That’s a real knee-slapper: 22 Minutes spoofs The Hill Times for mistaking Bains for…Bains
PARLIAMENT HILL—Comedy is funny because it’s usually true, but when it’s wrong it’s not that funny. In a recent CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes sketch, comedian and actor Susan Kent poked fun at the fact that some people are mistaking NDP leader Jagmeet Singh for other Sikh or South Asian politicians. “First, a reporter mistakenly referred to Liberal minister Navdeep Bains as Jagmeet […]
Why I lobby MPs and Senators
Recently, I and dozens of Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada (CCL) colleagues were on Parliament Hill lobbying for improvements to Canada’s carbon pricing policy. I participated in meetings with Senator Rosa Galvez, Conservative Party deputy leader Lisa Raitt and three Liberal Members of Parliament—Francis Drouin, Francis Scarpaleggia, and Maryam Monsef’s legislative assistant. I came away from these meetings with a […]
The real impact of terrorism: shattered lives
OTTAWA—In the aftermath of a terrorist attack we all go through a typical laundry list of questions. Who is behind this act and did he act alone? Are there others out there? What will he be charged with? What can we do to prevent future attacks? Why is this happening? These are, of course, good […]
Climate change represents largest single threat to human well-being over decades to come, time to act
TORONTO—The Trudeau government deserves credit for negotiating, with the provinces, a national climate change action plan to achieve the emission reduction target Canada made in Paris not quite two years ago. But Canada’s action plan may not go far enough to achieve the commitment Canada made at the 2015 Paris climate summit. In 2020, when […]
Liberals have a ‘credibility gap,’ Bronfman, Morneau obscuring Grits’ message to fight for middle class, say pollsters, political observers
The federal Liberals are being weighed down by a credibility problem, say pollsters and a former Liberal cabinet minister and their message of fighting for the middle class is getting undermined by a series of controversies tied to taxation and finance. The New Democrats may already be picking up the slack, with the Liberals now […]
Senate swap gives powerful Internal Economy Committee chair to Independents, sets stage for new negotiations next session
Negotiations between the Senate’s three largest groups finally ended last week, paving the way for a major rejig of Senate committee seats, and handing committee chair positions to members of the Independent Senators Group for the first time. The deal is only good for the length of this parliamentary session, however, and there are several […]
Women making unforeseen breakthroughs, but still have a long way to go
OTTAWA—As North Americans witnessed this past week, unforeseen breakthroughs for women in Quebec’s municipal elections and in state elections across the border, their wins signal a potential new (and better-late-than-never) era for women in politics. And while there is no doubt that many women have simply had enough, thank you very much, the story of […]
Sexual harassment bill takes on systemic power problem, but won’t touch MP-to-MP behaviour
At a time when sexual harassment has hit the Hill hard, Employment, Workforce, and Labour Minister Patty Hajdu introduced Bill C-65 on Nov. 7, which would amend existing provisions in the Canada Labour Code to prevent harassment and sexual harassment in the federal workplace, now including MPs’ offices, the Senate, the House of Commons and […]
“The federal government is reportedly considering changes to digital political advertising rules. What should be done?”
Cameron Ahmad Liberal strategist “Ensuring Canada has tough election financing laws is one way to improve, strengthen, and protect our democratic institutions. Our government is reviewing the limits on the amounts political parties and third parties can spend during elections, and proposing new measures to ensure that spending between elections is subject to reasonable limits […]
Ethics commissioner’s confusing remarks on asset loophole stems from scarce communications resources, say lobbyists
Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson’s ambiguous remarks about the number of cabinet ministers holding personal investments indirectly through a holding company, thus avoiding the need of a blind trust, is likely the symptom of having no dedicated communications resources and prioritizing education and compliance over public shaming, according to a former Liberal MP. Joe Jordan, currently […]
