Continuing to champion ‘resilient digital government’ could be greatest legacy of new minister, says expert
Given the scope and complexity of the challenges surrounding the development of a resilient digital government, one expert says that realistically, “it does need to be someone’s job that they wake up to every morning and are focused on.” Following the Oct. 21 election that saw the Liberals returned to government in a minority Parliament, […]
Do we have a responsibility to do something about Thunder Bay?
OTTAWA—A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to see Thunder Bay, Ont., again, and it was winter already. I travelled there to attend the memorial for two First Nations youth who died in Thunder Bay—Jethro Anderson and Paul Panacheese. Tanya Talaga documented the loss of seven First Nations youth from 2000 to 2011 in […]
The last one to smell blood in the water is the guy who’s bleeding
HALIFAX—Andrew Scheer is like an anti-social Walmart greeter—a misfit whose dubious smile has the customers abandoning their shopping carts and running for the parking lot. Instead of announcing shadow cabinets and firing senior staff, Scheer should resign. He doesn’t need a reboot in his office, just a boot out the door. The last one […]
Will Trudeau’s climate action match his rhetoric this time—or ever?
CHELSEA, QUE.—There are ominous signals from the new Trudeau government that federal action to curb climate change will not be accelerating any time soon—certainly not in time to ward off the increasingly dire consequences. The appointment of Vancouver-area Liberal, Jonathan Wilkinson, as environment minister, for instance, was widely interpreted as an olive branch to Alberta’s […]
Scheer’s lame duck problem
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Recently, while attending a luncheon in Toronto, I made a bit of a political faux pas. You see, the guy sitting next to me at my table just happened to be an executive with Canada’s Conservative Party, so just to make small talk I asked him something like, “Do you think any Conservative will […]
Building the People’s Party will be Bernier’s ‘full-time job,’ but skeptics remain after poor election showing
Maxime Bernier will face an uphill battle in his efforts to build the People’s Party ahead of the next election, say some party candidates and political watchers, but that’s not stopping the leader from promising a stronger showing in the next election. Speaking to The Hill Times, Mr. Bernier said he will be throwing his […]
‘Days of the partisan echo chamber are over’: Senators Harder, Mitchell leaving government team in Red Chamber
Senators Peter Harder and Grant Mitchell are stepping down from their posts as the government’s representative and liaison in the Senate at the end of the year, paving the way for an entirely new government team in the Red Chamber. Sen. Harder (Ottawa, Ont.) said the start of the new Parliament was “the best time […]
‘Only a Conservative government can keep this country united,’ Scheer says amid internal party divisions
PARLIAMENT HILL— Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says he will continue to make the case for leading the party into the next election, despite unrelenting calls for his resignation. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mr. Scheer announced that Leona Alleslev, an ex-Liberal who crossed the floor last year, will be stepping into the role of deputy […]
Joly to hit the six regional development agencies ahead of House’s return
Economic Development Minister Mélanie Joly is hitting the road, with a plan to visit all six regional development agencies before Parliament returns next week. Apart from a brief stop in Gatineau, Que., on Wednesday for the Liberals’ cabinet orientation session, Ms. Joly (Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Que.) said she is spending the remaining days before the new parliamentary […]
‘We’re in a bit of a rebuilding phase’: NDP adjusting to life as fourth party
Staff changes are afoot across the board on Parliament Hill as parties adjust to their new standings in the House of Commons and prepare for the realities of a minority Parliament, and helping guide the NDP’s post-election transition is veteran adviser Anne McGrath. “We’re in a bit of a rebuilding phase right now,” Ms. McGrath […]
