Friday, July 11, 2025

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Friday, July 11, 2025 | Latest Paper

‘Senate is not this monolithic rubber stamp anymore,’ independent Senate will change legislative process, Hill power structures

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s strategy to create a non-partisan and more independent Upper Chamber also means Senators will have to be involved in the front end of the policy process, there will need to be attitudinal changes at the political and institutional levels, changes will have to be made in how Senators are engaged, new parliamentary strategies will […]

Lobbyists to focus on marijuana, defence procurement, infrastructure, caucus retreats, departmental consultations this summer

Federal lobbyists, including some who will attend the Liberal and Conservative caucus retreats, are focusing this summer on the upcoming marijuana legalization law and the Health Accord, defence procurement, infrastructure investments, pre-budget consultations, and various departmental consultations. Louis-Alexandre Lanthier, a lobbyist with Summa Strategies Canada and a former staffer to Liberal MP Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) […]

The rise of the independent Senate, get used to it

OTTAWA—Not only did the Senate’s treatment of Bill C-14, Medical Assistance in Dying, provide Canadians with a very thoughtful and refreshing level of debate on an important issue, it also served notice to the government that a true independent Senate is rising from the ashes of the traditional party-controlled Upper Chamber, and if the Senate […]

Lobbying, ethics commissioners given six-month extensions

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet reappointed Canada’s federal lobbying commissioner Karen Shepherd and ethics commissioner Mary Dawson to six more months last week after their terms expired. Privy Council Office spokesman Raymond Rivet said Thursday that cabinet was recommending Ms. Shepherd and Ms. Dawson be appointed to interim extensions that would last no more than six months. Cameron Ahmad, a […]

Re-opening Canada’s prison farms is just the first step

Recently, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale announced that he will launch a study on whether it’s possible to restore two of the former federal prison farms that are based in the Kingston area. The farms, which were run by the Correctional Service Canada, were renowned not only for their prize cattle but also for their […]

Innovation Minister Bains most lobbied minister in Trudeau cabinet

Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains is easily the most lobbied member of the Trudeau cabinet in the Liberal government’s term so far. Mr. Bains (Mississauga-Malton, Ont.), the top official of the newly named department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (formerly Industry Canada), had 116 communication reports filed since the new government took office in […]

Lobbying Act prohibitions not needed

Re: “Lobbyists, watchdog call for changes to post-employment rules as exemption requests grow,” (The Hill Times, June 15, p. 1). Marco Vigliotti’s article has addressed important issues relating to the Lobbying Act and its application. The call by critics to review “blanket prohibitions” should have included a more fundamental issue: should the act provide for […]