The Weekend Q&A: What is your favourite holiday tradition?
PARLIAMENT HILL— Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the House rising for the holidays is so delightful, and since everyone is back home, let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! As MPs adjourned for the holidays earlier this week on Dec. 13, The Hill Times trotted down to the Hill to ask MPs […]
Phoenix backlog up by 70,000 cases, but 54,000 collective agreement cases are priority
A new Phoenix pay system update shows there remain 54,000 open cases related to collective agreements yet to be processed, signalling the lingering backlog will probably continue for several months. There were 335,000 cases beyond normal workload reported as of Nov. 29, meaning a total of 589,000 open cases are waiting to be processed, according to […]
Legislation on firearms, disabilities expected after winter break for Parliament
The Liberals have now run past the halfway mark of their first mandate, and the time to make good on the remainder of their campaign promises is slowly ticking away. The Liberals made 353 promises in their campaign platform, and more since taking power, and the majority have yet to be delivered on in full, […]
Politics This Morning: McLachlin’s last day on the bench; McKenna to launch new climate initiative; Parliament hosts NHL alumni game
Good Friday morning, It’s the last official day on the bench for Canada’s longest serving Supreme Court chief justice. Beverley McLachlin is marking her final day in office with a press conference at the National Press Theatre at 10 a.m. Ms. McLachlin is stepping down after serving as chief justice since 2000. She was originally […]
Politics This Morning: Chagger, Bains unveil new innovation program; Lafleur headlines Library and Archives Canada event celebrating the Hart; Trudeau to fete McLachlin
Good Thursday morning, It’s the start of the holiday break for Parliamentarians, with the House adjourning yesterday afternoon until the new year. The House is scheduled to resume sitting Jan. 29, 2018. However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is still in town on Thursday, and will deliver remarks at a dinner being held in honour of […]
‘It’s frustrating to be fighting this again’: softwood lumber agreement long way off, say observers
The Canadian forestry industry is getting ready for another long-term softwood lumber dispute, with Susan Yurkovich, president of the British Columbia Lumber Trade Council, saying she does not expect the United States government or the U.S. industry to come back to the table “in the near future.” The high prices of the product mean the […]
Internal Economy Board approves ‘new standard’ of House spending above $500M
House of Commons spending is on track to remain above the half-billion-dollar mark next fiscal year, as the Board of Internal Economy approved a $507-million budget for Members of Parliament, House officers, and the staff who support them. The committee’s Dec. 7 vote marks the first time House of Commons spending has been approved with […]
MPs, Senators expect better communication from new lobbying watchdog
Some MPs and Senators say they’re hoping to see the expected new lobbying watchdog, Nancy Bélanger, build a stronger relationship with them as she embarks on the start of term, as they suggested there’s been a lack of communication between the lobbying commissioner’s office and them in the past. “It’s really important that officers of […]
Liberals to roll out legislative package with reforms to National Energy Board in early 2018: Carr
Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr says the Liberal government will introduce its long-awaited legislative package overhauling the country’s environmental assessment and regulatory processes—including modernizing the pipeline regulator—in the new year. The announcement comes months after the release of a report from the expert panel struck by the Liberals to examine the National Energy Board (NEB) […]
Bring Senate expense-claim disputes out of ‘arbitrary,’ ‘secretive’ meetings: Sen. McPhedran
An Independent Senator says she repeatedly appealed a denied spring travel-expense claim not because she wants to be reimbursed, but rather she wants to move the way Senators’ expenses are disputed out from an “arbitrary” and “secretive” forum. But a Conservative Senator says Sen. Marilou McPhedran’s (Manitoba) multiple appeals were a useless exercise that only […]
