The Trudeau government needs professional help, stat
Beset by sinking polls, caucus pushback, and preening Tories, there are signs the Trudeau brain trust is finally striking back, but in such an amateurish way you wonder if all the smart folks have fled the once-dominant Liberal Party.
Re-framing housing issue could offer Liberals a return to ‘sunnier ways,’ says policy expert who spoke at cabinet retreat
There has been a shift in priorities for millennial and Gen Z voters, and the Liberals are ‘not really hitting the mark on what issues young people care about,’ said Oksana Kishchuk of Abacus Data.
‘Enormously complex’ file in store for new minister Saks, say addictions specialists, as calls grow for more funding to address ‘overdose crisis’
‘Until we start taking this seriously and we actually see some political will to do something about this, we’re going to continue to see it getting worse,’ says University of Calgary clinical assistant professor Robert Tanguay.
With Canadians frustrated by health-care system, new minister Holland brings ‘more punch’ to communications
Former health minister Jean-Yves Duclos’ relationship with the NDP had ‘soured,’ says one former NDP staffer, and Mark Holland’s relationships with that party will be a strength when it comes time to negotiate items like pharmacare and dental care as part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Trudeau government doesn’t care about rural Canada
The reason for this inequity comes down to politics: the Liberal party base is in urban Canada, so that is where the money goes.
‘Good luck and good meetings’: Cabinet retreat gets underway in Charlottetown
The affordability and housing crises are set to be in focus for the PM and ministers at the retreat, with one eye on the wildfires currently raging up North and out West.
‘There’s a lot of alienation going on’: new minister Beech tasked with fixing ‘pain points’ in federal service delivery to public, say politicos
The creation of the citizens’ services portfolio shows the government wants to do ‘a much better job of serving the public,’ says former Liberal staffer Sheamus Murphy.
Fall sitting should focus on work after ‘more negativity than we’re used to’ in spring session, says PSG leader
Mood on Parliament Hill is related to an ‘election mode,’ according to PSG Leader Jane Cordy.
Treasury Board ‘impacts just about everything in government’ and is a good fit for someone ‘who gets things done,’ say insiders of Anand move
‘Being the chief operating officer of a $400-billion operation is not a small job,’ said former Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick of the Treasury Board president’s role.
Some backbench Liberal MPs ‘livid’ with Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle, say PMO ‘couldn’t have done a better job at undermining caucus morale’
It’s not unusual for passed over MPs to be unhappy after a cabinet shuffle, says senior government relations consultant Greg MacEachern.
