‘The closest equivalent is Afghanistan’: Canadian correspondents on navigating the Washington insurrection
Canadian reporters on the scene for the insurrection on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., earlier this month say the atmosphere reminded them of covering Afghanistan, rife with violence and escalating anger. It was just one of the events that marked coverage of the U.S. under the Donald Trump administration as considerably different from covering politics […]
‘Dumbest thing I’ve seen’: Miller slams wealthy couple who flew to Yukon to skip vaccine queue
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller condemned the decision of a wealthy Vancouver couple who chartered a plane to Beaver Creek, Yukon, in January to get the Moderna vaccine, saying it left him “disgusted.” Mr. Miller (Ville-Marie-Le Sud-Ouest-Île-des-Sœurs, Que.), who spoke to reporters in a press conference Wednesday morning, said it was “idiotic” of them to […]
Feds should establish regulator to rein in ‘Wild West’ of social media, says report
Ottawa should move to establish a new regulator with the power to rein in the “Wild West” of social media, giving the body oversight in holding tech giants accountable for the proliferation of harmful, hateful content on their platforms, says a government-funded report. In a study released Wednesday by the Public Policy Forum’s Canadian Commission […]
Ousted Liberal MP Sangha says comments were ‘taken out of context,’ didn’t get ‘due process’ before expulsion from caucus
A Brampton MP who was booted from the Liberal caucus for making controversial comments in a Punjabi language media interview says his comments have been “taken out of context” and he didn’t get due process before expulsion. In an interview with The Hill Times, twice-elected Liberal MP Ramesh Sangha (Brampton Centre, Ont.) said that he […]
Trans Mountain work stoppage continues, as CPC’s McLean says project ‘even more important’ post-U.S. axing of Keystone XL
Weeks after work was set to resume, construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion remains halted, though the company hasn’t amended its December 2022 estimated readiness, and after U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to axe the Keystone XL pipeline, Conservative MP Greg McLean says the project is “even more important” for Canada. Construction on the […]
No replacing need for in-person diplomacy, say chairs, as work of interparliamentary groups goes on
As the 13 interparliamentary groups hold virtual meetings while under a travel ban, chairs of the groups say nothing can replace the need for in-person meetings, despite the work being done to allow the associations to continue their work through Zoom. Members of the groups told The Hill Times that their work is as important […]
Don’t expect Biden’s tough, bipartisan approach to China to be met with Canadian imitation, say analysts
As the Biden administration signals it will be taking a tough approach to China, experts say an American bipartisan approach in its dealings with Beijing won’t necessarily lead to the same alignment from Canada. At his Senate hearing on Jan. 19, U.S. President Joe Biden’s pick for the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said he […]
Federal cybersecurity workers heading for strike votes following bargaining impasse
Federal cybersecurity workers at Canadas’s Communications Security Establishment are gearing up for strike votes following the collapse of bargaining talks after nearly two years at the table with the federal government in pursuit of a new collective agreement. The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) is responsible for foreign intelligence cybersecurity and is one of Canada’s key […]
NDP to focus on pandemic measures, amplifying message in winter sitting
The NDP has rearranged its critics for 2021 and is poised to tackle a wide portfolio of issues coming back into the House, aimed at helping Canadians get through the “eye of the storm” of the pandemic, while working to make more noise despite their fourth-party status, say caucus members. The six updated roles include […]
AG says office has kept pace with scrutinizing feds’ pandemic spending
Despite being tasked with scrutinizing an unprecedented level of government spending, the auditor general says her office has been able to keep pace with the demand, because it has hired additional workers. “In prior years, we would’ve seen our audit run anywhere from about 44,000 hours to a little less than 33,000 hours,” said Auditor […]
