Local MPs pitch in to help combat flooding as water levels continue to rise
As the National Capital Region braces amid flooding, MPs joined volunteers, officials, and the Canadian Armed Forces in sandbagging in hopes more costly water damage can be avoided. Some areas on the Ottawa River have water levels higher than during the 2017 flood, and the region is preparing for another potential 25 millimetres of rain […]
Quebec’s relationship with the oil industry: it’s complicated
The Lac-Mégantic disaster remained seared in Quebec’s consciousness. The train that exploded in July 2013—one example of the fiftyfold increase in oil-by-rail between 2009 and 2013—had come through the American Midwest, crossed into Canada at Windsor, then passed through Montreal before heading toward the Maine border to cut across the northern part of the state, […]
P.E.I. election another sign Liberals should be concerned about Atlantic losses, say pundits
The Prince Edward Island election last week creates an opening for Conservatives and Greens to capitalize on the success of their provincial counterparts, while the Liberals that own all the current federal Atlantic Canada seats should be “wary” of a growing unfriendly sentiment toward them in the region, pundits say. While the Green Party could […]
Parties wading deeper into ‘Wild West’ of text-message outreach
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Conservative Party’s headline-grabbing move to text thousands of Canadians about the Liberal government’s incoming carbon tax at the end of March was only scratching the surface of how text messaging is being used by political campaigns to reach out to voters, donors, and volunteers, both in Canada and south of the border. All […]
If businesses want to stop being seen as the enemy, they need to up their advocacy game
OTTAWA—Last week, The Globe and Mail brought to life the story of a number of oil industry leaders who had met in Alberta with Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and senior Conservative activists. According to the reportage, the purpose of the meeting was to discuss how the Conservatives and some in the oil sector might go […]
‘For the people’? Ford’s health cuts show disconnect between rhetoric, reality
OTTAWA—It’s been nearly 20 years since seven people died and 2,300 became ill as a result of water contamination in the town of Walkerton, Ont.—the worst case of its kind in the country’s history. As Justice Dennis O’Connor concluded in a 2002 judicial inquiry report, the incident could in part be traced back directly to […]
The case for Joe Biden
In the spring of 2008, I was asked in an email whom I thought Barack Obama should pick as his running mate. I had been covering the campaign since January and it was clear that the Illinois Senator was on the verge of clinching the nomination. I responded immediately: Joe Biden. My argument at the […]
Senators look for tweaks to national security bill
Senators are looking at ways to change the Liberals’ landmark national security reform bill, but it won’t get a particularly rough ride, says the opposition Conservative group. The Senate’s National Security and Defence Committee finally began its study of Bill C-59 on April 10, before the Chamber rose for a two-week Easter break. Committee scrutiny […]
Ministers Joly, MacAulay, Bains hire aides
Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay recently hired on Nick McRoberts to work full time in his ministerial office as a special assistant for communications. Mr. McRoberts started in the role earlier this spring. He first began working for the minister as an intern focused on digital communications in the spring of 2018 when Mr. MacAulay was […]
Senate Ethics Committee recommends suspension without pay for Sen. Beyak over racist letters on her website
The Senate Ethics Committee tabled a report on April 30, recommending that non-affiliated Senator Lynn Beyak be suspended from the Senate without pay until Parliament is dissolved for the election over racist letters she has refused to remove from her website. The committee—comprised of Conservative Senators Raynell Andreychuk (Saskatchewan) and Dennis Patterson (Nunavut), Independent Senators […]
