Trudeau’s second year: the cake is half-baked, but the icing is good
GATINEAU, QUE.—Amid a cascade of half-measures, the Trudeau government wrapped up its second session last week with a decidedly mixed record. If you were weighing Liberal accomplishments, one side of the scale would be piled high with sponge cake, the other with a few lengths of pipeline. The government certainly excelled at symbolic gestures: most […]
Top 10 reasons Trudeau is going to win again, you’re welcome
TORONTO—Justin Trudeau is going to win the next federal election. Now, we know, we know. The election is far away. He’s broken some promises. His legislative achievements are modest. The Tories and the Dippers are getting shiny new leaders. Commenters are commenting that he’s slipping. And, in the post-Trump/Brexit era, the “sunny ways” stuff seems […]
“The Trudeau government has passed around half the number of bills as the previous government did over similar time period. What do you make of this?”
Kate Purchase Liberal strategist “Our government is proud of the legislation that we have introduced and passed. We have an ambitious agenda to bring real change to the lives of Canadians. To that end, we have passed a number of ground-breaking bills, from making citizenship laws fairer for all Canadians, to protecting gender identity and […]
Take this from an American, Canada, your political civility and respect are noteworthy
OTTAWA—For two weeks, I asked MPs and Senators what it means to be Canadian. Answers have ranged from insightful, to patriotic, to forward looking. All have shed light on Canadian pride for me, a visiting American, in a way that I had not seen before. I was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, and until […]
July 4 party still on at ambassador’s residence, without an ambassador
We don’t have a U.S. ambassador in this country right now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t we use their property for a party. The U.S. Embassy has let it be known that the annual Fourth of July party will go on as usual on the grounds of Lornado, the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Rockcliffe […]
Is technological change a huge, dark cloud threatening to create a jobless society?
TORONTO—Is technological change—the digital world of robots, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things—a huge dark cloud threatening to create a jobless society? Or at least an uneven world where a small percentage of highly paid, high-skilled workers and a similar percentage of low-paid, low-skill servant workers co-exist, with no need for a middle-skills world? Or […]
New security package positive, but storm clouds on horizon between House and Senate
OTTAWA—The great thing about the first two years of a new government is that people are willing to cut the team a lot of slack. The challenging thing about the last two years of the same mandate is that patience has worn thin and people wants results. The months leading up to the midpoint are […]
Finance Minister Morneau recruits Revenue Minister Lebouthillier’s press secretary
Finance Minister Bill Morneau recently hired a new press secretary, recruiting Chloé Luciani-Girouard to leave National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier’s office to work for him. “We are excited to have her on board,” said Daniel Lauzon, director of communications to Mr. Morneau, in an email to Hill Climbers last week. “She brings experience, good relationships […]
Status of Government Bills as of the end of the spring sitting of Parliament
House of Commons S-2, Strengthening Motor Vehicle Safety for Canadians Act (second reading) S-5, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act and the Non-smokers’ Health Act (second reading) C-5, An Act to Repeal Division 20 of Part 3 of the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1 (second reading) C-12, An Act to Amend the […]
Conservative staffer Keller not ruling out run in Ambrose’s riding
Garry Keller, chief of staff to Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, is not ruling out seeking the Conservative Party nomination in the coveted Alberta riding of Sturgeon River-Parkland, which will become vacant after his former boss, Rona Ambrose, resigns from her seat in the coming weeks. “You never say never in politics,” Mr. Keller said in […]
