Look out, it’s the past disguised as the future
The finance minister has received advice from his blue ribbon panel of advisers. After years of members of the investment community lobbying for an increased role of public-private partnerships, the panel has come out with a new and improved model of PPP Canada in the form of the Canadian Infrastructure Development Bank. The advice tendered […]
‘The biggest challenge is the CBC,’ as other media cuts continue, questions raised over impact of Mother Corp
As Hill news outlets continue to make cuts and struggle to find the right formula to succeed in the digital world, questions are being raised about the CBC’s impact on Canada’s media landscape. “The biggest challenge is the CBC,” iPolitics publisher James Baxter told The Hill Times when asked about challenges faced by his independent, online publication. “The government […]
Private fundraising events are a necessary evil
OTTAWA—Odious is how one Globe and Mail columnist characterized the job of private event fundraising. Lawrence Martin actually ascribed the descriptor to me, based on an interview I gave last week to CTV parliamentary bureau chief Bob Fife. Fife asked me what I thought of the current political controversy surrounding the private fundraising activities of […]
MPs in rural, remote ridings do put themselves at greater risks
When former Alberta premier Jim Prentice was killed in a small-plane crash shortly after takeoff from the Kelowna airport on Oct. 13, some MPs back in Ottawa could particularly relate. There is a handful of MPs who not only fly the big airlines every week, but then have to get on small single or dual-engine planes to […]
The Liberals screwed up, but let’s not overestimate the impact of pricey fundraisers
OTTAWA—To date, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberals have done a reasonable job of not sounding smug or looking self-interested. But with political fundraising back in the news and focused squarely on current Liberal Party of Canada practices, the vanilla veneer is getting smudged. In different reports last week The Globe and Mail […]
The story behind Robert-Falcon Ouellette’s attention-grabbing button
You might have noticed the Liberal MP for Winnipeg Centre, Robert-Falcon Ouellette, sporting an odd, bobble-head-looking button on occasion. If you felt like you wanted to know more, but were too shy to ask, don’t be: that’s exactly what it’s there for. Mr. Ouellette wears the button, which features cut-outs of his wife and five […]
Former Postmedia reporter De Souza files complaint against National Post
Parliament Hill journalist Mike De Souza spent about eight years writing on energy issues for the Postmedia Network Inc. newspaper chain. But after the National Post, a Postmedia property, published an opinion piece in its Financial Post section that he claims questions his journalistic work, Mr. De Souza filed a formal complaint against the newspaper last Tuesday […]
Stéphane Dion needs communications help
Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion needlessly antagonized the anguished mother of four children abducted by their father and held in Iran last week. He said his thumbs-down gesture was in response to what he characterized as a partisan member’s statement by Conservative MP Michael Cooper in the House, but the mother, Alison Azer, seated in the […]
No need for profanity in headline, follow The New York Times rules on swearing: Marland
Re: “Shit disturbers play well in drab contests, step forward Brad Trost,” (The Hill Times, Oct. 5, p. 11). I am a huge fan of The Hill Times. It is in that spirit that I’d like to convey that the occasional decision by staff to include profanity in the headline of some of your opinion […]
Newspapers seek federal help, major lobbying push made in recent months
Canada’s newspaper industry has been making a push to have its concerns heard by federal officials on Parliament Hill in recent months, with goals that include more advertising from the government, more funding from a government periodical fund, and reforms to copyright law. Newspapers Canada has filed 14 communication reports with the federal lobbyists registry […]
