‘It’s been quite a learning curve,’ rookie Grit MPs want more House committee training, but veteran Liberal, opposition MPs say time’s up
Rookie Liberal MPs, who are trying to learn the ropes of House committees, say they want more formal training because they’re concerned opposition MPs will try to exploit their inexperience and embarrass them in front of stakeholders and Hill media. But veteran Liberal and opposition MPs say the House committee training is over and it’s time to […]
Public servants flock to PCO’s first-ever behavioural economics briefing
Hundreds of public servants took in the Privy Council Office’s conference on behavioural economics for the public sector last week in Ottawa to learn how to better influence public behaviour. It was the first conference of its kind in Canada. “The use of behavioural economics is an emerging tool for governments seeking to improve the programs and […]
Bélanger not first MP to call for gender neutral O Canada
Mauril Bélanger was not the first Member of Parliament to recommend a gender-neutral national anthem. Hopefully, he will be the last. Last week, the long-serving Liberal MP from Ottawa-Vanier was honoured by all his colleagues as he occupied the House Speaker’s chair in recognition of his contribution to Parliament. The emotional and heartfelt support from […]
House to vote on ISIS mission, continue debate on government bills
The House will vote this week on Canada’s mission against ISIS and will be finalizing procedure to begin debating private members’ bills by the next sitting week. On Monday, March 7, the House will vote on Bill C-4, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code, the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, the Public […]
Secrecy happenings and transparency hopes, Ottawa needs to open up
OTTAWA—It’s a sure sign that it’s still secrecy as usual in Ottawa when Treasury Board wants six months to respond to an access request for records about Trudeau government’s transparency work. That’s before applying policy advice and Cabinet confidences to the records. But it’s far from the only example. Take the case of the request […]
Health experts call on government to increase transparency around drug research
Health professionals and academics are putting the heat on Health Canada to release information about prescription drugs—information that the department deems confidential for the businesses that sell the products. While the 2014 passing of Bill C-17, the Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act—also called Vanessa’s Law—opened up some of the secrecy about pharmaceutical products, critics say […]
Conservative MP Wagantall’s private member’s bill causing fissures in Conservative caucus
A rookie Saskatchewan Conservative MP’s private member’s bill is causing fissures in the Conservative caucus with some describing it as “an indirect way for the pro-lifers to advance their agenda from a new angle.” Some are worried it will reopen the abortion debate causing an unnecessary distraction for potential leadership candidates ahead of the party’s leadership convention in […]
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 […]
