House has to get with it, be more family friendly
The challenging work of the Procedures and House Affairs Committee is now under way. The task: modernizing the House which means modifying how the House of Commons conducts business so that it is more family friendly, productive and inclusive. It’s something that successful companies in the private sector have done for decades—leveraging technology and giving […]
A primer on House of Commons committee members, agendas
As of now, almost all House committees have elected their chairs but just 16 per cent, or four of the 25 committees are chaired by women, and 40 per cent, or 10 of 25 of committee chairs are rookies. According to The Hill Times review of committee makeups, male and veteran MPs are still dominating the […]
Liberals’ repeal of Tory laws about ‘repaying political favours,’ says Scheer
The Liberal government’s legislative agenda, so far, has been “purely just for repaying political favours,” according to Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer. Mr. Scheer (Regina-Qu’Appelle, Sask.) told The Hill Times that Conservatives are finding it frustrating to see the bills the Liberals have been introducing be focused mainly on repealing Conservative legislation passed in the last […]
House won’t debate private members’ business until late March
If you’ve been anxiously awaiting the first House debate on private member’s business, you’re going to be waiting a little while longer, according to the House clerk for private members’ business, Marc-Olivier Girard. Because of built-in Standing Orders and the choppier than usual sitting schedule for the first few months of this Parliament, the earliest […]
Politics This Morning: Conservative opposition day, House to debate Energy East pipeline
Good Thursday morning. The Conservatives will have their first opposition day today and will move a motion regarding natural resources and support for the energy sector, specifically TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline. Natural Resources critic Candice Bergen will introduce the motion in the House today, which reads: “[T]hat, given this time of economic uncertainty, the House: (a) recognize the […]
MPs return to House, including 197 rookies, promise better tone
MPs are promising to strike a new tone in this new Parliament and say gone are the days of the “raucous” boys’ club behaviour. House leaders from all parties told The Hill Times there is no longer an appetite for the nasty, hyper-partisan attack style that characterized the Commons in the last Parliament. New House […]
Feds should revisit CRTC’s pick-and-pay TV policy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that his first priority is to grow the economy. Meanwhile, the CRTC is about to undermine that goal. Finance Minister Bill Morneau is gathering ideas for his first budget this week. He might see the wisdom of asking the CRTC to reconsider some of its decisions last year. These […]
Trudeau’s off to slow, weak start on transparency record
OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is starting off with a mixed and weak transparency record. Refusing to make fully public a 2015 Saudi Arabia human rights report puts a dent in his promise of “information by default.” South of the border in the United States, the government annually release reports on other countries’ human rights records. […]
Politics of cooperation: redeeming private members’ bills
OTTAWA—In his mandate letters to Cabinet, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau writes that his “will be a government that governs for all Canadians.” This altruistic notion is rightly included and any government, regardless of political stripe, will always need to navigate the tension between satisfying their electoral base and the rest of the electorate. But when […]
