With thousands working remotely now and into the future, Hill neighbourhood’s pubs, restaurants, bistros feeling the crunch
The COVID-19 pandemic that’s gripped the globe for the last six months has hit downtown Ottawa businesses hard, including all Parliament Hill’s favourite pubs, restaurants, and food courts. The historic Fairmont Château Laurier closed its doors for the first time since 1912, the Métropolitain Brasserie shut down for three months, and revenue has been reduced […]
Parliament should label Uyghur persecution as genocide to foster global support against China’s human rights abuses, says former Liberal justice minister
Parliamentarians heard from activists during hours-long committee meetings last week who were calling for the Chinese government’s oppression of Uyghur Muslims to be acknowledged as genocide, and a former justice minister says Parliament is uniquely positioned to have a “distinguishable role” in condemning Beijing’s alleged behaviour to build an international partnership to counter China’s bullying. […]
‘It’s been better than nothing at all’: MPs settle into Zoom sittings, though some say more room for increased oversight
Several weeks into the virtual sittings set up in response to the pandemic, many MPs are comfortably settling into the routine of logging on remotely to probe the Liberal government’s measures, even as some say the arrangement falls short of the oversight needed for the biggest crisis in a generation. The House held its first […]
Senate playing catch-up on Centre Block renovation plans, but Red Chamber’s footprint to remain untouched
After a slow start to the year, Senators are playing catch-up on proposed plans for the Centre Block building’s renovation and construction of the final Visitors’ Welcome Centre, with the Upper Chamber’s oversight subcommittee still being formed, but Alberta Senator Scott Tannas says he thinks so long as it gets underway soon, Senators will still […]
Gun control ends don’t justify the order-in-council means
OTTAWA—On May 1, the prime minister and cabinet announced the government would ban the sale of 11 “military-style” weapons, in 1,500 versions. The response from most Liberals was enormous satisfaction at this “swift, courageous measure.” Except from this corner. Now, as regular readers know, I support some gun control. In a 2018 column, I wrote, […]
PSPC further scales back construction projects, but work on Centre Block continues
Public Services and Procurement Canada has further scaled back ongoing construction work on a range of federal projects since Ontario announced its moratorium on construction in the province, but renovations to the historic Centre Block building continue to crawl ahead. “Based on our own assessments, we had started to demobilize some sites ahead of the […]
Presence of backbench MPs, cross-Canada representation restricted during in-person House sittings amidst physical distancing
With reduced numbers of MPs sitting in the House amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the presence of backbenchers and equitable geographic representation has been constrained in three sittings since the pandemic hit Canada. In normal times, backbench MPs make up the largest portion of the House of Commons, but in three sittings since the House was […]
House votes to meet in person once a week, despite Conservatives’ push to expand sittings
The government won a vote in the House of Commons Monday that will cause MPs to meet in the Chamber on Parliament Hill once a week. The Liberals had the support of the Bloc Québécois and the NDP for their motion, and won the vote 22-15, with just a small number of MPs on the […]
Hey Parliament, how about we take this online?
OTTAWA—There is an increasing amount of timely, and useful, discussion taking place about strategies for ensuring Canadians have an effective legislative branch of their government during the pandemic and its aftermath. This debate is being driven by the need for Parliament to exercise its oversight responsibilities and the necessity to have Members of Parliament “social […]
COVID-19 can’t end parliamentary scrutiny, say experts
With a unprecedented crisis, Canada could see an unprecedented Parliament. But despite the crisis, there still remains a place for Parliamentarians to scrutinize the government, experts say. Carleton University professor Philippe Lagassé, an expert on decision-making in the Westminster parliamentary system, said the role of Parliament is laid out in the Emergencies Act. The act […]
