Controversial Château Laurier redesign gets green light from city council after bid to reconsider proposal fails
Ottawa City Council on Thursday upheld an earlier vote to move ahead with the controversial redesign of the Château Laurier, killing a last-ditch attempt to save the historic hotel. Councillors initially voted 14-9 against the motion on Wednesday, but agreed to reconvene today to reconsider. That motion to reconsider was defeated 13-10, meaning councillors did […]
Politics This Morning: Trudeau to sit down with teachers’ association
Good Thursday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has nominated Nicholas Kasirer, a Quebec judge and former dean at McGill’s law faculty, moving to fill a looming vacancy on the highest court with the retirement of justice Clément Gascon in the fall. His nomination still has to be approved before he can join the bench when the court […]
Ottawa City Council punts vote on Château Laurier addition to Thursday
Amid public outcry over the addition to the historic Château Laurier, Ottawa city councillors moved to reconvene on Thursday afternoon to decide the fate of the expansion after initially voting 14-9 against a motion to revoke the hotel’s heritage permit. The bitter fight over the fate of the renovations has drawn interest from MPs in […]
Federal government’s efforts to rein in climate change fall short, with expectations highest in Quebec, poll suggests
The Trudeau government’s response to climate change is falling short of many Canadians’ expectations, a new national poll suggests. But that doesn’t necessarily mean people are willing to bear the costs of aggressive targets and policies designed to reduce fossil-fuel dependency, said Lorne Bozinoff, president of Forum Research. Forum Research’s survey suggested that 63 per […]
Controversial addition to Château Laurier hotel could mean a ‘jettison’ of its history, opponents say, as MPs take note
Members of Parliament and Senators are joining a growing list of civil servants, experts, and citizens in expressing or relaying opposition to plans for a controversial addition to the historic Château Laurier Hotel, with one Senator calling it a “monstrosity.” Ottawa-area figures feeling the crunch from their constituents include Environment Minister Catherine McKenna (Ottawa Centre, […]
Politics This Morning: Freeland to co-host ‘media freedom’ gathering; Trudeau in Montreal to meet with ‘community stakeholders’
Good Wednesday morning, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is in London, U.K., to co-host the Global Conference for Media Freedom, a two-day gathering that seeks to promote press freedom around the world. With the conference, said to be the first of its kind, expected to draw representatives from more than 100 countries, the goal is to have […]
Privy Council Office ready to support government transition with new clerk, ‘whatever the result of the election’
Although Clerk of the Privy Council Ian Shugart has only been in the role since April, the Privy Council Office says they will be ready to support the government transition, “whatever the result of the election.” PCO spokesman Pierre-Alain Bujold told Civil Circles that “with more than a decade of service as a deputy minister, […]
New House sergeant-at-arms named, but expert says delay adds to questions over new process
Four years after the position was vacated, the House of Commons finally has a new sergeant-at-arms, with Patrick McDonell, who’d acted in the role since January 2015, stepping in permanently. However, experts question the delay, suggesting improvements are needed to the Liberal government’s appointment system. “[Pat McDonell] had an outstanding career in the Royal Canadian […]
No sign Canada ‘making inroads’ with China, strategy not working as Trudeau claims, say former diplomats
Canada should be taking more direct action against China instead of “turning the other cheek” and touting its record of getting other countries to advocate on its behalf with the superpower as the diplomatic row escalates, say former diplomats and experts. Charles Burton, former counsellor at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, said he’s “very concerned” […]
Feds say clean fuel standard can make LNG ‘more efficient than coal’, despite report’s warning
A recent Global Energy Monitor report says the projected growth of the global Liquefied Natural Gas sector could be “worse than the coal boom,” but, with 18 LNG facilities proposed across Canada, the government says part of the rationale for its clean fuel standard is to help manage the life cycle of fuels to ensure […]
