Deadline looms for low-profile CPC candidates, who say party needs more fresh faces and ideas
The Conservative Party needs a new face, fresh ideas, and to stop rehashing old feuds, according to some of the lesser-known leadership candidates who say the frontrunners, former cabinet ministers Peter MacKay and Erin O’Toole, are operating by the old playbook. Beyond Mr. MacKay, Mr. O’Toole (Durham, Ont.), and two-term Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia—Lambton, […]
Transportation Agency, RCMP among agencies with most missed targets in 2018-19, show late-tabled reports
About 25 per cent of government programs tracked at the departmental level missed their performance targets in 2018-19, up slightly from about 24 per cent the year prior, with the Canadian Transportation Agency and the RCMP topping the list, according to the latest annual results reports. Nineteen departments or agencies missed more than 40 per […]
No committee or caucus roles, longtime Tory MP Scott Reid still sidelined after breaking rank
After being stripped of his critic duties during the last Parliament for voting against the party line, longtime Conservative MP Scott Reid has been entirely left off of House committee membership lists this time around. Up until this Parliament, Mr. Reid had spent 15 years as a member of the Procedure and House Affairs Committee […]
‘Everything we didn’t do with Phoenix’: feds tap SAP for work on long-awaited Phoenix replacement pilot project
In the wake of the fourth anniversary of the problem-plagued Phoenix pay system, the federal government has reached a long-awaited milestone in the years-long saga that has left thousands of public sector workers overpaid, underpaid, or not paid at all. On March 6, the Treasury Board announced that software company SAP Canada had been chosen […]
O’Regan putting nuclear ‘front and centre’ raises eyebrows, industry hopes
Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan’s recent declaration that the federal government is “placing nuclear energy front and centre” came as a surprise, according to some nuclear experts and industry stakeholders, but has left some excited about the prospect of more federal support. “I’m surprised at that language,” said NDP MP Richard Cannings (South Okanagan–West Kootenay, […]
Federal officials brief MPs, parliamentary staff on efforts to combat coronavirus
PARLIAMENT HILL—As concerns over the coronavirus grow, dozens of MPs and parliamentary staff sat down for an hour-long briefing on Tuesday with federal officials who offered advice on how to mitigate the virus’ spread. The briefing, held late Tuesday afternoon at the Valour Building, was organized by Health Canada and included Dr. Howard Njoo, deputy […]
Bennett defends process for reaching tentative deal with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs
PARLIAMENT HILL—Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett brushed aside suggestions on Tuesday that the government deliberately chose not to meet with Wet’suwet’en leadership in favour of the contentious $6.6-billion Coastal Gas Link pipeline, as she faced questions from Conservatives over the tentative deal the government reached with some hereditary chiefs more than a week ago. In […]
Don’t accept invites to Chinese embassy, former envoy tells cabinet ministers
A former Canadian ambassador to China says federal cabinet ministers should refrain from accepting any invitations to the country’s embassy and to take a bilateral approach based on “reciprocity” amid ongoing tensions. “We should apply reciprocity in terms of the Chinese government’s access in Ottawa,”said Guy Saint-Jacques, who served as ambassador to Beijing from 2012-2016, […]
‘It’s an all-hands-on-deck situation at all times’: Chief Government Whip Holland wants ‘no surprises’ in minority Parliament
Mark Holland may be taking some inspiration from House of Cards protagonist Frank Underwood as he carries the role of chief government whip through this tenuous minority Parliament. “One is to operate on a basis of having no surprises,” Mr. Holland (Ajax, Ont.) said as he ran through his priorities as the chief government whip, […]
Senate committee talks heat up, Dalphond and Sinclair ready motion on reforms
Independent Senators Pierre Dalphond and Murray Sinclair are planning to take the next step in their bid to reform the Senate rules around private members’ bills, by tabling a motion in the next few weeks that will require a formal vote on their proposed changes, says Sen. Dalphond. The two ISG Senators first proposed five […]
