Groups return to ‘invaluable’ in-person advocacy on the Hill after years lobbying behind screens

The return of in-person lobby days in Ottawa continued in May, with representatives of organizations glad to be back on Parliament Hill to pursue dialogue with MPs face-to-face for the first time in years. Among those organizations was the Direct Sellers Association of Canada (DSA), a trade association representing companies that market and distribute products […]
Politics and the Pen throughout the years

Modernization of CSIS Act ‘long overdue’ say national security experts

National security experts—and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service itself—are calling for major updates to the CSIS Act, first passed in 1984. The Act should be changed to reflect a rapid growth of online threats, changing attitudes and legislation around privacy, and the exploitation of both conventional and technological means for nefarious ends by authoritarian regimes, […]
New blood donation policy still targets queer men and trans women, advocates argue

Many members of Canada’s LGBTQ2S+ community celebrated when Health Canada announced that it would finally be ending the nation’s discriminatory ban on donations from men who have sex with men. Christopher Karas felt only sadness and exhaustion. “I felt so tired, I cried,” recalled Karas, who brought a human rights complaint against Health Canada in […]
No big winners or losers in curious Conservative leadership debate, say strategists

During Wednesday’s first official Conservative leadership debate, several candidates had “their sights set on trying to blunt Pierre Poilievre’s momentum,” despite a “boring” format that was designed to be “controlled” and “civilized,” said longtime Conservative strategist Tim Powers. The shift from “royal rumble” debate in Ottawa on May 5 to the May 11 stage that […]
Canada should ‘review, reconsider, refocus’ Middle East strategy, says Egyptian envoy

Canada’s policy in the Middle East needs a comprehensive rethink, based on a better understanding of what Canada wants to achieve there, according to multiple diplomats and regional experts speaking at the Middle East Strategy Forum. Canada has not been proactive enough in the region, where its policy will continue to be defined by the […]
Experts, critics wary of feds’ ‘clearly opposite’ private investing plan to rejig infrastructure bank

The federal government has loosened the restrictions around the embattled Canada Infrastructure Bank to make it more nimble and responsive to private investors, even as a parliamentary committee’s blunt, one-line recommendation to abolish the Bank reflects deep skepticism from all opposition parties. Chris Roberts, director of social and economic policy for the Canadian Labour Congress, […]
Bloc motion to remove ‘archaic’ prayer in House defeated by Conservative, Liberal MPs

A Bloc Québécois motion failed to get the votes needed to end the practice of the Speaker reading a prayer before the House of Commons sits every day. Only 56 MPs voted in favour of the motion on May 11, with 266 voting against, including all Conservative MPs and all but one Liberal. All of […]
RCMP neither requested nor planned for Emergencies Act powers, commissioner tells MPs, Senators

The Emergencies Act helped reduce the size of the so-called Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa before the police action that finally cleared the blockade, but those powers were not requested, nor needed, to clear out other protests around the country, according to RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki. “I believe that the act provided us with tools […]
Tai paints optimistic view of Canada-U.S. trade in first visit to Ottawa, but disputes continue to grow

While disputes continue to build up between Canada and the U.S., the two countries’ top trade officials highlighted a “strong” relationship during U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s first visit north of the border. When U.S. President Joe Biden took the reins of the White House more than 16 months ago, some in Canada hoped it […]