Cybersecurity expert says he’s confident MPs are receiving proper guidance on cyber threats
Following a warning from a senior RCMP official, the House Speaker’s Office says MPs and their staffers are provided with specially configured devices and with classroom instruction on cybersecurity, and that additional briefings are provided to MPs who are travelling to high-risk events. David Masson, the director of enterprise security for Darktrace, a cybersecurity company […]
MPs say ‘game changer’ UN report on China’s Uyghur persecution should propel increased action from feds
MPs from across the political spectrum say they are hoping that the United Nation report detailing human rights abuses in China’s persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang will be met with an increased effort from the Liberal government to confront the mistreatment. A long-awaited report from UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet on the situation was […]
‘Small army’ on hand to ensure no repeat of 2020 Tory leader vote-counting drama
With the deadline to return Conservative leadership race ballots now passed, the main challenge will be ensuring those hard-fought votes get counted in time for Saturday’s coronation—without a repeat of the 2020 snafu. The Conservatives will announce the final tabulation on Sept. 10, at the Shaw Centre in downtown Ottawa, with event programming beginning at […]
Union of Taxation Employees latest PSAC group to declare impasse in negotiations with feds
The Union of Taxation Employees, which represents more than 35,000 workers at the Canadian Revenue Agency, have declared an impasse in contract negotiations with the federal government after eight months of what union leader Marc Brière called “the same damn movie” that led to strike votes in February and March of 2020. The latest unsuccessful […]
Limited hope for resolution to historic Canada-U.S. softwood lumber spat, say stakeholders, MPs
As Ottawa embarks on a trade challenge of American countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber exports, there is a glimmer of hope that both sides can reach a negotiated settlement to resolve the longstanding dispute. Softwood lumber has long been a trade irritant along the 49th parallel, as both Democratic and Republican administrations have taken […]
Feds vs. the federalist: lacking any serious competition in the province, Legault may cast Trudeau as boogeyman to motivate his base
As Quebec officially entered campaign season on Aug. 28, most experts and early polls seem to agree Premier François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) will cruise to victory. Still, with a lack of real opposition from within the province, strategists say Legault may need to look to Ottawa for the kind of “political threat” that […]
Profanity hurled at Deputy PM Freeland part of ‘darkening trend of aggression,’ as ‘tenor, tone’ of political debate has degraded, say experts
Following yet another incident where a high-profile Canadian politician faced verbal harassment—in this case, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland accosted outside an Alberta city hall elevator—public safety and national security experts say the lines between legitimate criticism of elected officials, online harassment, and direct, face-to-face harassment are becoming increasingly blurred. “This hollowing out of civic […]
Out federal politicians welcome release of 2SLGBTQI+ action plan, but point out ‘glaring’ gaps
Canada’s first federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan is “a step for us, and a good sign in general,” but the Liberals must outline more details on how it will meet the needs of the country’s two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and gender-diverse people, according to Amita Kuttner, the Green Party’s interim leader. On Aug. […]
‘Inconceivable’ the Liberals have not eliminated archaic, discriminatory ‘gold digger’ clauses from survivor pensions for veterans, say advocates
Veterans groups and parliamentary critics are urging the Liberals to live up to a 2015 election promise to remove restrictions to survivor pension payouts that NDP MP Rachel Blaney says are “sexist” and “archaic” and discriminate against couples who get married late in life. In a new costing of Blaney’s private member’s bill to address […]
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