Government compromises on Standing Orders changes, takes PM’s Question Period off the table
PARLIAMENT HILL—Government House Leader Bardish Chagger is putting her motion proposing changes to the Standing Orders of the House of Commons on the notice paper tonight, and it includes walking back the government’s plan to add a weekly Prime Minister’s Question Period to the rules. The final text of the motion is the result of […]
Politics This Morning: Finance Minister Morneau to speak at Canada 2020 Conference
Happening around the Hill: Maryam Monsef, minister of Status of Women, and Carolyn Bennett, minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, will be at the Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada in Ottawa to make announcements regarding Inuit women and girls in Canada. The event is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., and Ms. Monsef and Ms. […]
Feds promise regional balance on Supreme Court, with western seat up for grabs in December
The Liberal government has pledged to “emphasize” the importance of regional representation on Canada’s top bench, with its top judge set to retire in December and open up a spot traditionally filled by a western Canadian. The government “commits to clarifying the qualifications and assessment criteria to emphasize the importance of maintaining regional representation over […]
Stogran alleges ‘malicious’ rumour, harassment from insiders led to quitting NDP leadership race
After blaming “insiders” for his decision to pull out from the NDP leadership race less than two months after entering, Pat Stogran says the real reason was far more nefarious: someone within the party had crossed the line, sharing “a malicious and unfounded” story that he thought would harm his family. Party insiders and people […]
Parliament should rewrite voting law to regulate foreign money, says elections commissioner
Ottawa should rewrite voting legislation to scrap a limp, unenforceable provision that appears to prohibit non-Canadians from expressing views about how Canadians should vote, and instead put in place a new rule to limit undue influence of foreign funding, says Canada’s elections commissioner. Yves Côté told the House Procedure and House Affairs Committee on June 8 […]
Putting foreign policy to paper: Freeland largely crafted speech herself, with help from ‘lengthy’ talks with PM
Last week’s 4,000-word foreign policy speech reveals weeks worth of work, cross-departmental collaboration, and though many likely had a hand in the document, insiders say it was crafted in large part by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. With its talk of “hard power,” Canada being an “essential country” and taking a strong stance as a […]
Long hours, quiet hallways: working the late shift in silly season
Sitting in a room on the lowest level of Centre Block, a handful of interpreters took a break waiting for their next shift, their murmurs the only sound along a quiet hallway in the waning hours before midnight. Staff taking on the late shifts across departments told The Hill Times that the hours are an expected […]
Ex-languages commissioner Fraser says Liberals waited a year to begin search for his replacement
Graham Fraser says the Liberal government waited until 2017, after he’d already left his extended term as languages commissioner, to really begin the search to replace him, despite being reminded of the impending vacancy a year before, raising renewed concerns about the sluggish pace of governor-in-council appointments under the Liberals. Mr. Fraser, who left the post in […]
Facebook schools feds on data analytics, privacy
Both the federal government and Facebook agree that the public sector could learn a thing or two from the private sector about how to use data to optimize operations. The government participated in a workshop put on by social media giant Facebook in February about how the government could make better use of data at […]
Politics This Morning: Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. to speak to Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade
In case you missed it: As reported by The Hill Times‘ Rachel Aiello yesterday, the Conservatives threatened to force the House into upwards of 30 hours of votes today on the government’s main estimates if the Liberal government doesn’t stop using its majority in the Commons to unilaterally change some of the rules that govern […]
