BCE lobbied Trudeau and senior advisers on ‘industry’ month before key CRTC decision
The CEO of Bell Canada’s parent company extended an intensive lobbying campaign to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his top officials last month, reporting discussions on “industry” a month before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced a decision the company has since said would cost it $100-million. On July 17, George Cope, president and […]
‘Show up and do something’: critics call on lobbying commissioner to act on Dion report
Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion’s damning report on the prime minister documented previously undisclosed interactions between SNC-Lavalin and the government during the embattled company’s pursuit of a deferred prosecution agreement, raising questions from critics about whether it was operating in full compliance with federal lobbying regulations or whether disclosure rules should change. SNC-Lavalin is registered to […]
Canadian Digital Service challenged to digitize government by 2025
At just a little over two years old, the growing team at the Canadian Digital Service is busy thinking about an ambitious goal—how to make many government services available online by 2025. Just under a year ago, the federal government convened a group of Canadian industry leaders to establish economic strategies for the country, including […]
Greens focus on B.C. while pollsters see opportunity in Atlantic Canada
Pollsters say the Green Party has a real chance to win seats in Atlantic Canada this fall, but so far the party has focused on sending money and support to candidates on the West Coast, leaving some eastern Greens on their own. A Leger poll released Aug. 21 suggested the Green Party in third place […]
Rookie Quebec Liberal MP Nassif unexpectedly says she won’t seek re-election
Rookie Quebec Liberal MP Eva Nassif was “confident,” until recently, the party would nominate her as a candidate. But on Thursday night, she announced unexpectedly she won’t seek re-election, “because of recent events of a personal nature” that she said she does “not take lightly.” In a statement on Twitter, Ms. Nassif (Vimy, Que.) did […]
Politics This Morning: In first official visit, Pompeo says Huawei exec not ‘bargaining chip’ in trade war with China
Happy Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pushed back at the suggestion that Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou‘s extradition to the U.S. is being used as a “bargaining chip” in the Trump administration’s trade war with China, during a joint presser with Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. It’s Mr. Pompeo’s first official visit to Ottawa since he assumed […]
Politics This Morning: Trudeau, Freeland to meet with Pompeo
Good Thursday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland are hosting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Kelly Craft, the U.S.’ outgoing ambassador to Canada, to talk Venezuela and China ahead of the G7 summit next week in Biarritz, France. Earlier this week, the feds moved to ease restrictions for Venezuelan refugees […]
Liberals on Ethics Committee kibosh motion for hearing with commissioner
PARLIAMENT HILL—A motion for a House committee to hear from the federal ethics commissioner on Wednesday fell one vote short, with all but one Liberal MP voting against the opposition’s push to have Mario Dion testify on the SNC-Lavalin affair. Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York, Ont.) broke with party rank, voting 5-4 alongside the […]
Youth more likely to talk politics than older generations, Samara survey suggests
There are hopeful signs that more young people will hit the polls this fall after an unprecedented turnout among youth voters in the last election, says one researcher. A new survey from the Samara Centre for Democracy suggested youth are more politically engaged on a number of fronts than older generations, including when it comes […]
Early Manitoba election call bad news for Trudeau Liberals: observers
Manitobans are going to the polls on Sept. 10, a year earlier than planned, and observers say the timing could mean a harder slog for federal campaigns in the province, with Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives most likely to benefit. “[The Manitoba provincial election] is most likely to benefit the Conservative Party,” said Mitchell Davidson, an executive […]
