Jun 20 2018 — Emily Haws — Hill Times — Canada’s top bureaucrat should have accepted comments made by the auditor general in his scathing report on the Phoenix pay system, say opposition MPs, as his refusal undermines the credibility of the auditor general’s work and shows that the systemic cultural issues noted are alive and well in the bureaucracy’s upper ranks. Liberal MPs, meanwhile, […]
Jun 20 2018 — Samantha Wright Allen — Hill Times — Canada is behind on its bid to win a United Nations Security Council seat, say former diplomats and foreign affairs officials, which they suggest shows a lack of political will to backstop a Liberal promise that has now become a low priority. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) announced in the spring of 2016 Canada […]
Jun 18 2018 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — After the devastating and spectacular defeat of the Ontario Liberals in the June 7 election, the party leadership race is unofficially on with at least two federal Liberal MPs considering entry into the contest. In interviews with The Hill Times, Liberal MP Mark Holland (Ajax, Ont.) and Liberal MP Adam Vaughan (Spadina-Fort York, Ont.) said […]
Jun 18 2018 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — The ongoing war of words between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the U.S. President Donald Trump over NAFTA renegotiations is political gold for the prime minister in the short term, say Parliamentarians and pollsters, but could prove to be a major political liability in the long term if the North American Free Trade Agreement is […]
Jun 14 2018 — Hill Times — After months of uncertainty, it was made official today that Centre Block would be open for business this summer after all, delaying until January the planned decade-long renovation that was expected to begin after the House of Commons and Senate vacate the building after rising this month.
Jun 13 2018 — Emily Haws — Hill Times — Department of National Defence deputy minister Jody Thomas says she’ll work through the summer to review how the Canadian government buys defence equipment, with a view to paring down the procurement process to get projects out the door quicker. That could even mean more use of sole-source contracts, when it doesn’t make sense to hold […]
Jun 13 2018 — Samantha Wright Allen — Hill Times — NDP MP Daniel Blaikie says he’s exhausted almost every procedure in the book to stop a controversial $7-billion budget vote, but after a Monday night House Speaker’s ruling, he’s not sure what else to do. “We are getting to the point where we have done all that we can do. I really have tried to […]
Jun 11 2018 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — Republican lawmakers are pushing back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and the U.S., likely making the case that the move could pave the road to his impeachment, say a former trade adviser to U.S. politicians and a Canadian lobbyist tracking the trade battle. “The only hope there is the Republican leadership […]
Jun 11 2018 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — Emboldened by a sweeping majority win in the most populous province in the country last week, Conservatives and NDP on the Hill say there are no safe seats for federal Liberals in Ontario in 2019, but the Grits say they aren’t take anything for granted after Ontario Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne’s spectacular and crushing defeat […]
Jun 6 2018 — Tim Powers — Hill Times — Kathleen Wynne’s election concession some five days before Ontarians vote in their June 7 provincial election was the latest bizarre twist in Ontario’s crazy year of politics. Some members of Wynne’s team are framing this as a great selfless act that will liberate local candidates from the premier’s current toxic brand, potentially giving some of […]
Jun 6 2018 — Samantha Wright Allen — Hill Times — A dozen former Conservative and NDP leadership contenders still owe money from their campaigns, according to Elections Canada, while the group’s biggest debtor, Tory competitor Kevin O’Leary, calls the rules around repayment “outrageous,” “unfair,” and “unCanadian.” The TV personality and businessman said he has paid off about $139,00 of the $529,00 he was reported as […]
Jun 5 2018 — Hill Times — Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s move to concede defeat ahead of election day was a “stunningly selfless act,” and not a power play, said the premier’s campaign co-chair in a televised interview on Monday. In an interview on CBC’s Power & Politics on Monday, David Herle said Ms. Wynne’s decision to admit that she would not […]
Jun 4 2018 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — With Ontario Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne headed for big loss in this week’s provincial election, veteran federal political players say Thursday’s results will provide a roadmap for the federal NDP and Conservatives for possible winnable ridings in the 2019 election and they say the federal Liberals won’t have the provincial machine that helped them win […]
Jun 4 2018 — Hill Times — Buying the $4.5-billion Trans Mountain pipeline has made the governing Liberals politically vulnerable on multiple fronts and will likely endanger seats in British Columbia and Quebec without providing a boost in Alberta, say pollsters. The controversial move, announced by Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr (Winnipeg South Centre, Man.) and Finance Minister Bill Morneau (Toronto Centre, […]
Jun 1 2018 — Hill Times — The Trudeau government made the right call in retaliating with countermeasures to Washington’s move to enact tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, while also giving the issue some breathing room to allow for a resolution before trade relations get worse, say some MPs. “It’s extremely important to the country to know that our government, as […]