PMO hires new writer, amid other ministerial staff changes
The Prime Minister’s Office recently hired another writer, Clare Donohue-Meyer, who joined the PMO three weeks ago. James McMillan is another writer in the PMO’s communications unit, while Gabrielle Cesvet, Jeni Armstrong, and Brittany Perreault are all specifically speechwriters. Kate Purchase is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s communications director and Olivier Duchesneau is deputy director of communications. Also working in […]
Opposition parties not ready to give up filibuster as Liberals set for pre-summer legislative push
PARLIAMENT HILL—Opposition House leaders say the government continues to do a “poor job” of moving legislation forward and promise to continue to filibuster the Procedure and House Affairs Committee over changes to the House rules, saying it will be “the No. 1 thing” they’re focused on. MPs return to Ottawa this week with seven more House weeks scheduled until June […]
There’s more to the stay-the-course budget than suggested
OTTAWA—So what kind of budget was it? An innovation budget? A skills budget? A gender-aware budget? A social safety net budget? Or an environmental budget? Stay-the-course seemed to be the pundits’ consensus. I’m not so sure. Depending which part of Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s budget you focus on, it was any of those things and […]
Leading experts say Meredith can’t be expelled from Senate, others say ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’
Two of Canada’s leading parliamentary experts say Independent Senator Don Meredith, who was found to be in violation of two sections of the Senate Ethics Code over an inappropriate sexual relationship with a teenaged girl, cannot be declared a non-Senator by his colleagues, while others say a determined Red Chamber could make it happen. “No, […]
Liberals’ sweeping reform ideas seen as not all bad, but many say they swing power to PMO
Opposition MPs say a few of the ideas put forward in the Liberal government’s discussion paper on reforming the House’s Standing Orders are good, but many would weaken the opposition and strengthen “centralized” government control. “There’s some interesting ideas in here, but the balance would swing the pendulum of power in Parliament even further towards […]
Five things to watch for in Tory leadership race
MONTREAL—Now that the deadline has passed for Conservative rivals to sign up new members for the May leadership vote, here are a handful of observations on the fluid state of play in the battle for Stephen Harper’s succession: 1. There are still 14 names on the Conservative ballot, but a consensus is emerging that the […]
Supporters of national portrait gallery at 100 Wellington St. ramp up advocacy
The federal government will announce a new public use for the old U.S. Embassy building at 100 Wellington St. later this year, and as it considers options, advocates of a plan to turn it into a national portrait gallery are ramping up their efforts. “This is a wonderful opportunity to create something of excellence for […]
Rural Liberal MPs ‘awfully nervous’ about upcoming gun legislation, any tinkering could be trouble
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale is expected to table legislation this spring to get handguns and assault weapons off the streets and promises not to create a new national long-gun registry, but some rural Liberal MPs say they are anxious about any tinkering of the gun laws. “They’re awfully nervous about what the legislation could […]
Conservatives should remove Senator Beyak from Aboriginal Peoples Committee, now
Conservative Senator Lynn Beyak should remove herself from the Senate’s Aboriginal Peoples Committee which is investigating recommendations on how to establish a new relationship between Canada and First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its massive reports and sweeping 94 calls for action in 2015. She shouldn’t be on this committee. […]
The baneful morality of the political ‘pivot’
GATINEAU, QUE.—Our media culture is so drenched in cynicism that the most outrageous, even despicable, pronouncements—from Conservative leadership candidates, for instance—are treated as mere strategy, even tactical coups. The underlying assumption is that once someone has won the contest, he or she will “pivot” back to a more reasonable, compassionate, and thoughtful posture. No harm […]
