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 […]
The Week Ahead in Parliament
The House of Commons and the Senate have adjourned for the summer break. The House is scheduled to resume on Monday, Sept. 18, and the Senate is scheduled to resume on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017.
Liberal MPs want Trudeau to protect them from nomination challenges in 2019 election
Incumbent Liberal MPs want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to protect them from nomination challenges for the 2019 federal election, arguing that while they perform their parliamentary duties in Ottawa for about half the year, their potential challengers have an advantage over them because they can use the time to “undermine” them in their ridings. “When […]
‘There will never be a day when I do zero political cartoons,’ de Adder on cartooning and his surprising bestseller You Might Be From Canada If
For the past three decades, Michael de Adder has been making a name for himself as one of the most critical and hard-hitting editorial cartoonists in Canada. Week after week, he has artfully distilled enigmatic Canadian politics into a single tile. Mr. de Adder, 50, is a Moncton, N.B., native and part of a dying […]
‘A shifting and adapting identity is in our DNA’: MPs, Senators describe what it means to be Canadian
PARLIAMENT HILL—From the leafy streets of Mount Royal, Que., to the soaring, glorious mountains of Yellowhead, Alta., and everywhere else in between and beyond, MPs and Senators answered one question from The Hill Times: what does it mean to be Canadian? Some of their answers will surprise you and others will make you think, but […]
Postponed transparency bill does little to promote access while government increases secrecy
OTTAWA—Just as summer sets in and the parliamentary sitting ends, in come some very weak transparency amendments. What started as an election “open government” pledge in the fall of 2015 now appears in mid-2017 as Bill C-58. It took three cabinet ministers last week—Treasury Board President Scott Brison, Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould, and Justice […]
Kudos to House committee for sound recommendations on whistleblower protection
OTTAWA—The parliamentary committee studying Canada’s federal whistle blowing law for the past five months has unanimously called on the Trudeau government to make sweeping changes to the act. The Government Operations Committee (OGGO) was carrying out a long-overdue review of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA) created by the Harper government in 2006 and […]
Here’s why the Netflix tax is a non-starter
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven once declared, “As long as the Austrians have their brown beer and little sausages, they will never revolt.” Besides revealing the dietary habit of 18th century Austrians, this quote tells us two things; first, it tells us that Beethoven was a musical genius who also understood politics; second, it […]
Government, Senate trade parting shots as Parliament adjourns for summer
When Parliament resumes in the fall the dynamics between the House and Senate could take centre stage after the spring sitting ended with a test of wills between the institutions over the role the Senate has in amending legislation. Tweaking proposed laws is something the Senate has been doing more of lately as the number […]
Gap between Liberals, Conservatives narrowing, poll suggests, though Scheer still seen as an unknown
The Liberals maintain their lead in voter support after climbing back from earlier controversies, but are seeing a narrowing popularity gap as Conservatives ride a bump in support from their leadership race, according to a new poll. About 39 per cent of the 2,767 Canadian voters who participated in the online survey conducted by Campaign Research […]
