Government makes a hash of genetic privacy

My column this week on Loonie Politics looks at an issue that didn't get a lot of attention in the media over the course of the last parliament, but nevertheless is a growing issue as time goes on and genetic testing becomes more available. The machinations that took place are fascinating, and shows how the government seems to have dropped the ball on an issue they promised to do something about.

Let’s all take a breath about the Senate audit

I have an extra column on Loonie Politics this week, looking at the Auditor General's report on the Senate. While pretty much every other pundit out there hyperventilates about the findings and is agitating for either a fantasy version of reform or for abolition (which is never going to happen), I try to put the whole report into some perspective in a calm and clear-headed manner, and to put the numbers into context rather than in isolation.

Chong’s Reform Act can’t restore accountability to leaders

My column this week on Loonie Politics takes another look at the Reform Act, and takes apart some of its fundamental goals – making leaders more accountable – and shows how the premise remains flawed while we maintain the current system of leadership selection, not just the method of removal.

Why aren’t MPs paying attention to Information Commissioner Legault?

My column this week on Loonie Politics looks at the rather serious issue of the Information Commissioner's special report on the RCMP's destruction of records related to the long-gun registry, and why her concerns aren't registering with most MPs – a mere three questions have been asked on the subject in QP, despite the huge concerns with what happened, and the government's response in trying to change the law retroactively, which is the aspect that people should be most concerned about.

Conservatives not putting their money where their mouths are

My column this week on Loonie Politics tries to put some numbers to the narratives, particularly where the Conservatives try to position themselves on national security and defence. While a lot of big words get spoken, and photo ops happen near the front lines in Iraq, the truth of the numbers as told by people like the PBO is that the government isn't backing up those narratives with the actual dollars to make a difference, which is a real problem.

No, the Senate is not being put on trial

My column this week on Loonie Politics debunks some of the narratives that seem to be emerging from the Mike Duffy trial currently ongoing, and in particular the narrative that the defence seems to be putting forward. Many pundits seem to be echoing this sentiment, which I try to push back against.

You can’t just turn off the Senate tap

My column this week on Loonie Politics responds to the rather incredulous beliefs that some people – including certain reporters – have that somehow the government of the day can deprive the Senate of funding, as though it wasn't a wholly independent chamber of parliament.

Ticking clock looms over parliament

My column this week on Loonie Politics looks at the limited amount of time left in Parliament before they rise for the summer, the heavy workload before them, and the fact that the government can attempt to game the calendar to ensure that contentious bills – like an upcoming omnibus budget bill – won't get adequate scrutiny because there simply won't be time, which is a problem for democracy.

Selinger gong show a preview of Reform Act future

My column this week on Loonie Politics looks at what happened with the leadership contest in Manitoba, and how Michael Chong's Reform Act can make this kind of a terrible situation a more common occurrence because of how those provisions echo the problems in the Manitoba rules going forward, which is not a good situation for anyone.

Chong’s Reform Act sabotages parliamentary democracy and needs to be defeated

My column this week on Loonie Politics looks at Michael Chong's Reform Act, which is up for a final vote in the House of Commons, and how terrible it actually is in its final wording after numerous amendments. While people seem to be inclined to like the idea of the bill, the substance is terrible, and I break down what is the matter with the bill in the column in the hopes of changing some minds.

NDP satellite offices are just one of many problems

My column this week on Loonie Politics takes a broader look at the issue of the NDP satellite offices and the demands that they repay the Commons for them. The issues underlying it date back to after the 2011 election, and based on conversations I've had with some people behind the scenes, I paint a picture of a broader problem that led to the creation of these offices, and the ways in which the party is now trying to excuse them including outright misdirection.

The Phantom Parliament

My column this week on Loonie Politics looks at the pre-election landscape and the very real possibility that the House of Commons will increasingly become a ghost house as more and more MPs follow their leaders onto the early campaign trail, convinced that more votes can be found elsewhere rather than in doing their jobs – something that won't serve anyone well.

No more year-long elections, please

My column this week on Loonie Politics, the first of the New Year, takes the issue of it being an election year thanks to fixed election dates and examines if it really has made our system "more democratic" as such reform proponents like to state. It's not an argument that I buy, and I lay out reasons why including those drawn from conversations I had with government MPs in Ontario on the eve of their previous fixed election date in 2011 as to how it simply changed political calculations but still advantaged the government. With all of the (baseless) talk of a possible early election here, I felt like it was an appropriate time to remind everyone of what a sham our fixed election law really is anyway, and why it deserves to be repealed.

Conservative senators need to do their jobs

My column this week on Loonie Politics looks at some of the machinations in a Senate committee whereby Conservative senators opted not to do their constitutional duty to amend legislation, but simply alert the government as to a problem with the bill so that they can fix it in separate legislation before the flawed bill comes into force. What is especially curious is that shortly after this was posted, a spokesperson from the Senate Leader's office called me to explain their position as having done their due diligence by ensuring that the Commons could put through corrective legislation. I don't agree, based on my own study of the constitution and the institution, but it's nice to know that it got noticed pretty quickly.

Ego and sore-loserism

My column this week on Loonie Politics looks at some of the more contentious nomination contests that we've seen recently, in particular in Ottawa–Orleans, and why it's a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing – particularly the accusations that these nominations aren't open as promised, because green light processes do matter.

The AG and the institutional problem

My column this week on Loonie Politics draws from both the recent Auditor General's report on Library and Archives, along with my own pre-Press Gallery experience of doing records management at Health Canada, and shows that there is a larger cultural problem within the public service when it comes to document retention and the responsibility for ensuring that corporate memory is retained. It was nice to revisit this part of my career, and to bring a little bit of light to a chapter of the AG's report that got very little notice otherwise.

Stop referring to MPs as employees

My column this week on Loonie Politics ventures into the choppy waters of the MP harassment issue on Parliament Hill, and takes on some of the aspects of the debate, and specifically to the point that people keep wondering why MPs don't have a policy that mirrors harassment policies for employees in other workplaces. The problem of course is that MPs aren't employees, and they can't fit into these kinds of schemes that other workplaces can, and I try to explore that issue a little more.

Security needs parliamentary oversight

My column this week on Loonie Politics looks at Bill C-622, which proposes to create a parliamentary oversight mechanism for national security agencies in this country. Many of the arguments against this bill have to do with the canard of duplication and bureaucracy, but I show why this really isn't the case in Canada.

Private Members' Bills don't mean much for debate

My column this week on Loonie Politics looks at some of the arguments being made in the debate on assisted dying, and the claims constantly made that Parliament has been seized with this issue since the Sue Rodriguez decision, and the number of private members' bills placed on the Order Paper in those intervening years as the justification. I show how that simply isn't the case because of the rules of Parliament, and what needs to happen for there to be a real debate.

Pay attention to QP

My column this week on Loonie Politics takes umbrage with a recent CBC Sunday Edition essay that calls for reporters to boycott QP rather than to give MPs and their antics any airtime, figuring that the "observer effect" is at work and depriving them of said observation will force a change in their behaviour. As you can expect, I show why this thinking is not only wrong, but suggest the way to actually have an impact on the way that MPs interact with the press with respect to QP.