More than 50 years later, PPS constable honours family’s place in Canadian history
Standing in front of the portrait of former prime minister Robert Borden in the House of Commons foyer, Parliamentary Protective Service Const. Janet Asselin was photographed in the same spot her father and uncle were pictured as the Pearson-era MPs celebrated Canada’s new flag in 1965. ‘Standing here at the same place my father and […]
Ministers LeBlanc, Joly, Garneau hire policy advisers
A few new policy staffers are in the offices of Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Transport Minister Marc Garneau, and Tourism and Official Languages Minister Mélanie Joly. In Mr. LeBlanc’s new office, Brandan Rowe moved over to serve as a policy adviser to the minister as of Nov. 13. Up until then, Mr. Rowe was busy […]
Today’s G20 needs to regain its mojo
The G20 is slowly expanding its interests beyond global financial and banking issues. But what could change? An obstacle is that many G7 countries, including Canada, hesitate to see the larger G20, with its substantial developing-country membership, becoming the forum for global geopolitical dialogue, one in which North and South will have equal footing. With […]
Fighter jet debacle shows disconnect between military needs, political decisions
OTTAWA—There was a lot of buzz last week following the release of the auditor general’s fall reports. Of note was his conclusion about the state of the Royal Canadian Air Force. He highlighted that there is a chronic shortage of pilots and technicians, and the advanced age of our CF-18 combat planes will soon render […]
Overlearning the lessons of Gary Hart
The first thing that you understand about Gary Hart while watching the newly released film The Front Runner is the staggering magnitude of his ignorance of the degree to which journalists love wielding the term “aptly named,” especially when it comes with a dash of irony. That a politician with presidential ambitions blithely resided in a place called […]
Andrew Scheer and Kevin O’Leary: Bosom buddies or burgeoning baggage?
Be careful of the company you keep. It is a warning many of us have heard from parents, friends, and colleagues before. It might have been something lingering in the back of Andrew Scheer’s mind as he recently spent some time with one-time leadership rival Kevin O’Leary. Earlier this week O’Leary and the opposition leader […]
Independent Senators pick up more committee seats
Senate committees have again swelled to accommodate the Independent Senators Group, allowing them to take over nearly half of the seats. An order passed in the Senate on Nov. 20 came into effect on Nov. 26, reorganizing the Chamber’s committee membership to comply with an agreement made last year to revisit how committee seats are […]
Leeds-Grenville byelection the Conservatives’ to lose, but Liberals putting up a fight, say strategists
The Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes byelection is the Tories’ to lose, say strategists of all stripes, but the Grits are mounting a solid campaign to take back the seat the party held from 1988 to 2004. The byelection set for Dec. 3 was triggered by the sudden passing of former Conservative MP Gord Brown, […]
Budget bill will reduce government accountability for Canadian foreign aid
To help ensure that Canadian foreign aid is spent on supporting people in need in developing countries, rather than things like white elephants and Canadian commercial interests, Canada has legislation that mandates a focus on poverty reduction. The legislation also seeks to ensure that the government takes into account the perspectives of poor people and […]
Fourth year of governing more crucial than first three combined, says Dalton McGuinty, tougher as partisanship spikes
Parliament’s challenge in the last year of the Liberal mandate will be “to govern despite ourselves” and avoid the “toxicity that has taken over much of political debate” as all parties turn to election readiness, says NDP MP Nathan Cullen. “Fourth years of Parliaments tend to exaggerate the differences because people are trying to make […]
