Security and Intelligence Committee members should be more actively monitored in wake of Clement scandal: Green Party leader

A national security expert and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May say that in the wake of former Conservative MP Tony Clement’s sexting scandal, members of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, of which he was a member, should submit to having their online activity, including their private social media exchanges such as direct […]
Let’s take a critical look at the press
Re: “Support for press freedom about more than words,” (The Hill Times, Nov. 14, p. 8). Good editorial, but it falls short on introspection. It should not be a secret that the press worldwide is highly polarized. Just take CNN and Fox as examples—that coverage goes well beyond reporting facts. It includes partisan if not outright […]
More reporters ought to cover the public service
News of cuts to the iPolitics newsroom emerged earlier this month. The online political news operation saw five people laid off after Torstar Corp. bought it in October. Those laid off included Kathryn May, who covered the public service. Ms. May has for years diligently and intelligently focused her reporting on the federal public service. […]
Are Canada’s newsrooms ready to tackle fake news, cyber threats, ‘foreign adversaries’ ahead of 2019 election?

Hill newsrooms are still in the early stages of contending with issues around potential interference during the 2019 election, but as the vote draws closer, a few have signalled they intend to have a game plan to anticipate the spread of misinformation. In a report last year about cyber threats to the democratic process, the […]
“The Conservative Party reportedly plans to target media in the lead up to 2019. What do you make of this strategy?”
Cameron Ahmad Liberal strategist “Andrew Scheer seems committed to reliving the days of pre-election 2015, when constant attacks on Ottawa journalists by Stephen Harper’s Conservatives were just the tonic for a news cycle consumed by the Mike Duffy spending scandal. “Consider the recent cascade of Conservative attacks on Canada’s media: “MP Pierre Poilievre trashes Bloomberg’s […]
iPolitics lays off five after ownership change

The new owner of the political journalism website iPolitics has laid off five members of its newsroom, little more than a month after founder James Baxter said nobody was to lose their job in the handover. Torstar Corp., which publishes The Toronto Star as well as The Hamilton Spectator and StarMetro daily newspapers in five major cities, […]
Who better to judge who is whining about the media than the media?
Re: “Why the Conservatives are whining about the media,” (The Hill Times, Oct. 31, p. 7). Interesting. Who better to judge who is whining and who has a legitimate beef than the media, while juxtaposing the words “whining” with “Conservative?” I should think that the Conservatives are whining because there is something to complain about. […]
Support for press freedom about more than words

It’s not enough for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals to extol the virtues of press freedom to a captive international audience, they have to actually walk the talk. On Nov. 11, the prime minister participated in a Reporters Without Borders event on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum in France. Mr. Trudeau […]
Dynamic father-daughter duo: Craig Oliver and Annie Bergeron-Oliver now both working at CTV national

It’s early one fall morning, and former CTV bureau chief and network stalwart Craig Oliver drops off his daughter’s lunch before getting started on his own work—luckily his desk is only a few workstations over. “One day her mother gave me her lunch to bring in, I have to go down and buy my lunch, […]
Nathan Cullen wins Maclean’s Parliamentarian of the Year, NDP caucus cheers loudly; Dewar tells parties to ‘put our swords down’

Although everyone cheered loudly at Maclean’s 11th annual Parliamentarian of the Year Awards on Nov. 5, the NDP caucus’ cheers really took the (proverbial) cake. And they had reason to celebrate—former NDP MP Paul Dewar took home the Lifetime Achievement Award, while current NDP MP Nathan Cullen took home the night’s top prize of Parliamentarian of […]