‘It’s not just numbers,’ Chagger defends House’s low legislative productivity this session
PARLIAMENT HILL—The majority governing Liberals have passed a fraction of the legislation that previous Parliaments in recent times have passed during their first year, but Government House Leader Bardish Chagger is defending the government’s record, saying it’s not all about the volume of legislation that gets passed, it’s also about the quality of debate. When the House adjourned […]
House Finance Committee could ask all Commons committees to hold pre-budget consultations next year
PARLIAMENT HILL—The House Finance Committee, which has been holding private post-mortem meetings on its pre-budget consultations for the 2017 federal budget, is considering asking all the Commons committees to help conduct pre-budget consultations next year in an effort to improve the process. “We already did have one post-mortem meeting on it, actually,” said eight-term Liberal MP Wayne Easter (Malpeque, P.E.I.), […]
Merit Canada lobbying to maintain secret ballot requirement for union certification: Sen. Runciman
Merit Canada, a group representing non-unionized construction companies, has been lobbying Senators recently about reversing a Liberal government initiative to repeal a law requiring secret ballots for the certification and decertification of unions in federally regulated workplaces, according to one Senator who met with a representative for the organization. The target of Merit Canada is […]
Skepticism growing on promises for House reforms as Liberals consider unilateral action
Skepticism is growing over whether the Liberals will be able to deliver on their commitments to end the use of omnibus bills, end Friday sittings, make the Commons more family friendly, or reform Question Period before the next election, or at least make such the House rules changes with all-party consent as is usually done for these kinds of operational […]
Can Trudeau counter populist angst?
In his meeting with The Star’s editorial board the other day, Justin Trudeau said some things about the rise of populism in western politics that bear another look. At least since the beginning of this year, the prime minister has been careful not to talk about Donald Trump much, or to analyze the political currents […]
Seeing and seizing the endless opportunities of space
The story headlined, “Private sector increasingly involved in space, Canadian government investments remain scarce,” in The Hill Times on Nov. 28 underlines the large role that Canadian space companies play in developing and furthering the country’s space program. While the article focused on the increasing level of private-sector involvement in space, it is important to note that […]
‘Like a nuclear secret,’ public polls only scratch surface of what political campaign teams know
The victory of Donald Trump in last month’s U.S. presidential election shocked many, even media people who had been closely following the race. Yet, it’s quite likely the results weren’t as surprising to those directly involved with each of the main candidates’ campaigns. Published polls that indicated just ahead of the Nov. 8 election that […]
Feds’ fighter jets decision puts a lot at risk
The government’s fighter jet decision puts our sovereignty, economy and foreign relations at risk. The government has decided to buy 18 F/A-18 Super Hornets as an interim solution to Canada’s longer-term requirement for a Next Generation Fighter Aircraft, but the decision is based on false premises of a capability gap, that it is a cheaper […]
Canadian government sending carbon emissions in wrong direction
TORONTO—There is an interesting race going on in Ottawa, between increased carbon emissions from the government approvals for high-carbon energy projects, and reduced emissions from announced climate policies. Right now it’s neck and neck, and the consequences of the final result could be much more dire than any sports competition could ever be. Last week, […]
CETA and the Liberals’ faith-based reality
POWELL RIVER, B.C.—“Sweep away the community of honest brokers in America [and] we’ll be left with a culture and public dialogue based on assertion rather than authenticity, on claim rather than fact.”—U.S. journalist Ron Suskind, 2004. While you were going about your daily routines, the Trudeau Sunny Ways government was rushing Bill C-30 (the act […]
