EXCLUSIVE POLITICAL COVERAGE: NEWS, FEATURES, AND ANALYSIS INSIDE BIOTECHNOLOGY POWERS: LEITCH ENGAGE WITH & LIFE SCIENCES SHOULD BE CHINA THROUGH POLICY BRIEFING EMBARRASSED, PP. 15-22 ASHAMED P. 10 YOUTH P. 12 TWENTY-SEVENTH YEAR, NO. 1367 CANADA’S POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT NEWSPAPER WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2016 $5.00 NEWS OPINION RESEARCH DIPLOMATIC CIRCLES INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEWS ELECTORAL REFORM Government Conservatives to polling work DM Peter Boehm tackle election in 2015-16 at earns colleagues’ reform plan lowest recorded respect as in Liberal-red level in a decade Atlantic mentor, mental BY MARCO V IGLIOTTI BY T IM NAUMETZ Federal spending on public opinion Federal Conservatives are set to take aim research fell slightly last year, though the health advocate at the Liberal government’s electoral reform number of polling contracts remained initiative during a late-summer caucus meet- essentially unchanged despite the nearly ing in Halifax next week, after only three three-month pause caused by the election. Conservative MPs have so far taken up a The government spent $3.8 million special Commons committee invitation to on 51 polling contracts during the 2015- consult constituents on the project through 16 fi scal year that concluded at the end town-hall meetings in their electoral districts. of March, down nominally from the 54 One of the Conservatives who followed projects, collectively worth $4.1 million, up on the town-hall program and has held awarded the previous year, according to three electoral-reform town halls since July the annual report on federally contracted told The Hill Times Tuesday she was prepar- public opinion research, released Sept. 1. ing a summary of her sessions at the request The spending total is the lowest of caucus organizers for the Conservative recorded in the past decade, represent- gathering in the heart of Liberal-red Atlantic ing a nearly $28-million decline from the Canada in advance of the resumption of high-water mark in 2006-2007, when 562 parliamentary sittings later this month. contracts for public opinion research were awarded. Continued on page 4 Continued on page 5 NEWS CRA INVESTIGATIONS NEWS PUBLIC WORKS Saskatoon MPs Procurement Peter Boehm, a longtime foreign service offi cer recently made deputy minister of international see big rise in development, attributes his determination to advance mental health initiatives and to reduce ombudsman stigma to his own experience. One of Mr. Boehm’s sons, who was born abroad, is autistic. The Hill child benefi t raises issues about Times photograph by Chelsea Nash reviews by CRA independence, Leading the government’s foreign aid portfolio, BY CHELSEA NASH the new DM has worked his way up his Members of Parliament in all Saskatoon government ridings are complaining that the Canada department over 30 years in the public service. Revenue Agency has stepped up reviews of indifference the Canada Child Tax Benefi t (CCTB) for their constituents. BY MARCO V IGLIOTTI BY CHELSEA NASH Toronto said, “When people become deputy An email from the CRA clarifi ed that minister, every fi ve minutes counts.” She these are reviews, however most MPs have The head of the offi ce responsible for hen I emailed Peter Boehm, the new herself has not spoken to him since he referred to them as audits when talking to mediating disputes between the federal Wdeputy minister for international assumed his new role, as acting deputy The Hill Times. government and suppliers says greater in- development, for an interview, he respond- minister in November, and as confi rmed Three of the four Saskatoon ridings are dependence would help alleviate concerns ed almost immediately. He’d be happy to deputy minister in March. held by Conservative members, while the about potential departmental interference. speak with me, either over the phone or But open and approachable are exactly fourth seat is occupied by NDP MP Sheri Acting procurement ombudsman Lo- to meet me in person at his offi ce. It was a the words former colleagues and friends Benson. All four offi ces, including those renzo Ieraci told The Hill Times that it is pleasant surprise: high-level government use to describe the career diplomat. He’s of Conservative members Kelly Block, “diffi cult” for the offi ce he oversees to be offi cials such as Mr. Boehm are rarely so the “quintessential diplomat,” says former Brad Trost, Kevin Waugh, and Ms. Benson, perceived as wholly independent when it is accessible and generous with their valu- Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson, and told The Hill Times there has been a notice- legally part of Public Services and Procure- able time. “uniformly highly regarded,” says Tim Hodg- able increase in case fi les pertaining to ment Canada (PSPC). As Janice Stein, a friend of Mr. Boehm’s es, former head of the Canadian diplomats these reviews, and have witnessed fi rsthand and founding director of the Munk School Continued on page 6 of Global Affairs at the University of Continued on page 25 Continued on page 7 2 THE HILL TIMES, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2016 FEATURE BUZZ FEATURE DIPLOMATIC PARTIES Pakistan hosts Independence Day bash The Hill Times photographs by Sam Garcia ON HEARD THE HILL BY KRISTEN SHANE Pakistani High Commissioner Tariq Azim Khan addresses a crowd of community members at a fl ag-raising ceremony in A brief history of honour of the Independence Day celebration. naughty words Mobeen Khaja, president of the Association of Progressive Muslims of said in the House Canada, with Abrar Hashmi, counsellor at the Pakistani High Commission, at the Rabia Kaleem and Musa Kaleem, members of celebration on Aug. 14. the Ottawa Pakistani community. Community members Naushaba Khan, left, Sasha Aman, and Balaj Aman. Fallen Turkish diplomat remembered University of Toronto researchers have digitized the debates of the House of Commons going back to 1901. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright ibrarians and parliamentary nerds funded Social Sciences and Humanities Lrejoice! and Natural Sciences and Engineering You can easily search the House of research councils. Commons debates going back to 1901 us- A team of about three or four students Turkish Ambassador Selcuk Unal, fourth from left, and ing a nifty new website painstakingly put in computer and political sciences then together by University of Toronto political worked full tilt for a couple years to trans- Senator Anne Cools, second from right, with a number and computer scientists and historians. form the scanned Library of Parliament of defence attachés, stand behind a portrait of fallen LiPaD, also known as the Linked Par- Hansard pages into computer-readable Turkish defence attaché Col. Atilla Altikat on Aug. 27. liamentary Data Project, is a searchable text. That involved clearing up lot of little digital database of Canadian Hansards snags along the way, like when the technol- since 1901. By going to lipad.ca, you can ogy they were using converted all refer- use the search bar to quickly pinpoint ences of “honourable” to another word. when certain words were used in decades While the researchers from the other of parliamentary debates. countries have yet to put their databases While this is available through the Li- online, the Canadians felt it was important brary of Parliament’s Canadian Parliamen- to do with their own data. tary Historical Resources site for debates Tanya Whyte, a U of T PhD candidate Mr. Unal delivers remarks in front of the bowl- dating from Confederation in 1867 through and political scientist with a computer pro- shaped wood and metal memorial constructed to when the Canadian parliament’s parl. gramming background, described putting Turkish defence attaché Ersin Ozkan stands next to Mr. in honour of Col. Altikat, as well as all fallen gc.ca site picked up the archive in 1994, it online as a “labour of love.” Unal as they pay their respects to the fallen diplomat. diplomats. the beauty of the LiPaD site is that it’s a lot The site launched in April but only last easier to digest. week received a lot of attention on Twitter, Search for a term on the Library of including by members of the Parliamen- Parliament site, for instance, and you get tary Press Gallery who were keen to test scanned images of Hansard pages that you it out. Trinidad & Tobago celebrate independence on Aug. 31 have to read through to fi nd the search “This new House of Commons Hansard term you’re looking for. The LiPaD site search tool back to 1901 is fun. Wheee…” helpfully has digitized all the written text wrote Ottawa Citizen Hill reporter Jason of the scanned Hansard pages, and added Fekete, tweeting a link to the search results in additional valuable information like for “shit.” The site records 10 instances the speaker’s photo and party affi liation when it was used, as far back as 1919 and as well as a link to their biography on the as recently as 2009 by former MP Massimo Parliament of Canada’s parlinfo site. It’s Pacetti, who told then-Conservative MP user-friendly in the same way openparlia- Paul Calandra he was “full of shit” during ment.ca is. debate on the proposed Italian-Canadian The project began in 2013 when Recognition and Restitution Act. researchers from Canada, the United “Don’t pretend you’re not using the Kingdom, and the Netherlands, who were new Hansard search to look up the offi cial all digitizing parliamentary records, were use of swear words since 1901,” wrote the High Commissioner of Brunei Kamal given a grant from national granting CBC’s Aaron Wherry in another tweet. Bashah Ahmad with Mr. Chatoor at Carol Chatoor, spouse of the new high commissioner of Trinidad agencies to do the work.