The Hill Times’ top 25 stories: Quebec as most ‘critical’ battleground, NAFTA redux, Phoenix debacle
As we brace for what could be the nastiest election yet in 2019, we wanted to look back at some of the year’s biggest stories. In the lead-up to the big vote, we saw parties begin to signal which issues will define their campaigns, and where they’ll want to concentrate their efforts to expand their […]
The House is home to a lot of memories
OTTAWA—In the 1970s, anyone could walk into the Centre Block. Lately, it has become an armed camp. There’s no need for a lot of nostalgia—only recognition of how much things have changed. The ‘70s began with what was the biggest political cataclysm of the era: the FLQ kidnappings in Quebec, which led to police over-reaction […]
November lobbying boosted by Hill days, GM plant closure, and budget talks
Parliament’s final full sitting month in 2018 made for a busy spell of November lobbying, driven by meeting blitzes on the Hill, budget consultations, and the late-month bombshell that General Motors’ auto plant would close in Oshawa, Ont. Lobbyists filed a total of 2,782 communication reports in November, down slightly from the 2,927 filed in […]
Freeland named most valuable politician, NAFTA voted biggest story in The Hill Times’ 22nd Annual All Politics Poll
In a year stacked with headlines of men behaving badly amid the #MeToo movement, this was Chrystia Freeland’s year. She handled the volatile NAFTA file, defiantly spoke in defence of human rights and a rules-based global order much to the ire of a certain U.S. president, and refused to publicly bow to the Saudis after […]
Canadian uranium under U.S. tariff threat as national security investigation continues
Canada’s uranium industry may soon find itself burdened by the same U.S. protectionist tariffs that have been targeted at Canada’s steel and aluminum sectors since the summer under the guise of national security protection, trade observers say. On July 18, the U.S. Commerce Department began a Section 232 investigation looking into uranium imports and if […]
Time to unclog the pipes
Getting Canadian oil to market is a burning platform for policy-makers. With various well-publicized setbacks, increased pipeline export capacity has been kiboshed or delayed. Facing constrained transport, Alberta has moved on Band-Aid measures to address the stranded supply glut and price discount. However, for the medium and long term, the federal government must get the […]
Politicians, tear down these trade walls
Too often, Canadians think of the Constitution as something that only judges work with and use. But that attitude is a recipe for endless anemic failures of policy. The Constitution is not just for the courts, but provides fundamental guidance on the responsibilities of Canadian governments. We need to demand that Canadian governments carry out their constitutional […]
Canada’s aluminum wire industry punished by its own government
As the United States imposed tariffs of 10 per cent on Canadian aluminum products last spring, the Canadian government said it would act in response. We applauded this move as it was intended to level the playing field. As of July 1, Canada imposed tariffs on aluminum products coming from the U.S. Among the several […]
Brexit referendums: best two out of three?
LONDON, U.K.—The five-day debate in the British Parliament on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal with the European Union did not start well for her. Everybody knows that she hasn’t got the votes to pass the deal, but it turned out that she hasn’t got the votes for lots of other things, either. It’s a […]
George H.W. Bush and the value of good intentions
Whatever you believe or don’t about an afterlife, when George H.W. Bush woke up last Friday and asked James Baker where they were going, Baker’s response of “heaven” likely seems more accurate than the alternative, the old maxim about good intentions notwithstanding. And Bush did seem the embodiment of good intentions, a quality that sometimes, […]
