Aug 13 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — Nearly two-thirds of Canadians said they had seen a political advertisement in the past month, suggests a new poll by Forum Research, but eight in 10 of them say the ads had little or no impact on their opinions. The poll by Forum Research used an interactive-voice response system to survey 1,733 Canadians across the […]
Aug 12 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is making good on his promise to campaign against the federal Liberals as the election approaches, and political observers say he could help the federal Conservatives to win seats in B.C., but could also hurt them in Quebec if he isn’t careful. Mr. Kenney led his United Conservative Party to a […]
Aug 5 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — After four years in power, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is getting mixed reviews at the doors in some Liberal ridings, and some Liberal MPs say their own personal popularity—instead of the popularity of their leader—will be more important for them in this campaign than the last. “You always run on three things: your personal reputation, […]
Jul 29 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — The Senate ethics officer’s investigation into the conduct of former Senator Don Meredith was delayed for reasons beyond his control, including due to other Senators who didn’t respond to his requests for information, says a new report from the Senate Ethics Committee. “The SEO was delayed in part by the lack of prompt responses to […]
Jul 29 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — The outcome of the fall election could spur big changes to the Red Chamber, Senators say, with talk that floor-crossing, forming new groups, and battles over who would form the opposition—or whether there will even be one—could all be in play. The Liberals and Conservatives are running neck-and-neck in public opinion polls, leaving a realistic […]
Jul 22 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — The NDP says it has temporarily stopped running political ads on Facebook and elsewhere fewer than 100 days before the federal election, leading one conservative-tied digital strategist to suggest the party is in deep trouble, and a former NDP national director to predict the party is saving its ammunition for closer to the election.
Jul 15 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — The Liberal Party has gained an advantage of seven percentage points over the federal Conservatives in the province of Ontario, according to a recent online poll by Campaign Research, reversing the lead the official opposition had in the province from last month, and helping the Grits to take their first lead over the Tories nationwide—by […]
Jul 1 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — MPs are once again calling for changes to the Standing Orders that govern business in the House, warning that all-night Commons voting puts a serious strain on their health, and the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader says it could kill an MP one day. ”We will have literally hundreds of votes. I think […]
Jun 26 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — Four years of lawmaking has left the Liberal government with a lengthy list of accomplishments and black marks, but only a few legal changes made or abandoned by the Trudeau government will likely play a significant role at the ballot box this October, say political observers. “There’s an old saying in politics: ‘Friends come and […]
Jun 24 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — Conservative MP Michael Cooper, who is threatening to sue The Hill Times for defamation over an opinion column that strongly criticized his remarks to a witness during a House Justice Committee meeting on the Hill late last month, also denies that he read from the Christchurch shooter’s manifesto during that meeting. A law firm hired […]
Jun 18 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau touted the importance of middle class jobs, catalogued his record on the environment, took shots at his Conservative opponents, and evoked the spectre of U.S. President Donald Trump in a campaign-style speech defending his government’s approval of the Trans-Mountain Pipeline Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Trudeau’s lengthy speech, flanked by five cabinet ministers, […]
Jun 17 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — With nearly 100 amendments from the Senate—on top of about 100 from the House—the government’s environmental assessment reform legislation is entering its final stretch in the Senate, with debate on the government’s message on the amendments rejected and accepted expected to begin as early as this evening. The Senate had returned 188 amendments to the […]
Jun 12 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — A group of Independent Senators is getting ready to propose two amendments to the government’s controversial ban on oil tankers docking on the B.C. coast to allow pipeline and tanker access to the Nisga’a First Nation, says Independent Alberta Senator Paula Simons. The Nisga’a Nation is made up of four communities in northern B.C. located […]
Jun 10 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — Independent and Conservative Senators are working on amendments to the government’s controversial bill to ban oil tankers from ports along most of the B.C. coast, despite Transport Minister Marc Garneau’s signal to the Senate in May that the government didn’t want to compromise on the core elements of the bill.
Jun 4 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — The Senate Transport Committee slammed the government’s bill to ban oil tankers from the northern B.C. coast in a report issued Monday night, calling it “economically irresponsible” and “an affront to common sense” to ban tankers out West while allowing commercial ship traffic on the east coast. The committee tabled the 5,300-word report in the […]