Getting more from federal transportation infrastructure investment, Canada’s opportunity to be a leader
Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s fall economic statement along with announcements made in the 2016 budget bring total federal infrastructure investment commitments to more than $180-billion. These commitments include the creation of a new Canada Infrastructure Bank which will leverage federal dollars to attract private investment in infrastructure. As noted in its report Unleashing Productivity Through Infrastructure, the Minister’s […]
Raitt needs O’Leary to split Blue Tory vote
OTTAWA—Lisa Raitt’s campaign to stop Kevin O’Leary was brilliant. It vaulted her to the front of the news cycle during a January political lull. It also set her up as a foil to the Trump-like tendencies of some of the Blue Tories who are already in the race or thinking of joining. It would be […]
Time to fix the ‘value gap’
In his Hill Times op-ed (“Canadian copyright reform requires a fix on the fair dealing gap,” Dec. 5, 2016) Michael Geist takes issue with the need to address the “value gap” that is hurting Canadian artists, writers, and other members of the creative class. He argues instead that Canada faces a need to address a “fair […]
Trouble and opportunities in the new Trump world
Count back from known events. Late this month, the Trudeau cabinet will hold a two-day retreat outside Ottawa. The last time the prime minister summoned his colleagues for one of these occasional getaways, in Sudbury at the end of August, he gave a few ministers new jobs and shook up the committees that organize their […]
Lobbying commish Shepherd urges for more registry transparency as she prepares to leave
OTTAWA—In the future, the Office of the Lobbying Commissioner the lobbyists’ registry should include more information for better transparency, including possibly billable hours for lobbyists, says Canada’s outgoing Lobbying Commissioner Karen Shepherd. “This is something that could be looked at during the next legislative review. In the case of the ‘significant part of duties’ to […]
Trump presidency means Canada’s economic game plan to strengthen middle class needs radical redesign
TORONTO—We won’t know what a Trump administration plans for NAFTA and the North American trading relationship until after his Jan. 20 inauguration. But what we do know so far is that while the Canadian economy should benefit from any lift a Trump administration will give to U.S. economic growth, the potential for disruption to the […]
The Hill Times’ List of The Best Books in 2016
Aboriginal Rights Claims and the Making and Remaking of History, by Arthur J. Ray, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 333 pp., $29.95. Adapting In The Dust: Lessons Learned from Canada’s War in Afghanistan, by Stephen M. Saideman, University of Toronto Press, 167 pp., $19.95. A Canadian Climate of Mind: Passages from Fur to Energy and Beyond, […]
Trump’s election means we’re in for a wild ride, but he will ultimately disappoint his supporters
The main message of 2016 was that we are entering a period of economic and political upheaval comparable to the industrial revolution of 1780-1850, and nothing expressed that message more clearly than Donald Trump’s appointment of Andrew Puzder as secretary of labour. Even though it’s clear that neither man understands the message. Puzder bears […]
“What will your party’s caucus be focused on over the winter break?”
Kate Purchase Liberal strategist “For Parliament to be a place where MPs can do serious work on behalf of their constituents and hold the government to account, MPs need to spend as much time as possible in their ridings. That is why—as the House rises for the winter break—our MPs are excited to return to […]
Dallaire’s on a mission and it’s not impossible
OTTAWA—At the end of his powerful and painfully honest memoir, Waiting For First Light: My Ongoing Battle With PTSD, Roméo Dallaire says he was surprised to discover how much he wants to live today. “As I approach the end of this book, I’m also approaching my 70th birthday. I am surprised to find that I am […]
