MPs are right to stand up for the House, but they shouldn’t overplay their political hands
Something happened the other day at the Procedure and House Affairs Committee. The normally buttoned-down Conservative MP Scott Reid lost his temper with the Liberal majority MPs on the committee and accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals of “ramming through whatever the fuck they want.” He quickly apologized and the meeting carried on, but the outburst, which was […]
Opposition parties say their ongoing filibuster a protest against Liberals’ ‘political thuggery’
PARLIAMENT HILL—Four days of filibustering the Liberals’ attempt to expedite House rule changes was a product of Conservative and New Democrat backroom collaborative efforts to present a “unified front” in the face of what the opposition called “political thuggery” from the Liberal government. In interviews with The Hill Times during and proceeding the initial four days of […]
Opposition MPs declare ‘war’ over feds’ efforts to ram through sweeping changes to House rules, ‘we’re filibustering to protect the right to filibuster’
PARLIAMENT HILL—Opposition MPs spent nearly 15 hours in the basement of Centre Block on Tuesday, holed-up in a committee meeting room filibustering the Liberal government’s attempt to expedite a study on possible sweeping changes to how the House of Commons rules, and the saga is set to continue on Wednesday too. After going through much of […]
Information czar barely keeping up with complaints, despite 30 per cent budget boost to battle backlog
Canada’s information commissioner has barely managed to put a dent in the backlog of complaints about the government’s handling of access to information requests, despite receiving a 30 per cent budget increase for that purpose earlier this year, statistics from the commissioner’s office show. It hasn’t been for lack of trying; the office of commissioner Suzanne Legault […]
Bigger workload, shorter timelines a growing ‘burden,’ says PCO
New priorities created by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers have put the public service’s hub of support for the cabinet under growing strain, according to its annual report. An “increased workload and shorter timelines means an increasingly heavy burden on existing resources and expertise,” says a section of the Privy Council Office’s (PCO) […]
Opposition MPs filibuster House Affairs Committee over Trudeau government’s ‘despicable attempt’ to change way House works
PARLIAMENT HILL—Opposition MPs were filibustering the Procedure and House Affairs Committee on the Hill on Tuesday for more than three hours over what Conservative MP Scott Reid called a “despicable attempt” by the government to ram through sweeping new changes to how the House of Commons operates, including even when it sits. Mr. Reid’s (Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston, Ont.) made […]
Trudeau can fix our broken whistleblowing system: here’s why and how
OTTAWA—The House Government Operations Committee deserves kudos for taking the bull by the horns in its review of Canada’s failed system for protecting government whistleblowers. This week the committee will hear from no less than four experts representing countries that have much better laws: the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Ireland. The comparisons these experts can […]
Senate Liberal, MPs slamming feds for not living up to transparency promises
The government isn’t living up to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promise to make its information “open by default,” say a handful of Parliamentarians from different parties. MPs and a Senate Liberal are crying foul after being denied information they had requested from Global Affairs Canada; the Canada Revenue Agency; Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada; and […]
Liberal MP Simms tries to expedite House modernization process
The Procedure and House Affairs Committee—tasked with tackling the expansive review of rules that govern the House of Commons—is being urged by committee member and Liberal MP Scott Simms to make a special effort and hold extra sittings, if necessary, to make headway on a study on possible changes to the Standing Orders. Mr. Simms […]
Delays, delays, delays: a constant for government-information seekers
OTTAWA—Delays for months and years are very commonplace in attempts to get access to government records. Cumbersome and, at times, unnecessary lengthy consultations, creaky under-resourced and rigid administrations, and time privileges granted to corporations all contribute to the maxim, “information delayed is information denied.” That certainly has been the case in recent requests to get to […]
