Handful of new staff hires to Conservative leader Scheer’s team
Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer has hired a handful of new aides to help support the work of his official opposition caucus on the Hill, including a new digital media liaison, Morgan Swan. Ms. Swan joined the Official Opposition Leader’s Office (OLO) earlier this month, after spending the last stretch of 2017 doing public affairs […]
Ex-Green Party staffers call for leader May to resign, allege she’s verbally abusive, undemocratic, but loyalists dispute allegations
Seven former Green Party of Canada employees are calling for Elizabeth May to step down as leader, alleging she has too much control over the party and has verbally abused employees. Over the past two months, The Hill Times interviewed 10 former and current employees of the party who said Ms. May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.)—who […]
Canada’s capital city is now officially bilingual
OTTAWA—What better way to mark the end of an unforgettable year of celebrations, events, and activities of all kinds across our country and the beginning of a new year. Coming out of the blue and a complete and welcome surprise to most of us, 150 years after Confederation, Canada’s capital city is now officially bilingual. How did something considered unthinkable suddenly seem […]
Playing the celebrity game
OAKVILLE, ONT.—NDP leader Jagmeet Singh recently invited reporters to witness and record his wedding proposal to Gurkiran Kaur. Sounds like a cute—even romantic—little media stunt, right? Well, don’t say that to CBC journalist Aaron Wherry, who thinks Singh is taking the wrong path. As he put it, “Inviting a media outlet to document your engagement […]
House Finance Committee has little to say on huge changes in global technology, industries and competition
TORONTO—Canada’s biggest economic challenge is to achieve and sustain a high level of productivity growth and we need to do this to support the things we value as a society, such as health care and education, as well as to deliver the prosperity for a rising standard of living. The best way to improve our […]
What if Question Period featured better questions? Just asking
CHELSEA, QUE.—What political junkie isn’t thrilled for the return of Question Period after every seasonal break, well, until the first question, at least? Whatever the topic, the gist of opposition queries remains the same: what kind of unethical, hypocritical, lying screw-ups are you people, anyway? To which the government’s answer is, invariably: we have been […]
‘Sickened and disheartened’: federal Conservatives react to sexual misconduct allegations against Patrick Brown
Conservative MPs are expressing shock and disappointment after learning about sexual misconduct allegations levelled against former caucus colleague Patrick Brown, who resigned as leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party early Thursday morning after two young women accused him of making unwanted sexual advances after plying them with liquor. In an interview with The Hill Times, Conservative […]
Failed NDP leadership candidate Angus tweets, then deletes, criticism of party under new leader Singh
PARLIAMENT HILL—Failed NDP leadership candidate Charlie Angus deleted a tweet he posted criticizing his party for fixating too heavily on image and style because he didn’t want to be seen as coming out against “new ideas” and “new people” entering party ranks, he said. In an interview on Wednesday, Mr. Angus (Timmins-James Bay, Ont.) said […]
As Conservatives huddle in Victoria, Kellie Leitch announces her exit
Former cabinet minister Kellie Leitch stole the early thunder at the national Conservative caucus meetings in Victoria on Wednesday, announcing she will not seek re-election in 2019, months after mounting an unsuccessful bid to win the party leadership. Ms. Leitch (Simcoe-Grey, Ont.) confirmed to reporters that she would not seek a third term in the […]
Public service needs better data to measure diversity, says task force
Planning the future of diversity in the public service is not possible with out-of-date data, leaving certain groups unintentionally sidelined, a joint task force studying equity initiatives found, after a months-long examination of inclusion and diversity in the public service. In its final report released Dec. 11—Building a Diverse and Inclusive Public Service—the joint union-management […]
