NDP MP Moore likely had no choice but to defend herself by offering intimate details of sexual encounter with Afghanistan veteran, say observers
NDP MP Christine Moore, who has denied harassing a wounded Afghanistan veteran in 2013 on the Hill, likely had no choice but to publicly defend herself in a nationally televised press conference on Monday in her Quebec riding when she offered intimate, personal details and a chronology of their first sexual encounter, say some political […]
New staffers for ministers Freeland, Morneau, Sajjan
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has been busy lately with North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations in Washington, D.C., but back home in Ottawa a new assistant has joined her ministerial staff team. Brett Aylward is now working in Ms. Freeland’s office as an assistant to the minister’s parliamentary secretary, Andrew Leslie, who supports the minister […]
Trudeau policies well-meaning but costly to Nunavut, says Independent MP Tootoo
The Trudeau government has taken several steps to ensure an economically prosperous and sustainable Canadian Arctic into the future, including agreeing to the United States-Canada Joint Arctic Leaders’ Statement; receiving Mary Simon’s report, A New Shared Arctic Leadership Model; and putting together a new Arctic Policy Framework. But what does a sustainable and economically prosperous […]
What kind of Arctic do we need for the world to remain liveable?
The evolution of human beings as a species has depended on a frozen Arctic. But the North Pole as a frozen ice cap on the top of the world is now in doubt. The rapidly melting Arctic—measured in loss of sea ice, melting permafrost, and temperature surges in mid-winter—is a threat to climate stability globally. […]
Lobbying czar calls for ‘transparency by default,’ cutting 20 per cent rule
When MPs sit down to review the Lobbying Act this fall, they should look at getting rid of the 20 per cent threshold required before someone has to register with the commissioner’s office, according to the new lobbying watchdog, a suggestion welcomed by Parliamentarians, an ethics advocate, and members of the government-relations community. It’s “too […]
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 […]
Welcome to the era of hypercorruption
The phenomenon of “post-truth” politics—the condition whereby lying is systematically normalized in order to obscure reality—isn’t defined merely by the epidemic of explicit falsehood it aims to rationalize. It also includes lies by omission. Among the major omissions from a political discourse dominated by stunning-upset elections, a reality-show president, a porn star on a war […]
Northerners deserve a government that has their back
Last time I had the opportunity to write for the Hill Times, I spoke of the fortitude and resilience of Canadian northerners. The pristine land and waters north of the 60th parallel are full of stunning beauty, but also unique challenges. The Conservative Party, led by Andrew Scheer, believes that the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the […]
New Senate Arctic committee to support Canada’s North
Canada needs a clear plan to develop and strengthen our Arctic. Senators are helping to provide one. Canada is one of just eight countries with Arctic territory, which is greatly increasing in strategic importance as melting sea ice opens up new commercial shipping opportunities. Despite this, Parliament has never had a committee dedicated to studying […]
Senators want more control in clerk selection, PMO to butt out
Senators are looking to send a message to the prime minister that if he truly believes in an independent Senate, he ought to give them a real say in who takes the top procedural job in the Red Chamber. On May 3, the Senate began debating a motion from Conservative Senator Leo Housakos (Wellington, Que.) that, […]
