'I spoke almost 100,000 words over four days,' Poilievre sets a record for longest speech in the House

Over the course of four days last week, Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre was front and centre in the House of Commons as he staged a quasi-filibuster during the budget debate. He did so, he says, to bring attention to the SNC-Lavalin affair. “I spoke almost 100,000 words over four days & almost 15 hours (which I’m told is a record) to end Trudeau’s SNC cover-up,” Mr. Poilievre tweeted. The official opposition’s first speaker on a motion or bill is given unlimited speaking time in the House, and can use up as much of the four-day maximum for the budget debate as he or she wishes to. Mr. Poilievre used all of it. He didn't speak for four solid days, but did so over the course of the four days, in between Question Period and other House business. The Chamber was mostly empty for much of Mr. Poilievre's speech—particularly on the government side—and quorum was nearly threatened. As the final day of budget debate in the House began, Liberal MP Wayne Easter took to Twitter to voice his frustration with Mr. Poilievre's tactic. “And the Carleton MP rises once again to waste your time. I know it might sound like I'm just taking potshots at the opposition, but the reality is the federal budget is the single most important document that affects every single Canadian,” Mr. Easter tweeted. “It's Parliament's responsibility to debate budgets publicly in the House so Canadians can learn what is included and understand what it means for them. We've been unable to do that because of the Carleton MP's ongoing filibuster, and so Canadians are being left in the dark.” Every hour of Mr. Poilievre speech on April 4, Mr. Easter tweeted about the budget, and criticized the “Carleton MP.” The Conservatives have vowed to use all procedural "tools" to bring attention to the scandal which has hounded the Liberals for more than two months. They previously set in a motion a 30-hour marathon voting session, also to draw attention to the SNC-Lavalin affair. There's another record-setting filibusterer for the Hill books. Back in 1990, then-Quebec Liberal Senator Philippe Gigantès filibustered the GST and talked for 21 hours straight in the Upper Chamber. During the same debate, Liberal Senator Jacques Hébert spoke for 18 hours uninterrupted. LAC Foundation is launched with a bash The Library and Archives Canada Foundation was launched April 2, honouring five individuals—including CBC radio host Shelagh Rogers and author Lawrence Hill—with the first LAC Scholars Award. The award recognizes those who have made “outstanding” contributions “to the creation and promotion of the country's literary and historical heritage,” according to a press release. Other winners included Radio-Canada host Marie-Louise Arsenault, and authors Ronald I. Cohen and Frances Itani. The Hill Times couldn’t make it to the event, but LAC Foundation chair Jacques Shore said the launch party was a swanky event in celebration of the important work LAC does in archiving Canada’s history. It took place in the Pellan room, where guests chatted over drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Former prime minister Jean Chrétien did a 12-minute interview with Guy Berthiaume, the organization's head librarian and archivist, said Mr. Shore, adding that Mr. Chrétien was “at his best,” and his reflections were greatly enjoyed by the audience. Amongst the crowd was Environment Minister and Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna, along with Liberal Senator Terry Mercer, former Liberal cabinet minister David Collenette and his wife Penny, who is a former Liberal staffer, and Bruce Hartley. Former Prince Edward Island premier Robert Ghiz, who is a member of the foundation, was also seen enjoying the event. Members of the academic and publishing world included Carleton University president Benoit-Antoine Bacon‏, and his predecessor Roseann O'Reilly Runte, who now heads the Canada Foundation for Innovation. Simon and Schuster Canada president Kevin Hanson was also spotted, as was Canadian Publishers' Council president David Swail. Others that attended included Heritage Canada bureaucrat Ramzi Saad, former museum head Victor Rabinovitch, Italian Ambassador Claudio Taffuri, Indian High Commissioner Vikas Swarup, and Michael Adams, who sits on the board of the National Gallery of Canada Foundation.—by Emily Haws Nick Kouvalis to team up with Lisa Raitt, others in upcoming election Conservative strategist Nick Kouvalis says he will be working on Lisa Raitt's re-election campaign. Photograph courtesy of Twitter Seasoned Conservative campaign strategist Nick Kouvalis will work with Lisa Raitt and other Conservative incumbents and candidates in the next fast-approaching election. “I cannot wait to take my 15 years of election experience with victories in hundreds of ridings across Canada & provide all those services to this year,” Mr. Kouvallis tweeted at the Twitter account of Ms. Raitt’s Liberal challenger in the riding of Milton, Ont., Adam van Koeverden, after the former Olympic gold medallist wrote in a now-deleted tweet that “anyone who lines up in a running vehicle to save $1.20 is an April Fool, any day of the year,” following a series of Twitter posts showing Ontario PC MPPs at gas stations prior to the implementation of the carbon tax. Mr. Kouvalis confirmed that he will be working with Ms. Raitt and “many other candidates” to The Hill Times last week. Mr. Kouvalis previously managed former Toronto mayor Rob Ford’s winning 2010 campaign, and worked the successful mayoral campaign of John Tory, and Conservative MP Kellie Leitch’s failed Conservative leadership campaign in 2017. He resigned from Ms. Leitch’s campaign following a social media outburst after University of Waterloo political science professor Emmett Macfarlane linked her campaign rhetoric to that of U.S. President Donald Trump. Political Matters Journalism Internship program selects students Two Carleton University students have been chosen as the first interns funded by the Political Matters Journalism Internship program. Rachel Emmanuel and Christian Paas-Lang will report for The Globe and Mail and The Canadian Press, respectively. Ms. Emmanuel is a fourth-year student journalism student with a double minor English and Political Science. She has previous experience with the St. Catharines Standard, as well as freelancing for iPoliticsINTEL. Mr. Paas-Lang is a student in Carleton's master of journalism program. He has previous experience with the Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen, the North Bay Nugget, and iPoliticsINTEL. The two young reporters will receive an honourarium of $10,000 and be mentored by senior reporters in the respective bureaus. In years to come, the program will have three internship slots. “The training, teaching and development of Canadian journalists has been a core element of CP's mission virtually since the national news agency's inception more than 100 years ago,” James McCarten, the wire agency's acting Ottawa bureau chief, said in a press release. “We're delighted to be playing a role in the Political Matters program, and can't wait to see the important contributions that Christian and Rachel are going to make to Canada's national political discourse.” Funding for the program was supported by the Political Party, which was hosted on Sept. 21 at the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Que. The programs steering committee is made up of current and former veteran Hill reporters and communications gurus, such as Policy Options' Jennifer Ditchburn, Toronto Star's Susan Delacourt, retired CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge, Abacus Data's Bruce Anderson and his wife Nancy Jamieson, Carlton University journalism program head Susan Harada, and former Hill journalist and media relations consultant Bill Fox. Christian Paas-Lang, left, will be interning in the Canadian Press' Ottawa bureau, and Rachel Emmanuel, right, will be joining The Globe and Mail's newsroom. Photographs courtesy of Christian Paas-Lang and Timothy Austen Panel will look at political journalism's fight for truth The Toronto Star's Tonda MacCharles will be on a panel discussing political journalism and the search for truth. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade As the election approaches, and more energy is focused on false information and “fake news,” four journalists will discuss how political journalism is influenced by the political climate on April 9. Canadian- and American-based reporters will look into how the political atmosphere changes journalistic coverage, as well as what impact journalists are having holding the powerful to account. The panel will include Vassy Kapelos, host of CBC's Power & Politics, the Toronto Star's Tonda MacCharles, and St.Louis, Mo.,-based Globe and Mail columnist Sarah Kendzior. It will be moderated by CPAC's Alison Smith. “Now, perhaps more than ever, we need to understand the challenges journalists confront in the pursuit of truth—the heart of the stories we tell," said Ms. Smith in a press release. "We need to understand those challenges as journalists and as citizens.” The Canadian Journalism Foundation event will take place at the National Arts Centre's O'Born Room. Tickets are $25, and $15 for students. nmoss@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

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‘I spoke almost 100,000 words over four days,’ Poilievre sets a record for longest speech in the House

Plus, the LAC Foundation is launched with a bash, and Nick Kouvalis to team up with Lisa Raitt, others in the upcoming election.

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