minded business groups and […]
The Top 100 Lobbyists: influential players hit the right notes
In a hyper-social industry where cocktail circuits, receptions, and luncheons are the norm, for lobbyists, one’s visibility within the Ottawa bubble matters. While the Top 100 Lobbyists List is not a popularity contest, lobbyists’ reputation, profile on the Hill, perceived influence, and effectiveness, as judged by their peers, play into considerations on who should make […]
Storm of lobbying activity on the horizon on seniors, environment, intergovernmental affairs files, say lobbyists
Trade is still by far the hottest file lobbyists are preoccupied with heading into the fall sitting, but there could be a quiet storm of activity building around some of the new portfolios carved out in the summer cabinet shuffle. Until NAFTA is signed, lobbyists will be jockeying to ensure their interests aren’t sidelined in […]
Party leaders rally around Liberal MPs accused of being more loyal to Israel than Canada
MPs across the ideological spectrum came to the defence of a pair of Liberal representatives who were the subject of a social media post questioning their loyalty to Canada last week. Dimitri Lascaris, chair of the Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) board, accused MPs Anthony Housefather and Michael Levitt on […]
Lobbyists to mingle at Back to Parliament networking event Sept. 13
As we look to Parliament returning on Sept. 17, the Government Relations Institute of Canada is hosting a Back to Parliament networking shindig on Sept. 13 at Tavern on the Hill, in Major’s Hill Park. The event is open to members and guests, who pay $25 and $40 respectively. Here’s what else is going on around the Hill […]
Bureaucrats on the move: ESDC DM leaves, feds get new chief HR officer
The highly respected deputy minister of Employment and Social Development Canada is leaving to become Canada’s representative at the International Monetary Fund. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) announced on Aug. 31 that Louise Levonian, who has been in her current role since May 2016, was recently nominated by Finance Minister Bill Morneau (Toronto Centre, […]
Liberal handgun-ban study could put 2019 seats in play, but not enough to topple majority: strategists
Firearms enthusiasts are vowing that the government’s examination of a nationwide handgun ban will cost the Liberals in the next election, but political strategists say they aren’t so sure the issue will be enough to boot them out of office in 2019. In his mandate letter, published Aug. 28, new Minister of Border Security and […]
Roma community campaigns for feds’ official recognition of genocide during Holocaust
Gina Csanyi-Robah was around 13 years old when her grandmother first told her that her relatives were genocide survivors during the Holocaust. But unlike the Jewish community, the Roma community has a different name for the atrocities they faced under the Nazis: “the devouring.” The word Holocaust, which translates to “completely burnt offering to God,” applies […]
How nursing expertise can make pharmacare better
Before writing a prescription, health-care professionals must complete an exam to determine the patient’s problem. Then they propose a course of treatment and provide clear instructions. The process of developing national pharmacare is no different. The first step is already underway; health-care providers and federal, provincial, territorial, and Indigenous leaders are consulting Canadians to understand […]
