Mar 17 2019 — Kathleen Harris — CBC — Finance Minister Bill Morneau tables his federal budget Tuesday — a high-stakes election year spending plan that could be as much about shoring up sliding Liberal support as it is about fiscal policy. The 2019 budget is expected to help seniors, enhance skills training opportunities and make housing more affordable for millennials and other first-time […]
Mar 16 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — What’s in a name? When Shakespeare asked, he was talking about romance and roses. Apparently, the question applies to naval ships as well. A series of internal briefing notes show the Canadian navy pushed back hard against the former Conservative government’s plan to name the long-delayed, yet-to-be-delivered supply ships after War of 1812 battles.
Mar 15 2019 — Catharine Tunney — CBC — A Conservative MP has cancelled an event with a keynote speaker accused of sympathizing with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the wake of mosque shootings in New Zealand which left at least 49 people dead. As CTV first reported, Conservatives MPs Garnett Genuis and Kelly Block were already facing criticism for hosting Baroness Caroline Cox, […]
Mar 15 2019 — John Paul Tasker — CBC — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will shuffle his cabinet for the third time in three months on Monday, CBC News has learned — filling the gap left by the dramatic departure of Jane Philpott last month over the government’s handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair. Three government sources — speaking to CBC News on the condition of […]
Mar 15 2019 — CBC — Randy Hillier, the MPP for Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston, has been expelled from the Ontario PC Party’s caucus. Hillier was originally suspended from caucus for allegedly saying “yada, yada, yada” to a parent of a child with autism after a tense question period on Feb. 20. A caucus meeting on March 5 ended with no decision being made […]
Mar 15 2019 — CBC — Alberta’s Office of the Election Commissioner has turned over to the RCMP its investigation into allegations of irregular political contributions involving the so-called “kamikaze” campaign of United Conservative Party leadership contender Jeff Callaway. “Our inquiries into your complaint have identified potential violations that fall outside of the jurisdiction of our office and, as a result, […]
Mar 15 2019 — Robyn Urback — CBC — Doug Ford’s government is a government of grifters. It claims to be a truck-stop government: “For The People,” and other nonsense. That’s while holding $1,600-per-plate fundraisers — known as “cash-for-access” fundraisers back when the Liberals were doing it — after gutting the law that the previous administration put in place to stop wealthy stakeholders from […]
Mar 15 2019 — CBC — Climate change can be a touchy subject — even among advocates of climate action. And especially when it comes to the issue of geoengineering.
Mar 15 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — Federal finance officials were concerned last summer by the threat of a diplomatic and trade crisis with Saudi Arabia exploding to draw in other countries in the region — potentially putting billions of dollars in direct investment in danger — newly-released documents reveal. A briefing note prepared for Finance Minister Bill Morneau just days after […]
Mar 15 2019 — CBC — An international body that works to boost trade and fight corruption is subjecting Canada to a special review in the wake of the SNC-Lavalin allegations — and while the review process itself is toothless, experts warn Canada has a lot to lose if it gets a failing grade. Drago Kos, chair of the Organization for […]
Mar 14 2019 — CBC — SNC-Lavalin approached Quebec’s attorney-general last fall to enlist her help securing a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) from the federal government. This was part of a broader effort by the company to get the newly elected Coalition Avenir Québec government to take up its cause with Ottawa. The senior executive in charge of SNC-Lavalin’s lobbying strategy, […]
Mar 14 2019 — David Cochrane — CBC — The federal government will establish personalized accounts to help Canadians pay for lifelong learning and skills development in next week’s budget, CBC News has learned. The specific details of the program weren’t shared with CBC, but two government sources say the government’s plan is modelled on a similar program in Singapore. The Singapore SkillsFuture program […]
Mar 14 2019 — Kathleen Harris — CBC — The Liberal MP who triggered the sudden adjournment of an emergency meeting of the Commons justice committee Wednesday insists there’s been no attempt by the government to cover up the SNC-Lavalin affair, and says it’s time to turn the page on the controversy. Francis Drouin suggested the opposition Conservative and NDP members were playing politics […]
Mar 14 2019 — Kyle Bakx — CBC — Canada’s natural resources minister wants his American counterpart to step up and help on stalled pipelines, calling the long-delayed Keystone XL project “very important” to both countries. Amarjeet Sohi met with U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry on Wednesday in Houston at the CERAWeek energy conference. The focus was on TransCanada’s Keystone XL project and […]
Mar 14 2019 — Neil Macdonald — CBC — Back in December, NDP MP Charlie Angus approvingly retweeted a Christmas wish on Twitter calling for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to fire then-Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. “The Justice file has been completely bungled” quoted Angus, who accused Wilson-Raybould of all sorts of malevolence. But of course that was then. To hear Angus tell it now, […]