Senators complain of ‘shameful’ second-class translation services
The Senate is tired of being the federal Translation Bureau’s second-place client, and wants services comparable to what the House of Commons receives, a group of Senators says. “The first issue that needs to be addressed is the different standard of services from the bureau between the House of Commons and the Senate. First and […]
Over the gun: the new faces of hope and change
On a balmy night in April 2008, I made my way at dusk with a throng of people through downtown Philadelphia to Independence Mall to cover an outdoor Barack Obama rally. I had been writing about the campaign for months, but it was on that night that the inevitability of the Illinois Senator’s victory truly […]
Tories dismiss new format, but will still take part in leaders’ debates
Despite the scathing Conservative objection to a recent House committee recommendation for an independent commissioner to organize leaders’ debates, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer will still participate in debates during the federal election. The Liberals say a commissioner will be named ahead of the 2019 contest to organize, at minimum, one debate in English and one […]
Liberals are running out of time to get to priorities ‘in due course’
The problem with an ambitious agenda is that someone is always going to be left disappointed, and the Liberals are setting themselves up to leave a lot of disgruntled voters in their wake come 2019. Despite the pomp and circumstance with which they were introduced, there are government bills that have not progressed any further […]
The Liberals’ midpoint record on defence and security is mixed
OTTAWA—At the midpoint between its ascent to power and the next federal election, the Trudeau government gets an overall grade of a B- on its foreign policy, having improved in some areas while underperforming in others. These are the findings from our Foreign Policy Report Card, produced annually by Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of […]
On Jagmeet Singh and Canadian Sikhs
Re: “NDP too slow on Singh Sikh controversy, say strategists, but it’s not likely to hurt him in 2019,” (The Hill Times, March 21, p. 1). There appear to be a number of conflicting elements in Emily Haws’ article that are perplexing. On the one hand, it suggests that the Sikhs who fled to Canada “feel […]
Populism isn’t new to Canada, and in the internet age it has more appeal
OTTAWA—Many years ago, I was speaking to a friend who, as a longtime Progressive Conservative, was in the dumps. Joe Clark had been defeated by Pierre Elliott Trudeau in the 1980 election, and the Tories appeared to face a bleak future. Neither of us foresaw Brian Mulroney’s overwhelming victory a few years later. “Cheer up,” […]
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 Reestablishment and Compensation Act C-27, An Act to amend the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 C-28, An Act to amend […]
As requests rise, Senate slams brakes on travel spending
The Senate Internal Economy Committee is refusing to pay for Senators’ individual trips abroad to places other than New York City or Washington, D.C., saying the number of requests for funding is getting out of control. Senators looking to make international trips outside of committee or interparliamentary association work will either have to foot the […]
Conservatives, NDP say they’ve never accessed Facebook profiles to microtarget voters, Liberals point to privacy policy
Conservatives and New Democrats say they have never collected private information on Canadians without their permission, or asked to access their Facebook pages to gather information to microtarget voters, while the governing Liberals say they follow a privacy policy and don’t have access to any Facebook accounts beyond their own. The explosive fallout from the […]
