‘Was I tough? I hope so’: retiring Tory Senator David Tkachuk talks divisive politics, election 2019, and Senate reform
David Tkachuk will depart the Red Chamber after nearly 30 years of service as a Conservative Senator for Saskatchewan when he turns 75 on Feb. 18. Sen. Tkachuk was appointed to the Senate by Brian Mulroney in 1993, after a career as a conservative political organizer that began in the 1970s and included time running […]
Senators asked to study limits of parliamentary privilege for harassment investigations
The Senate Rules Committee will be asked to study the limits of when Senators can claim parliamentary privilege during a harassment investigation, as some did during the Senate ethics officer’s investigation into disgraced former senator Don Meredith. The committee will have an April 30 deadline to report its findings back to the Senate. As of […]
Conservative Party’s national council should share Scheer’s expense audit report with party members, say some Conservative MPs and leadership candidate Gladu
The Conservative Party’s national council should share the findings of the forensic audit into $900,000 of outgoing leader Andrew Scheer’s expenses, say some Conservative MPs and one leadership candidate, and they say it’s critical for the party to improve the governance and transparency of the Conservative Fund following the controversy over the party’s subsidization of […]
It’s high stakes: senior House Liberals hold ‘tactics meeting’ every morning to plot daily strategy in minority Parliament
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals deal with the new reality of the minority Parliament, their senior House leadership team is holding a high-stakes “tactics meeting” every morning when the House is sitting to plot strategy for the Commons and committees, Liberal sources told The Hill Times. In interviews last week, Liberal sources said the […]
‘The Senate understands its role’: new Gov. Rep. Marc Gold says of Red Chamber as political wild card
The government’s new point-person in the Senate says he expects the freshly-splintered, increasingly independent Upper Chamber to continue to defer to the elected House of Commons when push comes to shove on government legislation. Senator Marc Gold (Stadacona, Que.) said the Senate “understands its role” in Canada when asked about persistent suggestions that a wave […]
Conservatives not prepared to ‘buy a pig in the poke,’ want to see economic impact report for new NAFTA
Conservative members of a House of Commons committee want to see the economic impact assessment of the new NAFTA before their study of the bill to implement the updated pact ends, while government officials say the report should be finished in the “near future.” In response to a question from Conservative MP Ed Fast (Abbotsford, […]
‘On the map’: military town welcomes Canadian evacuees from China
As the country watches how the 215 evacuees from coronavirus-hit China will be doing over the course of their government-ordered quarantine at the military base in Trenton, Ont., the backbench MP who represents the riding says he plans to let the experts do their jobs, and won’t be using the historic event for any political […]
Feds to charter second plane to evacuate Canadians in coronavirus-hit China
PARLIAMENT HILL—As evacuees make their way back to Canada amid the coronavirus outbreak, Ottawa is preparing to airlift those still stranded in China next week, federal officials said Thursday. “Approximately two-thirds of Canadians seeking to be evacuated would have left China [by Thursday],” said Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne (Saint Maurice-Champlain, Que.) during a press […]
Cases of Canadian detainees in China will determine success in Beijing posting, says envoy Barton
Canada’s top man in China told Parliamentarians on the special Canada-China Relations House Committee on Wednesday that the release of two detained Canadians and clemency for another facing the death penalty will determine if his time as ambassador was a success. “I want to see Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig released and back in Canada, […]
Ottawa assessing if other armed forces bases necessary to house evacuees from China
Ottawa is in the midst of assessing whether it will need more lodging to house the hundreds of Canadians being repatriated from Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, officials said Wednesday. Speaking to the House Health Committee on Feb. 5, defence department officials noted that the Yukon Lodge at CFB Trenton, where Canadians […]
