Next budget should fund Indigenous Guardians Network
One year ago this month, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report. Its pages described the anguish caused by residential schools and the gaps remaining between indigenous and non-indigenous people in terms of education and prosperity. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau praised the report, saying “This is a time of real and positive change. […]
Making a home away from home: MPs room together to cut costs, gain company
Becoming an MP means living part-time in Ottawa, often hundreds of kilometres away from family, which can be a lonely experience. A number of MPs have opted to live together while in the capital, not just for the company, but also to reduce expenses. In their early days on the Hill, Conservative MPs Kevin Sorenson (Battle […]
Ban ten percenters
Re: “Conservative letter to electors claims Liberal scheme to rig next election” (The Hill Times, Oct. 19, p. 1). Tim Naumetz incorrectly described the letter as a “householder.” Householders are the quarterly reports sent by MPs to their constituents. This letter was a ten percenter: one-page, black-and-white flyers, usually containing partisan propaganda, usually originating from […]
How to make lobby days more effective
Lobby days still play an important role in advocacy. However, meeting with 10 or 20 Members of Parliament over a couple of days can waste time, resources, and political capital if it continues to be done in the same old-fashioned style of who-you-know lobbying. Let’s look at a single week as an example: from April […]
On the Hill, lots of services for MPs to make public life a little easier
PARLIAMENT HILL—When the House is sitting, MPs work long hours away from their families, spend even longer hours travelling to and from their ridings, and most weekends doing constituency work. But they have lots of perks to make life easier. “Canadians love to get all prickly about privilege, but I think, on the whole, ours are […]
Rural Liberal MPs team up to get issues heard, lobbying ministers
Federal elections are increasingly won or lost in major urban centres, resulting in the diminishing political clout of rural ridings that have become fewer in number over the years. In an effort to ensure that rural issues receive the attention they deserve, 50 Liberal MPs representing rural ridings, or at least ridings that are predominantly rural, have formed […]
MPs’ staffers overworked, hardly visible, poorly understood
Current and former staffers of MPs say there’s a lack of public understanding about what they do and many are eager to see that change. “It’s obviously a very high-profile office to work in, but at the same time, there is that sort of degree of mystery,” Daniel Dickin, a policy and communications aide to Conservative […]
‘Politics of fear’ won the day, Liberal MP says of Brexit outcome
Canadian Members of Parliament who have both new and long-established relations with British and European Union parliamentarians were surprised by the outcome of the United Kingdom Brexit referendum — and say the results could bring more severe consequences than the Leave voters expected. One of the MPs told The Hill Times she believes “politics of […]
MP juggles fasting and legislation during Ramadan
The most challenging part of serving in Parliament during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month when adherents fast from sunrise to sundown, isn’t the long hours or hunger, it’s missing out on family gatherings celebrating the breaking of these daily fasts, says Liberal MP Salma Zahid. Ms. Zahid (Scarborough Centre, Ont.), a practising Muslim, said the first week […]
Politics this morning: Final House vote expected on budget bill
It’s Monday, June 13. Here are a few things you need to know today: In the House of Commons, a third-reading vote is expected on Bill C-15, the government’s budget implementation bill. As well, the NDP is to introduce a motion to immediately decriminalize marijuana before the Liberal government completes a consultation process for legalizing […]
