Hill Times

May 27 2020 — Tim Powers — Hill Times — On the surface, it is symbolically stupid for Canadian political parties—including the federal Liberals, Conservatives, and New Democrats—to be claiming the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). While they are eligible to receive this support because they are classified as not-for-profit organizations and therefore able to get assistance, it just smells wrong. Why? While this likely […]

May 27 2020 — Hill Times — As the November U.S. presidential election approaches, with the prospect of a second-Trump term a real possibility, and the COVID-19 pandemic upending life on both sides of the border, some Canadian foreign policy experts say they expect the fallout from the pandemic will have a lasting effect on the bilateral relationship and the post-pandemic period […]

May 27 2020 — Laura Ryckewaert — Hill Times — Former Progressive Conservative leader Peter MacKay is fighting to lead the party he once helped found, and his team, led by former MP Alex Nuttall, is touting strength in numbers, claiming a lead in membership sales to go with a lead in notable endorsements and funds raised to date.

May 27 2020 — Samantha Wright Allen — Hill Times — In response to calls for better demographic data to understand health inequities and COVID-19, this week the Canadian Institute for Health Information is releasing an interim race data standard that public health agencies can use. Many advocates, though, are pushing for more than advice, saying the federal government has a leadership role to play to […]

May 25 2020 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — Some of the 98 rookie MPs elected in the last election say they’re missing out on the cut-and-thrust of Ottawa’s parliamentary experience as Canada’s federal lawmakers, and a Conservative MP says if there’s an early election this could become “the forgotten Parliament,” the one during the global pandemic. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which the […]

May 25 2020 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — The Progressive Senate Group’s reclamation of official status last week will give more freedom to Senators unhappy with their affiliation, and weaken the leadership teams in the Red Chamber, says Sen. Pierre Dalphond, who left the Independent Senators Group that dominates the Senate last week to join the PSG. Sen. Dalphond (De Lorimier, Que.) was […]

May 25 2020 — Hill Times — As the federal government prepares to transition to a new normal in the fight against COVID-19, experts say the priorities the Liberals spotlighted in the last election will change, that the government could outline its new approach in a Throne Speech in the fall, and that the next phase of transition will require a “different […]

May 25 2020 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — Former Conservative campaign director Jenni Byrne wants Conservative MPs to elect a new interim leader, but MPs say there’s no such plan in place, and are calling on senior Conservatives to quit taking shots at the outgoing leader, saying it causes divisions in the party which could be an obstacle to winning the next election. […]

May 21 2020 — Beatrice Paez — Hill Times — The barnstorming of far-flung ridings, posing for grip-and-grin photo-ops, and holding glitzy fundraisers have all been abandoned in the face of the coronavirus. Large-scale party conventions could be next, as some parties are either working to prepare for scaled-back, virtual events, or choosing to delay their initial plans.

May 21 2020 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — Erin O’Toole’s Conservative Party leadership campaign released two digital ads attacking rival Peter MacKay this week, proclaiming that he can’t beat Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a federal election. “He just can’t handle the pressure,” quips a male voiceover in one of the ads, which features clips of Mr. MacKay reacting to questions from CBC […]

May 20 2020 — Erica Ifill — Hill Times — Congratulations Conservatives, you played yourselves. On May 12, Ekos Research released its latest polling results that captured political support amid the coronavirus pandemic. And boy, were they revealing. The landscape has changed dramatically over the last few months since the federal election in October, when the Liberals were handed a minority in Parliament. Now they’re […]

May 20 2020 — Tim Powers — Hill Times — A key date has been passed in the Conservative Party’s leadership race. Friday, May 15 was the last day for people to join the party to vote in the contest. Peter MacKay’s team claims to have out-done his competitors in signing people up. While it is hard to verify the accuracy of the campaign’s assertion, […]

May 20 2020 — Laura Ryckewaert — Hill Times — After a slow start to the year, Senators are playing catch-up on proposed plans for the Centre Block building’s renovation and construction of the final Visitors’ Welcome Centre, with the Upper Chamber’s oversight subcommittee still being formed, but Alberta Senator Scott Tannas says he thinks so long as it gets underway soon, Senators will still […]

May 20 2020 — Samantha Wright Allen — Hill Times — COVID-19 is offering important lessons for Canada’s approach to climate change and the need for green programs to be built into economic recovery, say some of the groups lobbying the ministers focused on these files and pushing them to the top of the list during the pandemic. Over the last two months, Natural Resources Minister […]

May 20 2020 — Mike Lapointe — Hill Times — Following recent evidence showing that renewable energy hasn’t shared the same fate as oil and gas, which have seen recent and dramatic drops in demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Green Party MP Elizabeth May is calling on the federal government to support the renewable sector over the beleaguered oil sands, with a number of environmental […]