Jul 20 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Mark Carney won't be on the Liberal ticket if there's an election this fall. The former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England told The Canadian Press he's made commitments to help in the global fight against climate change and he can't walk away from them just a few […]
Jun 27 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna has decided not to seek re-election. Her surprise decision opens up some prime political real estate that could become a launching pad for former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney should he decide to run for the Liberals in the next election. McKenna has held Ottawa Centre, a riding […]
Jun 27 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Like millions of Canadians, members of Parliament are contemplating with mixed emotions the prospect of returning to business as usual after 15 months of working from home. For most MPs, a return to normal means gruelling travel, long stretches of time away from family and copious amounts of time spent warming seats in […]
Jun 23 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — The Liberal government waited until the House of Commons was about to adjourn for three months to introduce a bill aimed at protecting Canadians from online hate speech. The eleventh-hour move Wednesday fuelled speculation that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is intent on padding the Liberals' record before calling an election sometime this summer. […]
Jun 23 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — The House of Commons rose Wednesday for the summer — and possibly for an election — after giving eleventh-hour approval to what the minority Liberal government considers its priority legislation. But it's far from certain the Senate will be as accommodating. Three priority bills landed in the Senate in the past couple of […]
Jun 18 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — The head of the Public Health Agency of Canada is showing no sign he's willing to release unredacted documents about the firing of two scientists at the country's highest security laboratory — despite the prospect of being publicly shamed in the House of Commons for his refusal to produce the information. PHAC president […]
Jun 17 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Erin O'Toole pulled Conservative MPs from a special national security committee Thursday, accusing the government of using it to cover up an incident that caused two scientists at Canada's highest security laboratory to be fired. The Conservative leader told the House of Commons his party's members are withdrawing "effectively immediately" from the National […]
Jun 16 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Conservatives want to invoke a rarely used procedure to publicly rebuke the head of the Public Health Agency of Canada over his refusal to produce unredacted documents related to the firing of two scientists from Canada's highest security laboratory. Conservative House leader Gerard Deltell moved a motion Wednesday calling for PHAC to be […]
Jun 16 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — It's a "sad reflection" on Canada that an Inuk MP feels she's been racially profiled by security officials on Parliament Hill, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday. Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, a rookie New Democrat MP from Nunavut, told the House of Commons on Tuesday night that she does not feel safe on the […]
Jun 16 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Canada was excoriated as a racist, hypocritical failure Tuesday as MPs who don't intend to seek re-election said their official farewells to Parliament. Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, the New Democrat MP for Nunavut, used the opportunity to blast Canada as a country built on the oppression of Indigenous People and whose history is "stained with […]
Jun 15 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc is signalling that Canadians can expect an announcement by Monday on easing pandemic travel restrictions. But he warned Tuesday that the relaxed rules won't necessarily go into effect immediately. And he stressed that the restrictions will be phased out slowly and cautiously and only so long as vaccination […]
Jun 14 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin is asking for a judicial review of the decision to remove him as head of Canada's vaccine logistics, alleging political interference by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and two of his cabinet ministers. Lawyers for Fortin filed an application Monday with the Federal Court, seeking an expedited judicial review of last […]
Jun 14 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Jenica Atwin has adjusted her position on Israel to align with the governing Liberal party she joined just four days ago. The Fredericton MP left the Greens on Thursday after openly criticizing party leader Annamie Paul's call for de-escalation of the recent deadly hostilities between Israel and Palestinians. Atwin had said she stood […]
Jun 11 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — The Trudeau government announced Friday that it will convene an emergency summit on antisemitism, even as it faced criticism for welcoming into the Liberal fold an MP who has denounced Israel as an apartheid state. The summit is to be led by former Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, currently Canada's special envoy on antisemitism. […]
Jun 10 2021 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Rob Silver, the husband of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's chief of staff, has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the federal lobbying commissioner. Nancy Belanger says Silver spent about 70 minutes cumulatively talking to public office holders about two different emergency aid programs on behalf of mortgage finance company MCAP. She says MCAP […]