A look into PMO Press Office
The battle between the Parliamentary Press Gallery and the Prime Minister of Canada hasn’t really died down in these dog days of summer. Some seasoned Parliament Hill reporters say they’re still struggling to cover the politically popular Stephen Harper Conservative government and are criticizing the press officers in the Prime Minister’s Press Office. So who […]
HEARD ON THE HILL
The dog days of summer have hit The Toronto Star’s Hill office a few weeks earlier than usual this year, thanks to the arrival of Rosie, an eleven-week old miniature dachshund puppy who tips the scale at just over a pound. The pint-sized pup spent the last week hanging out at The Star office with […]
Five TPC lobbyists under investigation: Lobbyist Registrar
The federal government is investigating five lobbyists who earned more than $3-million in controversial contingency fee payments while lobbying the government for funding agreements under the Technology Partnerships Canada program, The Hill Times has learned. The Industry Department released an audit last week of the Technology Partnerships Canada program, which found another 16 companies involved […]
‘General chill’ between lobbyists and Harper’s ministerial staffers: lobbyists
There’s a “general chill” between lobbyists and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s ministerial political offices that has to thaw once the Conservative minority government moves on public policy in the coming months, lobbyists say. In the political world of the Federal Accountability Act, public disclosures on hospitality expenses, and eventually public disclosures of meetings between lobbyists […]
The Spin Doctors
Mike Storeshaw Conservative strategist “If the opposition wants to force an election over this deal, they have the power to do so. They have a majority of seats in the House. But they shouldn’t. “The Canadian softwood industry needs an end to this dispute. It’s dragged on for far too long, devastating the livelihoods of […]
Correction from the July 10 issue of The Hill Times
In last week’s Hill Climbers column, it was incorrectly reported that Jennifer Brown, who was recently hired by Heritage Minister Bev Oda as a top policy adviser, most recently worked for Ontario Liberal Culture Minister Caroline Di Cocco. At the provincial level, Ms. Brown worked in the bureaucracy at the Minister’s Advisory Council on Arts […]
Fiscal imbalance, climate change and softwood lumber
The government is committed to addressing three new priorities when the House returns this fall, as well as fulfilling the last of its five priorities from the last Parliamentary session, Chief Government Whip Jay Hill told The Hill Times. “If you reflect on the five priorities, there’s one that we haven’t moved legislatively on,” Mr. […]
Ignatieff still considered in lead, next step is delegate selection
Liberal MP Michael Ignatieff is still considered the front-runner, Liberal MP Joe Volpe will affect the outcome of the next leadership, Liberal MP Stéphane Dion and Gerard Kennedy are two candidates to watch, but Bob Rae’s numbers were lower than expected, say some Liberals. One Liberal said Mr. Rae is still in the top tier, […]
The elephant in the room is not Volpe
TORONTO-Math is not an opinion, it’s usually an exact science. But when it comes to Liberal Party’s membership sales, well, math becomes a matter of interpretation. Not many Canadians are too interested in the numbers of new membership sales of the federal Liberal Party of Canada, but, the question that’s intriguing political strategists is how […]
House International Trade Committee members ‘irresponsible’: Guergis
The House’s International Trade Committee members are only interested in playing games rather than studying the newly-initialled Softwood Lumber Agreement, says Conservative MP Helena Guergis (Simcoe-Grey, Ont.), who is also the Parliamentary Secretary to the International Trade Minister. The committee met last week for an emergency meeting to discuss what the opposition calls a “sell […]
