Saks and Gladstone entering hotly contested Liberal nomination race in York Centre
With the addition of Ya’ara Saks, and Gary Gladstone, at least five candidates, as of last week, have either now confirmed or are seriously considering running for the coveted Liberal Party nomination in York Centre. Ms. Saks, a small business owner who has political experience in Canada and Israel, and Mr. Gladstone, a fundraising executive, confirmed […]
Feds sign vaccine deals with Novavax and Johnson and Johnson
Canada could begin receiving some COVID-19 vaccine doses early next year, thanks in part to its “aggressive” negotiations to get the country to the “front of the line,” says Procurement Minister Anita Anand. Speaking to reporters Monday, Ms. Anand (Oakville, Ont.) said the government has signed two more deals with Johnson and Johnson and Novavax, […]
PSPC Minister Anand adds Indigenous policy and procurement director
Cheryl Cardinal recently switched offices, exiting her post as director of Indigenous relations and reconciliation in Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan’s office to join Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand’s team. In Ms. Anand’s office, Ms. Cardinal has taken on the title of director of Indigenous policy and procurement. Ms. Anand’s ministerial mandate letter […]
‘Just not the same’: Parliamentarians plan Canada Day festivities around the COVID-19 pandemic
With major Canada Day celebrations across the country either halted entirely or mimicking Parliament in their move to a more virtual venue, some Hillites and MPs are still eager to get into the celebratory spirit as much as they can, while still paying respect to the past and those hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. […]
Black businesses say they’re left out of procurement opportunities, COVID relief despite obvious gaps
Black-owned businesses say they have been devastated by COVID-19 and the government needs to “step in,” both through funding directly to the community and by revamping a federal procurement system that they say is leaving them out. It’s heartbreaking to see so many businesses closing and at risk, said Andria Barrett, president of the Canadian […]
Now is the time to protect public services
Every year for one week, the federal government celebrates its more than 300,000 public service employees. It usually comes and goes without too much fanfare, but this year should be different. All Canadians should be encouraged to recognize the public sector workers helping our country weather the brutal impacts of COVID-19. PSAC members who live […]
While some MPs urge adoption, Conservatives still skeptical about remote voting
As the House Affairs Committee studies whether and how to introduce remote voting to the Lower Chamber, some MPs are urging it to recommend such voting be temporarily introduced as physical-distancing restrictions prompted by COVID-19 have kept Canada’s top legislature from dealing with almost all regular business since mid-March. “I don’t think people thought that […]
Fitz-Morris takes over as communications director to Public Services and Procurement Minister Anand
Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand recently scooped up James Fitz-Morris to serve as her new director of communications, after her former one, Emily Harris, exited to join the public service. Before joining Ms. Anand’s office, Mr. Fitz-Morris had been working as a senior adviser to Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett. A former reporter, […]
‘Non-advertising’ hiring up due to feds’ new appointments policy, data shows
The new appointments policy allowing for greater flexibility in the hiring of federal public servants came into effect in April 2016, resulting in a greater number of “non-advertised” hiring compared to formal publicly advertised hiring processes and competitions. The Public Service Commission has reported on an overall increase in non-advertised appointments to 34 per cent […]
MPs claimed $230,000 in free travel from organizations, foreign governments in 2019
MPs accepted $230,000 worth of travel sponsored by outside groups and foreign governments in 2019, halving the value of free trips MPs have accepted in recent years. With a breakneck end to the session in June, MPs stopped taking sponsored travel and continued in that vein over the course of the summer as they switched […]
