Articles by Zi-Ann Lum

Sep 23 2021 — Zi-Ann Lum — Politico — It’s Thursday and the prime minister’s vague one-line “private meetings” itineraries are officially back as the Liberals transition from campaign to governing mode.

Sep 17 2021 — Zi-Ann Lum — Politico — If Canadians elect a minority government next week, Liberal or Conservative, Justin Trudeau loses. The Liberal prime minister gambled on an election he did not have to call. If the Conservatives win, he’ll suffer the worst kind of bad beat. And if the Liberals scrape by, he’ll still take heat for Canadians calling his bluff.

Jul 9 2021 — Zi-Ann Lum — Politico — Covid-19 cases are down in Canada and some are interpreting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cross-country travel this week as a surefire sign of an imminent election. Trudeau’s whistle stop in Calgary on Wednesday started with a blunt question from RED FM host Rishi Nagar, who noted the prime minister’s back-to-back pit stops in Cowessess First […]

Feb 25 2021 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz says her push for basic income has traction among her caucus colleagues, including a number of cabinet ministers. Dzerowicz introduced a private members’ bill this week, Bill C-273, which calls on the federal finance minister to study guaranteed basic income models and develop a national strategy to evaluate how a program […]

Feb 19 2021 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — Quebec Premier François Legault’s attempt to cool a controversy that has been dubbed “popcorngate” surprised Vincenzo Guzzo, the president of largest chain of independent theatres in the province. Legault announced Thursday that movie theatres would be compensated for lost snack sales due to provincial COVID-19 rules that will allow theatres to reopen, but not sell […]

Feb 2 2021 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — Internal emails give a rare glimpse of how one “friendly” question was changed. How many government staffers do you need to polish a Liberal backbencher’s “friendly” question for a government minister? The answer, according to internal emails released by the House of Commons’ health committee, is at least 10. The emails were part of a […]

Dec 17 2020 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) quietly released employment statistics showing 1.5 per cent of regular members in officer roles identify themselves as Black. It’s an early glimpse of the disaggregated race-based data the national police force is beginning to collect. This data is currently not published in its employee diversity statistics, updated annually, which […]

Dec 16 2020 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says while there was “lots of laughing” after he uttered the words “speaking moistly” during a coronavirus update back in April, he has no regrets about coining the gross phrase. The prime minister was asked to revisit the viral clip during an interview with Breakfast Television’s Dina Pugliese-Mirkovich on Wednesday. Despite […]

Dec 3 2020 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared his thoughts about a universal basic income during a virtual town hall Wednesday, saying it’s an idea worth discussing but one the government isn’t itching to move ahead on. The NDP have advocated the idea of basic income in the House of Commons during the pandemic, calling it a tool […]

Nov 25 2020 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — Canada doesn’t have the manufacturing capacity to quickly mass produce a COVID-19 vaccine and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says previous Conservatives governments are partly to blame. That was the tenor of the debate in the House of Commons Wednesday, a day after Trudeau acknowledged in a televised briefing outside his home that Canadians could see […]

Oct 30 2020 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — Sen. Lucie Moncion hopes she will inspire copycats with a motion proposing the Senate ask the House of Commons to draft legislation to implement a pay freeze for parliamentarians during the coronavirus pandemic. During a speech in the Senate chamber Thursday, Moncion said the proposal, which she admittedly described one that could be view as […]

Oct 16 2020 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — The federal government is citing a national security exemption (NSE) to withhold details of a “vast majority” of its COVID-19 related contracts struck at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The exemption expedites the weeks-long procurement process — and keeps details of domestic and international contracts, including costs and supplier information, secret.

Sep 19 2020 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — Despite the Liberal caucus’ push, and the prime minister saying the throne speech would focus on closing the gaps and caring for Canada’s most vulnerable, a guaranteed basic income won’t be the landmark of the government’s agenda Wednesday. The throne speech will neither explicitly endorse nor close the door on basic income, two officials told […]

Sep 3 2020 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — The federal NDP is pushing the Liberal government to recall Parliament earlier to ensure legislation can be passed to extend the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) before the program’s scheduled end, four days after the throne speech. A letter sent by NDP House Leader Peter Julian to Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez Thursday said it’s […]

Aug 25 2020 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — When Erin O’Toole was named the next leader of the federal Conservative party early Monday, his caucus colleague Cathay Wagantall watched the live televised results from the headquarters of a rival campaign. Wagantall endorsed Leslyn Lewis, a newcomer to the federal political scene and one of two social conservatives in the eight-month leadership race.