In a wide-ranging interview, Canada's new agriculture minister talks trade deals, supply management, carbon pricing, China's canola import limits, and being the first woman in the post.

Plus, Libby Davies has penned a political memoir, former Mulroney PMO staffer Bill Fox is recovering from a health scare, and Globe and Mail assistant editor Chris Hannay is taking on a new assignment.

An ex-ambassador to China says the revoked export permit for one of the largest Canadian canola processors is the latest example of why Canada should diversify its international trading partners.

Current PCO clerk Michael Wernick, who has been wrapped up in the SNC-Lavalin scandal, announced March 18 he would be retiring from the public service ahead of the 2019 election.

As the last minister for status of women and the first for women and gender equality, Maryam Monsef says she’s cementing a path forged by her predecessors, but critics say the new mandate could 'dilute' the mission.

Canada has also recognized a representative of interim president Juan Guaidó, who says the ‘complicated’ situation shouldn’t be ‘rushed.’

Meanwhile, the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers filed for binding arbitration March 11 in hopes of striking its own pre-election deal.

‘If it is slanderous or defamatory, then we will be held accountable for that, and we will be held accountable by our electorate, in whether they vote for us again,’ says Conservative House Leader Candice Bergen.

Plus, NDP staffer James Smith has said goodbye to Ottawa for a new job with the B.C. government.

Nearly a third of the NDP caucus elected in 2015 have opted not to return to Parliament, part of the reason the party has only named 12 per cent of the candidates expected to run in 2019.

One of the lessons learned from the West Block reno was that MPs weren’t consulted enough, says House deputy clerk Michel Patrice.

Despite being seen as a bit of an unknown by the agriculture community, Marie-Claude Bibeau hails from a Quebec riding with a heavy concentration of dairy farms.

Whereas last year’s budget was largely pitched at women, this year, Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s final budget is focused on skills training to help older workers and youth adapt to a rapidly changing workforce.

Big-ticket items in the last federal budget of this majority Liberal government include more than $6.2-billion to expand federal financing of rental construction, $1-billion for increasing access to drugs for rare diseas

Advancing reconciliation was a key theme of the budget, which included money to forgive loans on comprehensive claim negotiations, to implement Jordan's Principle, and revitalize Indigenous languages.

Changes to address Indigenous language loss and child welfare are seen as ‘high priority,’ but with calls for broad amendments, the short timeframe left to pass bills C-91 and C-92 is a source of frustration for some.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will informally consult MPs, former parliamentarians, and experts from a wide range of backgrounds on his caucus and cabinet management style, says a PMO official.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s explanation for the move—helping the economy—puts him in a direct contradiction with his own law, says ex-Conservative finance minister Joe Oliver.

Meanwhile, former Liberal MP Mary Clancy says the SNC-Lavalin controversy is a ‘bump in the road’ and said Liberal MPs have full confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership.

The government has 10 sitting weeks left to pass legislation to bolster its resume for voters before the next election, and 21 government bills still progressing through the House and Senate.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau said the Canadian safety notice was issued after new data showed similarities between the Ethiopian Airlines crash and another last year.

The House Justice Committee will reconvene behind closed doors on March 19, budget day, to debate whether to invite Jody Wilson-Raybould back.

Amid allegations of partisanship against Michael Wernick, Prof. Donald Savoie says he could stay as DM to the PM and secretary to cabinet, but another bureaucrat may be better suited as the public service head.

The Globe and Mail bureau chief's vast source list and eye for detail has helped him expose numerous government scandals, including the SNC-Lavalin affair, which he broke with Steven Chase and Sean Fine.