Trade policy about more than just reminders to export
Historically, free trade agreements were regarded as self-evidently beneficial; no efforts were needed to prepare Canadians for their effects. Experience, however, has taught us otherwise. Of the 12 free trade agreements to which Canada is a signatory and have come into force, seven of them have seen our merchandise balance of trade worsen with our respective […]
Despite ‘rocky start,’ public service union leaders prefer Trudeau to Harper
The relationship between Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government and unions has been “rocky” so far, but federal public service union leaders say it is better than it would have been if the Conservative government of Stephen Harper had been re-elected in 2015. “We have a respectful working relationship [with the Liberal government],” Robyn Benson, national president […]
Pay up…please? Debt agents struggle to recoup cash for feds
Private debt collectors recovered less than seven per cent of the money they were tasked with tracking down for the federal government between late 2015 and December of last year, with some institutions getting back nothing at all, according to documents made public by the government. Collection agencies clawed back about $23-million in total of nearly […]
Feds set aside $545-million to finance new contracts reached with big unions
After more than a year in office, the Liberal government has reached tentative agreements with several large bargaining units representing thousands of civil servants, though those without deals are signalling they won’t settle until they get exactly what they want. Alain Belle-Isle, a spokesperson for the Treasury Board Secretariat, said in an emailed response to questions […]
MPs, Senators should be briefed on trade deals before they’re inked: Senate committee
On the eve of an expected NAFTA renegotiation, the Senate committee responsible for international trade is calling on the government to brief Parliamentarians regularly on how it’s faring in ongoing trade negotiations. The government should report to the Senate and House trade committees every quarter of the year, keeping them updated on their negotiating mandate and […]
House Government Operations Committee leaps into action to protect whistleblowers, or does it?
OTTAWA—Whistleblower protection advocates across Canada were celebrating last week when the news broke that Treasury Board President Scott Brison had suddenly asked the House Government Operations Committee (OGGO) to conduct a review of the federal whistleblower protection law (the PSDPA). This review, which by law should have taken place five years ago, has been steadfastly blocked […]
Minister admits to ‘shortcoming’ in response to Translation Bureau problems
The minister in charge of a federal agency that provides translation services to government departments and Parliament is climbing down from her initial lukewarm response to a parliamentary committee’s recommendations to improve the agency. Public Services and Procurement Minister Judy Foote (Bonavista-Burin-Trinity, N.L.) admitted to members of the House Official Languages Committee Thursday a “shortcoming on our […]
Liberals to table legislation this winter to apply access-to-information regime to ministers’ offices
The Liberal government’s promise to open the offices of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the rest of his cabinet to access to information requests is on track, according to a spokesperson for Treasury Board President Scott Brison. Legislation to make that change and check off other promises in the Liberal campaign platform will be introduced […]
First-past-the-post electoral system advances ‘democratic values,’ says rookie Democratic Institutions Minister Gould a week after Libs break campaign promise
PARLIAMENT HILL—A week after the Trudeau government scrapped its promise to change Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system in time for the next federal election, the new Minister of Democratic Institutions Karina Gould defended the current voting system before the House Affairs Committee Tuesday, saying it “advances a number of democratic values.” “The first-past-the-post system may not be […]
House Affairs Committee still working through election report as House business resumes
After weeks of in-camera discussions last fall, the Procedure and House Affairs Committee is still only about a third of the way through reviewing Canada’s chief electoral officer’s report on the 2015 election, with members “nowhere near consensus” on some of the 132 recommendations made, says Liberal MP Larry Bagnell, who chairs the committee “It takes a […]
