Hill Times

Mar 18 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — As MPs return from a two-week break on Monday, Government House Leader Bardish Chagger says the Liberals will try to pass 21 active government bills in Parliament before the end of June when the Commons adjourns and the next election campaign begins, but the Conservatives plan to put up a feisty legislative fight. Conservative House […]

Mar 18 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is still reeling over the resignation of two cabinet ministers for his handling of the SNC-Lavalin controversy and one backbencher who recently openly criticized his leadership style, needs to “reset the tone” in his management style of the 179 Liberal MPs by having a two-way meaningful communication, creating and empowering […]

Mar 13 2019 — Emily Haws — Hill Times — Robert Fife, the Globe and Mail Ottawa bureau chief and one of the reporters behind the explosive SNC-Lavalin story that’s rocked politics in Ottawa for a month, has been breaking stories for decades due to his vast network of sources, keen eye for detail, and knack for telling when people aren’t telling the truth, say […]

Mar 13 2019 — Hill Times — The SNC-Lavalin affair has hurt Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s approval numbers, but political commentators say it remains to be seen whether Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh can use the controversy to bump past the Liberal leader in the polls ahead of October’s election. Recent polling shows that Mr. Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) […]

Mar 12 2019 — Beatrice Paez — Hill Times — Former top bureaucrat Kevin Lynch, who now serves as board chairman for SNC-Lavalin, may have violated federal lobbying rules in failing to disclose a phone call with Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick. Ethics watchdog Democracy Watch is planning to file a complaint with the Lobbying Commissioner’s Office that would call on it to rule whether […]

Mar 11 2019 — Hill Times — The looming trial of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman and his defence team’s allegations of political interference in the case could push swing voters away from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party, says one pollster, by shoring up a perception created by the SNC-Lavalin scandal that Mr. Trudeau’s team likes to meddle where it shouldn’t to help […]

Mar 11 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — As the SNC-Lavalin saga drags on with no end in sight, one Liberal MP is urging former cabinet ministers Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott, and his other caucus colleagues to bring any outstanding issues to the caucus and hash them out “within the family,” as MPs say the public airing of grievances by the two […]

Mar 6 2019 — Hill Times — Despite pleas from the United Nations to extend its peacekeeping deployment in Mali until Romanian peacekeepers take over in October, Canada has not swayed from its decision to leave after its one-year commitment concludes at the end of July. This could threaten the well-being of the UN mission by losing a vital helicopter medical evacuation […]

Mar 6 2019 — Hill Times — Though the loss of two high-profile ministers threatens to undercut the Liberal Party’s pitch for a new style of politics, their decision to remain in caucus appears to send a signal that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can salvage the situation and still has the credibility to recover from this crisis, according to political observers. At […]

Mar 4 2019 — Hill Times — Reeling from former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould’s damning testimony, which accuses 11 top Liberal government officials, including the prime minister, of political interference in the SNC-Lavalin scandal, Liberal MPs say they can fight their political opponents, but not one of their own “who continues to fire at us.” “Nobody can save us when one of […]

Mar 4 2019 — Hill Times — It will be a tough slog for the Liberals in the coming months, as the SNC-Lavalin scandal has devastated their post-partisan feminist brand and demotivated their base, say pollsters and Grit insiders. It’s not yet clear how far the scandal will resonate with the general public, but any new revelations—for example, if the government does […]

Feb 25 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — Liberal MPs and staffers say they are nervously awaiting to hear former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould’s version of the “truth,” and response to numerous unanswered questions about the SNC-Lavalin affair that are causing fissures in the party when she appears before the House Justice Committee this week. In interviews with The Hill Times last week, […]

Feb 25 2019 — Hill Times — Former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould appears to be holding the “fate” of the government in her hands, which gives her leverage over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, says a former top government official, while others say the primes minister needs to offer an “alternative narrative,” backed up by clear facts and details; otherwise, Canadians will draw […]

Feb 20 2019 — Samantha Wright Allen — Hill Times — The Quebec riding of Outremont is the Liberals’ to lose, with the NDP a “long shot” to keep former leader Tom Mulcair’s seat in the upcoming byelection, say NDP analysts, who call candidate Julia Sánchez a “star,” but still the clear underdog. From what he’s heard on the ground, former NDP national director Karl Bélanger […]

Feb 20 2019 — Beatrice Paez — Hill Times — Gerald Butts’ resignation as the prime minister’s most trusted adviser could be an attempt for the Trudeau government to mount a more effective defence against allegations that senior officials exerted pressure on former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to drop prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, according to political observers. Mr. Butts’ departure as the prime minister’s principal secretary, […]