Articles by Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press

May 16 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — The Liberals used their majority on a House of Commons committee Thursday to block an opposition attempt to launch an inquiry into the failed prosecution of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman. Conservative and NDP members of the Commons defence committee forced a special meeting to debate a Tory motion that would have initiated an investigation into how the military's former […]

May 16 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — The Liberals used their majority on a House of Commons committee Thursday to block an opposition attempt to launch an inquiry into the failed prosecution of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman. Conservative and NDP members of the Commons defence committee forced a special meeting to debate a Tory motion that would have initiated an investigation into how the military's former […]

May 15 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says he supported the chief of defence staff's decision to suspend Vice-Admiral Mark Norman in 2017, more than a year before he was charged with breach of trust for allegedly leaking government secrets about military procurement. But Sajjan told the House of Commons on Wednesday that the decision was Gen. Jonathan Vance's alone. The public prosecutor abruptly […]

May 15 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says he supported the chief of defence staff's decision to suspend Vice-Admiral Mark Norman in 2017, more than a year before he was charged with breach of trust for allegedly leaking government secrets about military procurement. But Sajjan told the House of Commons on Wednesday that the decision was Gen. Jonathan Vance's alone. The public prosecutor abruptly […]

May 12 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Politicians are increasingly concerned that social media giants have become so big, powerful and rich that they are effectively above the law — at least in a small country like Canada. Their concern was on display last week at a meeting of the House of Commons access to information, privacy and ethics committee, where Liberal […]

May 12 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Politicians are increasingly concerned that social media giants have become so big, powerful and rich that they are effectively above the law — at least in a small country like Canada. Their concern was on display last week at a meeting of the House of Commons access to information, privacy and ethics committee, where Liberal […]

May 9 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Lynn Beyak cast herself as a defender of free speech and a victim of political correctness moments before senators voted summarily Thursday to suspend her without pay from the Senate for refusing to delete derogatory letters about Indigenous people from her website. The suspension applies only to the remainder of the current session of Parliament; she'll be able to […]

May 9 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Lynn Beyak cast herself as a defender of free speech and a victim of political correctness moments before senators voted summarily Thursday to suspend her without pay from the Senate for refusing to delete derogatory letters about Indigenous people from her website. The suspension applies only to the remainder of the current session of Parliament; she'll be able to […]

May 8 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale is disputing claims that a bill to end solitary confinement in Canada's prisons is merely "linguistic trickery" that maintains the practice under a different name. Goodale told a Senate committee Wednesday that Bill C-83, which would create new "structured intervention units" to replace segregation units is "not just semantics." There will […]

May 8 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale is disputing claims that a bill to end solitary confinement in Canada's prisons is merely "linguistic trickery" that maintains the practice under a different name. Goodale told a Senate committee Wednesday that Bill C-83, which would create new "structured intervention units" to replace segregation units is "not just semantics." There will […]

May 7 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Canadian parliamentarians love to quote Albert Einstein's definition of insanity. No one more so than Liberal Sean Casey, who's cited the famous quotation purportedly from the acclaimed physicist at least five times in the House of Commons or in parliamentary committees since he was first elected in 2011. "Albert Einstein once said, 'Insanity is doing the same […]

May 7 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Canadian parliamentarians love to quote Albert Einstein's definition of insanity. No one more so than Liberal Sean Casey, who's cited the famous quotation purportedly from the acclaimed physicist at least five times in the House of Commons or in parliamentary committees since he was first elected in 2011. "Albert Einstein once said, 'Insanity is doing the same […]

May 3 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Televised leaders' debates during the coming federal election campaign ought to be more accessible, more civil and more educational for voters trying to make an informed choice. That was the advice of some 45 individuals and groups consulted by David Johnston, the former governor general who heads up Canada's first-ever commission on leaders' debates. […]

May 3 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Televised leaders' debates during the coming federal election campaign ought to be more accessible, more civil and more educational for voters trying to make an informed choice. That was the advice of some 45 individuals and groups consulted by David Johnston, the former governor general who heads up Canada's first-ever commission on leaders' debates. […]

Apr 26 2019 — Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Dominic LeBlanc is stepping away temporarily from his duties as federal intergovernmental and northern affairs minister after being diagnosed with a type of blood cancer. "A few weeks ago, I consulted with my doctor for what began as flu-like symptoms," the veteran New Brunswick Liberal MP said in a joint statement Friday with Dr. […]