Latest from Joanna Smith
Rookie MPs in Ottawa for a crash course on being a parliamentarian
Ninety-eight new MPs are in Ottawa to learn how to manage their budgets, get their parking passes and, later on, protect their sanity.
Trudeau defends record on Indigenous issues, as stump speech mentions are brief
Justin Trudeau highlighted the push for reconciliation with First Nations, Metis and Inuit at a rally Saturday night, an issue he has otherwise rarely raised when encouraging progressive voters to stick with him when they head to the polls Monday.
Campaigns strengthen harassment training in the wake of MeToo movement
The MeToo movement revealed Canadian politics is not immune from these issues and that the people, often young volunteers, who do a lot of the grunt work to run the party machines are particularly vulnerable — and demanding better.
Third-party advertiser disavows 'mass immigration' message on billboards
The third-party advertising group behind billboards promoting Maxime Bernier and his stance on immigration is now distancing itself from the message, saying it never signed off on the controversial campaign.
Liberals, Tories evenly matched when it comes to war chests for local campaigns
The Liberals and Conservatives are matched fairly evenly when it comes to how ready their local campaigns are to pay for the October federal election, a shift from when the big blue machine dominated the scene the last time around.
Federal ethics watchdog investigates B.C. Liberal MP after complaint from Tories
The federal ethics watchdog has launched an investigation into allegations Liberal MP Joe Peschisolido failed to update his public records when the Law Society of B.C. took control of his law firm earlier this year.
Advocacy group Equal Voice faces fallout after firing three racialized staffers
An organization aimed at supporting women in politics is facing backlash over its decision to fire three racialized employees last week, sparking resignations and a social media campaign calling its commitment to diversity into question.
Feds spent $17.7 million on advertising in lead-up to election moratorium
Newly released figures show the federal government set aside nearly $17.7 million on public awareness campaigns between April and June just ahead of a mandatory blackout on government advertising in the lead up to the fall campaign.
Ottawa wanted all of Canada speaking with one voice on NAFTA: emails
The Liberal government has been orchestrating the Canadian approach to the North American Free Trade Agreement talks so carefully that at one point, Ottawa issued talking points to help ensure even the provinces and territories were all speaking with one voice.
NDP asking MPs to invite Pope Francis to apologize for residential schools
The NDP is hoping MPs from other parties will join them in issuing a formal invitation to Pope Francis to apologize to residential school survivors.