Senate committee blows holes in Liberal gun bill
Conservative Senators followed through on their promise to “gut” the Liberals’ gun bill, successfully getting a number of changes passed in committee that strip away key features of the legislation. On April 8, the Senate’s National Security and Defence Committee finished its review of Bill C-71, which according to the government, would improve public safety […]
Trudeau lawsuit threat ‘gasoline to the Conservative match,’ say strategists
If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s choice to threaten legal action against official opposition leader Andrew Scheer was meant to make him look like a strong and decisive leader, the plan has backfired, say political strategists of all stripes. Instead, it’s made him come off as petty, some strategists suggested, with Andrew MacDougall, a former director […]
Conservative ad gives impression men are preferred candidates
Re: “‘Want to run for office?’: Conservatives using Facebook ads to recruit candidates,” (The Hill Times, April 1, p. 1). The image accompanying this article shows a Conservative Party ad with a woman, Conservative deputy leader Lisa Raitt, in between the party’s leader, Andrew Scheer, and white male silhouette. The negative impression given is that ideal […]
Bill 21: a return to Quebec’s dark past
In the 1930s, the start of a time referred to in Quebec as “la grande noirceur” (the great darkness), the government of premier Maurice Duplessis passed the Padlock Law, otherwise known as An Act to Protect the Province Against Communistic Propaganda. Under the law, authorities could shut meeting places of anyone suspected of being a […]
Foreign minister shuffles policy shop
Justice Minister David Lametti’s office is down one policy adviser, with Benjamin Prud’homme’s recent exit for a new job in Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office, which saw a significant staff reorganization earlier this year. Mr. Prud’homme had been working in the office since late October 2018, having started under then-minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. Before then, […]
Senate committee changes tack, adds Alberta, Saskatchewan to C-48 study travel
The Senate committee studying the Liberals’ proposed oil tanker ban for northern British Columbia waters has reversed course, and will now travel to Prairie provinces as part of its work. The Transport and Communications Committee, which is studying Bill C-48, the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, was already approved to spend up to $136,640 for its […]
‘We don’t know why it’s taken so long’: critics question the wait on federal-provincial housing agreements
Housing critics are questioning why the government is taking so long to finalize the cost-sharing housing agreements with provinces, since it’s been more than a year since the unveiling of the Liberals’ National Housing Strategy. But many of the accords are on the cusp of an announcement, says Liberal MP Adam Vaughan (Spadina–Fort York, Ont.), […]
Northern MPs call climate change report an ‘eye opener,’ say it should ‘sound the alarm’ for change
Northern MPs say a “chilling” report helps show southern Canadians the degree their constituents are feeling the effects of climate change and its threat to food security, movement, and ways of life. The Environment and Climate Change Canada report found Canada is warming at twice the global rate. Like many MPs representing regions disproportionately affected […]
Inuit carver’s new West Block sculpture ‘part of the healing,’ reconciliation
Sedna, the Arctic sea goddess is the focal point of a new sculpture in West Block, now part of a decades-long line of Indigenous carvings designed specially for Parliament. Inuit master carver Bart Hanna, who is from Igloolik, Nunavut, often depicts Sedna in his work. Though she has a “harsh story,” Mr. Hanna said he […]
How to turn a good idea into a big mess
It’s tax season. Suppose the Canada Revenue Agency owed you $2,000 but instead of giving you the money, it offered you 20 gift certificates that it chose without consulting you: $50 for chicken, $80 for books, $100 in bus tickets, and so on. Don’t need chicken? Too bad! The gift certificates are not transferable. That’s […]
