TWENTY-EIGHTH YEAR, NO. 1400 CANADA’S POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT NEWSPAPER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017 $5.00 When a How Canada Youth Trudeau hockey rink can take Issues should gets more advantage Policy have seen ink than a of America’s Briefing helicopter- failed state mistakes gate coming Scott Taylor, p. 9 Carlo Dade, p. 7 pp. 13-18 Tim Powers, p. 11 NEWS FOREIGN AID NEWS TRUMP INAUGURATION The Trump watchers: who advises ‘With all the talk of Trudeau on the new Washington BY PETER MAZEREEUW Foreign Minister Chrystia Canada being back,’ aid Freeland (University-Rosedale, The inauguration of U.S. Ont.), his new Trump-wrangler in president-elect Donald Trump cabinet, to Washington to serve is days away, and with it, a new as the face of the government groups ‘alarmed,’ told to era in Canada-U.S. relations will and networker-in-chief during the begin. festivities. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expect little from budget (Papineau, Que.) has dispatched Continued on page 6 FEATURE PROFILE No northerners in cabinet, no problem for veteran Yukon MP BY CHELSEA NASH The plane had to turn Liberal MP Larry Bagnell was back, and al- once invited to speak at a high though it had school graduation in his riding, as fogged in most MPs are. However, for most behind them, MPs the journey to a high school too, the pilot in their riding would not consist eventually of flying in a small plane, being found a small grounded due to fog, and hitch- airport to hiking the rest of the way there. land at. Most “It was visual flight rules,” he MPs—most recounts, meaning the plane was people, re- Larry Bagnell. being flown by the pilot’s sight, ally—would not relying on the instruments in likely call it quits at this point, and the cockpit. “Clouds all moved in, with no other means of transporta- it was a rainy day. So we tried to tion available, call the high school to go down and follow the highway cancel. Not Mr. Bagnell. in the plane, and we couldn’t, [because] that fogged in.” Continued on page 19 International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said it’s her top priority ‘to ensure that Canadian aid dollars make the greatest difference on the ground.’ Leaders in the sector are worried this means moving money around, rather NEWS ELECTORAL REFORM than a budget increase. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright New minister could signal step BY CHELSEA NASH might boost flat aid spending. into higher aid spending. They were When the government launched willing to spend time and money away from scrapping first past In a matter of months, Canadian- a full review of Canada’s aid policy participating in the review, with the based foreign aid groups have gone last spring, groups were hoping the expectation of a positive ending. the post: strategist from being optimistic to deflated idea that Canada was coming “back” about the chances the government on the world stage would translate Continued on page 5 BY MARCO VIGLIOTTI Conservative political leaders, sug- gested that the government could The Trudeau government may use last week’s ministerial shuffle Publications Mail Agreement #40068926 be signalling that it’s beginning to distance itself from the Liberal NEWS COMMITTEE SPENDING to pivot away from its campaign Party’s campaign promise, and tran- pledge to make 2015 the last sition to a newly developed policy. election conducted under the “I think they may be moving House of Commons approved $2.4-million in standing first-past-the-post system by ap- away from it because of the chal- pointing rookie MP Karina Gould lenges they’ve had with it, and committee travel spending over the past year as the new minister of democratic [they] don’t want to get sucked BY TIM NAUMETZ has approved a total of $2.4-mil- The bulk of the budgets and institutions, according to pundit down by it,” he told The Hill Times. lion for committee trips in Canada expenditures were approved from Tim Powers. “Nothing says new like a new The House of Commons and a and abroad since the Liberals February to October 2016—a total Mr. Powers, vice-chairman at minister, and that’s maybe the panel of MPs that reviews travel formed government, a record of Ottawa lobbying shop Summa budgets for standing committees the expenses shows. Continued on page 3 Strategies and a former adviser to Continued on page 4 2 THE HILL TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017 FEATURE BUZZ ON HEARD THE HILL BY MARCO VIGLIOTTI House of Commons The Manning Conference, set for next month in Ottawa, will host a Conservative Party leadership debate. The jam-packed field of candidates, pictured above, could narrow in the coming months as wins recognition as a top the race enters the stretch run. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright The embassy’s party in 2013, to mark in the province, with the Tories holding President Barack Obama’s second inau- three of the five seats in the city proper. employer for young people guration, featured Tim Hortons coffee, The Conservatives look poised to return Molson beer, Crown Royal whisky, and to the House later this month with some BeaverTails, according to the Star. momentum, as Prime Minister Justin Citing its page The embassy has held a party since Bill Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) faces sharpened and student Clinton’s first inauguration in 1993. questions about whether his use of the Aga employment Khan’s helicopter to visit a private island programs, in the Bahamas during his Christmas vaca- a new Conservative leadership tion violated conflict of interest rules. competition hopefuls to debate in The party is also seeing its polling has named numbers rebound after tumbling following the House of Ottawa next month the 2015 election defeat, though the Tories Commons one remain roughly 14 per cent behind the of Canada’s top The 2017 edition of the annual Manning governing Liberals in ThreeHundredEight. employers for Centre Conference, known unimagina- com’s weighted polling averages. young people. tively as Woodstock for conservatives, will The meeting comes as the party enters The Hill Times feature a federal Conservative Party lead- the stretch run of its crowded leadership photograph by Jake ership debate, organizers have announced. race that has attracted some of its most Wright The three-day extravaganza, set to high-profile members, including several run from Feb. 23 to 25, will be held at the Harper-era cabinet ministers. sprawling Shaw Centre in downtown Ot- The Liberals will be in Calgary for a tawa. The two-hour leadership debate will cabinet retreat from Jan. 23 to 24. be held on the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 24, he House of Commons is one of Steve Rennie lands according to a schedule available on the Ex-cabinet minister TCanada’s top employers for young conference’s website. people, according to an editorial competi- gig with the federal There are 13 registered candidates returns to work after tion published by The Globe and Mail . seeking the leadership of the party, though The House administration was touted for fisheries department it could still expand further, with entre- health scare its array of youth employment opportunities, preneur and reality television personality such as the page program, summer student Former Canadian Press reporter Steve Kevin O’Leary mulling a bid. Former inter- employment program, co-op opportunities, Rennie has taken his talents to the federal The Conservative leadership election is national trade and internal job rotations in a summary of civil service. scheduled for May 27. minister Ed Fast the reasons for its selection as one of Cana- The ex-Hill scribe joined Fisheries and As for the Manning Conference, high- (Abbotsford, B.C.) da’s top 100 employers for young people. Oceans Canada in December as a writer profile speakers will include firebrand con- is back to work The awards for top youth employers are a and editor, according to his LinkedIn page. servative author and broadcaster Mark after suffering a part of the Canada’s Top 100 Employers proj- He had most recently worked as the Steyn, former Canadian ambassador for stroke last month. ect, a publication put together each year since managing editor of Metro Ottawa, the religious freedom Andrew Bennett, and The Conserva- 2002 by Mediacorp Canada, a human resourc- trim, free daily newspaper catering to the former Toronto city councillor Doug Ford. tive MP tweeted Conservative MP Ed es company, and published in the Globe. commuter crowd. He joined the paper in Mr. Steyn is perhaps best known for on Monday that Fast, pictured here in a The summary, authored by Me- April 2015. his provocative polemics warning of the it was “great to photo he tweeted Mon- diacorp employees, also highlighted the Prior to assuming the editor post, Mr. consequences of surging Muslim popula- be back to work day, says he’s returned House’s Next Gen Network, an informal Rennie spent eight years as reporter and edi- tions in European countries and rampant part-time!” to work part-time after bilingual group that it describes as facili- tor with the Canadian Press Ottawa bureau. government spending and borrowing, as “Grateful for all suffering a stroke last tating networking events for employees, During his tenure with CP, he won a well as his pointed critiques of multicultur- the overwhelming month. Photo courtesy of the which include regular meetings and activi- National Newspaper Award in 2009 for his alism. His 2006 book America Alone: The support. Ready to Twitter account of Ed Fast.