Fort Mac rebuild a ‘long term’ effort, outpouring of support ‘overwhelming’: Alberta MPs

As residents anxiously await news of when they can return home, Alberta MPs are stressing that work to rebuild Fort McMurray, will be a “long-term” effort, but say they’ve been impressed by the “overwhelming” response of Albertans and other Canadians in lending a hand to the more than 80,000 evacuees. “We have to rebuild, we […]
Politics this morning: Trudeau heads to the Alberta fire frontline

It’s Friday, May 13. Aside from the predictable Friday the 13th superstition chatter, and Justin Bieber parading around town, here’s what people will be talking about today: Sophie Grégoire Trudeau stirred up a cloud of public criticism bordering on ridicule, after publicly stating on Wednesday that she was feeling overwhelmed by the workload that comes […]
Politics this morning: Paul Martin portrait to be unveiled

Good morning, It’s Wednesday, May 11. Here’s 10 must-know topics to start your day. Yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he would be travelling to Fort McMurray on Friday. He came under heavy fire for declining international offers of assistance from countries such as Russia, Mexico, Israel, and the U.S. to help fight the […]
Trudeau flirts with betrayal and political backlash

GATINEAU, QUE.–Is the Northern Gateway pipeline dead, or isn’t it? The fact that people are asking raises serious doubts about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s honesty, not to mention his environmental cred. Trudeau was never against pipelines per se; indeed, he endorsed the since-rejected Keystone project. But he spoke unambiguously against the Northern Gateway, which would […]
Politics this morning: Trudeau tours Saskatchewan

Today is Wednesday, April 27. Here’s what you need to know before you start your day: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will make a visit Oskayak High School to meet with students from the Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneurship Program. Later in the day, he’ll be meeting with Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall. It is expected that Mr. Wall […]
Taiwan, Quebec parallels
Re: “Ministers, parliamentarians at Taiwan event anger China,” (The Hill Times, April 20, p. 1). Echoing in my mind more than 40 years later are Charles de Gaulle’s words, “Vive Montreal! Vive le Quebec! Vive le Quebec libre!” and the roar of the crowd caught half in disbelief that someone had the gall to give […]
Hill skin cancer clinic saved Grit MP Casey’s life, it might save yours

Next week, Liberal MP Bill Casey is hosting the kind of skin cancer clinic that saved his life a decade ago. He recalled how in 2006 he attended a skin cancer clinic organized on the Hill by Dona Cadman, a Conservative MP between 2008 and 2011 and wife of the late Independent MP Chuck Cadman […]
CAJ urges MPs to reconsider ‘inherent’ secrecy in review of Access Act

Canada’s current access-to-information system presents a “fundamental challenge” to democracy, was drafted by a political culture that favours secrecy, and MPs should question this “inherent” secrecy as they consider changes to the Access to Information Act, Sean Holman, vice-president of the Canadian Association of Journalists, told the House committee reviewing the act last week. “We have a cultural […]
Quebec’s English-speaking community fighting to maintain disappearing institutional base built over centuries
Canadians are blessed with the opportunity to live, play and work in two official languages. Ensuring this gift is a defining characteristic of our nation’s history. Long ago, we discarded the notion that English and French would be geographically limited, and we have constitutionally guaranteed the presence of our national languages from sea to sea […]
Pre-approval of corridors recommended for northern infrastructure projects

As the Trudeau government begins divvying up infrastructure funds promised in the budget, some say there are better processes that can be applied for planning infrastructure projects in the North. When the three territorial finance ministers met with federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau, they put a priority on infrastructure needs, according to the CBC. A report by […]