Former top NDP staffer Bélanger named president of Douglas-Coldwell Foundation
PARLIAMENT HILL —NDP stalwart Karl Bélanger was recently named the new president of the Douglas-Coldwell Foundation after working on the Hill for almost 20 years. Mr. Bélanger said he was approached to take on the volunteer position after former president David White resigned for “personal reasons,” having already been elected to sit on the foundation’s […]
MPs must consider sacrificing detailed data to make voting easier: Elections Canada chief
Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand says one of his recommendations to Parliament following the last election may mean that political parties and candidates have to “trade off” some of the “granular results they are used to getting” from Elections Canada in favour of increased flexibility for voters. The recommendation, which appears in his report titled […]
NDP leadership: Charlie Angus has edge among NDP supporters, poll suggests
Northern Ontario New Democrat MP Charlie Angus has not yet declared an intention to run for the NDP leadership, but a new poll suggests the onetime folk singer and community activist has a slight edge on the only member of the party’s caucus who has confirmed consideration of a run, British Columbia MP Peter Julian. […]
Building on one of our greatest natural resources
We often hear that Canada is rich in natural resources, but forget that one of our greatest resources is our highly educated population. In today’s global economy, education, research, and innovation play critical roles in the balance sheet of all nations. Canada has a proud history of discovery, invention, and innovation—insulin, canola, and the BlackBerry […]
Tighter political fundraising rules could push activities ‘underground,’ says Canada’s outgoing chief electoral officer
Canada’s outgoing chief electoral officer says tightening up rules around so-called “cash-for-access” events or other kinds of fundraising might prompt political operatives to conduct their business less transparently. In an interview with The Hill Times last week, Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand, who steps down next month, said with recent examples of Liberal “cash-for-access” events, he […]
Maclean’s picks Mulcair as top Parliamentarian
While it might not make up for coming in third in last year’s election and then being told by his party that they could do without him as leader, Tom Mulcair might be feeling a little better about life after being named “Parliamentarian of the Year” by Maclean’s last week. While we commend Maclean’s for its pick, […]
All-party consensus still lacking as House Electoral Reform Committee enters final stretch
PARLIAMENT HILL —A special House of Commons committee that spent nearly four months gathering expert testimony and public views across the country on reforms to Canada’s electoral system is running out of time to hammer out a final report with support from all parties in the House of Commons. The NDP is now backing Conservative MPs on the […]
Government needs to say what it’s doing to help farmers deal with CETA
Now that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union has been signed and Bill C-30 has been tabled, this is probably a good time to talk about two very important points. The first is the need for compensation as promised by the Liberals for dairy industry losses. The second is the […]
Social Development Minister Duclos hires assistant
Families, Children, and Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos recently hired Jessie Pierre to serve as a new special assistant for operations in his ministerial office. A former public servant in British Columbia, Ms. Pierre also previously worked for the Energy Council of Canada in Ottawa as a co-ordinator for events and activities. She earned an event management […]
Hecklers aside, Trudeau remains popular with younger voters, say pollsters, strategist
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues to attract strong support from large stretches of the Canadian electorate, including younger voters, despite encountering a boisterous protest during a youth workers forum last week in Ottawa, pollsters say. “Leaving the incidents aside, his current approval level is solid across the demographics and he actually does better with younger people […]
