Trudeau PMO tightening control over ministerial staffing, ‘identical’ to Harper approach, says ex-Liberal MP

The flow of staff from the Prime Minister’s Office to key posts in ministerial offices reveals an underperforming rookie cabinet, increasingly controlled by the PMO despite promises that a Liberal government would reverse Stephen Harper’s centralized approach, say some Conservatives and Liberals. Many The Hill Times spoke with said this style of governance, coupled with inexperienced […]
“The Energy East pipeline project has been scrapped. Is this a good or bad thing for Canada? Why?”/by Laura Ryckewaert
Cameron Ahmad Liberal strategist “Robust debates are a fundamental part of our national discourse. Unfortunately, some politicians have chosen to use TransCanada’s decision—a private business decision—to stoke regional divisions. Canadians deserve better than leaders who ignore facts and context in favour of politically charged rhetoric. Their intellectually dishonest arguments pit our country’s regions against each […]
Yes, we need to tax the rich

POWELL RIVER, B.C.—You have to hand it to the rich in dealing with the tax reforms proposed by the Liberals. They didn’t even have to put pen to paper or pick up the phone to protest the tax man messing with their ill-gotten wealth. They got the poor besotted small business person to fight on […]
Trade and innovation topped September lobbying

PARLIAMENT HILL—The staff tasked with implementing the Liberal innovation plan were lobbied the most last month, because “all roads go through” Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains’ office, insiders say. Mr. Bains himself was only the third most lobbied minister, however, with International Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne (Saint-Maurice-Champlain, Que.) and Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay (Cardigan, P.E.I.) seeing the […]
Canada’s most-lobbied staffers drive policy tied to federal purse

Canada’s top-lobbied political staffers have “panache,” and are “affable” and “rigorous,” according to those who’ve sat down with the men who are the government’s most-sought officials based on communications reports filed in the federal lobbying registry this year. The three most in-demand staffers are all policy advisers to ministers in important departments connected to Liberal […]
Morneau was in ‘catch-22,’ couldn’t rebut tax reforms criticism during 75-day public consultations, says Easter

Finance Minister Bill Morneau and his staff could have the done a better job of communicating his department’s proposed tax reforms, but were caught in a “catch 22” situation, unable to argue in favour of the reforms for risk of appearing to have made up their minds while holding a 75-day public consultation on the […]
Canada has options if Trump kills NAFTA

TORONTO—If U.S. President Donald Trump deep-sixes the North American Free Trade Agreement, there are essentially three things that Canada can do. It can try to salvage a bilateral deal with the U.S. It can, in concert with Mexico, keep what remains of NAFTA on life support in the hope that Trump will eventually be replaced […]
Death of Energy East direct legacy of Harper’s decade in office

OTTAWA—The death of Energy East is a direct legacy of the Stephen Harper decade in office. Not only did the prime minister systematically refuse to bring premiers together, he had no interest in a new national project. Harper was Canada’s energy superhero, and oil companies didn’t even have to leave Calgary to get support for […]
On climate change, feds must catch up not slow down

The recent report by the federal environment commissioner shows that the government has to work harder to meet Canada’s greenhouse gas reduction targets under the Paris Agreement. The report is a wake-up call. Canada is not on track to meet its 2030 climate commitments, while timelines on policy implementation are getting longer and measures to […]
Canada’s former chief electoral officers hope feds find new elections watchdog by December, say unanimous House consent important

It’s been almost a year since Canada’s top elections watchdog vacated his post, but the federal government will finally begin reviewing applications this month to find a replacement for the country’s next chief electoral officer. Former chief electoral officer Marc Mayrand and his predecessor Jean-Pierre Kingsley both told The Hill Times last week that they hope […]