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 […]
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 […]
