Fundraising Major Challenge, No One Likely to Win on First Ballot In
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INNOVATION MINISTER NAVDEEP BAINS, POLICY BRIEFING pp. 21-39 ALLAN CUTLER p. 4 GERRY NICHOLLS p. 12 HILL CLIMBERS p. 53 SEAN BRUYEA p. 14 PARTY CENTRAL p. 57 HILL LIFE & PEOPLE p. 50 Birkenfeld believes Trudeau and the Bardish Chagger Ottawa’s war Jaimie Anderson MPs still enjoy there’s $1-billion in ‘hope and change’ hires some new to silence Black Sheep Inn some good unpaid taxes syndrome staffers veterans shindig perks TWENTY-EIGHTH YEAR, NO. 1374 CANADA’S POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT NEWSPAPER MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2016 $5.00 NEWS PMO EXPENSES NEWS CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RUN NEWS SENATE PMO expense Fundraising major Government rep controversy in Senate supports seen as ‘bump challenge, no one regional caucuses in the road,’ but as replacement to reminder even likely to win on fi rst party structure top political ballot in crowded Tory BY ABBAS RANA staffers ‘can get To reduce partisanship in the Senate, some Senators, including the government’s smacked down’ representative, are proposing to abandon leadership contest the traditional model of party caucuses and replace that with regionally based for a few days caucuses. Tory leadership race spending limit is $5-million and Government Senate Representative Pe- ter Harder (Ottawa, Ont.) made the case for BY DEREK ABMA more than 15 candidates could run. regional caucuses in his appearance before the Senate Modernization Committee on The controversy surrounding moving Wednesday, Sept. 28. expenses incurred by senior staffers in the “Within the range of options that I have Prime Minister’s Offi ce and billed to tax- refl ected upon, the regional caucus model, payers is not, in the overall scope of things, as an organizing principle for the Senate, a big deal, though the Trudeau government is an idea that has the potential to fulfi ll would be well advised to avoid many more this blueprint and, consequently, that I entitlement-related scandals, say experts. believe merits serious consideration by this Andrew MacDougall, former communi- committee and all senators,” Sen. Harder cations director to Stephen Harper when said. “It appears to me as though a reason- he was prime minister, said chief of staff ably persuasive case could be made that Katie Telford, principal secretary Gerald Butts, and the rest of the PMO have no choice but to move on from this. Continued on page 47 Continued on page 42 NEWS COMMITTEES NEWS MPS’ EXPENSES No more House House covered committee travel to $440,000 in MPs’ be approved this year, moving expenses $1.8-million allocated for entire last year, for 14 studies tax watchdog says BY RACHEL AIELLO it’s ‘reasonable’ A number of House committees are trav- elling across the country, but the House Li- BY LAURA RYCKEWAERT aison Committee—the committee in charge of approving House committee budgets—re- The House of Commons spent almost cently advised House committee chairs to $440,000 on MPs’ moving expenses last cool their jets until the new year, after rack- Publications Mail Agreement #40068926 year—with minimal costs covered com- ing up $1.8-million in travel costs. pared to senior exempt political staffers— On Sept. 21, the Subcommittee on Bud- and even one of the government’s most gets of the House Liaison Committee ruled ardent critics of spending says these MP until the new year, no further budgets for expenses are “reasonable.” committee travel would be considered. This Aaron Wudrick, federal director of the decision came following a presentation Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation, said the from the Liaison Subcommittee’s clerk on costs covered for MPs by the House of It’s on: Conservatives, pictured top left and left to right are registered candidates Kellie Leitch, Tony the “fi nancial status of the global envelope Commons seem “fairly reasonable” as the Clement, Maxime Bernier, Michael Chong, Deepak Obhrai, Andrew Scheer, and declared or likely for committee activities,” according to the job requires MPs “to be in two places.” interested candidates Brad Trost, Pierre Lemieux, Steve Blaney, Lisa Raitt, Erin O’Toole, and Kevin minutes from the in-camera meeting. O’Leary. Dan Lindsay, Adrienne Snow, Chris Alexander, and Rick Peterson, not pictured, are said to be Continued on page 43 interested. See story and who supports who page 49. The Hill Times photographs by Jake Wright Continued on page 46 2 THE HILL TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2016 FEATURE BUZZ A group called ON Canadians Rallying HEARD THE HILL Against Trump is BY DEREK ABMA trying to prevent Donald Trump from being elected president of Canadian group the United States. Photograph by mobilizes against Trump Gage Skidmore pparently, there are people in Canada “Donald Trump poses a serious threat to Awho are not fond of Donald Trump. our world,” group founder Glyn Lewis said Yes, it is a bit strange. The U.S. Republican in a press release. group that supported U.S. President Barack he recalled his experience eight years ago presidential nominee seems like a nice- Mr. Lewis said Canadians interested in Obama before he got elected; that organiza- during the Obama campaign. enough fellow, though somewhat humble helping will be connected to Ms. Clinton’s tion was called Canadians for Obama. “Every so often it would come up that I and understated for someone seeking such campaign team. Some volunteers will travel Mr. Lewis said in an email that his orga- was a Canadian volunteer,” said Mr. Lewis, a high-profi le job. to battleground states during the next several nization is run by a core group of about 10 who was 24 during Mr. Obama’s fi rst presi- Nonetheless, there is a volunteer group weeks to help reach out to voters, and there people, most of them based in Vancouver dential campaign. “Ninety-nine per cent called Canadians Rallying Against Trump, will also be some campaigning by phone. with some in Ottawa. He expects many of the time people thought it was inspir- which was offi cially launched on Sept. 27, “Every American we reach and encour- more volunteers to step forward in the ing that a young Canadian would spend the morning after fi rst presidential debate age to vote will make a difference,” he said. coming weeks to help support the cause. months volunteering for a campaign in held between Mr. Trump and his Democrat- Some of the people who are part of this Asked how Americans respond to their country. I think it helped them realize ic rival Hillary Clinton last week. anti-Trump campaign were also part of a Canadians campaigning for a U.S. election, how much was really at stake, not just in the U.S. but for the entire world.” Harper book due out on anniversary of defeat Cover for new Harper book. Image courtesy of McGill-Queen’s Uni- versity Press No one should A new book on former prime minister Stephen Harper, promising to challenge pre-existing notions, is due out on Oct. 19, exactly one year after the federal election have to choose that resulted in Mr. Harper’s Conserva- tive government being replaced by Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. between their The book is called The Harper Factor: As- sessing a Prime Minister’s Policy Legacy and is published by McGill-Queen’s University Press. It’s edited by Graham Fox, CEO of the next meal Institute for Research on Public Policy, and Jennifer Ditchburn, editor-in-chief of this organization’s Policy Options magazine. & prescription It includes sections by several writers on different subjects, including the book’s editors. Mr. Fox has written about Mr. Harper’s lasting effect on intergovernmen- medicine. tal affairs and Canadian federalism, while Ms. Ditchburn has written about the for- mer government’s impact on government communications and the media. “Canadians have strong opinions about Food is essential to health. So are the Stephen Harper, positive and negative,” Mr. Fox medications many Canadians rely on said in a press release. “We wanted to set aside all the assumptions, and do a deeper analysis every day. It’s time for new thinking of his impact on policy. Our goal in producing to make sure that drug costs don’t this book is to cut through the partisan noise force people to choose between and give readers an assessment that’s dispas- food or medicine. sionate and rooted in evidence.” Other contributors include Toronto We’ve got ideas. Learn more at clhia.ca Star and iPolitics writer Susan Delacourt addressing Mr. Harper’s impact on “the conduct of politics,” CBC reporter Mur- ray Brewster on defence policy, iPolitics Canadian Life and Health Insurance contributor and former Canadian Taxpay- Association ers Federation director Tasha Kheiridden on justice policy, and University of Ottawa professor David Zussman on the govern- ment’s relationship with the public service. Continued on page 52 Shake Up Your Day Visit the IBC Shake Zone and experience what a magnitude 8.0 earthquake feels like! The Ottawa–Montreal corridor is one of two signifi cant earthquake zones in Canada capable of experiencing a large destructive earthquake. As a leader in emergency preparedness, IBC is here to help when natural disasters strike. Learn about earthquake preparedness when the Shake Zone comes to Ottawa! Date: Monday, October 17 and Tuesday, October 18 Time: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Location: Sparks Street Mall between O’Connor Street and Bank Street For more information: Andrew McGrath Manager, Media Relations, Insurance Bureau of Canada 416-362-2031 ext. 4312 | [email protected] ibc.ca 4 THE HILL TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2016 OPINION WHISTLEBLOWER helped a number of foreign governments to recover what is rightly owed them. Birkenfeld believes That brings us back to my fi rst com- ment.