Mar 4 2021 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — The federal government is ready to negotiate unconditional and recurring health care transfers after the pandemic is under control, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday. “If the economic recovery is clear, if COVID-19 — and, God, we all hope that’s the case — is looking like it is in the rearview mirror this summer, […]
Mar 3 2021 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — Canada is at the bottom of an international ranking of countries with whistleblower protection, lagging behind Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Botswana. A report released Tuesday by the U.S.-based Government Accountability Project and the U.K.-based International Bar Association surveyed whistleblowing frameworks in 37 countries with such laws to determine whether they are actually working.
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 25 2021 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — Conservatives MPs voted nearly unanimously with Bloc Québécois members Wednesday in favour of making French the mandatory language for all immigrants to Quebec. Bloc MP Sylvie Bérubé’s private member’s bill, however, was defeated — 147 in favour to 172 against — with the Liberals, NDP and Green Party members opposed.
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 18 2021 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — MPs attempted Wednesday to stop the Liberal government’s foot-dragging on reforming the whistleblower law, demanding changes that could make public servants more comfortable coming forward with allegations of wrongdoing. Conservative MP Kelly McCauley introduced a motion at the House of Commons’ government operations committee to retable a 2017 report that recommended more than 25 changes […]
Feb 16 2021 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — Opposition parties accused the federal Liberals Tuesday of pulling the plug on Parliament last summer to save Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from further WE Charity controversy. Alain Therrien, the House leader for the Bloc Québécois, noted that Bill Morneau — who was embroiled in the WE affair — had stepped down as finance minister and […]
Feb 16 2021 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — Rather than being disappointed, former government whistleblower Joanna Gualtieri says she resents Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s non-committal response as to why he won’t beef up protections for public servants brave enough to flag what they believe to be wrongdoing. “It’s even more dangerous than keeping his mouth shut,” she said of Trudeau’s response to HuffPost […]
Feb 11 2021 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — As they look for ways to oversee the government’s COVID-19 response, MPs may consider giving themselves the power to hear from and protect whistleblowers. “When you have a crisis like this, where hundreds of billions of dollars are being distributed throughout the country and [there are] no critical oversight measures, without any real accountability internally, […]
Feb 9 2021 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to commit Tuesday to updating the federal whistleblowing law — a law that makes it illegal for civil servants to flag wrongdoing to the public. While Trudeau said it is “extremely important” that every Canadian has a safe and secure workplace free from harassment and inappropriate behaviour, he declined to […]
Feb 8 2021 — HuffPost Canada — A nurse fired for speaking up about shocking conditions in an Ontario long-term care home. A leaked Canadian Armed Forces report outlining abuse in some of that province’s long-term care residences that forced the federal government to respond and led to questions for the provincial government about its failing oversight system. An employer who cheated […]
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 […]
Jan 30 2021 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — The Green Party is accusing mainstream parties of freezing it out of chances to question Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Parliament. The Greens’ parliamentary leader, Elizabeth May, raised the alarm this week on what she described as an undemocratic practice that leaves the 1.1 million Green Party voters in the country with less of a […]
Jan 20 2021 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson signalled Tuesday that the Canadian government won’t dwell on U.S. president-elect Joe Biden’s decision to revoke the presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, and will instead seek to ensure there is no better ally to the United States on the climate file than Canada. Speaking on a panel with […]
Jan 2 2021 — HuffPost Canada — Several Alberta United Conservative MLAs and senior officials are in hot water following international travel over the winter break — and chief among them is one of Premier Jason Kenney’s chief advisers. While Kenney fielded questions about cabinet minister Tracy Allard’s trip to Hawaii over the Christmas break despite provincial guidelines against non-essential international travel, […]