smg_federal

A Canadian senator helped save Afghan women. The immigration department called police on her

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OTTAWA A Manitoba senator is defending herself against federal allegations she sent “inauthentic” documents in the summer of 2021 to help Afghan women get past Kabul airport checkpoints, revealing that the travel documents came from a top aide to Canada’s then-defense minister for that purpose . Sen. Marilou McPhedran stood in the Senate chamber Thursday … Read more

Justin Trudeau government scraps controversial gun bill amendments after backlash

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OTTAWA—The Liberal government is bowing to immense public pressure and scrapping controversial amendments to an existing gun bill that would have massively expanded the list of illegal guns in Canada. Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed made the surprise announcement at a meeting of the public safety and security committee Friday morning, moving a motion to withdraw … Read more

Canada must seize a ‘generational opportunity’: Champagne

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OTTAWA – It’s a familiar pitch with a new urgency. Next week, a pair of Canadian cabinet ministers head to Washington to meet with top Biden administration officials and US companies to talk national and economic security, and the beauty of integrating North American interests. Coming a few weeks before US President Joe Biden visits … Read more

Trudeau should fire Elghawaby and get rid of her job, too: BQ

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OTTAWA—Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet has rejected an apology from Ottawa’s point-person on tackling Islamophobia, slamming Amira Elghawaby and demanding her ouster for what he deemed her “ignorance … of the desire for secularism in Quebec.” Blanchet told reporters on Thursday that he had wanted to speak to Elghawaby before deciding whether her comments warranted … Read more

Candice Bergen, ex-interim Conservative leader, to step down

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OTTAWA—Candice Bergen, the Conservative party’s former interim leader, is stepping down as a member of Parliament. Bergen broke the news to her fellow Tory MPs during their weekly caucus meeting on Wednesday morning, saying she has submitted her letter of resignation from representing the Manitoba riding of Portage-Lisgar. In a video posted online, she thanked … Read more

Trudeau and I had ‘professional relationship,’ former McKinsey head tells probe

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Dominic Barton, the former head of McKinsey & Co., and previous Canadian ambassador to China, told lawmakers he played no role in the surge in business between the global consulting giant and the federal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Appearing Wednesday before the House of Commons Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, Barton described … Read more

Pierre Poilievre gains support at Justin Trudeau’s expense

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OTTAWA — Candice Bergen’s announcement Wednesday that she’s resigning as a member of Parliament caps a year of turmoil for the Conservative party, which is only now beginning to find its footing under new leader Pierre Poilievre. The departure of the party stalwart and former interim leader — a Stephen Harper-era veteran tasked with trying … Read more

Amira Elghawaby apologizes as Justin Trudeau offers support

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OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walked a careful line Wednesday between calming tensions in Quebec and backing his point-person on Islamophobia, as Amira Elghawaby offered a direct apology for her stance on the province’s controversial secularism law. Quebecers are not racists. Quebecers are among the people who are the strongest defenders of individual rights and freedoms, … Read more

Is McKinsey a political headache for Justin Trudeau?

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The Liberal government has come under fire over revelations the consulting firm McKinsey and Company has received a sharp increase in federal contracts since 2015. During Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s seven years in office, federal contracts with McKinsey have amounted to at least $116.8 million, according to reporting by the Globe and Mail. That estimate … Read more

Here’s what we know about Justin Trudeau’s secret health-care offer to provinces

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OTTAWA—The federal government won’t make public its multibillion offer to the provinces on health care until Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets premiers and territorial leaders in Ottawa next week. Behind the scenes, however, federal and provincial officials are number-crunching to ensure the “working meeting,” as Trudeau called it, ends with no blow-ups, a solid overall … Read more