Environment Minister McKenna plucks new D. Comms from think-tank
Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna has bolstered her communications team, hiring Julia Kilpatrick to serve as her director of communications as of Dec. 1. Before then, Ms. Kilpatrick was communications director for Clean Energy Canada, a think-tank under Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue that focuses on “work to accelerate our […]
On the road to 2019: Singh, Scheer needs to steal Trudeau’s sunshine
OTTAWA—It’s hard to believe, but Canada’s 150th anniversary is almost done; it seems like it has gone by in a flash. It has been a year of significant change on the federal political front: for the first time since he has been prime minister, Justin Trudeau now knows who will compete against him in the […]
Easy pickings for tow-truck operators and politicians alike
Re: “Despite Ontario law, some operators blowing it when towing it,” (The Hill Times, Dec. 6, 2017, p. 11). Sadly, legislation and policies around automobile accidents turn out to be window dressing at election time, with no real benefit to the public at large. The tow-truck legislation is toothless from the start, as tow trucks sit roadside like […]
Liberals to roll out legislative package with reforms to National Energy Board in early 2018: Carr
Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr says the Liberal government will introduce its long-awaited legislative package overhauling the country’s environmental assessment and regulatory processes—including modernizing the pipeline regulator—in the new year. The announcement comes months after the release of a report from the expert panel struck by the Liberals to examine the National Energy Board (NEB) […]
Bring Senate expense-claim disputes out of ‘arbitrary,’ ‘secretive’ meetings: Sen. McPhedran
An Independent Senator says she repeatedly appealed a denied spring travel-expense claim not because she wants to be reimbursed, but rather she wants to move the way Senators’ expenses are disputed out from an “arbitrary” and “secretive” forum. But a Conservative Senator says Sen. Marilou McPhedran’s (Manitoba) multiple appeals were a useless exercise that only […]
Independent Senators secure $262K budget boost, despite Tory pushback over doing ‘government’ work
The Independent Senators Group’s quest for equality in the Upper Chamber reached another milestone last week, as the budget for what is now the largest group in the Senate got a $262,000 boost. The additional funding brings the ISG’s total budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year to roughly $984,000, thanks to ISG leadership securing a […]
Put the spotlight on bad behaviour in the House
Two weeks ago, Conservative Member of Parliament Blake Richards was “named” by the House Speaker and ejected for excessive heckling. It was the first time an MP has been ejected from the House in 15 years. Speaker Geoff Regan has shown a willingness to keep a tighter leash on the debate, which has been worsening […]
Georgia’s ex-president shaking up politics in Ukraine
OTTAWA—Last week, there was a bizarre incident in the streets of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. Ukrainian security forces had descended on an apartment building with the intent of arresting Mikheil Saakashvili on charges of having taken money with the intent of destabilizing Ukraine. Rather than submit quietly to authorities, Saakashvili took to the roof of his […]
Lights, camera, action: More House video angles could curb bad behaviour
Technology lets us watch our dogs at doggie daycare, but CPAC is only able to broadcast the recognized speaker or House Speaker in Question Period. That’s got to change. Jane Hilderman and Mike Morden from Samara Canada in an op-ed today argue that more camera angles in the House of Commons could help curb bad […]
The future in Canadian forestry comes from big thinking
In our changing world, all parts of Canada’s natural resources sector have had to innovate to not only survive, but thrive and lead the world. We’ve seen impressive innovations come from the mining, oil and gas, and energy sectors, but one sector that is leading the way is the one that might have the longest […]
