Kingston tips its hat off to Canadian Museum of History’s Mark O’Neill
As mayor of Kingston, it is a very real pleasure to thank Mark O’Neill and his entire team at the Canadian Museum of History for all they did earlier this month to help Kingston mark the 175th anniversary of the first united Canadian Parliament meeting here in 1841. Thanks to the Canadian Museum of History’s […]
Metric, Mélanie Joly, and more at Canada Day celebrations around the Hill
Dominion Day is just around the corner, politicos. If you’re like Party Central and you’re feeling slightly liberated by the end of the parliamentary session but still can’t pry yourself away from the old precinct, this Friday’s Canada Day celebration on the Hill is the place to be. The party gets underway on Parliament Hill at […]
Parliamentary security officers fear safety risk over new uniform policy
PARLIAMENT HILL—Members of the unified Parliamentary Protective Service are raising safety concerns over a command decision that new blue-black police uniforms—which cost $861,000—are to be worn by unarmed officers whose duties are limited to scanning visitors as they enter parliamentary buildings and Commons galleries. The fact the scanners, not trained to respond to dangerous threats, […]
Yoga on the Hill, then and now
When I was a young lawyer, my friend and filmmaker Iain Ewing, whom I had met in residence in Calvin House in Victoria College at the University of Toronto, took me, Gita his young wife, and my friend Michael Robinson to a yoga retreat in Nassau. We drove in an old truck from Toronto to […]
Politics this morning: World Oceans Day, all-parliamentarian photo, and more
Today is Wednesday, June 8. 1. Here are four noteworthy events happening today in politics: It’s world oceans day. This United Nations-recognized event celebrates these key ecosystems, raises awareness about threats, and advocates for ways to protect our world’s waters. The World Wildlife Fund of Canada is hosting some of the brightest minds in oceans […]
‘Most dysfunctional,’ extraordinary week in the House, and despite pulling Motion 6, Liberals still want extended sittings
After last week’s high-profile and extraordinary dustup in the House and all the procedural wrangling eating up Commons time, there is still a lot left on the government’s legislative agenda and with U.S. President Barak Obama scheduled to address a joint Parliament June 29, the government is not ruling out extending sitting times. The House is […]
Major projects in the rehabilitation of Parliament Hill: a primer
1 Wellington St.: Completed LTVP construction work: Interior renovations to provide space for parliamentary committee meetings. Construction began: 2007 Construction ended: fall 2010 Cost: $23.6-million Permanent use: Right beside the Château Laurier, the Rideau Committee Rooms were renovated to serve as long-term parliamentary committee space, but is also a key interim space that was prepped […]
Sharp Wits & Busy Pens takes a ‘sober-minded look’ at history of press gallery on Parliament Hill
OTTAWA—When Bloomberg Hill reporter Josh Wingrove volunteered to co-edit a coffee table book on the 150-year history of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, he had no idea what he’d signed up for. And he knows hard work. Probably best known when he was at The Globe and Mail as the only print reporter who video-recorded, with his cellphone, the […]
‘Nobody has seen anything bigger,’ West Block masonry restoration project largest of its kind in North America
The extensive work to restore the heritage stone masonry of the West Block building is almost complete, set to “wind up” this summer at a cost of roughly $150-million in all, and PCL construction manager David Jenkins says it’s been “undoubtedly the largest masonry restoration project in North America” to date. “We had a large […]
Steel going up as interim House Chamber construction begins this month
Cranes on the West Block building site will be busy in the coming weeks with the installation of large steel beams in the building’s courtyard as part of the structure of the new interim House of Commons Chamber being topped by a glass-domed roof. “They’re preparing to install the large, tall steel columns that will […]
