All eyes on Red Chamber, as Senators push back on key government bills
A Senate committee tasked with studying the government’s new rules around solitary confinement doesn’t have enough time to properly do its job, says a vocal critic of Bill C-83 in the Upper Chamber. But Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has warned a legislative vacuum will be created if the bill isn’t passed by the time […]
Status of government bills
HOUSE OF COMMONS Second reading: C-5, An Act to Repeal Division 20 of Part 3 of the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1 C-12, An Act to amend the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act C-27, An Act to amend the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 C-28, An Act to amend […]
Last chance for the war lover? U.S.’s Bolton sets stage for Iran conflict
OTTAWA—The international community has rightly reacted with alarm to the United States’ effort to force Iran into a corner in ways that greatly raise the risk of the two countries stumbling into a war. Behind this development was John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser. A veteran of Republican foreign affairs regimes going back […]
House may need to sit in summer to pass new NAFTA deal, says Trade Committee chair
With U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum now lifted, MPs say the door is open for Washington to make the first move to ratify the renegotiated North American trade pact. And while the ratification process in Canada could be complicated by Parliament’s scheduled summer break next month, the House Trade Committee chair says the […]
New regional advisers for ministers Sajjan, Duncan
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Science and Sport Minister Kirsty Duncan both have new regional affairs advisers in their respective offices. Mr. Sajjan recently named Simon Gilbert to take over as his new special assistant for Quebec regional affairs, filling a role vacated by Anthony Di Carlo in March. Mr. Gilbert has been working in […]
Anger in politics is neither appealing nor productive
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—May 20 marked 39 years since the first Quebec referendum, which resulted in a 60-40 rejection of the Parti Québécois bid for independence. I remember it well, as a member of the “Non” organizing committee. We had spent six weeks of gruelling 18-hour days, culminating in a 5 a.m. start on the day of […]
Senate on a spending ‘slippery slope,’ says Sen. Marshall, as Senators review office-expense rules
Controversy over a Senator’s use of her office budget to conduct a public opinion poll is the latest irritant for members of the Upper Chamber who say the way Senators spend is treading uncomfortably familiar ground, as Senators prepare to take a deeper dive into the rules that govern their expenses. On May 16, members […]
Bernier’s ‘virtue-signalling’ attack on Rempel is disturbing
OTTAWA—They say the only things you can count on in life are death and taxes. Well, as a woman on the internet, I can assure you that there is another: online harassment. It could be argued that in putting yourself in the public eye, you are opening yourself up to harassment—every public figure has experienced […]
Brexit, the EU election, and nostalgia for Obama’s don’t-do-stupid-stuff motto
While it may not be the most sensational story about what exiting presidents have left the White House with, Barack Obama sauntering out with the *needlepoint Oval Office throw pillow that bore the motto “Don’t do Stupid Shit” under his arm may be the most consequential. (Note to readers: While Hill Times style generously allows me to […]
What the Durham Report can teach us about avoiding the spread of partisan politics in Canada
No, this is not about the British Lord Durham, who was elected to Parliament in the United Kingdom in 1812, named the U.K. ambassador to Russia, and came to Canada in 1838 as governor general to investigate the Lower Canada rebellion of Papineau. It’s John Durham, the U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut appointed […]
