Canada should not stray from climate commitments in face of criticism
Things look bleak these days for the Trudeau government’s Pan-Canadian Framework on climate change (PCF). The framework represents Canada’s primary compliance path with the Paris Climate Accord, requiring provinces to establish a price on carbon or have one imposed by Ottawa. Opposition Conservatives have railed against the plan in the House of Commons. Newly-elected Ontario […]
Feds’ early learning and childcare commitment of $7.5-billion over 11 years should head the list of national priorities
TORONTO—Given Canada’s modest economic growth prospects going forward, we cannot afford everything we would like to do as a nation. This means making hard choices. My hard choice would be to put pharmacare on the back burner and make early childhood development and care the priority. While there are good social reasons to put the […]
Behind the story to save the Syrian White Helmets: a Canadian diplomat and her ‘challenging’ role as a revolution fades away
Beneath the July 21 dramatic rescue of more than 400 members of Syria’s White Helmets and their families, Canada’s special envoy to Syria, who played a key role in the rescue mission, has seen opposition forces’ prospects in the Syrian Civil War slip away over the duration of her post. Robin Wettlaufer, who has been […]
Beware the Trumpenstein monster
OAKVILLE, ONT.—If you want a fun way to foresee how the Liberal Party’s communications strategy will unfold in next year’s federal election, then just imagine it playing out like an old-fashioned gothic horror story. To show you what I mean, let me walk you through it. To begin with, picture Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and […]
Why ‘fearless’ Conservative MP Michelle Rempel won’t back down from a fight
It’s a week before her well-publicized Immigration Committee showdown with Border Minister Bill Blair and Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. Conservative MP Michelle Rempel is sitting in her sixth floor Valour Building office in Ottawa, fielding questions about the no-holds barred approach to politics that has helped to make her one of the most visible and […]
University of Toronto project brings parliamentary records into the 21st century
Have you ever wanted to read the House debates between prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and leader of the opposition Joe Clark in 1978? Or between opposition leader Lester B. Person and prime minister John Diefenbaker in 1962? Or how about reading Reform MP Jason Kenney calling Progressive Conservative MPs “a bunch of assholes” in […]
Perry Bellegarde re-elected as AFN national chief ahead of potentially turbulent fall session
Perry Bellegarde has been re-elected national chief of the Assembly of First Nations on Wednesday night following a bitterly contested race, a decisive victory ahead of a critical fall parliamentary session in which a landmark bill on Indigenous rights is expected to be tabled—one that could be politically explosive for both him and the Liberals. Mr. Bellegarde won […]
Individual Senators’ votes aren’t recorded on nearly two-thirds of government bills
Senators’ individual votes in the Upper Chamber on nearly two-thirds of government bills to date are not part of the public record, but Independent Senator Marilou McPhedran is promising to push for more standing votes in response to what she calls a “lack of transparency.” The Manitoba lawyer said she plans to change her approach and demand […]
No new departments will be created in wake of cabinet shuffle: PCO
The government will not be creating any new departments in the wake of last week’s cabinet shuffle, Privy Council Office spokesperson Paul Duchesne has confirmed. “Arrangements have already been put in place to ensure nimble and cost-effective support for ministers,” he said in an emailed statement. The cabinet shuffle last week increased Prime Minister Justin […]
Free overburdened constituency offices from bureaucratic casework, Samara report says
Constituency offices should be overhauled to relieve the pressures MPs face in having to tend to casework and to make regular appearances at grin-and-grip events in their riding, says a new report published Wednesday. In Beyond the Barbecue, the latest report in a three-part series that looks at the role of rank-and-file MPs, the Samara […]
