“The Trudeau government has passed around half the number of bills as the previous government did over similar time period. What do you make of this?”
Kate Purchase Liberal strategist “Our government is proud of the legislation that we have introduced and passed. We have an ambitious agenda to bring real change to the lives of Canadians. To that end, we have passed a number of ground-breaking bills, from making citizenship laws fairer for all Canadians, to protecting gender identity and […]
Is technological change a huge, dark cloud threatening to create a jobless society?
TORONTO—Is technological change—the digital world of robots, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things—a huge dark cloud threatening to create a jobless society? Or at least an uneven world where a small percentage of highly paid, high-skilled workers and a similar percentage of low-paid, low-skill servant workers co-exist, with no need for a middle-skills world? Or […]
Kennedy takes bow, departs lobbying leadership position as GRIC holds summer soirée
Earnscliffe Strategy Group lobbyist Patrick Kennedy, who has been president of the Government Relations Institute of Canada for the last year, said his goodbyes last week as the association held its annual summer shindig on the evening of Wednesday, June 21. After six years being on the board, and being president for the past year, […]
New security package positive, but storm clouds on horizon between House and Senate
OTTAWA—The great thing about the first two years of a new government is that people are willing to cut the team a lot of slack. The challenging thing about the last two years of the same mandate is that patience has worn thin and people wants results. The months leading up to the midpoint are […]
Finance Minister Morneau recruits Revenue Minister Lebouthillier’s press secretary
Finance Minister Bill Morneau recently hired a new press secretary, recruiting Chloé Luciani-Girouard to leave National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier’s office to work for him. “We are excited to have her on board,” said Daniel Lauzon, director of communications to Mr. Morneau, in an email to Hill Climbers last week. “She brings experience, good relationships […]
Some stars shine on the Hill, some not so much
With the House of Commons adjourning for the summer, time for a look in the rearview mirror at four leading MPs who were on their game over the first half of the parliamentary year … and at one who was off. 1. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale took almost two years to come up with […]
Commissioner’s report indicates much more lobbying last year
There’s been more lobbying than normal going on over the last year or so, according to the most recent annual report from the federal lobbying commissioner. There were 5,559 people registered to lobby the federal government at the end of the 2106-17 fiscal year on March 31, which was up about 10 per cent from […]
Ex-Harper adviser Bruce Carson appealing convictions for lobbying offences, citing ‘poorly drafted’ law
Bruce Carson should have his convictions for violating the federal Lobbying Act quashed because the “poorly drafted” legislation enacted by the former Conservative government he served under doesn’t clearly define the criminal offences it created, his lawyer argued Wednesday. Mr. Carson, a one-time top aide to former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, was found guilty last […]
Opposition MPs concerned by pace of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Inquiry
The first testimony-gathering hearings have taken place, but concerns remain over the pace so far of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and opposition MPs say they’re disappointed the inquiry won’t be holding another hearing until the fall. “[It’s] a significant concern that we’re not going to be doing more throughout the […]
Booze industry looks to Senate to axe automatic tax hikes from budget bill
The Senate’s role as the Chamber of “sober second thought” is being counted on by the alcoholic beverages industry to save it from a provision in the budget that would see excise taxes on booze automatically increasing each year at the rate of inflation. It’s one of many aspects in Bill C-44, which implements aspects of the […]
