Lobbying Climbers Party Central HOH Legislation Hill Life & People Foreign Policy TWENTY-NINTH YEAR, NO. 1513 CANADA’S POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT NEWSPAPER WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2018 $5.00 Whose ministerial office is stacked with Rhodes Scholars? p. 25 Senators may put As the missteps pile up, brakes on travel Team Trudeau may spending Next steps be in need of a refresh p. 5 for Phoenix Tim Powers p. 7 p. 4 Canada-U.S. trade war on the horizon? As the U.S. forges ahead with import tariffs of 25 per cent for steel and 10 per cent for aluminum, Canada has vowed to retaliate and the PM and U.S. Trade Minister François-Philippe president are tussling over how this could affect Champagne scrums with reporters in the House foyer before Question Period NAFTA talks. For more on the tariff tensions, on March 1, the day U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The Hill read the trade policy briefing, pages 15-23. Times photograph by Andrew Meade News Politics News 2018 budget Liberals lose, but Bloc Left-leaning budget ‘big problem’ breakup could be a boon to for NDP, reveals Liberal fear of Publications Mail Agreement #40068926 Conservatives, NDP: pollster fleeing progressive voters: analysts But if Bloc voters don’t turn out in 2019, other analysts say Liberals The NDP must attack Liberal credibility and paint them as promise- benefit. In the 21 ridings where Bloc candidates came first or second in breakers if it has any hope to pull back the progressive voters that swung 2015, the Liberals were their next closest competitors in all but five. red, and led to its loss of more than 50 seats to the Liberals in 2015. BY SAMANTHA WRIGHT ALLEN or Conservative Party, says Quebec pollster BY SAMANTHA WRIGHT ALLEN voters, trying to shore up gains made in Jean-Marc Léger, but Liberals stand to lose 2015 from the NDP, who observers say ith the Bloc Québécois in crisis, the the most in the tight three- or four-way ast week’s budget shows the Liberals should be worried as Grit policies leave ridings it holds could flip to the NDP are preparing to battle for left-leaning W Continued on page 13 L Continued on page 6 2 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2018 | THE HILL TIMES Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s third budget sets up an advisory board to study Cardinal of Montreal—er, how to implement a pharmacare plan. If Dr. Hoskins were to work every Quebec? weekday, without taking any holidays, for Heard on the Hill the entire year and was getting paid $800 per day, he would be making a total of $208,000 per year. by Shruti Shekar However, Thierry Bélair, press secretary to Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, said Dr. Hoskins is not getting paid a full- time salary and is being paid per day be- cause he has been hired on a part-time basis. NDP will pay leader He did not indicate how many days exactly Dr. Hoskins would be working. The panel is expected to produce a report by spring 2019. Jagmeet Singh the same Dr. Hoskins was first elected in 2009 as an Ontario MPP. He earned $165,851 in 2016, according to the most recent disclo- sure of Ontario public sector salaries. amount as an MP He was the Ontario health minister Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix says he from 2014 to 2016 and before that served in was misrepresented by Liberal MP Randy other cabinet portfolios including Econom- Boissonnault during a House opposition motion HuffPost Canada releases ic Development, Trade, and Employment; debate on the Canada Summer Jobs Program. Children and Youth Services; and Citizen- Photograph courtesy of Twitter bi-weekly digital political ship and Immigration. show Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, archbishop Ex-Quebec premier Jean and cardinal of Quebec City, said Liberal Yesterday was HuffPost Canada’s first MP Randy Boissonnault misrepresented episode of Backbenchers, a new digital Charest joins Canada- him on March 1 during debate on a House video series that will analyze the Canadian opposition motion on the Canada Summer political scene in a fun and irreverent way. U.A.E. Business Council Jobs Program. HuffPost Canada’s senior politics edi- During Mr. Boissonnault’s speech, he tor Ryan Maloney and news editor Mo- first made a mistake and referred to Mr. hamed Omar will host the show that will Lacroix as the cardinal of Montreal when run every other week, on Tuesdays. speaking about applicants who are required “This won’t be your mom and dad’s take to attest that the job and organization’s core NDP leader Jagmeet Singh will be paid nearly on politics and Parliament. Backbench- mandate is to respect human rights in Can- $173,000 by the NDP as a yearly salary. The ers will be smart and insightful, but expect ada. This controversial rule also requires Hill Times file photograph Andrew Meade Ryan and Mo to call B.S. and point out the that the organization support reproductive absurdities of our national soap opera,” rights including the right to access a safe said a March 2 HuffPost piece. DP leader Jagmeet Singh will soon be and legal abortion. The Catholic Church has HuffPost Canada’s Ottawa bureau historically been against abortion. Npaid about $173,000, the same amount launched a podcast last March called an MP gets paid. Mr. Boissonnault also noted that the Follow-up, which is hosted by bureau cardinal spoke with the prime minister and James Smith, Mr. Singh’s press secre- chief Althia Raj. tary, confirmed that the party will pay Mr. later “encouraged all Catholic parishes to Singh the salary, but he has not started apply to the fund.” receiving it yet. Eric Hoskins is going Former premier of Quebec Jean Charest has Mr. Lacroix wrote in a March 2 Face- Mr. Smith added the party was in the been appointed the Canadian representative for book post that he “asked the parishes of process of making payment arrangements. make a pretty penny with the Canada-U.A.E. Business Council. The Hill the Archdiocese of Quebec to send their Asked if the NDP will manage, consider- Times file photograph Canada Summer Job application without ing it has an outstanding debt, NDP MP Na- new appointment signing the new controversial attestation.” He added: “We will discern actions next than Cullen said in French to reporters on Jean Charest, the former premier of March 2 that Mr. Singh’s advantage is his Former Ontario week during the plenary of the Assembly Quebec, has been appointed as the Canada of Catholic Bishops of Quebec.” ability to raise funds because he is popular. health minister Eric representative for the Canada-United According to the party treasurer’s Hoskins could make The Canada Jobs Fund provides grants to Arab Emirates Business Council, a group organizations for job placements for students. report, as of Feb. 16, the NDP has paid up to $800 per day as that focuses on forming better business down roughly $2-million of its $5-million of Feb. 28 in his new and cultural relationships in that region. external debt from the 2015 election and is role as chairperson A press release said Mr. Charest’s role Continued on page 25 expected to pay off another $2-million by of the advisory coun- will be to “build closer economic ties,” to the end of this year. cil that will establish help create jobs in both countries. Because Mr. Singh doesn’t have a seat in a national pharma- Mr. Charest served as a Progressive Corrections the House and no access to parliamentary care plan. Conservative MP for 13 years and was first • Re: “Highlights of the 2018 budget,” funds, he will be receiving a salary from According to an elected in 1984. He represented the riding (The Hill Times, Feb. 28, p. 10). The last Former Ontario health bullet point read that the budget pro- the federal party. He resigned as an On- order-in-council is- of Sherbrooke, Que., and served in former minister Eric Hoskins. posed $50-billion to support local journal- tario MPP last October, shortly after he was sued on Feb. 27, Dr. prime minister Brian Mulroney’s cabinet, named the party’s leader. He may not seek Photograph courtesy of Hoskins’ payment is ism; it should have read $50-million. Alex Guibord and as the party’s leader from 1993 to 1998. • Re: “Five investigations, four federal election to Parliament until the 2019 election. fixed with a range of Mr. Charest became the leader of the $675 to $800 per day. parties,” (The Hill Times, Feb. 28, p. 4). The base salary for an MP is $172,700 Quebec Liberal Party in 1998 and was the The sidebar said Kent Hehr was recover- and they are allocated additional funds for Dr. Hoskins stepped down as an Ontario premier from 2003 to 2012. MPP on Feb. 26 in order to take the lead on ing from a stroke, when in fact it was a taking on different roles, like serving as He is currently a partner in the Montre- seizure. House officer or committee chair. a national pharmacare program. al office of law firm McCarthy Tétrault. Why does NAFTA matter to Canadian business professionals? 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