pdf - The Hill Times
Transcription
pdf - The Hill Times
twenty-Seventh YEAR, online edition news phoenix pay system MPs report no personal paycheque problems, under Phoenix since April By Rachel Aiello No MPs have reported paycheque problems under the new problem-plagued Phoenix system which has left more than 80,000 federal public servants with pay issues six months after it was rolled out. Some MPs were even unaware their paycheques are now administered through the Phoenix pay system, while at least two MPs—Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen (Kingston and the Islands, Ont.), and NDP MP Erin Weir (Regina-Lewvan, Sask.)—knew because staffers in their offices have been having paycheque issues. In an interview, Mr. Gerretsen said a new hire in his Parliament Hill office who started working on April 18 after finishing school, just received her first paycheque on July 27, three months later. Canada’s Politics and Government Newspaper news Political conventions Canadian political parties should add more star power to national political party conventions: politicos ‘That is absolutely invaluable as a political asset for the parties and the campaigns. It gives a sense of continuity, a sense of institution,’ says Robin Sears. Continued on page 3 news electoral reform Changing electoral system will shift internal, external party politics: Carty By Laura Ryckewaert and Rachel Aiello Electoral reform will have deeper ramifications than just changing the way Canadians elect Members of Parliament and it will drastically shake up party politics both within caucuses and between parties, said several witnesses, testifying during marathon of meetings last week in front of the Special House Committee on Electoral Reform. MPs from all parties heard from 18 witnesses in as many hours last week, as the committee continues its sweeping study on possible alternatives to the current federal first-past-the-post electoral system, along with considering electronic and mandatory voting. It has been mandated to report back to Parliament and to Minister of Democratic Institutions Maryam Monsef (Peterborough-Kawartha, Ont.) no later than Dec. 1, 2016, with its suggestions on the best way forward. The House Electoral Reform Committee is comprised of five Liberal MPs, including committee chair and Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia (Lac-Saint-Louis, Que.), Continued on page 4 Monday, august 1, 2016 $5.00 news Conservatives Conservative Party to undergo test of party unity in leadership contest, say some Conservatives By Abbas Rana The Conservative Party’s unity will be tested by the current leadership race, say some Conservatives. It’s the party’s second leadership convention since it was formed in 2003 when the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party merged and some Conservatives say it’s unclear if the party can withstand the stress. “I would really hope it doesn’t end up causing a schism in the party because what you really want is to keep the party, whoever is involved, you really want the party to be together so that it can regain power in 2019 with an ideological base that Canadians can see themselves in,” said Bruce Carson, former senior adviser to former prime minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Heritage, Alta.). The party elected Mr. Harper as its first party leader in 2004 after the now defunct Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative parties merged to form the new Conservative Party of Canada in late Continued on page 13 Making history: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, pictured July 28, after officially accepting the party’s presidential nomination. Photograph courtesy of Hillary Clinton 2016 Facebook By Abbas Rana Canadian federal political parties should follow the American-style conventions by inviting high-profile political personalities, thinkers, movie stars, singers, and sports personalities to engage more people in the political process, say political watchers. Continued on page 14 feature terrific 25 staffers list This just in: PMO’s Butts tops in The Hill Times’ 15th Annual Terrific 25 Staffers list in 2016 By Laura Ryckewaert P ARLIAMENT HILL—When it comes to Hill staffers, PMO principal secretary Gerald Butts is the tops. Mr. Butts, who is one of the two most powerful political staffers in the PMO along with chief of staff Katie Telford, led this year’s annual Terrific 25 Staffers list. As well as topping the Terrific 25 Staff list overall, Mr. Butts came first in the Best Access to PMO category, first for Most Influence, and ranked second for Best at Spin Control. Gerald Butts, left, pictured with CTV’s Craig Oliver, Nov. 5, 2015. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright Continued on page 6 news Legislation Liberal MP’s private member’s bill will test backbenchers’ willingness to exercise free votes By Rachel Aiello Government backbenchers’ ability to exercise their independence by voting against the party line could soon face its first real test this fall when the House returns. The government has come out strongly against Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos’ (London North Centre, Ont.) private member’s bill, which seeks to create a Criminal Code offence for inflicting torture against private citizens— calling it“symbolic”and“not necessary.” A torture offence exists in the Criminal Code under Sec. 269.1 but it only applies to acts perpetrated by state officials. Acts of torture committed by private individuals are considered to constitute aggravated assault under Sec. 268. Continued on page 5 2 The Hill Times, Monday, august 1, 2016 feature buzz Heard on the Gov.-Gen. David Johnston. Hill The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright B y H i l l T i m e s S ta f f Thibedeau gets hitched in surprise backyard wedding Here comes the bride: Hannah Thibedeau and Trevor Alkins got married recently at a surprise wedding ceremony in their backyard in Ottawa. Photograph courtesy of Marc Robichaud C BC Hill reporter Hannah Thibedeau was recently married to Trevor Alkins in their backyard in Ottawa surrounded by family and close friends. It was also a surprise for many of the guests. “We didn’t tell our parents until that morning. They were completely shocked,” Ms. Thibedeau told HOH. “After the ceremony, we invited colleagues and other friends to a ‘house warming party.’To their surprise, I was wearing a very fancy ‘house warming dress.’ It was a blast.” About 35 people were at the ceremony and there were about 80 guests for the party. The Hill guests included: CBC Power & Politics producer Kathleen Harris, Compass Rose lobbyist Jacquie LaRorocque, who both helped organize the shindig; the NAC’s Rosemary Thompson; CBC senior reporter Julie Van Dusen; CBC cameraman Marc Robichaud, who was also the photographer; designer Justina McCaffrey, who made the wedding dress; CBC Ottawa bureau chief Rob Russo; CBC senior online writer Susana Mas; Power & Politics host Rosemary Barton, and Power & Politics staffers Nicole Arams, Christina Lopes, Tyler Buist, and Nancy Attfield; reporters Margo McDiarmid, Susan Lunn, David Cochrane, Katie Simpson, and Murray Brewster; and producers Sharon Musgrave, Alison Brachman, Jenn Barr, and Jen Choi, and Heather Spiller. Foisy leaving Hill for Québec City reporting post Cogeco Nouvelles Hill journalist Philippe-Vincent Foisy, 27, who is also vice-president of the Parliamentary Press Gallery Executive, is leaving the Hill for Québec City to report on the Quebec National Assembly. Mr. Foisy leaves in a few weeks and starts his new job on Sept. 6. Mr. Foisy will take over for Louis Lacroix in Québec City at FM93 Québec, which is also owned by Cogeco Média: “I can’t wait,” said Mr. Foisy in French on Facebook. The affable Montreal native, who has worked in the Hot Room for the last years, said he will miss all the friends he’s made on the Hill, including all the clerks in the press gallery. What else will he miss? “My colleagues who became friends over the years; they are truly inspiring. The gallery employees who saved me more times than I can count, and yelling, ‘En français!’ at a minister [in a scrum],” Mr. Foisy said. PhilippeVincent Foisy. Photograph courtesy of Twitter But said he’s also looking forward to covering Quebec politics. “It’s way bigger, it’s a promotion,” Mr. Foisy said. “For an outlet like Cogeco, the National Assembly is more interesting because the issues are closer to the people.” A daily reporter, Mr. Foisy said one of his best stories was when he asked Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau in a scrum before the election whether or not he would welcome anti-abortion candidates in the party, which became a big national story because Mr. Trudeau said he would not. “It showed that sometimes asking simple questions can have an impact,” he said. And last winter, he also looked over the Hansards in Question Period and found most of the French questions were answered in English which also became a big story. “I think it made a difference.” Cogeco is one of the largest broadcasters in Quebec. It operates 13 radio stations and Cogeco News is one of the largest news agencies in Quebec. Mr. Foisy helped MC this year’s Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner along with CBC reporter Katie Simpson. Young’s book on Trudeau out in English Huguette Young’s book, Justin Trudeau: The Natural Heir, was recently on The Globe and Mail’s and The Toronto Star’s bestseller lists. Veteran Hill journalist Huguette Young’s book Justin Trudeau: The Natural Heir, is out in English. Published by Dundurn, the unauthorized biography looks at Mr. Trudeau’s inner circle and at the path his leadership might take, based on numerous interviews with his entourage. The 231-page book, which was on The Globe and Mail’s and The Toronto Star’s bestseller lists, was translated by George Tombs.“Meant for supporters and skeptics alike,Young’s is a revealing account of one of Canada’s most compelling and enigmatic figures,” reads the book’s blurb. The book was released earlier in French. Ms.Young, a longtime Parliament Hill journalist, is a freelancer who has worked for Quebecor Media, La Presse canadienne, The Huffington Post, Time, and Americas Quarterly. She’s covered the Brian Mulroney and Jean Chrétien years, and the rise and fall of Stephen Harper. An Acadian from New Brunswick, Ms.Young lives in Ottawa. GG Johnston headed to Rio for 2016 Olympic Games Gov. Gen. David Johnston, the patron of the Canadian Olympic Committee, will travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from Aug. 3 to Aug. 8 as Canada’s official representative at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced last week. It will be the first Olympic Games to be held in South America. Canada will be sending 315 athletes and has qualified in five team sports. The Rio 2016 Olympic Games will take place from Aug. 5-Aug. 21 and will include 10,500 athletes from 205 countries. Summa Strategies throws a Poké-Mingle shindig If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, so Summa Strategies jumped in on the Pokémon craze and held a Poké-Mingle Party last Tuesday in Ottawa at lunch in the Sparks Street office. Friends of Summa were invited for light refreshments, snacks, and Pokémon. All attendees were added to Summa Strategies’ Pokédex. No News Is Bad News coming to a bookstore near you Ian Gill’s new book, No News Is Bad News: Canada’s Media Collapse And What Comes Next, will be coming out soon. As if the Canadian media need anymore bad news, but here it comes. No News Is Bad News: Canada’s Media Collapse and What Comes Next, by former Vancouver Sun editor and reporter Ian Gill and published by Greystone Books, will soon be out. The book takes a look at the global media and how it’s rapidly transforming, but finds Canada’s media “asleep at the switch—still beholden to large, dull, and increasingly unprofitable ‘legacy’ media, including a public broadcaster that is struggling to redefine itself, and new media start-ups that are long on cause and short on capital. Corporate concentration, and clumsy adaptations to the digital age, are leaving Canadians with a gaping hole in our public square. Our democracy is the worse for it.” Mr. Gill takes an “urgent, necessary look at why Canada’s media is dying—and how we can save it.” Mr. Gill is the author of three other books, including most recently All That We Say is Ours: Guujaaw and the Reawakening of the Haida Nation. Webster joins Counsel Public Affairs Sean Webster recently joined Counsel Public Affairs as a principal. The hire is part of the company’s effort to expand its federal government relations and public affairs, Counsel president Philip Dewan announced in a statement. Mr. Webster has worked in federal, provincial and municipal advocacy, including in senior national in-house roles at Shoppers Drug Mart, Solvay, and Enbridge. Counsel specializes in integrated government relations, public relations, communications and strategy services. The Hill Times 3 The Hill Times, Monday, august 1, 2016 news phoenix pay system Liberal MPs Raj Grewal and Mark Gerretsen at the House Government Operations and Estimates special committee meeting on the Phoenix pay system problems, Thursday, July 28. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright MPs report no personal paycheque problems under Phoenix At least two MPs say their staff have been impacted, meanwhile other MPs unaware they too, since April, are getting cheques sent through the government’s beleaguered new payroll system. Continued from page 1 In his office, he said she’s been dealing with hundreds of complaints from constituents who have Phoenix paycheque problems while she’s in the same boat. “I feel for the situation that she’s in,” he said. “It makes it real.” For Mr. Weir, he said a few staffers in his constituency office were not paid on time and that it took much longer than it should have. He said he ended up giving one of his staffers a personal loan in the interim. Mr. Weir said he hasn’t heard of any MPs not getting paid, “It’s mostly our employees who have, unfortunately, bore the brunt of the Phoenix debacle. … Everyone needs to get paid on time, so it’s unacceptable that 80,000 federal employees have not been paid properly and it’s equally as unacceptable for staff at the House of Commons.” The government is now projecting that it will take until the end of October to resolve issues for the majority of public servants but Public Services and Procurement Canada, the department responsible for the Phoenix system, said the “pay centre staff do not provide preferential treatment,” to MPs. Phoenix is the government’s new and problem-plagued enterprise-wide payroll system. Since going online in February, more than 80,000 of the Government of Canada 300,000 employees have reported problems with paycheques. The government rolled it out in two phases, the second phase in April. The House of Commons human resources department is responsible for inputting the pay information for MPs and their staff into the Phoenix pay system. Similarly, cabinet ministers and their staff have theirs done by their respective departments. Public Services and Procurement transferred MPs and ministers over to the Phoenix system in April 2016, which was the second phase. Public Services Minister Judy Foote (Bonavista-Burin-Trinity, Nfld.) revealed last week that she was told the new computerized pay system was ready when it was not. “I was told things were ready to go … people who have been working on this since 2009 assured me we didn’t have to worry,” Ms. Foote told CBC News Network’s Power & Politics. Heather Bradley, director of communications for House Speaker Geoff Regan (Halifax West, N.S.), told The Hill Times that she has not heard of any issues with MPs receiving their proper pay. The Conservative and NDP whip’s offices said they have not had any MPs report pay issues, and the Government Whip’s Office directed all questions to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement Judy Foote (Bonavista-Burin-Trinity, Nfld.), whose department said it could not provide a breakdown of pay issues by categories. Mr. Gerretsen’s brought up his staff pay issues during the special meeting of the House Government Operations Committee last Thursday on Parliament Hill to discuss the situation surrounding the Phoenix payroll system. He was subbing in for committee member and Liberal MP David de Burgh Graham (Laurentides-Labelle, Que.) and has been vocal about his frustration with the pay issues taking so long to resolve. But during a break in the meeting, he told The Hill Times that he was “assured” by what heard from the first panel of witnesses: Public Services and Procurement Canada deputy minister Marie Lemay, associate assistant deputy minister of account- ing, banking and compensation Rosanna Di Paola, and associate deputy minister Gavin Liddy. Ms. Lemay, earlier in the day told reporters that top bureaucrats responsible for the Phoenix pay system ignored warnings from PSAC in April to stop the second phase of the pay system and couldn’t recall if they had briefed Ms. Foote on the problems flagged by PSAC. The government says the department underestimated how long it would take to train staff on the new Phoenix computerized pay system. As well, at the time Phoenix went live, there was already a backlog of more than 40,000 files that had to be dealt with which the Public Service Alliance of Canada had warned the government about. The new automated payroll program replaces a 40-year-old payment system for all Government of Canada employees. The committee, in the nearly four-hour meeting spent most of the time peppering the senior officials with questions. It then heard from Professional Institute for the Public Service President Debi Daviau and Government Services Union President Donna Lackie who described the situations their employees are experiencing. “How could it not impact employee morale?” said Ms. Daviau who implored Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) to pull out his chequebook to get people paid immediately. Ms. Lackie, who represents the Miramichi, N.B., where the Public Service Pay Centre is located, described it as a “crisis situation” where mostly new, inexperienced staff in the pay centre are crying at work each day because of the pressure and workload. Both said they repeatedly asked the government to slow down on the rollout, but plans pushed ahead, despite that there would not have been any immediate consequence to holding off, the committee heard. The system was procured under the previous Conservative government but the decision to go online with it back in February was made by senior officials in the department under the new federal Liberals. Liberal MP Yasmin Ratansi (Don Valley East, Ont.) and Conservative MP Kelly McCauley (Edmonton West, Alta.), two members of the House Government Operations Committee, admitted they were unaware until asked, that they had been receiving their pay through Phoenix. “We just submit our forms, my staff gets paid, I get paid, and I don’t know which system we are on,”Ms. Ratansi said, adding that she feels bad for those not getting paid. PSAC national executive vicepresident Chris Aylward told The Hill Times two weeks ago that if Phoenix was first used for Members of Parliament and top bureaucrats, the problems would have been fixed a lot faster. Mr. McCauley said it is a valid point, but that it never would have happened, or solved anything. “I understand the sentiment and it’s correct, what we’re saying is we should have, the Liberals should have had it ready to go before they rolled it out,” Mr. McCauley said. Conservative MP Steven Blaney (Bellechasse-Les Etchemins-Lévis, Que.) and Mr. McCauley, and the NDP’s Mr. Weir teamed up in calling for the emergency meeting on Phoenix. Mr. McCauley said the opposition reached out to the Liberal members on the committee with no response until after both the NDP and Conservatives released statements calling for the meeting to be held. It was then that four Liberal committee members asked the chair, Conservative Tom Lukiwski (Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan, Sask.), to call the meeting. Twice during the meeting Mr. McCauley tried to call Minister Foote to testify, first at that day’s meeting, and secondly as part of a further study on Shared Services Canada, but both were defeated by the Liberal majority on the committee. Earlier in the day on Thursday Ms. Lemay held a technical briefing at the National Press Theatre to update the media on the scope, plan, and timelines on resolving the Phoenix pay system. As of the briefing, 57 employees had been hired on to the emergency temporary pay unit in Gatineau, Que., with that number expected to grow to 115 in the coming weeks. This is where the bulk of backlogged cases are being processed, while the new 590-person Miramichi pay centre is handling the day-to-day and high-priority cases. As well, officials announced last week they’re opening three new temporary pay centres with at least 20 staff each in Shawinigan, Montreal, and Winnipeg. As well, 100 people have been hired at a new call centre in Toronto to take calls from public servants. The department is also looking into setting up with the Treasury Board, a claims system to reimburse workers for penalties as a result of inaccurate pay, to cover things like overdraft charges. The Phoenix system was projected to save the government $67.2-million a year, but it’s costing the government between $15-million and $20-million to address the problem and it’s expected to increase as time goes on. An additional 589 cases were reported since the last technical briefing on July 18. The updated timeline projects the bulk of pay issues won’t be resolved until Halloween. The top priority is dealing with those not getting paid at all. The government can now deal with those people within three days and they should be paid in the next pay period. The government says it will take four to six weeks to address those who are leaving the government, on or about to go on maternity leave, or longterm disability leave. The government will deal with the bulk of public servants with issues like overpay, underpay, entitlement or extra duty pay on a sliding scale, depending on the issue, between the end of September and Oct. 31, 2016. As well, the CBC reported that Phoenix inadvertently made personal details for all 300,000 employees to 70,000 and senior officials had learned the flaw in January, but didn’t stop it. Auditor General Michael Ferguson’s office is looking into Phoenix and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) has asked PCO Clerk Michael Wernick to make sure the system is fixed which is supposed to be by October. The Hill Times 4 The Hill Times, Monday, august 1, 2016 news electoral reform Changing electoral system will shift internal, external party politics: Carty A number of academics and election experts implored the Special House Committee on Electoral Reform to seek public input, though not necessarily through a referendum. Continued from page 1 three Conservatives, two members of the NDP, one from the Bloc Québécois, and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May (Saanich— Gulf Islands, B.C.). The majority of witnesses this past week were male university professors, despite Ms. Monsef imploring the committee at an earlier meeting to hear from a broad spectrum of Canadians, and not just the “usual suspects.” Testifying in an afternoon session on July 25, R. Kenneth Carty, a professor at the University of British Columbia, told the committee that each voting system on the table will bring changes to how candidates are selected, who chooses the candidates, how campaigns are funded, the number of and character of political parties, and the way voters decide who to support. This was in response to a question from Ms. May about the consequence of proportional voting systems. “Political parties are instruments of war, they’re instruments of conflict. And the question about electoral systems is where does the conflict take place? Does it take place between the parties? Between the parties? Amongst the candidates? Every electoral system changes where the conflict takes place, both at the electoral level and at the governmental level,” said Mr. Carty, who has worked on electoral boundary commissions and other electoral reform issues throughout his career. Following up on this, Liberal member MP Sherry Romanado (Longueuil — Charles-LeMoyne, Que.) asked if there was a system Mr. Carty thought would reduce volatility. His response to this was “no,” adding that each system comes with tradeoffs. For example, he said, more proportionality could mean less regional representation; or more voter choice means less ability for parties to discipline its MPs. “Our experience cannot tell us how a change in the electoral system will actually play out in practice, that’s because under any new rules the political parties, the candidates, and the voters will have clear incentives to behave differently than they do under the first-past-the-post system,” Mr. Carty said. Picking up on this, fellow panelist Nelson Wiseman, director of the Canadian Studies Program at the University of Toronto, went on to highlight that “the electoral system is secondary to the underlying political culture.” He also encouraged the committee to get on with putting options for changing the system in the window, so the conversation can switch from hypothetical impacts, to more concrete consequences of changing elections. “That’s why you’re elected— you’re elected to make public policy, not to stick your finger in the wind,” Prof. Wiseman said. On July 26, the committee heard via videoconference from Michael Marsh and Michael Gallagher, a pair of experts in Ireland’s elections law from Trinity College Dublin; the Chief Electoral Officer of the New Zealand Electoral Commission Robert Peden; and Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers. Ireland uses a proportional representation with a single transferable vote system, New Zealand uses the mixed-member proportional system, and Australia recently transitioned its Senate to the proportional system, with compulsory voting. Peter Russell, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, circled back to the idea of electoral reform influencing the power structures that come with majority governments, which he argues could become less predominant under other systems, as opposed to the “false majorities” that can come with first-past-thepost elections. When asked by NDP member MP Daniel Blaikie (ElmwoodTranscona, Man.) how different electoral systems could impact the centralization of power in the Prime Ministers’ Office, Prof. Russell said with more minority governments, the tendency for the “boys and girls in short pants” to tell MPs and ministers what to say will decline. During the July 27 morning meeting, Henry Milner, a visiting researcher and research chair in electoral studies at the Université de Montréal; former deputy minister and Privy Council clerk Alex Himelfarb; and André Blais, a professor at the Université de Montréal and the Canada Research Chair in electoral studies, appeared before the committee to testify, and all spoke to arguments around moving towards a proportional representation system. Prof. Milner said moving towards proportional representation would mean a fairer outcome and would give everyone incentive to participate, as votes would count equally. He said alternative voting systems make it harder for smaller parties to get elected, leading to less diversity, and that voters will be tactical no matter which system in place. Of the different PR systems, he said a mixed-member proportional (MMP) system would be “most appropriate” for Canada, highlighting it’s an option that’s already been considered in sev- Former Privy Council clerk Alex Himelfarb and University of Montreal professor Henry Milner both advocated for proportional representation systems to replace the current first-past-the-post voting system in testimony before the special committee on electoral reform on July 27. The Hill Times Photo by Jake Wright eral provinces and would mean Canadians would continue to be represented by one person in Parliament. Mr. Himelfarb said while PR systems are often “characterized” as a choice between local accountability and representativeness of votes, it’s possible to have both. He advocated for either a single-transferable vote (STV) system, or MMP, and said both would better-reflect voting and “arguably” strengthen local participation. In his testimony, Prof. Blais said the “biggest decision” is whether or not to adopt some form of PR, and said based on five studies on electoral reform, he’s concluded that introducing PR is “unlikely” to reduce strategic voting, “might slightly increase” voter turnout, would likely “enhance correspondence” between the ideological views of Canadians and voting results, but ultimately is “unlikely” to make Canadians more satisfied overall with their government. On the question of a referendum, Prof. Blais said he thinks one is “necessary,” while Prof. Milner and Mr. Himelfarb said one isn’t required. Later in the day on July 27, committee members met again to hear from University of Toronto professor Lawrence “Larry” LeDuc; Université du Québec à Montréal political science and law faculty dean Hugo Cyr; and from Leslie Seidle, a research director with the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP). Prof. Leduc emphasized “process over substance” at this stage of the committee’s work, and encouraged members to reach a consensus on one option. While a referendum “could” be an option, he said it takes a long time, and an extensive public education campaign to actually work. He suggested that a citizens’ assembly, as has been done in Ontario and British Columbia, could be an alternative. Prof. Leduc said he prefers a list proportional representation system, highlighting its flexibility. Prof. Cyr said a new voting system could lead to more minority or coalition governments, which many have speculated could lead to more elections going forward, but he said Scotland and Wales have demonstrated it’s possible to update electoral systems while maintaining the dynamics voters are used to. To do this in Canada, he proposed four changes be made, including amending the standing orders to allow for the nomination of the Prime Minister by House vote, to require constructive non-confidence motions, and to require parliamentary approval for a PM to prorogue or dissolve the House. He also recommended amending the Elections Act to allow for early dissolution with two-thirds approval of the House. Meanwhile, Mr. Seidle stressed a need for diversity in representation on the Hill in his testimony, though he noted, “voting systems are not determinist” of that, despite arguments that certain systems see more women elected, for example, than others. “Political parties’ rules and commitments—particularly at the candidate nomination stage— have an important influence on the representation of diversity, including women,” said Mr. Seidle. Wrapping up an intense week of witness testimony, on July 28, the committee met again in the morning to hear from York University political science associate professor Dennis Pilon; Queen’s University political studies associate professor Jonathan Rose; and Maryantonett Flumian, president of the Institute on Governance. Prof. Pilon spoke out strongly against holding a referendum on electoral reform, and said the issue of voter equality—which he argued is what’s at hand—is one that shouldn’t be put to a vote. “Normatively, referendums should be restricted to situations where voters can become reasonably informed to be able to participate in the discussions, Canadian provincial referendums on voting systems have shown this not to be possible,” said Prof. Pilon. Selling a new voting system is like selling a car, said Prof. Pilon: people need to know about performance, they don’t need to look under the hood. If federal parties are fine with the proposed change, voters will be fine with it as well, he argued. However, he stressed that there will be a “bumpy road to implementation.” Prof. Rose stressed the importance of an “honest and robust” public education campaign, and public input on electoral reform, but said that doesn’t always occur with referendums. As an example, he said the recent referendum in the U.K. has given him pause, after being “high-jacked” by mudslinging and mischaracterizations. He said he thinks the public needs to be involved in a substantial way, and suggested a citizens’ assembly would be a good forum to give the public a chance to engage and weigh in. Ms. Flumian said she thinks the work of Parliament and parliamentarians should reign supreme in determining electoral reform. Ms. Flumian also stressed the need for the committee to consider the wider implications of any reform. For example, she said a model that saw multiple parties at the Cabinet table would also change the role of the public service. news@hilltimes.com The Hill Times 5 The Hill Times, Monday, august 1, 2016 news private members’ bills Liberal MP’s private member’s bill will test backbenchers’ willingness to exercise free votes London MP Peter Fragiskatos’ bill would add torture offence by private citizens to the Criminal Code, but the government says it’s ‘symbolic’, and ‘not necessary.’ Continued from page 1 But Mr. Fragiskatos said he thinks the bill could pass with support from within his Liberal caucus and with some help from the Conservatives and the NDP. “The proposed reform will pertain to those acts of brutality that may be life-threatening and far exceed instances of aggravated assault, a charge that can apply to serious and trivial acts of violence. Sec. 268 is therefore insufficient,” Mr. Fragiskatos said in the House on April 21. Mr. Fragiskatos’ Bill C-242, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (inflicting torture), passed second reading and was referred to the House Justice and Human Rights Committee on April 21. It’s expected the committee will begin studying it when the House returns at the end of September. The bill would amend the Criminal Code to create an offence for private citizens who inflict torture and would open up the possibility for life sentences to be given for convicted torturers. Mr. Fragiskatos is arguing the current charge of aggravated assault that comes with a penalty of up to 14 years in jail is insufficient for brutal instances of torture. Mr. Fragiskatos, 35, is a rookie MP who won the riding with 50.5 per cent of the vote and by 12,437 votes. Mr. Fragiskatos said in 2006, a Calgary man was stripped of his clothes, had his hands and feet tied with cables, was left to hang from ceiling joists and was punched, cut, whipped with a belt and sprayed with butane over a period of days. Two individuals were found responsible, including one youth who could not be sentenced in adult court. The second pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon and spent two years in jail. In 2008, Mr. Fragiskatos said a Brampton man had his toe cut off, was beaten with a bat, cut multiple times with salt rubbed in his wounds, and had a plastic bag put over his head. The individual was found guilty of aggravated assault and forcible confinement and given a sentence of less than 10 years. “I have one final example. I received a call to my constituency office recently from a woman who told me that she lived through some of the most despicable actions that anyone could imagine. Her childhood was so terrible that she felt the need to flee to the United States, where she now lives. This was necessary in order to gain the sense of security that she so desperately needed. In repeated acts of torture, this young woman was tied up, hung upside down, and had objects, such as a cattle prod, used against her,” Mr. Fragiskatos said in the House debate on April 21. During second reading debate in the House, Liberal MP Sean Casey (Charlottetown, P.E.I.), parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould (Vancouver-Granville, B.C.), said he opposed the bill and called on MPs to oppose it as well. Mr. Casey, a lawyer, said the government believes the current Criminal Code assault provisions are sufficient and that the change would create an inconsistency in punishment. “Creating this crime would likely have immense symbolic value to some of the most vulnerable persons in our society,” Mr. Casey said. “However, symbolism alone is not enough reason to add yet another offence to the vast array of offences and sentencing procedures that already catch the most harmful kinds of assault.” He added,“In effect, I believe there is no gap in the criminal law that requires the creation of a new offence of private torture to provide for a remedy. The proposed torture offence in Bill C-242 is therefore not necessary.” Despite this, Mr. Fragiskatos says he wants to let the committee “do its work,” and says it’s too early to count the bill out. The initiative is something he argues is needed to bring Canada in line with the UN Convention Against Torture. Australia and France have laws that recognize torture. Before getting elected last October, Mr. Fragiskatos was a professor of international relations and public policy at King’s University College at Western University and studied Canada’s human rights law. “The cabinet’s voting against it, that doesn’t mean the rest of the caucus has to vote against it as Liberal MPs Ron McKinnon and Peter Fragiskatos both have private members’ bills before House committees. While the government is behind Mr. McKinnon’s so-called Good Samaritan Drug Overdose initiative, the justice minister’s parliamentary secretary has spoken out against Mr. Fragiskatos’ torture bill. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright, and photograph courtesy of Parliament well. … I wouldn’t be surprised if a private member’s bill passes even if the cabinet is opposed to it,” said Liberal MP and Justice Committee member Chris Bittle (St. Catharines, Ont.) in an interview with The Hill Times. Mr. Bittle is one of the bill’s seconders and, although he said he was reluctant at first to sign on, he believes the bill does try to close a gap in the law. “Even with the government being opposed to it, I’m optimistic that this is the type of legislation that can still come out of committee,” he said. “And there’s potentially some minor changes that can be made to satisfy the concerns of the government and maybe, upon hearing the evidence and upon potential changes, the government may change its position.” So far, the NDP is supporting the bill, and the Conservatives supported it moving to committee but have concerns with inconsistencies in the bill which they will likely address with amendments at committee, including addressing the definition of torture. Conservative MP Michael Cooper (St. Albert-Edmonton, Alta.), his party’s justice critic and a member of the House Justice Committee, said during debate that he thinks the bill is well-intentioned. Mr. Fragiskatos will have to look to supporters on the opposition benches if he’s unable to drum up enough Liberal support and said he is open to amendments. “We’re talking about human beings who have suffered over a prolonged period of time, crimes that would be difficult for any person simply to read about,” said Mr. Fragiskatos. “These victims must be heard.” Liberal MP Ron McKinnon (Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam, B.C.), another member of the House Justice Committee, told The Hill Times that he supports the bill “in principle” and will be looking at the government’s position closely at committee. Meanwhile, Mr. McKinnon’s own bill, Bill C-224, the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act, is likely headed for clause-byclause consideration at the House Health Committee in the fall. He said he’s so optimistic it will pass that he’s already got his Senate sponsor picked out: Independent British Columbia Senator Larry Campbell. The bill seeks to clear a person of drug possession charges if they call emergency officials to report someone having an overdose. The aim is to prevent unnecessary drug overdoses that can be caused by people’s fear of calling for help, but would not apply to calls related to trafficking or impaired driving offences. After just one panel of witnesses were heard from on the bill at the committee, Mr. McKinnon said he doesn’t expect any real impediments. “It’s well on its way and I think it’s looking really good,” Mr. McKinnon told The Hill Times last week in a phone interview. He, alongside witnesses from the Justice Department, Pivot Legal Society, the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council, and drug awareness advocate Christine Padaric—whose son died of an overdose in 2013—testified on June 15. Liberal members of the committee, satisfied by what they heard, were angling to move on to clause-by-clause a few days later, but the House rose, suspending progress for the summer. A number of the witnesses offered up suggested amendments to broaden the scope of the bill, and representatives from the Justice Department suggested the language be changed to make those reporting an incident be considered not guilty of committing an offence, rather than outlining in the law that the police shall not charge. But Mr. McKinnon said he’s communicated to his colleagues on the committee that he intentionally drafted the bill narrowly, and would like to see it stay that way to better its chance of passing. “It might not be the be-all-endall but it is a significant improvement. It won’t solve all the possible problems but it will solve some of the problems, and I will certainly discourage any amendments, if I can, that might detract from that,” Mr. McKinnon said. NDP MP Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway, B.C), his party’s health critic and a member of the House Justice Committee, told the committee that he will be moving amendments on the three-paragraph bill, likely regarding extending the immunity to parolees, or to trafficking if the person who calls was responsible for giving the person overdosing the drugs. Fellow NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.) is seconding the bill. However, the government and Liberal MP Kamal Khera (Brampton West, Ont.) who is the parliamentary secretary to Health Minister Jane Philpott (MarkhamStouffville, Ont.) expressed support for the bill explicitly because it doesn’t impede on law enforcement’s focus on drug trafficking. It’s possible the Conservatives could seek more committee time to hear from front-line workers, a major ask from Conservative MP Rachael Harder (Lethbridge, Alta.) during the hearing. “You’re saying we’re going to throw our commitment to evidence-based decisions out the window because it might take too long, or because we can’t define where to start and stop. I don’t think that’s good policy-making… We need to hear from experts in this field,” she said. This story is part of a series offering a comprehensive look at MPs’ private members’ bills and Senate-sponsored public bills that are most likely to pass, or are moving the quickest through their House and Senate and expected to be on the agenda when Parliament resumes. The Hill Times 6 The Hill Times, Monday, august 1, 2016 feature terrific 25 staffers list PMO principal secretary Butts tops The Hill Times’ 15th Annual Terrific 25 Staffers list Tommy Desfosses, in the purple shirt, PM Justin Trudeau’s EA. Gerald Butts, principal secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, hard at it. It’s Gerald Butts’ debut on the list, and it’s also Conservative Whip staffer Sean Murphy’s first year ranking. Mr. Murphy claims the title of Best All-Round Terrific Staffer this year. Continued from page 1 A former principal secretary to then Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty and former president and CEO of WWF-Canada, Mr. Butts has been friends with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) since both were students at McGill University in Montreal, Que. He’s Mr. Trudeau’s closest adviser, the architect of Mr. Trudeau’s leadership win and one of the people behind the party’s majority win in the last election. Sometimes called PMB, or Prime Minister Butts, the Cape Breton wields a lot of power and influence in the government. He’s also considered the “policy ninja” of the party. Many respondents cited Mr. Butts’ relationship with Mr. Trudeau, one calling him the “de facto PM.” A number of respondents who voted for Mr. Butts in the Best at Spin Control pointed to his Twitter account. He has 30,000 followers and has about 41,000 tweets. Another unidenti- PMO’s Jeremy Broadhurst, Zita Astravas, and chief of staff Katie Telford. fied respondent who voted for Mr. Butts for Most Influence said it was, “Because he helped shape the party platform and because of his proximity to the PM.” Conservative whip staffer Sean Murphy, meanwhile, has claimed the top spot in the Best All-Round Terrific Staffer category, making his debut in The Hill Times’ 15th Terrific 25 Staffers Survey. “You roll with the punches,” said Mr. Murphy of life as a Hill staffer. As a senior lobby coordinator and manager of parliamentary affairs to Conservative Whip Gordon Brown (Leeds-GrenvilleThousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, Ont.), it’s Mr. Murphy’s job to work with staffers in other party whips’ offices and to keep Conservative MPs up to speed on when to be in the House for votes and debates. Mr. Murphy works closely with Conservative MPs’ offices and with the Conservative House Leader’s Office. Along with topping the Best All-Round Terrific Staffer category this year, Mr. Murphy, who’s been working on the Hill since 2011, came third overall on the Terrific 25 Staff list. He also claimed the title of Best Conservative Hill Staffer, and came third in the Most Knowledgeable category. An Ottawa native, Mr. Murphy started off working in 2011 for then parliamentary secretary Robert Goguen who represented Moncton-RiverviewDieppe, N.B., before joining the Conservative Whip’s Office about a year later in 2012. He’s been there ever since. Mr. Murphy said when he first came to the Hill it was “unknown territory” for him, but that he adapted and moved forward. He joked that the results “must be rigged,” but that it’s “nice of people to say nice things.” Said one Conservative respondent of Mr. Murphy: “He is dedicated, friendly, well-organized, discrete, and highly competent. He strikes the right balance between discipline and reasonableness.” Greg McClinchey, staffer in Liberal MP Judy Sgro’s office. Photograph courtesy of LinkedIn This year’s Terrific 25 Staffer Survey was once again conducted online in partnership with Forum Research between May 25 and July 4. A total of 170 politicos responded to the Terrific 25 survey this year. Of those who identified by party: 75 were Liberals, 64 were Conservatives, 16 were from the NDP, two identified as Greens, and one independent. The Hill Times’ Terrific 25 Staff list is compiled by tallying up the total number of votes each staffer got in each category of the survey. Lorne Bozinoff, president and CEO of Forum Research, said the change in federal government has led to a number of new names in the Terrific 25 Staff Survey results this year. “It’s hard to tell from the outside without looking at a survey David Prest, a top staffer in the Conservative House Leader’s Office. The Hill Times photographs by Sam Garcia, Jake Wright, and Cynthia Munster result like this who is really the best and who has the most influence and all that, so it is kind of a peek behind the curtains in terms of what goes on,” said Mr. Bozinoff. Meanwhile, veteran Liberal Hill staffer Greg McClinchey, who is currently the member’s assistant to Liberal MP Judy Sgro (Humber River-Black Creek, Ont.), ranked second on this year’s list overall—his best result yet after more than two decades working on Parliament Hill. He was also voted the Best Liberal Hill Staffer, claimed the title of Most Knowledgeable, came second in the Best All-Round Terrific Staffer category, and placed third for Most Discreet. Mr. McClinchey started out as a staffer in 1993, as a 16-year-old high school co-op student working for his hometown MP, then Liberal Paul Steckle, who represented Huron-Bruce, Ont. Asked about his secret to success, Mr. McClinchey said he, along with the rest of Ms. Sgro’s office, has an open door policy to colleagues on the Hill, noting this last federal election saw “a really big switchover in staff,” on the Hill with many needing to get “acclimatized to their new responsibilities and their role within the offices.” “We try and be helpful if people have questions, I supposed if there’s a secret that’s it: be ready to be helpful, work hard and see what you can do to work as a team,” said Mr. McClinchey. “It can be a very frustrating environment, so one has to maintain your positive attitude I suppose and be prepared to ask questions and admit when you don’t have the answer,” he said adding there’s “a tremendous level of resources in your colleagues,” including those across party lines, and it’s a good idea to reach out and not “get hung up on party labels.” Mr. McClinchey’s colleague, Phil Parsons, constituency assistant to Ms. Sgro, came second in the Best Liberal Constituency Staffer category this year. Katie Telford, chief of staff to the PM, reached the No. 4 spot on this year’s Terrific 25 Staff list. She’s also claimed the title of Best PMO Staffer and came second for Best Access to PMO. A number of respondents who voted for Ms. Telford said she was well respected on the Hill and discreet, and some cited her proximity to the PM. Vince MacNeil, chief of staff to Government House Leader Dominic LeBlanc. Photograph courtesy of LinkedIn “She’s on top of everything,” said one Liberal respondent. Ms. Telford was a national campaign co-chair for the federal Liberals in 2015 and is a former senior consultant with Strategy Corp. She’s also a former Queen’s Park staffer, having worked with Mr. Butts while at the provincial legislature. Continued on page 7 7 The Hill Times, Monday, august 1, 2016 feature terrific 25 staffers list Continued from page 6 Vince MacNeil, chief of staff to Government House Leader Dominic LeBlanc (Beauséjour, Que.), rose to fifth place on the staff list this year, his highest result yet after making his debut on the Terrific 25 list in 2011 at sixth place. Mr. MacNeil came in second place in the Most Discreet category this year, and in third for Best Cabinet Staffer. Sean Murphy, staffer in Conservative Whip Gord Brown’s office. Photograph courtesy of Facebook He started out on the Hill as a Senate page in 1990 and later worked for various Liberal Senate leaders both in opposition and government over the years, before moving over the House side of things to work for then Liberal whip Rodger Cuzner (Cape Breton-Canso, N.S.). Respondents who voted for Mr. MacNeil cited his procedural knowledge and work history on the Hill, namely, the fact his current and past roles have made him a key hand over the caucus’ agenda. “As a senior staffer who was formally the CoS [Chief of Staff] to the Liberal whip, everyone goes to Vince if they need something done,” said one Liberal respondent Said another Liberal respondent of Mr. MacNeil: “Does not gossip, yet knows all the details of the BOIE [Board of Internal Economy], etc.” Longtime Hill staffer Colleen Knight, meanwhile, is sixth on The Hill Times’ Terrific 25 Staff list this year, and also came second in the Best Liberal Hill Staffer. She placed third for Best All-Round Terrific Staffer and tied for third in the Most Influence category. Ms. Knight started out on the Hill as an aide to then Liberal leader John Turner in the early 1980s, but is perhaps best known from her time working for now former NDP MP Peter Stoffer. She was his sole assistant on the Hill, during which time she helped spearhead and organize her boss’ annual All-Party Party for all Hill employees and staffers. A mentor to junior staff, Ms. Knight was scooped up by Liberal MP T.J. Harvey (Tobique-Mactaquac, N.B.) after Mr. Stoffer was defeated in the last election. Her colleague, Courtney Brennan, who is an aide in Mr. Harvey’s New Brunswick constituency office, came in first for Best Liberal Constituency Staffer in a three-way tie. “[The results] back up what I’ve always believed, which is that they’re both really good choices,” Mr. Harvey told The Hill Times. After getting elected last fall, he said he was “looking for somebody with some experience” and former MP, and mutual friend, Joe Jordan recommended he try to hire Ms. Knight. “It’s made a world of difference in terms of just getting off the ground and trying to wrap your head around a lot of the intricacies of getting things done on the Hill. It allows me to really focus on my job,” he said. Veteran Conservative staffer Garry Keller, chief of staff to interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose (Sturgeon River-Parkland, Alta.), ranked seventh on the list, and also came second in the Most Influence category and third for Best Conservative Hill Staffer. Starting out as a Reform Party staffer in the late 90s, Mr. Keller was previously chief of staff to former Conservative minister John Baird. “He’s brilliant, experienced and dreamy,” said one Conservative respondent of Mr. Keller. Meanwhile, veteran Liberal staffer Kevin Bosch, a senior adviser for research in the Liberal research bureau, sits at No. 8 this year, along with claiming the title of Most Discreet staffer. In ninth place on the Terrific 25 list is Tommy Desfossés, executive assistant to the Prime Minister, marking his debut on The Hill Times’ survey. He also came third in the Best Access to PMO category and tied for third in for Most Influence with Ms. Knight. “Not just because of his current role at the PM’s side, but because he’s a smart guy who knows how to get things done,” said one Liberal respondent. Sean Schnell, constituency assistant to Conservative MP Michelle Rempel (Calgary Nose Hill, Alta.), placed tenth overall and also claimed the title of Best Conservative Constituency Staffer this year. PMO director of issues management and former Queen’s Park Liberal staffer Zita Astravas claimed the title of Best at Spin Control this year along with ranking the No. 11 spot on the top 25 list. Cyrus Reporter, a former chief of staff to Mr. Trudeau as third party and now the PM’s senior adviser, is ranked No. 12. Ben Martin, member’s assistant to Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu (SarniaLambton, Ont.), ranked 13th on the overall staff list, and came second for Best Conservative Hill Staffer. Mr. Martin’s been working on the Hill since 2007, and was previously an assistant to former Conservative MP Pat Davidson. He made his debut on the list in 2013, ranking fifth overall. Jamie Kippen, a former director of operations for the Ontario Liberal Party and now the Ontario regional desk adviser in the PMO, ranked 14th, and came in second place in the Best PMO Staffer category. Respondents who voted for Mr. Kippen said he was hard-working, helpful, and dependable. The Hill Times’ Terrific 25 Staffer Survey Results of The Hill Times’ Terrific 25 Staffers Survey: 2016 The Top 25 List 1. Gerald Butts, principal secretary, Prime Minister’s Office 2. Greg McClinchey, member’s assistant, Liberal MP Judy Sgro 3. Sean Murphy, manager of parliamentary affairs, Conservative Whip Gordon Brown 4. Katie Telford, chief of staff, Prime Minister’s Office 5. Vince MacNeil, chief of staff, Government House Leader Dominic LeBlanc 6. Colleen Knight, parliamentary assistant, Liberal MP T.J. Harvey 7. Garry Keller, chief of staff, Conservative interim Leader Rona Ambrose 8. Kevin Bosch, senior adviser for research, Liberal Research Bureau 9. Tommy Desfossés, executive assistant to the PM, Prime Minister’s Office 10. Sean Schnell, constituency assistant, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel 11. Zita Astravas, director of issues management, Prime Minister’s Office 12. Cyrus Reporter, senior adviser to the PM, Prime Minister’s Office 13. Ben Martin, member’s assistant, Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu 14. Jamie Kippen, Ontario regional desk, Prime Minister’s Office 15. David Prest, parliamentary affairs adviser, Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer 16. Rob Sutherland, chief of staff, NDP Whip Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet 17. Cyndi Jenkins, Atlantic regional desk, Prime Minister’s Office 18. Anthony Salloum, lobby officer, NDP Whip Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet 19. Roberta Webster, member’s assistant, NDP MP Fin Donnelly 20. Cory Hann, director of communications, Conservative Party of Canada 21. Mélanie Lauzon, committee coordinator, Liberal Whip Andrew Leslie 22. Kate Purchase, director of communications, Prime Minister’s Office 23. Mike Storeshaw, director of media relations, Conservative interim Leader Rona Ambrose 24. Jake Enwright, senior communications officer, Conservative Research Bureau 25. Anne Marie Keeley, chief of staff, Conservative Whip Gordon Brown Category Results Kevin Bosch, who works in the Liberal Research Bureau, pictured with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photograph courtesy of Twitter Longtime Conservative staffer and Terrific 25 survey fixture David Prest, currently senior parliamentary affairs adviser to Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer (Regina-Qu’Appelle, Sask.), ranked 15th on the list this year. Mr. Prest, an expert on parliamentary procedure and tactics, has frequently been voted one of the best staffers on the Hill since the Terrific 25 Staffers Survey started. Mr. Prest first started on the Hill more than 40 years ago when he worked as a janitor while he was a student. He officially began work as a political staffer in 1982 when he joined the Progressive Conservative Whip’s Office. He’s been working for conservative House officers on the Hill ever since. Rob Sutherland, chief of staff to NDP Whip Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet (Hochelaga, Que.), ranked No. 16 this year and won second place in the Most Knowledgeable category. Continued on page 16 Best All-Round Terrific Staffer: 1. Sean Murphy, manager of parliamentary affairs to Conservative Whip Gordon Brown 2. Greg McClinchey, member’s assistant to Liberal MP Judy Sgro 3. Colleen Knight, parliamentary assistant to Liberal MP T.J. Harvey Most Knowledgeable: 1. Greg McClinchey, member’s assistant to Liberal MP Judy Sgro 2. Rob Sutherland, chief of staff to NDP Whip Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet 3. Sean Murphy, manager of parliamentary affairs to Conservative Whip Gordon Brown Most Influence: 1. Gerald Butts, principal secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 2. Garry Keller, chief of staff to interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose 3. Colleen Knight, parliamentary assistant to Liberal MP T.J. Harvey, and Tommy Desfossés, executive assistant to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Best at Spin Control: 1. Zita Astravas, director of issues management in the office of the Prime Minister 2. Gerald Butts, principal secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 3. Mike Storeshaw, director of media relations to interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose Best Access to PMO: 1. Gerald Butts, principal secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 2. Katie Telford, chief of staff to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 3. Tommy Desfossés, exécutive assistant to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Most Discreet: 1. Kevin Bosch, senior adviser for research in the Liberal research bureau 2. Vince MacNeil, chief of staff to Government House Leader Dominic LeBlanc 3. Greg McClinchey, member’s assistant to Liberal MP Judy Sgro Best PMO Staffer: 1. Katie Telford, chief of staff to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 2. Jamie Kippen, Ontario regional desk adviser in the office of the Prime Minister 3. Cyndi Jenkins, Atlantic regional desk adviser in the office of the Prime Minister Best Cabinet Staffer: 1. Allie Chalke, special assistant for the Atlantic region to Finance Minister Bill Morneau 2. Josh Bragg, special assistant for regional economic development to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains 3. Vince MacNeil, chief of staff to Government House Leader Dominic LeBlanc Best Conservative Hill Staffer: 1. Sean Murphy, manager of parliamentary affairs to Conservative Whip Gordon Brown 2. Ben Martin, member’s assistant to Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu 3. Garry Keller, chief of staff to interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose Best Conservative Constituency Staffer: 1. Sean Schnell, constituency assistant to Conservative MP Michelle Rempel 2. Kaylie Kuipers, constituency assistant to Conservative MP Karen Vecchio Best NDP Hill Staffer: 1. Karl Bélanger, principal secretary to NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair 2. Anthony Salloum, lobby officer to NDP Whip Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet; Audrey Moey, special assistant to NDP MP Sheri Benson; and Nasha Brownridge, member’s assistant to NDP MP Linda Duncan 3. Roberta Webster, member’s assistant to NDP MP Fin Donnelly Best NDP Constituency Staffer: 1. Eric Demers, constituency assistant to NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice Best Liberal Hill Staffer: 1. Greg McClinchey, member’s assistant to Liberal MP Judy Sgro 2. Colleen Knight, parliamentary assistant to Liberal MP T.J. Harvey 3. Shane Mackenzie, member’s assistant to Liberal MP Sonia Sidhu Best Liberal Constituency Staffer: 1. Courtenay Brennan, constituency assistant to Liberal MP T.J. Harvey; Frederick Larouche, constituency assistant to Liberal MP Steven MacKinnon; and Jamie Zuffa-Kniert, constituency assistant to Liberal MP Kent Hehr 2. Phil Parsons, constituency assistant to Liberal MP Judy Sgro 8 Editor Kate Malloy Deputy Editor Derek Abma Managing Editor Kristen Shane Deputy Editor Peter Mazereeuw The Hill Times, monday, august 1, 2016 Assistant Deputy Editor Abbas Rana online Editor, Power & Influence Editor Ally Foster Publishers Anne Marie Creskey, Jim Creskey, Ross Dickson General Manager, CFO Andrew Morrow Editorial phoenix Letters To The Editor Phoenix fiasco is still one hot mess I Not many ‘ordinary’ Canadian voters raging over electoral reform question, says HT reader t’s another week and there is still no solution to what’s now being called the “Phoenix fiasco,” the federal government’s new computerized and problem-plagued payroll system which has affected the pay of 82,000 federal public servants. Public Services Minister Judy Foote, who said she wants to fix the massive problem as soon as possible, was in Ottawa last week to do some damage control, however, it appears she also needs to get better control of her department. She revealed that she was told the new computerized pay system was ready when it was clearly not. “I was told things were ready to go … people who have been working on this since 2009 assured me we didn’t have to worry,” Ms. Foote told CBC News Network’s Power & Politics. Her deputy minister Marie Lemay, meanwhile, told reporters that top bureaucrats responsible for the Phoenix pay system ignored warnings from PSAC in April to stop the second phase of the pay system and couldn’t recall if they had briefed Ms. Foote on the problems flagged by PSAC. And the CBC reported that Phoenix inadvertently made personal details for all 300,000 employees to 70,000 and senior officials had learned the flaw in January, but didn’t stop it. This is not good. But the problem remains. More than five months after the government’s new payroll system went online, more than 80,000 Government of Canada employees have reported issues, inconsistencies, or absences of pay. Some 720 employees had not received any pay since February, but 486 of those employees have received emergency back pay. The remaining 234 require more information from their departments to complete, but will be the priority. The 1,100 with long-term disability, maternity, paternity, or other leave issues were scheduled to have their cases resolved and there are an estimated 80,000 ad- ditional cases of other pay issues on overtime pay, extra duty pay, or salary adjustments. The Hill Times has been told some public servants are using their credit cards and lines of credit to pay for their mortgages because they haven’t been paid. The government says the department underestimated how long it would take to train staff on the new Phoenix computerized pay system. As well, at the time Phoenix went live, there was already a backlog of more than 40,000 files that had to be dealt with which the Public Service Alliance of Canada had warned the government about. The new automated payroll program replaces a 40-year-old payment system for all Government of Canada employees and was rolled out in two phases beginning in February. It encompasses the total of an estimated 300,000 employees as of May. The decision to go with the new Phoenix model was made by the Conservative government back in 2009. The program was designed by IBM. The new system is said to have cost $300-million, and ahead of the widespread pay issues, was expected to save the government $67.2-million a year, according to the department. But that’s not going to happen this year, Ms. Foote acknowledged last week. The House Government Operations Committee met for an emergency meeting last week to ask questions, Auditor General Michael Ferguson’s office is looking into Phoenix and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked PCO Clerk Michael Wernick to make sure the system is fixed which is supposed to be by October. The federal government was unnecessarily caught off guard by this one, but it’s taken too long to fix this problem. People need to get paid. This is wrong and it doesn’t make sense. The government should treat this as a top priority. It’s gone on too long. Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef, pictured with PCO’s Isabelle Mondou, testifying before the Special House Electoral Reform Committee on the Hill recently. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright T his summer, I’m wondering how many burgs and hot dogs will be burned beyond recognition while the debate among “ordinary” Canadian voters rages over the electoral reform question. Not many I suspect. The vast majority of our citizens are not political junkies, journalists, or academics who are following this debate: they neither have interest nor time for the politics of the day. Sadly, most are not equipped with even a basic knowledge about how our democracy works. But they are voters who vote—or don’t—every four years. I lament that the result of the current “town hall” strategy of Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef will want for this lack of time, interest, and education, especially in the summer. I fear that this reality, not to mention political partisanship, will skewer the result of these summertime town hall “consultations.” Is it even necessary? Canadians made a choice last October. We have a majority of four out of five political parties who support electoral change. We already have had an exhaustive study conducted by the Law Commission of Canada which supported making every vote count through proportional representation (PR). The entire issue has been debated for years. Lately, AV, the preferential voting system, has been thoroughly trashed and discredited as being unfair and unbalanced. Are we not at a point to act? Parliament should adopt a PR system in time for 2019 and for two successive elections. Included would be an immediate national initiative through Elections Canada for all Canadians to be educated about the new voting system. In the legislation, if PR is found wanting, a referendum question could then be attached to the vote in 2027 to see if it should remain as our electoral system—just as New Zealand did. To me, this would be a quintessential Canadian solution that voters would duly accept—not to mention the resources and time that are about to be fruitlessly wasted. More importantly, Parliament would be challenging all voters to adopt a new mind set to become interested and educated about their democracy as never before: we need that. In the Speech From the Throne, this government made a promise to correct the democratic distortions of our present system and to make every vote count. Parliament has the overwhelming legitimacy—not to dither on this file—but to act, be bold and assertive with a measure of caution thrown in. It’s 2016: let’s just do it. Patrick J. Mullin Windsor, Ont. With support of ‘angry’ blue collar white men, Trump could win: reader T he success of Donald Trump in the Republican primaries stemmed from his ability to connect with mainly bluecolour white workers who are the most disgruntled group in the United States. They blame unfair trade agreements for the loss of well-paid factory jobs. They blame the nation’s elites for exporting these high-paid jobs to low-wage countries like Mexico and China for their own profits at the expense of American workers. And they blame illegal immigrants for putting downward pressure on wages at home. Editorial senior reporters Tim Naumetz and Laura Ryckewaert REPORTER, POWER & INFLUENCE ASSISTANT EDITOR Rachel Aiello News ReporterS Chelsea Nash, Marco Vigliotti Photographers Sam Garcia, Andrew Meade, Cynthia Münster, and Jake Wright POWER & INFLUENCE ASSISTANT EDITOR Christina Leadlay Editorial Cartoonist Michael De Adder Contributing Writers Denis Calnan, Simon Doyle, Christopher Guly, Leslie MacKinnon, Carl Meyer, Cynthia Münster, and Selina Chignall Columnists Keith Brooks, Karl Bélanger, Andrew Cardozo, John Chenier, David Coletto, Sheila Copps, David Crane, Jim Creskey, Murray Dobbin, Gwynne Dyer, Michael Geist, Greg Elmer, Alice Funke, J.L. Granatstein, Éric Grenier, Dennis Gruending, Cory Hann, Tim Harper, Chantal Hébert, Jenn Jefferys, David T. Jones, Joe Jordan, Warren Kinsella, Camille Labchuk, Gillian McEachern, Arthur Milnes, Nancy Peckford, Kate Purchase, Tim Powers, Michael Qaqish, Jeremy Richler, Susan Riley, Ken Rubin, Sarah Schmidt, Rick Smith, Evan Sotiropoulos, Scott Taylor, Ian Wayne, Nelson Wiseman, Les Whittington and Armine Yalnizyan Advertising VP of Advertising and Business Development Don Turner Advertising Coordinator Amanda Keenan Director of Advertising Steve Macdonald Corporate Account Executives Craig Caldbick, Martin Reaume, Ulle Baum, Anne-Marie DeSousa Production By promising to rewrite these “unfair” trade deals and building a wall to keep illegal immigrants out, Mr. Trump has successfully tapped into this discontent and he is likely to win in a landslide with the support of “angry” blue colour white men (and women) in the coming election. Mired in email controversies, Hillary Clinton cannot match Trump’s popularity among a large segment of the American populace. However, it remains to be seen how he delivers on his promises. Mahmood Elahi Ottawa, Ont. Delivery Inquiries circulation@hilltimes.com 613-688-8822 Production Manager Benoit Deneault Senior Graphic, Online Designer Joey Sabourin Junior Graphic Designer Melanie Brown Web Designer Kobra Amirsardari administration Finance/Administration Tracey Wale Reception Alia Kellock Heward Circulation Sales Manager Chris Peixoto Published every monday and wednesday by Hill Times Publishing Inc. 69 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5A5 (613) 232-5952 Fax (613) 232-9055 Canadian Publications Mail Agreement No. 40068926 www.hilltimes.com Please send letters to the editor to the above street address or e-mail to news@hilltimes.com. Deadline is Wednesday at noon, Ottawa time, for the Monday edition and Friday at noon for the Wednesday edition. Please include your full name, address and daytime phone number. The Hill Times reserves the right to edit letters. Letters do not reflect the views of The Hill Times. Thank you. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40068926 Return undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Circulation Dept. 69 Sparks Street, Ottawa, ON K1P 5A5 CMCA AUDITED 2012 Better Newspaper Winner 9 The Hill Times, Monday, august 1, 2016 opinion terrorism ‘Just lock them up’ is not a solution to terrorism While we must do everything possible to identify, monitor, disrupt, try, convict and incarcerate those with violent intent we must also come up with creative solutions to head the radicalisation beast off before it gets its hooks into our fellow citizens. There is no other option. phil gurski O TTAWA—Another attack has hit France—this one is particularly heinous, the murder of an 85-year old priest—and the critics are out in full force, all of whom know what is wrong with France and what the French should do about it. I certainly would not want to be French President François Hollande or Prime Minister Manuel Valls or anyone in the French police or security services. The sheer number of attacks and the horrific casualty toll has sapped whatever confidence France’s citizens have in those who are supposed to keep them safe. I am not interested in rehashing the arguments put forward purporting to explain “Why France?”—none of which by the way are comprehensive—but I do want to look at one aspect of the latest attack. According to The New York Times, one of the terrorists was not only known to French security agencies—he had tried to travel to Syria twice—but had been jailed. He was released in March of this year, despite the objections of the prosecuting lawyers and subject to strict conditions, including the wearing of an electronic monitoring bracelet. Nevertheless, he and an accomplice were able to enter the church in St. Étienne du Rouvray, take hostages and cowardly kill Fr. Jacques Hamel. As a side note, how can the Islamic State, which has claimed the attack state that a “soldier of Islam” bravely killed a defenceless octogenarian? In light of this information the hue and cry is all about why a man with this pedigree was allowed out of prison. Surely, French authorities should have known better and kept him behind bars. If they had done so, Hamel would still be alive. I have no insight into why the terrorist was let out but I do know that French penal authorities have a Herculean task before them. Between 60 and 80 per cent of France’s prison population of 68,000 are Muslim (wildly disproportionate to their six per cent and eight per cent of the general population) and there are thousands of inmates convicted of terrorist offences. France has an out of control prison radicalisation problem and is struggling with what to do. Prisons have in effect become radicalisation incubators. The old debate on whether to keep all the terrorists together— where they reinforce each other— or spread them around —where they infect others—is ongoing. There is no simple solution. It would be easy to suggest that terrorist prisoners remain locked up for life. Their crimes and plots are designed to cause fear and terror and we cannot allow these people to undermine the societies we have built. Incarceration comes with a cost however. I don’t know how much it takes to keep a prisoner jailed in France but in Canada the annual expense is CDN$113,000 per inmate (in the U.S. it is US$117,000). Do the math—with 68,000 prisoners the burden on the public purse is enormous. Then again how do we measure the value of someone killed by a terrorist? This is a debate worth having. What about rehabilitation and rehabilitation? There are programs out there which have claimed success at treating terrorists and “undoing” their radicalization. I commend these efforts but it is far too early to determine whether these approaches work. In any event there are far too few people engaged in these programs. Look, I have no problem with putting the worst of the worst in prison, throwing away the key and ensuring that they never threaten society ever again. On the other hand, I have also met and spoken at length with two convicted terrorists in Canada whom I believe are actually on the path to reform. They deserve a chance, carefully monitored of course, to prove their good faith. Decisions must be made on a case by case basis and that too requires resources and funding. As with most things in life there is no black and white answer. Many people with impressive backgrounds have stated repeatedly that we cannot arrest our way out of this problem. So while we must do everything possible to identify, monitor, disrupt, try, convict and incarcerate those with violent intent we must also come up with creative solutions to head the radicalisation beast off before it gets its hooks into our fellow citizens. There is no other option. Phil Gurski is president/CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting. www.borealisthreatandrisk.com The Hill Times global affairs solar impulse Solar Impulse makes its remarkable journey So congratulations to Bertrand Piccard and Solar Impulse’s other pilot, André Borschberg. Maybe we will have electric airliners one of these days, if only somebody can come up with the right battery—but in the meantime we should be working hard on making carbonneutral fuel. Gwynne dyer L ONDON, ENGLAND—As I write this, Solar Impulse is already in the air on the last 48-hour leg of its remarkable journey: the first round-the-world flight by an aircraft that uses no fuel except sunlight. By the time you read it, pilot Bertrand Piccard will probably have landed in Abu Dhabi, to global acclaim. And you can’t help wondering: is this the future of flight? There are about 100,000 commercial flights per day, and the aviation industry burns just under 300 billion litres of fuel each year. Commercial aircraft are responsible for about two per cent of the human race’s carbon dioxide emissions. So electric airplanes that burn no fossil fuel would be very helpful, and Bertrand Piccard thinks that this is indeed the future. “I make the bet that in 10 years we will have electric aeroplanes flying with 50 passengers for shortto medium-haul flights,” he said. “You can fly with no pollution and no noise, and land in urban airports, making no disturbance for the neighbours. … And maybe sometime people will say this all started with a crazy idea of flying around the world in a solar aeroplane, and the outcome was useful for everyone.” But Solar Impulse, with the wing-span of a jumbo jet, can carry just one person. Photoelectric cells on the wings power it during the day, and recharge the batteries that take it through the night (barely)—but its average speed is only 75 km/hr, and it took 17 flights and 15 months to travel around the world, so we are still a long way from the Promised Land. You can’t just scale Solar Impulse up and get an electricpowered commercial aircraft that carries 50 people, let alone the 500 passengers that they can jam into a long-haul 747 or A380. The basic problem is coming up with light-weight, high-capacity “trac- tion” batteries—ones designed to provide the main power for large vehicles for a period of hours— and progress on this front has been very slow. Traction batteries are still nowhere near the weight-to-power ratio that would be needed for an airliner, and there are no signs of an imminent breakthrough. Solar Impulse may equal a Boeing 747 in size, but it weighs only 2 tonnes. (The empty weight of a 747 is 129 tonnes.) So we should not expect electric airliners any time soon, and people are not going to stop flying voluntarily. Is there any hope out there? Maybe so. Aviation fuel has always been derived from petroleum because no other energy source provides as much power for the same weight. (There are no coal-fired aircraft.) But what the engines need is just a highoctane fuel; they don’t care where it comes from. There are two other places it might come from. One way is by growing oil-rich algae in giant vats (salt water or waste-water will do), and crushing it to separate the oil, which can then be refined in the usual way to extract an octane fuel. Exxon Mobil and Synthetic Genomics have spent $100-million on this project since 2009, but they still have much work to do in creating the fast-growing, high-oil-content algae that would make it commercially viable. The other way is by taking carbon-dioxide directly out of the air, and using a catalyst to combine it Solar Impulse, pictured landing in Brussels on May 13, 2011. Photograph courtesy of the Brussels Airport with hydrogen to create an octane fuel. Several teams have working prototypes of machines that will extract the carbon dioxide from the air at a modest cost in energy, and the hydrogen can be obtained just by splitting water molecules. In both cases burning the fuel will, of course, produce carbon dioxide, but it will be precisely the same carbon dioxide that was originally taken from the air to combine with hydrogen or grow the algae—so the process as a whole is carbon-neutral. Since this approach would not require replacing or even modifying the entire 25,000-strong fleet of commercial aircraft, it is certainly more promising for the short and medium term. There is another potential environmental problem linked to fuel-burning aircraft, and that is the “contrails” (condensation trails) they often leave behind them. The contrails are formed by water vapour from the engine exhaust that freezes when the humidity is high and the air temperature is low, usually in the upper troposphere. They can last a long time and spread out until they turn into cirrus clouds covering large parts of the sky. Such clouds let most sunlight pass through inbound, but reflect heat back to the surface in the night-time. How big an impact contrails have on global warming is still not settled, but it may be as big as the effect of carbon dioxide from aviation fuel. Conventional aircraft can only avoid contrails by flying lower, which means higher fuel consumption and much more turbulence—but electric aircraft would not leave contrails at any altitude. So congratulations to Bertrand Piccard and Solar Impulse’s other pilot, André Borschberg. Maybe we will have electric airliners one of these days, if only somebody can come up with the right battery—but in the meantime we should be working hard on making carbon-neutral fuel. Gwynne Dyer is an independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries. The Hill Times 10 The Hill Times, Monday, august 1, 2016 inside politics justin trudeau PM on a high-stakes mission, set against idyllic backdrops Trudeau’s PMO and senior ministers are preoccupied with the firms and the entrepreneurs who get their start in Canada and make their fortune elsewhere. They’re concerned about recent raiding expeditions by Google and others to recruit Canadian leaders in the field of artificial intelligence. paul wells T he appointment was right there July 22 in Justin Trudeau’s public itinerary, which the Prime Minister’s Office sends daily to every Ottawa reporter who cares to sign up. “The prime minister will attend the Dock Innovators Retreat,” it said. “Closed to media.” Attend the what? Googling the mysterious term provided no further information. I was finishing a vacation and assumed some other reporter would ask what the PM had done with his day—normally an interesting question. But by this week nobody had asked. So I did, and here is what I’ve found. The retreat was a real thing. The dock in question is attached to a sprawling cottage somewhere north of Toronto. Dock and cottage belong to Magna CEO Donald Walker, who welcomed 30 corporate CEOs and tech leaders for a two-day gathering whose correct and somewhat precious name is the “Dock (Un)Conference.” The, uh, Dock was held under the auspices of the C100, an association of Canadian expats working in Silicon Valley. Since 2010 the C100 has been the organized expression of a kind of yearning: that a rising generation of innovative Canadian entrepreneurs won’t have to leave Canada to build the next billion-dollar startup. The C100 website calls the Dock a “highly curated event ... on the future of tech and where Canada can lead.” John Stackhouse, a former Globe and Mail editor now working at the Royal Bank, did the curating. Guests included GE Canada president Elyse Allan, Jordan Banks from Facebook, Tiff Macklem, who left the Bank of Canada to become dean of the Rotman School of Management, Nadir Mohamed, a former Rogers CEO who now runs a venturecapital firm called Scale Up Ventures that gets half its money from the Ontario government, Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu. And a mostly younger cohort of rising stars in technologyintensive companies in Canada and California, including Angela Strange, Jennifer Holmstrom and Brendan Frey. Trudeau appeared in the conference agenda as “Special Guest” and spoke at lunch on Friday. But he also wanted to hear from his hosts because they share a goal: to encourage entrepreneurs and tech companies to stay in Canada in a bid to boost economic growth and enhance Canadians’ standard of living. This was the second time in three weeks that Trudeau has showed up at a tech conference in an idyllic locale. At the beginning of July he was at Sun Valley in Idaho for an annual retreat where he met a succession of blue-chip CEOs: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, GM’s Mary Barra, IBM’s Ginni Rometty. Justin Trudeau’s goal here extends well beyond schmoozing. As he said in Davos in January (more billionaires! More scenery!), attracting foreign investment will be “a key priority” of his government. He does not want an increase on the scale of a rounding error. He wants a massive increase in the amount of investment coming into Canada. The country saw such a thing once before, after the Second World War, when Europe was levelled, America ravenous, and Canada’s national resources desperately needed by both. What would drive another investment boom now, I asked a Trudeau adviser—resources again? “Talent.” Trudeau’s PMO and senior ministers are preoccupied with the firms and the entrepreneurs who get their start in Canada and make their fortune elsewhere. They’re concerned about recent raiding expeditions by Google and others to recruit Canadian leaders in the field of artificial intelligence. Among people who could work anywhere in the world, size and coolness matter when they decide where to move or whether to stay. Waterloo has managed to become a magnet for global expertise in theoretical physics and quantum computing. Over the next year the Trudeau government will seek to reinforce or shore up Canada’s advantage in three emerging fields: quantum tech; artificial intelligence; and big data and analytics. Four big themes will drive the Trudeau economic policy through next year’s budget: innovation, infrastructure, immigration and foreign investment. Where will the money come from? Trudeau has been talking to executives at Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, which controls $5-trillion in investments worldwide. Increasing Canada’s share of that titanic portfolio would make a lot of things possible. Trudeau is devoting more and more of his time to figuring out how to make that happen. So are his senior economic ministers—Bill Morneau, Chrystia Freeland, Navdeep Bains. This is how the government is spending its summer. Paul Wells is a national affairs columnist for The Toronto Star. This column was released on July 27. The Hill Times opinion syrian refugees Syrian refugees are doing Canada a favour They have come for one and only one reason: to avoid death. Offering them menial jobs that locals will not take and providing them with substandard housing is no great act of charity. DEMETRIS GEORGIADES P aphos, CYPRUS—One of the benefits of being an expatriate of Canada is being able to view Canada through an unbiased, discriminating vantage point. As such, I take it upon myself to advise most Canadian mainstream media to conduct thorough research on pre-war Syria from a socio-economic perspective. Once this is done, hopefully then the result will be a cessation of the insinuation that Canada, apparently the only place in the world willing to accept refugees with gracious hospitality, is doing Syrian refugees a favour. They, in fact, are doing Canada a favour. Canada would do well to stop the sanctimony it so clearly identifies with. Canada’s low birth rate, demand for cheap labour, unattractive climate, high taxation, geographic isolation and very high housing costs are only a few factors that contribute to the welcoming embrace offered to new immigrants. Granted, there are far worse places in which to relocate, but it would be highly beneficial to take a very close look at what Canada has to offer newcomers. More specifically, Syrians. The uniform manner in which Canadian media portray the Syrian refugees is powerful proof of the deleterious power of mass conditioning. Relying solely upon the media to form an opinion of Syrians allows the stranglehold on public perception to fester and prosper. As someone who has travelled extensively throughout Syria before the war, I feel that I am in a position to make an attempt at enlightening the public perception of the people of this tragic nation. The key to understanding the Syrians is to accept the fact that very few had ever lived in poverty. Food was abundant, the soil very fertile and the cuisine very rich. The poor were kept well housed and A group of refugees pictured landing in a north beach of Lesvos Island, Greece, after crossing the 10 km from the Turkish to the Greek coast. Photograph courtesy Fernando Del Berro nourished. The middle classes had very little to be envious when making comparisons of their lifestyle. Their counterparts in Europe and Canada had no better access to health care or consumer goods. Fast food, American movies, and Western fashion were readily accessible to all. University education, home ownership and holidays, I dare say, were affordable to a greater percentage of the population than in many Western countries which look down on Syria. Canada’s media, in an effort to uphold the national mantra with its manipulative predication on the nonsensical idea of “work ethic,” successfully fester the impression that Syrians are recipients of generous alms by receiving entry into Canada. This is not the case. If this were true, many of these people would have applied for entry far before the civil war. They have come for one and only one reason: to avoid death. Offering them menial jobs that locals will not take and providing them with sub-standard housing is no great act of charity. The truth of the matter is that most of these people own multiple assets and hold great wealth in their home country, often inherited through a socioeconomic system that Western minds have not been equipped to understand. Their ambitions very unlikely included employment in a country known for a very unappealing climate, high taxation and geographic isolation. Demetris Georgiades was born and raised in Canada and owns a language school in Cyprus, called Learn Greek. The Hill Times 11 The Hill Times, Monday, august 1, 2016 opinion energy east Opposition to Energy East growing in Canada and U.S.: it’s time for a moratorium on oil tankers on East Coast Hearings on Energy East are about to start, and a new process has been put in place. If the process is legitimate, it can only lead to a rejection of this risky proposal. KEITH BROOKS T ORONTO—Oil spills don’t care about borders. That’s why there is growing concern about the proposed Energy East pipeline bringing a massive increase in tanker traffic along the Canadian and U.S. East Coast. If built, Energy East would triple tanker traffic in areas like the Bay of Fundy—and with it the chance of a devastating oil spill. That’s one of the key findings from a report Environmental Defence released a few days ago with the U.S.-based Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental groups. Together, we highlighted the risks Energy East would pose to the Canadian and U.S. East Coast. The threats to fragile marine ecosystems and local communities are one more reason to oppose the risky project. TransCanada likes to pretend that Energy East is about meeting Canadian demand for oil. But this is complete fiction. Up to 90 per cent of the oil shipped via Energy East will wind up in tankers for export. TransCanada’s application to the National Energy Board estimates that over 280 tankers per year will be needed to ship oil from Energy East. Up to 900,000 of the 1.1 million barrels pumped through Energy East each day would be shipped abroad unrefined. This isn’t oil for Canadians. Energy East won’t stop imports of oil. Irving Oil, the refinery at the end of the proposed pipeline route, has said even if Energy East is built, it will still import oil from Saudi Arabia. Energy East would increase oil tanker traffic by 300 per cent in the Bay of Fundy – and by 500 per cent along parts of the U.S. East Coast. Most of those tankers will head down the East Coast because that’s where the refineries are located that can take tar sands oil. And that has environmental groups in the U.S. concerned. Special technology is needed to refine heavy oils like diluted bitumen. And the greatest concentration of refineries with the capability to process tar sands oil is along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Sound familiar? That’s where TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline was intended to terminate. Energy East would allow tar sands oil to reach those same refineries. Essentially, Keystone XL and Energy East are the same plan, but a different route. Except Energy East is bigger, longer, and potentially more dangerous. Not only will Energy East mean more tankers: it will mean more dangerous tankers, at least if you listen to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Diluted bitumen behaves differently than other types of oil when it’s spilled into water, the NAS found in an authoritative study earlier this year. Dilbit sinks and sticks to things. According to the NAS study, regulators haven’t appreciated the unique properties of tar sands oil, and there isn’t effective emergency planning in place but “there must be a greater level of concern associated with spills of diluted bitumen.” There should be concern for the communities along the East Coast—in Canada and in the U.S. Those waters, including Canada’s iconic Bay of Fundy, are notorious for extreme tides, dense fogs, and treacherous weather. A spill could devastate local ecosystems and put lobster, scallop and other fisheries at risk. Oil tankers also threaten endangered species in the Atlantic, like the North Atlantic right whale, whose population is estimated at only 450 individuals. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised to put a moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic on British Columbia’s northern coast in recognition of its sensitive ecosystem and the devastating effects any oil spill would have. It’s the right decision. But a spill on the East Coast would be just as bad. And the tankers are just one reason the stop the project. Energy East would cross nearly 3,000 lakes, streams and rivers. The pipeline would threaten the drinking water for over 5 million Canadians. The recent Husky oil spill into the North Saskatchewan River shows how vulnerable our drinking water sources are. Authorities estimate that it will take months before communities can draw drinking water from the North Saskatchewan River. The contamination has spread over 500 km already. The risks that Energy East would pose to communities along the pipeline and tanker routes are real. The prime minister is right that northern B.C. is no place for a tar sands pipeline and tankers. Neither is the East Coast. Hearings on Energy East are about to start, and a new process has been put in place. If the process is legitimate, it can only lead to a rejection of this risky proposal. Keith Brooks is campaigns director at Environmental Defence. The Hill Times opinion medical marijuana New medical marijuana regulations should allow pharmacist dispensing By amending the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations to allow pharmacists to dispense medical marijuana, Canadians would have a safe, reliable and convenient alternative to mail-order service, in compliance with the Federal Court’s access requirements set out in Allard v. Canada. PERRY EISENSCHMID H ealth Minister Jane Philpott has a golden opportunity later this month to improve access and safety for medical marijuana patients and Canadian pharmacists hope she will take it. By amending the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) to allow pharmacists to dispense medical marijuana, Canadians would have a safe, reliable and convenient alternative to mail-order service, in compliance with the Federal Court’s access requirements set out in Allard v. Canada. A pharmacy-based distribution system would immediately provide another option for Canadians to access medical marijuana, alongside the existing system of licensed producers who provide their product to patients through the mail. CPhA’s proposed changes to the MMPR would authorize pharmacists to obtain medical marijuana from a licensed pharmacist and dispense it to an individual with a medical document. Pharmacists have the necessary expertise to mitigate the potential risks associated with medical marijuana, includ- ing harmful drug interactions, contraindications, and potential addictive behaviour. A simple regulatory amendment would empower Canadian patients to access the product in urban, rural and remote locations across Canada, under the supervision of a licensed health care professional, through an established distribution system proven to protect patient and public safety. Medical and recreational marijuana are fundamentally different products, intended for use in very different ways. When Canada makes recreational marijuana legal next year, it will be critical to have a safe and secure distribution system for medical marijuana already in place. By amending the regulations immediately, a sophisticated pharmacy distribution system equipped to handle narcotics and controlled substances will help limit the emergence of a grey market and protect the medical system against abuse by recreational users. This is an important lesson learned from U.S. states where medical and recreational marijuana streams coexist; a fact Health Minister Jane Philpott has a golden opportunity later this month to improve access and safety for medical marijuana patients and Canadian pharmacists hope she will take it, argues Perry Eisenschmid. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright which has been recognized by the federal government’s Task Force on Marihuana Legalization and Regulation, and public health experts like the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. In Israel and Germany, regulators have already recognized the benefits of pharmacist involvement in the management and distribution of medical marijuana. Canadian licensed producers have demonstrated their capacity to supply pharmacies directly, with Canada’s largest producer announcing recently that it will export medical marijuana for sale to patients in German pharmacies—Canadian patients should have the access to the same pharmacist education and oversight. Canadians are strongly in favour of pharmacist dispensing of medical marijuana, and an independent assessment by KPMG confirms it is in the best interest of patient access and safety. The federal government has a limited window to bring Canada’s medical marijuana in line with international best practices—the Canadian Pharmacists Association urges the health minister to seize this opportunity. Perry Eisenschmid is CEO of the Canadian Pharmacists Association. The Hill Times 12 The Hill Times, Monday, august 1, 2016 copps’ corner hillary clinton I don’t get Hillary Clinton’s ‘likeability’ issue, she’s dynamite What puzzles me is that people attribute her perceived lack of likeability to her longevity in public life. But that doesn’t square with the fact that her partner, former president Bill Clinton, has her baggage and then some and for some reason, he is still a much-beloved public figure in the United States. sheila copps O TTAWA—I just don’t get it. Call me feminist, maybe even radical, but I cannot understand the likeability ‘issue’ facing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. I have actually had the benefit of meeting the woman on several occasions, and in person, she is dynamite. What puzzles me is that people attribute her perceived lack of likeability to her longevity in public life. But that doesn’t square with the fact that her partner, former president Bill Clinton, has her baggage and then some and for some reason, he is still a much-beloved public figure in the United States. If anything, his marital infidelities might be more inclined to evoke a backlash from women. Even on that count, people forgive him. I have American women friends who dislike Hillary with a passion. One of the reasons they cite is the fact that she stayed with a philandering husband, a sure sign of weakness. For some reason, the victim is once again deemed responsible for the actions of the philanderer. Perhaps the likeability factor is simply code for the sexism that women face when they step out of their traditional role of supporter to actually believe they can do the top job. Hillary got clobbered during her husband’s first presidential campaign, when, in response to criticisms, she retorted that she could have just stayed home and baked cookies, but chose to pursue a career. She was attacked on all sides for the cookie comment. For some reason, nobody deems it necessary to expect a male politician to be responsible for any activity in support of the home. That is a woman’s job. But the question of likeability is one that haunts women in a unique way. During my time as a minister, a volunteer once confided in me that he was absolutely shocked at how ‘nice’ I was. He was driving me around a rural riding for the day, and when I asked him to elaborate, he said my image was one of a real ball-buster. He fully expected to spend the day with a raving feminist who was anti-men and not afraid to say so. The volunteer was merely articulating what a lot of people thought of me. My public image was one of a fighter, but that image comes with a lot of baggage for women. The implication was that I had spurned my femininity for feminism and I was a manhater. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I struggled to find anything in my political history to reinforce the nasty ball-buster image that I had acquired. But once a public image is embedded, it is very difficult to reverse. When Rodham Clinton marked her tenure as America’s Hillary Clinton weathered bumps in her marriage, and is still pilloried for it. Is there a double standard that still applies to politics? Ms. Clinton’s likeability deficit seems to point in that direction. Photograph courtesy of Hillary Clinton 2016 Facebook page first lady, she focused on realpolitik, national health care plan for all. Her vision was grand, but it was ultimately unsuccessful. U.S. President Barack Obama succeeded in introducing a slimmed down version of the Rodham Clinton proposal. Thanks to Clinton rival Bernie Saunders, beefing up access to health care is now part of the Democratic platform. The Democratic National Convention focussed on rounding out the hard edges that have come to be identified with the candidate. Speaker after speaker spoke to her humanity and her commitment to families and children. From disabled advocate Anastasia Somoza to the Mothers of the Movement who lost children to gun violence, presenters reflected on their personal connection with Hillary Clinton. The United States has never had a woman president. Last time, when she lost to Barack Obama, Clinton alluded to ‘about 18 million cracks’ that had been made in the glass ceiling. This time round, there is almost no emphasis on the historic opportunity to elect a woman president. Fearful of the ever-present feminist backlash, advisers seem to be reinforcing her standing as a strong leader with a soft place in her heart for families and children. Politically speaking, it is probably the right strategy. The only way Clinton can sway the doubters is by reassuring them that she is a mother, wife and leader. That may be sexist, but it too is reality. Success for a woman in public life means baking cookies and being Commander-in-chief. Her Republican opponent has experienced two ugly marital breakups with little backlash. With his kids in tow, Donald Trump symbolizes the embodiment of the devoted family man. Hillary weathered bumps in her marriage, and is still pilloried for it. Is there a double standard that still applies to politics? Clinton’s likeability deficit seems to point in that direction. Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy minister. She is a registered lobbyist today. The Hill Times the war room twitter & politics Get off Twitter, go and actually do something My free advice to political people stands: save your puny ‘our thoughts and prayers go out to [fill in the day’s victims].’ Save your tweets, Twitter warriors. Get off Twitter and go and actually do something. Because what you’ve been doing, to date, hasn’t worked—for us, the people you have sworn to protect. warren kinsella T ORONTO—Ah, the Twitter warriors. Sirius XM’s Charles Adler first drew it to my attention, on his popular satellite radio program. An octogenarian Roman Catholic priest was slaughtered by ISIS subhumans in France, his throat slit at the altar. Charles read out the Twitter response of Stéphane Dion, our minister of Foreign Affairs: “Saddened to hear of hostage taking in #Normandy church resulting in death of priest. Canada stands together with #France #Rouen.” Then Charles read aloud what Jason Kenney tweeted, the guy running for the Alberta PC leadership while drawing a federal MP’s salary: “A ‘hostage taking resulting in death?’ It was a premeditated terrorist murder: Priest forced to kneel, throat cut.” Charles wanted to know what I thought about that exchange. So I told him Dion’s words were wholly inadequate. The murder of a frail old priest, in a sanctuary that provides only love and fellowship? That wasn’t merely something to be “saddened” about. It was a disgusting, despicable, diabolic crime. It wasn’t just “sad.” It was Satanic. It was, per Shakespeare, the actual thing of darkness. So, Charles asked, was Jason Kenney—again, an Alberta politician drawing a generous federal salary—right in what he said? I guess so, I told Charles. But, I added: “Jason Kenney is full of crap.” Let me explain. Kenney, back when he was somewhat relevant, was often referred to as Stephen Harper’s Minister of Everything. Perhaps he was. He was minister of Employment and Social Development; he was minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism; he was minister of Defence. In his day, he had armies and tanks at his disposal. He had billions of dollars and thousands of public servants to deploy as he saw fit. He had power, real power. But what happened when tough-talking Jason had the power to do something about terror? Well, on just one day, an ISIS fanatic carried a gun to the War Memorial, murdered a soldier, jogged across Wellington Street, commandeered a minister’s car, drove it to Centre Block, shot up the place, and then got into a gun battle with some guards and cops. What did Jason Kenney do to prevent that from happening? Nothing. But he certainly kept tweeting away about it. Before Cpl. Nathan Cirillo’s family could be properly notified—while the crisis was still unfolding, in fact, and when the Department of National Defence had declared “there will be no public release of his name or condition until it is certain all information is accurate and the family has agreed to do so”— Kenney tapped out a tweet that disclosed that a soldier, later identified as Cirillo, had been killed. Ah, the Twitter warrior, I said to Charles. The cyber-combatant. The one who dispenses John Wayne tough-guy talk from the safety of the sidelines—and occasionally violates DND rules, so as to look like he’s in charge, à la Alexander Haig. Charles Adler asked why I was so exercised about all this. Here’s what I said, almost word for word: “I’ve written a lot of words for politicians over the years. So I tend to be skeptical about a lot of things they say. And I’m particularly skeptical about Twitter tough talk. Donald Trump has built a career on Twitter. What matters is what Bill Clinton did [after the Oklahoma City terror attack]: he hunted them down, applied justice, and he put them to death.” So Charles let me go on: “I don’t think we should be taking any lessons from Jason Kenney. And, you know, I’m just kind of sick of political people, and a lot of cops, talking tough about this stuff—but, every day, bad things keep happening, like what happened in France. So, you know what, guys? Maybe you should all get off Twitter, and get your heads out of your asses, and maybe you should start doing something different from what you’ve been doing—because your little Twitter wars really aren’t protecting us, the citizens. Because Twitter wars, about who can express themselves with a tougher adjective? They’re all crap.” Charles Adler told me that I should share my words with you, and now I have. My free advice to political people stands: save your puny “our thoughts and prayers go out to [fill in the day’s victims].” Save your Jason Kenneystyle tweets, Twitter warriors. Get off Twitter and go and actually do something. Because what you’ve been doing, to date, hasn’t worked—for us, the people you have sworn to protect. The Hill Times 13 The Hill Times, Monday, august 1, 2016 News Conservative Party Leadership Five Conservative MPs, including Kellie Leitch, top left, Maxime Bernier, Deepak Obhrai, Tony Clement, and Michael Chong are declared leadership candidates for the leadership convention scheduled for May 2017. Conservative MPs Michelle Rempel, above left, and Lisa Raitt are considering a run. Former justice minister Peter MacKay, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, businessman Kevin O’Leary and Conservative MP Brad Trost are also said to be considering a run for the top job in the Conservative Party. Conservative Party to undergo test of party unity in leadership contest: Conservatives It’s the party’s second leadership convention since it was formed in 2003 when the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party merged and some Conservatives say it’s unclear if the party can withstand the stress. Continued from page 1 2003. The merger between the two wings was approved overwhelmingly by rank-and-file members of both parties. But a number of high-profile parliamentarians, mostly the Red Tory Progressive Conservatives, refused to support the merger. They feared that the new party would ideologically become too far right wing or dominated by social conservatives from the old Canadian Alliance and Reform Party and would leave little space for moderates. Former PC leader Joe Clark, then-PC MPs John Herron and André Bachand and then-PC Senators, Norman Atkins, Lowell Murray and William Doody, were some of the most outspoken critics of the merger and decided not to join the new party. After the merger, PC MP Scott Brison (Kings-Hants, N.S.) crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party. Former Manitoba MP Rick Borotsik also opposed the merger and did not seek re-election in 2004. Led by Mr. Harper, who kept an iron grip on the caucus and who did not allow the socially conservative groups to push their agendas, the new Conservative Party won the 2006 federal election and continued to win every subsequent election, finally winning a majority government in 2011. It remained in power until the last October when Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s (Papineau, Que.) Liberals won a landslide majority government. Over the Conservatives’ 10 years in power, some Conservative MPs and senior political staffers have complained privately that the party was not a “big tent” and that moderates felt uncomfortable. Some Conservative staffers and MPs quietly left the party but did not speak out publicly because they didn’t want to be blamed for negatively affecting the party. In interviews with The Hill Times last week, Conservatives said power was the glue that kept the party together between 2006 and the last federal election. Now, they said the party has started the politically tough process of electing the next leader and along with that redefining and rediscovering itself. They said some fissures are likely to occur and that it remains to be seen how the party holds itself together in this test. “The threat of a split has always been a reason to promote unity,” said a long-time Conservative Hill staffer, on a not-for-attribution based interview so that he could speak candidly. “There’s a potential for divisions to show themselves. There are divisions that still exist.” Johanne Brownrigg, Ottawa lobbyist for the Campaign Life Coalition, a national pro-life organization, told The Hill Times that the party was currently undergoing a transformative process and would want to expand its base. But she hoped that during this process, the party leadership would not forget its loyal base. “This is a difficult part of political work,” said Ms. Brownrigg.“I hope they don’t forget who they represent. I know they need to broaden their base and that can be done but it doesn’t have to be done at the expense of those who have been with them for a long time.” Ms. Brownrigg said the Campaign Life Coalition intends to play an active role in the leadership contest and that once all candidates officially enter the race, they will endorse one or more candidates. She declined to provide specifics of her organization’s active participation in the contest other than to say it’s providing information to its members about leadership candidates. However, based on the voting record of MPs in Parliament on pro-life issues, Ms. Brownrigg said her organization rates MPs on her organization’s website. MPs are placed in three categories: the ones who get a green light, or are “supportable,” are the pro-lifers; the red lights, or are “not supportable,” are not pro-lifers; and the amber light are for MPs who have a mixed voting record and are still under evaluation by the Campaign Life Coalition. Based on the Campaign Life Coalition’s rating system, Conservative MPs Brad Trost (Saskatoon-University, Sask.) and Andrew Scheer (ReginaQu’Appelle, Sask.), who are two potential leadership candidates for the Conservative Party leadership, are green light candidates. Conservative MP Deepak Obhrai (Calgary Forest Lawn, Alta.) and Conservative MP Kellie Leitch (Simcoe-Grey, Ont.) are “amber light” candidates for their mixed records. Conservative MPs Michael Chong (Wellington-Halton Hills, Ont.), Lisa Raitt (Milton, Ont.), Maxime Bernier (Beauce, Que.) and Tony Clement (Parry Sound-Muskoka, Ont.) are red light candidates. Conservative sources told The Hill Times that the two key divisions that could crop up during the leadership campaign and could test the party unity are between social conservatives and moderates or between the PC and the Alliance wings of the party and that more issues could also come up as the campaign progresses. But seven-term Conservative MP Deepak Obhrai (Calgary Forest Lawn, Alta.), who was originally elected in 1997 as Reform Party MP and who recently entered the leadership contest, dismissed the notion that the current leadership contest will test the unity of the party. He said the party has been together for about 13 years and said he does not believe there are any issues that could cause any serious rifts within the membership. “This [the merger] has worked out very well, there are no fissures, as many would like to say there are,” said Mr. Obhrai. “No, it doesn’t exist, they’re gone because it’s been 10 years that the party has been working together.” Meanwhile, some Conservative insiders are saying that their party’s leadership contest is not creating any buzz because there are no exciting or inspirational candidate in the race so far and because most believe the Liberal Party will win the 2019 election and that the real contest will take place after the next election. By deadline last week, five Conservative MPs had so far announced their candidacies to run for the party’s leadership for the May 2017 contest: Ms. Leitch, Mr. Bernier, Mr. Chong, Mr. Clement, and Mr. Obhrai. Some, including Ms. Raitt, Michelle Rempel (Calgary-Nose Hill, Alta.), Mr. Scheer, and Mr. Trost, are said to be considering their options. Former Conservative MP and justice minister Peter MacKay, as well as Kevin O’Leary, a TV personality, are also believed to be testing the waters. Manitoba physician Dan Lindsay has announced that he has set up an exploratory committee to explore a possible Conservative Party leadership run. Recently, seven-term Conservative MP Jason Kenney (Calgary Midnapore, Alta.) announced he is leaving federal politics to seek the leadership of the Alberta Conservative Party. He was believed to be one of the highest profile and most organized potential candidates for the Conservative Party leadership. To many Conservatives, Mr. Kenney’s decision reinforced the message that the party’s senior MPs and strategists do not believe they can win the next election. But Mr. Carson said that it’s a mistake to think the party will not win the next election. He cited the example of the 1968 federal election in which Pierre Trudeau won a landslide majority government with 154 seats and the second-place Progressive Conservatives won 72 seats. But in the 1972 election, the Liberals were reduced to 109 seats while the PCs won 107 seats. Mr. Carson said the Conservatives should not give up and should aim to defeat the Liberals in 2019. He added that in the last election, Conservatives were doing well until about two weeks before the election, but that things changed dramatically in favour of the Liberals in last two weeks. “There’s always a possibility of things changing and changing very quickly,” said Mr. Carson. “Look at the last election and the way things changed in the final 10 to 15 days.” Mr. Carson also pointed out that although the Conservatives lost the last election, they still they won 99 seats and hold the official opposition status. The Conservatives are also raising more money than the other parties. Mr. Carson said if the Conservatives try hard enough, they could perform well in 2019. The Conservatives won 99 of the 338 seats and 31.9 per cent of the vote nationally compared to 39.5 per cent for the Liberals who won 184 seats. The NDP won 44 seats with 19.7 per cent of the vote. Last year, the Conservatives raised a record-breaking $29-million and the Liberals raised $21-million. In the first financial quarter of this year, the Conservatives raised $5.7-million, more than the combined total of the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party. The Liberals raised about $4-million and the NDP $1.3-million during the same time frame. The Hill Times Conservative list Who is Supporting Who in Conservative Party Leadership Conservative leadership candidate Michael Chong • Conservative MP Peter Kent • Former Conservative MP Chungsen Leung • Former Conservative MP Mike Wallace • Ontario PC MPP Ted Arnott Conservative leadership candidate Deepak Obhrai • Former Conservative MP Julian Fantino • Former Conservative MP Corneliu Chisu 14 The Hill Times, Monday, august 1, 2016 news democratic party convention Canadian political parties should add more star power to national political party conventions Conservative Sen. David Wells likes Canadian political conventions better than American ones. “That is absolutely invaluable as a political asset for the parties and the campaigns,” said Robin Sears, a seasoned public affairs consultant at Earnscliffe Strategy Group, who once served as national director of the federal New Democratic Party in the 1970s and chief of staff to then-Ontario NDP leader Bob Rae in the 1980s. The U.S. Democratic Party concluded its highly successful, four-day national convention on Thursday, July 28, to officially nominate former secretary of state Hillary Clinton as the party’s presidential candidate and Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine as vice-presidential candidate, for the Nov. 4 presidential election. The convention was held at the Wells Fargo Centre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania July 25-28 and an estimated 50,000 people attended it. It is the first time in U.S. political history that a major national political party has chosen a female candidate as the presidential candidate. In 2008, the Democratic Party also made history by nominating an AfricanAmerican—Barack Obama—as the presidential candidate. The Democratic Party’s convention started on a sour note with the news based on leaked emails revealing that top Democratic Party officials had plotted ways to undermine Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign to win the Democratic Party nomination and to ensure that Ms. Clinton wins the party’s nomination. This story confirmed the complaints of Sen. Sanders supporters’ longstanding complaints that the Democratic Party leadership was unfairly supporting Ms. Clinton’s campaign. As a result of this controversy, Democratic Party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz stepped down from her position at the end of the convention. The controversy overshadowed the first two days of the convention but the mood of the convention delegates started to change after hearing calls for unity and passionate endorsements for Ms. Clinton from high-profile speakers such as Sen. Sanders, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, First Lady Michelle Obama, President Obama and former U.S. president Bill Clinton, along with a string of Hollywood stars and singers, including Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Meryl Streep, Lena Dunham, Lenny Kravitz, and Sarah Silverman. Overall, the convention won plaudits from political observers for the way the Democratic Party convention showcased the party’s biggest event compared with the Republican Party convention held two weeks ago which was marred by one controversy after another. In addition to entertainment industry celebrities, a number of former U.S. administration officials, high profile Democratic Party politicians, veterans and parents of veterans gave speeches at the conventions At the Republican Party Convention, controversial businessman and real estate mogul Donald Trump was officially nominated as the party’s presidential candidate and Indiana Governor Mike Pence as vice-presidential candidate in Cleveland, Ohio. Some pundits described Mr. Trump’s nomination acceptance speech at the convention as “deeply disturbing” for its divisive approach. Other controversies that engulfed the convention included Melania Trump, Mr. Trump’s wife, plagiarized passages from Ms. Obama’s speech eight years ago at the Democratic Party convention and Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s refusal to endorse Mr. Trump as presidential candidate. Mr. Cruz came second in the Republican Party Presidential nomination contest. Compared to the U.S. political parties’ convention, the Canadian federal party conventions are focused more on the policy discussions, party constitution debates, political training for party workers and rarely invite entertainers or national or international celebrities to speak at their conventions. Also, spouses of party leaders and former party leaders or former prime ministers are traditionally not given big It’s showtime: Hillary Clinton, top, pictured July 28 at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia; U.S. President Barack Obama and Ms. Clinton on July 27 after Mr. Obama endorsed her candidacy in a rousing speech; and U.S. Democratic vice-presidential running mate Tim Kaine and his wife Anne Holton. Canadian political players say the Americans know how to throw political conventions and suggest Canada’s federal parties should copy some things, including the glitz and glam. Photographs courtesy of Hillary Clinton 2016 Facebook roles at Canadian conventions. “It gives a sense of continuity, sense of institution,” said Mr. Sears. “Why we don’t do that more effectively, I don’t know.” Alex Holstein, a senior director with Geopolitical Monitor, an international consultancy firm that provides its clients analysis on events of international significance, said that he’s in support of giving more prominence to former party leaders, spouses of party leaders, and other Canadians of national and international prominence. He added that it’s important to get more Canadians involved in the political process and if that can be achieved by spicing up the party conventions, political parties should consider adding more celebrity power at their national party meetings. “If that’s not been the tradition, then, sure, break tradition,” said Mr. Holstein, an American who now lives in Canada. “It’s always good to evolve these things and do something different,” Newfoundland and Labrador Conservative Sen. David Wells, vice-chairman of the CanadaU.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group, attended both Republican and Democratic Party conventions this year. He said that he does not agree with the notion that more star power or entertainment should be added to Canada’s national political party conventions. Sen. Wells said he likes Canadian national conventions better than American ones because of their relevance to Canadian politics. “I find the Canadian ones more interesting because they’re more germane to the things that I’m involved in on a day to day basis,” said Sen. Wells. “My base is in policy, it’s not in celebrity. I don’t necessarily see the need for star power or glitz.” In comparing the two American political conventions that he attended in two weeks, Sen. Wells said that the Republican Party convention was a “love-fest for Trump,” but at the Democratic Party convention, delegates were not “as vocal and vociferous supporters” of Ms. Clinton as Mr. Trump’s were. In his view, he said, the reason for this lack of enthusiasm is that Sen. Sanders’ supporters were unhappy about the bias demonstrated by the Democratic Party leadership in the nomination contest. Another difference between the two conventions, Sen. Wells said, was that at the Republican convention, the police presence at the airport, hotel and the convention arena was a lot more visible compared to the Democratic Party convention. Even though Mr. Trump is a polarizing figure and is known to be in favour of protectionist economic policies, Sen. Wells said he’s not concerned if the billionaire businessman gets elected as the U.S. President. He explained that no matter who becomes the next U.S. president, the CanadaU.S. relationship will stay strong because of geography, the trade relationship and shared democratic values between the two countries. “Part of his [Mr. Trump] persona is rhetoric and in the light of day, he will see that business needs to act freely, we’re in a global marketplace now,” Sen. Wells said. “Protectionist policies are part of the failed past.” Liberal MP Salma Zahid (Scarborough Centre, Ont.), who also attended the Democratic Party convention last week as a member of the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group, told The Hill Times that it was the first time she had attended a U.S. political convention and she enjoyed it. She said she was excited because it was an historic convention. “It’s a great turning point, and it’s a moment for people like me who are involved in politics because of ideas and looking for change,” said Ms. Zahid. “It’ll be a great moment in the history of politics of the world.” The Hill Times 15 The Hill Times, Monday, august 1, 2016 hill climbers political staffers Hill Climbers B y L aura R yckewaert Foreign Affairs Minister Dion hires a new PSA Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly has also hired two more assistants to her ministerial office this summer. F oreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion, who has been busy this summer meeting with his international counterparts and responding to a number of global incidents, recently hired a new parliamentary secretary assistant, also known as a ‘PSA,’ in his ministerial office. Francis “Josh” Grehan is now working in Mr. Dion’s office as a special assistant to Liberal MP Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Dion. Originally from Prince Albert, Sask., Mr. Grehan first came to the Hill as a fellow with the Parliamentary Internship Programme last fall. The non-partisan program was first established in 1969 through a House of Commons motion and is open to university graduates as an initiative of the Canadian Political Science Association. Mr. Grehan has in recent years been living and working in the United States, most recently as director of business operations at OpenBiome—a non-profit stool bank working to make fecal transplants easier, safer and cheaper— in the greater Boston area, as indicated by his LinkedIn profile. Before that, he was an associate consultant with The Bridgespan Group, also in Boston, Mass. The Bridgespan Group describes itself as a “non-profit adviser and resource for mission-driven organization and philanthropists.” He also worked as a development associate with KickStart International for year starting in September 2012. KickStart is a non-profit social enterprise that designs “low-cost, high quality irrigation pumps for poor farmers in Africa,” as described on its website. Mr. Grehan studied an undergraduate degree in public policy at Princeton University in New Jersey and obtained a master’s degree in economic and social history at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. While at Oxford, he worked for a time as an evening shift editor at Oxford Analytica, a “global analysis and advisory firm,” according to its website. He also attended the Lester B. Pearson United World College, a two-year pre-university school. Julian Ovens is chief of staff to Mr. Dion, while Christopher Berzins is director of policy, Jamie Innes is director of parliamentary affairs, Dahlia Stein is director of operations, Joseph Pickerill is director of communications, and Chantal Gagnon is the press secretary. Also working in Mr. Dion’s ministerial office are: Jocelyn Coulon, senior policy adviser; Jean Boutet, policy adviser; Pascale Massot, policy adviser; Jenna Renée Martinuzzi, special assistant for parliamentary affairs; and parliamentary secretary assistants Maria Lamani and Jillian White. Along with Ms. Goldsmith-Jones, Liberal MP Omar Alghabra is also a parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Dion. In belated but as yet unreported staff news, Alexandre Bellemare has been working in the Liberal Research Bureau, also known as the LRB, as a communications adviser since March 1. Mr. Bellemare tackles both French and English communications work, but is the final approval for all French content coming from the LRB. Originally from Montreal, Que., Mr. Bellemare is a former reservist who served as an armour officer with the Régiment de Hull infantry reserve unit in the Canadian Armed Forces from May 2014 up until last March, as indicated by his LinkedIn profile. During roughly the same period, before joining the LRB, Mr. Bellemare worked for Elections Canada as an outreach adviser. Before that, Mr. Bellemare spent a number of years working in the office of the secretary to the Governor General of Canada, David Johnston, starting in 2010—the year Gov. Gen. Johnston was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II to serve as her representative in Canada—as a web 2.0 communications agent. Mr. Bellemare became a marketing, web, and media relations assistant at the beginning of 2011, and in spring 2013 became a program officer, helping manage the Meritorious Service Decorations program’s civil division, among other tasks, in this role. He has a bachelor degree in communications and politics from the Université de Montréal and a master’s degree in international relations and affairs from the University of Ottawa. Brett Thalmann is managing director of the LRB, which serves the Liberal caucus on the Hill and is funded by Parliament. John Delacourt is director of communications for the research office. Other communications staffers in the LRB include: Marine Detraz, communications assistant; Jennifer Kuss, communications strategist; and Kait Laforce, communications writer. Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion, pictured in this file photo on the Hill with his press secretary Chantal Gagnon. Ministers Joly and Philpott hire new assistants Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly has two new assistants working as part of her ministerial staff team, including Anne Carty, who joined the office in July as a scheduling assistant and aide to the minister’s chief of staff, Leslie Church, who is currently away on maternity leave with senior adviser Soraya Martinez filling in during her absence. Ms. Carty has a master’s degree in museum studies from the University of Toronto and worked as an archives assistant at the Trinity College Archive during her time at the school. After graduating, she spent almost a year, beginning in August 2009, as a curatorial and arts administration intern with the Smithsonian Centre for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in Washington, D.C., according to her LinkedIn profile. In the summer of 2010, she returned to Canada and once again worked as an archives assistant at Trinity College until the fall of 2012, as indicated by her online profile. She then became an administrative assistant at George Brown College in Toronto and most recently was a graduate teaching assistant, focused on anthropology and heritage conservation, at Carleton University in The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright Ottawa. Ms. Carty is also a former administrator to the board of directors for the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse Foundation in Toronto. Mathieu Genest also recently joined Ms. Joly’s ministerial office, which sits across the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Que., and is focused on coordinating strategic communications. Christine Michaud is director of communications to the minister, while Pierre-Olivier Herbert is press secretary. Meanwhile, Health Minister Jane Philpott, who is also the Liberal MP for Markham-Stouffville, Ont., has hired Ashleigh White to serve as a special assistant for the western desk, providing regional advise to the minister and her staff team. Ms. White joined the minister’s office as a political aide in early July. Ms. Philpott has been busy this summer: attending an international AIDS conference in Durban, South Africa; announcing new funding for First Nations in Alberta; and launching a task force on marijuana legalization that will seek public consultations until August 29, among other work. Geneviève Hinse is chief of staff to Ms. Philpott as minister, while Caroline Pitfield is director of policy, Peter Cleary is director of parliamentary affairs, David Clements is director of communications, and Andrew MacKendrick is press secretary. Kathryn Nowers is a policy adviser to the minister, as is Jesse Kancir. Ms. White is likely now working closely alongside Mark Livingstone, special assistant for the Atlantic region in the office, and Christina Lazarova, special assistant for the Quebec region. Also working for Ms. Philpott is Adam Exton, special assistant for parliamentary affairs; Cindy Dawson, scheduling assistant to the minister; Danielle Boyle, executive assistant to Ms. Hinse as chief of staff; and Jordan Crosby, assistant to the Health minister’s parliamentary secretary, Liberal MP Kamal Khera, who represents Brampton West, Ont. lryckewaert@hilltimes.com The Hill Times Cabinet communications chart cabinet chiefs, directors of communications, press secretaries Minister Portfolio Chief of Staff D. Comms Press Secretary Trudeau, Justin Prime Minister, Katie Telford Kate Purchase Cameron Ahmad, Intergovernmental Affairs, Youth Andrée-Lyne Hallé Bains, Navdeep Innovation, Science and Elder Marques Pauline Tam Philip Proulx Economic Development Bennett, Carolyn Indigenous and Northern Affairs Rick Theis Carolyn Campbell Sabrina Williams Bibeau, Marie-Claude International Development and Geoffroi Montpetit Louis Bélanger Bernard Boutin La Francophonie Brison, Scott Treasury Board Sabina Saini - Jean-Luc Ferland Carr, Jim Natural Resources Janet Annesley Laurel Munroe Alexandre Deslongchamps Chagger, Bardish Small Business and Tourism Rachel Bendayan James Fitz-Morris Vahid Vidah Dion, Stéphane Foreign Affairs Julian Ovens Joe Pickerill Chantal Gagnon Duclos, Jean-Yves Families, Children and Josée Duplessis Mathieu Filion Emilie Gauduchon Social Development Duncan, Kirsty Science Rob Rosenfeld Michael Bhardwaj Véronique Perron Foote, Judy Public Services and Procurement Gianluca Cairo Annie Trépanier Jessica Turner Freeland, Chrystia International Trade Brian Clow - Alexander Lawrence Garneau, Marc Transport Jean-Philippe Arseneau Marc Roy Delphine Denis Goodale, Ralph Public Safety and Marci Surkes Dan Brien Hilary Peirce* Emergency Preparedness Hajdu, Patty Status of Women Monique Lugli Nadège Adam - Hehr, Kent Veterans, Associate Defence Christine Tabbert Norbert Cyr Sarah McMaster Joly, Mélanie Canadian Heritage Leslie Church Christine Michaud Pierre-Olivier Herbert LeBlanc, Dominic House Leader, Vince MacNeil - Sabrina Atwal Fisheries, Oceans and the George Young Mike Murphy Patricia Bell Canadian Coast Guard Lebouthillier, Diane National Revenue Josée Guilmette Cédrick Beauregard Chloe Luciani-Girouard MacAulay, Lawrence Agriculture and Agri-Food Mary Jean McFall Guy Gallant - McCallum, John Immigration, Refugees Mathieu Bélanger Bernie Derible - and Citizenship McKenna, Catherine Environment and Marlo Raynolds Frédérique Tsai-Klassen Caitlin Workman Climate Change Mihychuk, MaryAnn Employment, Workforce Matthew Mitschke John O’Leary - Development and Labour Monsef, Maryam Democratic Institutions Ali Salam (acting) Jennifer Austin Jean-Bruno Villeneuve Morneau, Bill Finance Richard Maksymetz Daniel Lauzon Annie Donolo Philpott, Jane Health Geneviève Hinse David Clements Andrew MacKendrick Qualtrough, Carla Sport and Persons with Disabilities Matt Stickney Sherri Moore-Arbour Ashley Michnowski Sajjan, Harjit National Defence Brian Bohunicky Renée Filiatrault Jordan Owens Sohi, Amarjeet Infrastructure and Communities John Brodhead Kate Monfette Brook Simpson Wilson-Raybould, Jody Justice Lea MacKenzie Michael Davis Joanne Ghiz** * communications officer. ** senior communications adviser. Prime Minister’s Press Office: 613-957-5555 Kate Purchase, director of communications Olivier Duchesneau, deputy director of communications Cameron Ahmad, press secretaryAndrée-Lyne Hallé, press secretary —Updated on July 29, 2016. Main Office Telephone 613-957-5555 343-291-2500 819-997-0002 343-203-6238, (PS) 343-203-5977 613-369-3170 343-292-6837 343-291-2700 343-203-1851, (D.Comm) 343-203-5938 819-654-5546 343-291-2600 819-997-5421 343-203-7332 613-991-0700 613-991-2924 819-997-2494 (Veterans) 613-996-4649, (Associate Defence) 613-996-3100 819-997-7788 613-995-2727 613-992-3474 613-995-2960 613-773-1059 613-954-1064 819-938-3813 819-654-5611 613-943-1838 613-369-5696 613-957-0200 819-934-1122 613-996-3100 613-949-1759 613-992-4621 16 The Hill Times, Monday, august 1, 2016 feature terrific 25 staffers feature events Parliamentary Calendar Green Party Leader Elizabeth May will speak at the Green Party’s policy convention in Ottawa this week. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright Cyrus Reporter. Photograph PMO’s Kate Purchase. The Hill Conservative Cory Hann. courtesy of LinkedIn Times photograph by Jake Wright Photograph courtesy of Twitter Green Party to hold its policy convention in Ottawa Aug. 5-7 MONDAY, AUG. 1 Conservative staffer Gary Keller. NDP staffer Rob Sutherland. NDP staffer Anthony Salloum. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright Photograph courtesy of LinkedIn Photograph courtesy of Twitter PMO principal secretary Butts tops The Hill Times’ 15th Annual Terrific 25 Staffers list Rob Sutherland has been on the Hill since 1981. He worked for various NDP MPs before joining the NDP House Leader’s Office in 2003. He’s been a senior staffer in the NDP Whip’s Office since 2012. Continued from page 7 Aside from a five-year break in the 1990s, Mr. Sutherland has been working on the Hill since 1981, working for various NDP MPs before joining the NDP House Leader’s Office in 2003. He’s been a senior staffer in the NDP Whip’s office since 2012. “[He is] So adept at parliamentary procedure he should be added to next edition of O’Brien and Bosc,” said one respondent, referring to the parliamentary procedure book named after former House clerk Audrey O’Brien and acting House clerk Marc Bosc. Cyndi Jenkins, PMO Atlantic regional desk adviser, placed 17th on the Terrific 25 list and came third for Best PMO Staffer behind her colleague Mr. Kippen. Ms. Jenkins has been on the Hill since January, and before that was an aide in Liberal New Brunswick premier Brian Gallant’s office. Former NDP union president and long time staffer Anthony Salloum, a lobby officer to the NDP Whip’s Office, has claimed 18th place this year and came second for Best NDP Hill staffer. Roberta Webster, the member’s assistant to NDP MP Fin Donnelly (Port Moody-Coquitlam, B.C.), ranked the No. 19 spot. Ms. Webster has been working for NDP MPs on the Hill since 2000, including for former MPs Jean Crowder and Chris Charlton, and respondents cited her hardworking and “no-nonsense” approach. Cory Hann, director of communications for the Conservative Party of Canada, is 20th on the Terrific 25 Staffer list. Veteran Liberal Whip staffer Mélanie Lauzon, a committee coordinator in the Government Whip’s Office and a staffer on the Hill for more than two decades, ranked No. 21 this year. PMO director of communications Kate Purchase reached 22nd on the Terrific 25 list, while Mike Storeshaw, director of media relations to Ms. Ambrose as interim Conservative leader, earned the 23rd spot. “Always on the ball and spins faster than a top,” said one Ontario Conservative respondent of Mr. Storeshaw. Meanwhile, his colleague Jake Enwright, senior communications officer for the Conservative caucus, ranked 24th on the list this year. Finally, Anne Marie Keeley, chief of staff to Conservative Whip Gord Brown, rounded out the list in 25th place. Also of note: Allie Chalke, special assistant for the Atlantic region to Finance Minister Bill Morneau (Toronto Centre, Ont.), claimed the title of Best Cabinet Staffer in this year’s Terrific 25 Staffer Survey, but just missed out on a spot on the top 25 list. lryckewaert@hilltimes.com The Hill Times World Press Photo 16—Some of the best photojournalism in the world is on display at the The World Press Photo 16 exhibition at the Barney Danson Theatre at the Canadian War Museum, 1 Vimy Place, Ottawa until Aug. 17. Featuring 155 large-format photographs that depict everyday life and headline news from 2015. warmuseum.ca FRIDAY, AUG. 5 Green Party of Canada Convention—The Green Party meets for its convention Aug. 5-7. Delta City Centre Hotel, 101 Lyon St., Ottawa. This year’s keynote speaker, James Shaw, co-leader of the Green Party of New Zealand and Member of Parliament, will discuss New Zealand’s shift away from the first past the post electoral system to a system of proportional representation. Other speakers include: Frank Graves, founder and president of EKOS Research Associates Inc.; David Coon, Green Party of New Brunswick MLA; Peter Bevan-Baker, Green Party of Prince Edward Island MLA; Green Party Leader Elizabeth May; Évelyne Huytebroeck, member of the Global Greens European Green Party Committee; Sonia Theroux, campaign manager for Campaign to Elect Jo-Ann Roberts, and former campaign manager for Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps. For additional information, please contact press secretary Dan Palmer (613) 614-4916. GG Heads to Rio—Gov. Gen. David Johnston, the patron of the Canadian Olympic Committee, will travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from Aug. 3 to Aug. 8 as Canada’s official representative at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced last week. It will be the first Olympic Games to be held in South America. Canada will be sending 315 athletes and has qualified in five team sports. The Rio 2016 Olympic Games will take place from Aug. 5-Aug. 21 and will include 10,500 athletes from 205 countries. For more information, call the PMO Press Office at (613) 957-5555. Ship for World Youth Leaders Recruitment—This program will take 242 youth leaders from around the world on a threemonth journey across the sea, including 11 Canadian youth between the ages of 18 and 30 and one national leader between the ages of 30 and 39. The voyage will depart in January 2017 aboard the Nippon Maru Japanese cruise ship and will include stops in Japan, Fiji, and New Zealand. The Canadian Ship for World Youth Alumni Association is organizing recruitment for Canadian delegates. The deadline for general participants is Sept. 1, and the deadline for the national leader is Aug. 15. The Embassy of Japan will be hosting an information session on Aug. 5, 5:30-6:30 p.m. 255 Sussex Dr., Ottawa. Reservation is required: https://shipforworldyouthinfo.eventbrite.ca. More information about the program: http://swycanada.org/ TUESDAY, AUG. 9 World Social Forum 2016—Downtown Montreal plays host to this gathering, which bills itself as the largest gathering of civil society in the world. More than 50,000 people will be present and 1,500 activites offered, according to organizers (both online and in person). $40. Until Aug. 14. https://fsm2016.org/en/ WEDNESDAY, AUG. 24 Hastings Plowing Match and Farm Show—Wednesday, Aug. 24, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., 2431 Queensborough Rd., Queensborough, Ont. Hastings-Lennox and Addington, Ont. THURSDAY, AUG. 25 Liberal Caucus Retreat—The Liberals will hold a two-day caucus retreat Aug. 25-26 in Saguenay, Que. For more information, please call Liberal Party media relations at media@liberal.ca or 613-627-2384. SUNDAY, SEPT. 4 G20 Leaders’ Summit—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to attend. Hangzhou, China. Sept. 4-5. For more information, call the PMO Press Office at 613-957-5555. TUESDAY, SEPT. 13 Conservative Caucus Retreat—The Conservatives will hold a two-day summer caucus retreat Sept. 13-14 in Halifax. For more information, contact Cory Hann, director of communications, Conservative Party of Canada at coryhann@conservative.ca NDP Caucus Retreat—The NDP are gathering Sept. 13 to 15 in Montreal. Please call the NDP Media Centre at 613-222-2351 or ndpcom@parl.gc.ca FRIDAY, SEPT. 16 Leap to Where? Elements of a Canadian Climate Policy That Could Be Both Feasible and Enough: Thomas Homer-Dixon— Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.), Carleton University, River Building Theatre (RB 2200). Registration: carleton.ca/fpa For more information, call Cassie Hodgins, Carleton University, 613-520-2600 extension 2995. SATURDAY, SEPT. 17 Canadian Press/CBC Parliament Hill Open—Mont Cascades Golf Club, Cantley, Que., (30 minutes from Ottawa). Tee times start at 11 a.m.; best-ball format, with prizes for first place, second place and “most honest” scores, plus closestto-the-pin and long drive prizes for both men and women. Sign up as a complete foursome or as a single or pair. Cost: $95, includes green fee, power cart and steak dinner. Email CP Ottawa’s James McCarten (james.mccarten@thecanadianpress.com) or the CBC’s Paul MacInnis (paul.macinnis@ cbc.ca) for more information or to hold your space, or reach James at (613)231-8602 or (613)794-0848 and Paul at (613)288-6611 or (613)293-3494. MONDAY, SEPT. 19 House Resumes Sitting—The House resumes sitting on Sept. 19 at 11 a.m. after a 13-week break. The House adjourned June 17. TUESDAY, SEPT. 20 Cabinet Meeting—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to hold a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 20 on the Hill. For more information, call the PMO Press Office at (613) 957-5555. 2016 Canadian Inland Ports Conference—On Sept. 20-21, 2016, the Van Horne Institute will be hosting the 2016 Canadian Inland Ports Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This conference will bring together leading experts from around the world to discuss inland ports and their importance to their local, provincial, and national economies. It will showcase five of Canada’s Inland Ports located across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and BC; as well as major Canadian ports, airports, and stakeholders. Early bird registration before Aug. 22: $495. Registration after Aug. 22 $600. Please contact Bryndis Whitson at bwhitson@ucalgary.ca or 403-220-2114 for more information. http://www.vanhorneinstitute.com/ event/2016-canadian-inland-ports-conference/ WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21 Liberal Caucus Meeting—The Liberals will meet in Room 237-C Centre Block on Parliament Hill. For more information, please call Liberal Party media relations at media@liberal.ca or 613-627-2384. Conservative Caucus Meeting—The Conservatives will meet for their national caucus meeting. For more information, contact Cory Hann, director of communications, Conservative Party of Canada at coryhann@conservative.ca NDP Caucus Meeting—The NDP caucus will meet from 9:15 a.m.-11 a.m. in Room 112-N Centre Block, on Wednesday. Please call the NDP Media Centre at 613-222-2351 or ndpcom@parl.gc.ca THURSDAY, SEPT. 22 TD Presents The Walrus Talks Arctic—The Walrus Talks returns to the Canadian Museum of Nature on Sept. 22, at 7 p.m. TD Presents The Walrus Talks Arctic features leading Canadians giving short, focused Walrus Talks exploring the issues and opportunities that make the North unique. Featuring Natan Obed, Jeffery M. Saarela, Fibbie Tatti, and more. Full event details and tickets available online at thewalrus.ca/events TUESDAY, SEPT. 27 Senate Resumes Sitting—The Senate is expected to resume sitting on Sept. 27 at 2 p.m. The Senate adjourned June 22. The Parliamentary Calendar is a free listing. Send in your political, cultural, or governmental event in a paragraph with all the relevant details under the subject line ‘Parliamentary Calendar’ to news@hilltimes.com by Wednesday at noon before the Monday paper or by Friday at noon for the Wednesday paper. We can’t guarantee inclusion of every event, but we will definitely do our best. news@hilltimes.com The Hill Times