B.C. stands in permanent campaign mode
On the morning after Tuesday’s British Columbia election, there was no ready acknowledgement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office of the results of the provincial vote in Canada’s third-largest province and no boilerplate salute to the dawn of a new mandate. It is hard to put into words the sound of one hand clapping. In […]
Gould expected to introduce political financing bill, but critics say it won’t stop cash-for-access
Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould is expected to introduce the government’s political financing bill in the next few weeks, but critics are casting doubt on whether the legislation will adequately address the Liberals’ cash-for-access fundraising problem. “What has been suggested so far is putting lipstick on a pig, essentially. It’s still a pig, and it’s still cash-for-access,” […]
Liberals’ low fundraising numbers should ‘set off alarm bells,’ say some political players
The Conservative Party’s commanding lead in fundraising in the first quarter of this year should set off alarm bells in the Liberal Party, say some political players. “If the Conservatives raised more money than us in the second quarter, I would describe that as fundraising recession, and it’s serious,” a former senior Liberal said comparing it […]
Canada can make cannabis safe for the world
We’re Canadian, so we like to do our part. We’re proud of the innovations we contribute to the world, from insulin, to UN peacekeeping, the Space Shuttle’s Canadarm, and the BlackBerry. Today, Canada is in the (perhaps surprising) position of being poised to make another important contribution, this time via public policy. We’re the world […]
How one lobby campaign won support of mining, environment, indigenous groups and MPs from all parties
It’s not every day that a lobbying campaign can claim success based on support from 49 MPs from all four political parties in the House of Commons as well as mining, environmental, and indigenous groups. While these camps may in other circumstances clash, they spoke with one voice in recent months to push the federal […]
Building a better world through education
AUSTRALIA—A young woman addresses Parliament in Ottawa, and her voice engages a nation and resonates around the world. Through her courage and passion, and her extraordinary work advocating for the transformative power of education, especially for girls, Malala Yousafzai reminds us that education is a human right. But worldwide, 263 million children and young people […]
PMO hires a new executive assistant, another switches assignment
The Prime Minister’s Office recently hired Nour Kechacha as an executive assistant to both PMO senior adviser Mathieu Bouchard and to director of administration and special projects Brett Thalmann. Until recently, Ms. Kechacha had spent the last year working as a legislative assistant to Liberal MP Marwan Tabbara, who was elected to represent Kitchener South-Hespeler, […]
Innovation and the budget: much policy left on the table
Economic growth per worker depends crucially on two factors: innovations adopted by entrepreneurs and investment. The 2017 federal budget is rightly focused on innovation. Last year, it was rightly focused on public infrastructure. Lacking in both budgets, however, is a plan to support entrepreneurship and private investment, which are both critical to the adoption of […]
Canada wears velvet glove to shake hands with U.S.
Ever since last fall’s American presidential election campaign, Justin Trudeau has played nice with Donald Trump, routinely bending over backward to avoid taking the new administration head-on. Parsing the prime minister’s comments on Trump’s eventful first three months, one would be hard-pressed to find anything but kind words about the new occupant of the White […]
Lobbyists registry shows Irving companies keeping close contact with federal officials
The Irving family and their controlled companies, so central to the economy of Atlantic Canada, are also major players in Ottawa, judging by the federal lobbyists registry. Irving companies have been among the most prolific federal lobbyists so far this year, according to documents on the registry. Filing 23 reports in March, Irving Shipbuilding Inc. […]
