While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from David Baxter.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Prime Minister Mark Carney needs to stop trying to manipulate his way to the majority government Canadians denied him in the spring election by courting floor-crossers. On Thursday, Ontario MP Michael Ma became the second person to leave the Conservative benches and join the Liberals in as many months, following Nova Scotia MP Chris d'Entremont...
Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said Friday there are other MPs in the Conservative caucus who are "extremely frustrated" with the political direction being taken by their party. Questioned by reporters the morning after MP Michael Ma left the Conservatives to join the Liberal caucus, MacKinnon said a handful of Conservatives have shared their frustrations with Liberals privately. Several Conservatives...
OTTAWA -- Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said Friday there are other MPs in the Conservative caucus who are "extremely frustrated" with the political direction being taken by their party.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is pushing back on the suggestion that the U.S. may be considering pulling out of North America's trilateral free-trade pact. When The Canadian Press asked the prime minister if he was open to separate bilateral trade pacts if the U.S. withdraws, Carney replied, "That's not what they're saying." U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer said in a...
Ottawa -- Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed back Thursday against the suggestion the U.S. is considering pulling out of North America's free-trade pact.
OTTAWA -- Self-described "agitator" Yves Engler has been denied entry to the NDP leadership race, after the party's vetting committee said it has credible evidence of harassment.
Self-described "agitator" Yves Engler has been denied entry to the NDP leadership race, after the party's vetting committee said it has credible evidence of harassment. In a statement issued Wednesday, Engler said he wants the party's federal council to overturn a decision from the leadership vote committee to disqualify his candidacy. NDP national president Lucy Watson said in a statement...
OTTAWA -- Self-described "agitator" Yves Engler has been denied entry to the NDP leadership race, after the party's vetting committee said it has credible evidence of harassment.
The federal government is partnering with the city of Ottawa to put $400 million to help build up to 3,000 affordable homes in the capital, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday. The city will speed up the construction of homes by waiving development charges, permit fees and property taxes, Carney told a crowd of businesspeople at a regular breakfast event...
OTTAWA -- Canada will open a new express permanent residency program for international doctors next year, Immigration Minister Lena Diab said on Monday.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday his government's plan to get public servants to spend more time in the office will come into "sharper view" over the next several weeks. The issue came up when Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe asked Carney about the prospect of public sector job cuts during the mayor's monthly breakfast event with the Ottawa Board of...
OTTAWA -- Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel-Garner said Wednesday it's time for the federal government to end virtual citizenship ceremonies.
OTTAWA -- A group of Ontario chiefs said Wednesday the federal government should immediately reintroduce the clean drinking water legislation that failed to pass before the election was called last spring.
OTTAWA -- The NDP leadership candidates admitted they need to brush up on their French-language skills when they faced off for the campaign's first debate in Montreal.
The NDP leadership candidates are conceding they need to brush up on their French language skills as they face off for the campaign's first debate in Montreal. The debate began with a plan to have 60 per cent of the debate take place in French, but most has been in English. Documentarian Avi Lewis and Alberta MP Heather McPherson are...
OTTAWA -- The five official NDP leadership candidates will take part in a French debate in Montreal tonight -- the first debate of the race.
OTTAWA -- MPs on the House of Commons national security committee have amended the government's border security bill, C-12, to restrict benefits to people subject to removal orders can access.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says his recent reply to a question about the state of trade talks with the U.S. -- "Who cares?" -- amounted to "a poor choice of words." Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre hammered the prime minister over his comment during question period in the House of Commons today. Poilievre says that Conservatives care about job losses in...
OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday his recent reply to a question about the state of trade talks with the U.S. — "Who cares?" — amounted to "a poor choice of words."
OTTAWA -- Ottawa and the provinces have raked in more than $5.4 billion in cannabis tax revenue since the drug was legalized for recreational use in October 2018.
OTTAWA -- The federal government's border security bill is an open door to violating the rights of migrants and should be dropped, advocacy groups said on Monday on Parliament Hill.
OTTAWA -- Immigration Minister Lena Diab is extending until 2027 the pause on new applications through the Private Sponsorship for Refugees Program as the department works to clear its backlog.
OTTAWA -- The "Lost Canadians" legislation, which aims to fix Canada's unconstitutional citizenship, received royal assent Thursday after being approved by the Senate on Wednesday.
OTTAWA -- Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner says she plans to "amend the heck" out of the government's border security bill, Bill C-12, with a host of measures targeting the asylum system.
OTTAWA -- The "Lost Canadians" legislation, which aims to fix Canada's unconstitutional citizenship by descent rules, passed in the Senate Wednesday and is on track to becoming law.
B.C. Liberal MPs said Wednesday the tanker ban on the northern B.C. coast can't change without provincial and First Nations consent. The Globe and Mail is reporting that the federal government, which is in talks with Alberta on the prospect of building a new pipeline, is considering allowing some tanker traffic on the northern B.C. coast. Jonathan Wilkinson, a B.C...
Ottawa -- British Columbia's jobs minister says ending a tanker ban on the province's northern coast to service a pipeline from Alberta to B.C. would put billions of dollars' worth of other projects at risk by defying the wishes of First Nations.
OTTAWA -- B.C. Liberal MPs said Wednesday the tanker ban on the northern B.C. coast can't change without provincial and First Nations consent.
Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has narrowly survived a crucial budget vote -- one that could have sent Canadians to the polls this winter but instead propped up the minority Liberal government. Members of Parliament ended weeks of drama and speculation about the Carney government's fate by voting 170 to 168 on a confidence motion that expressed support for the...
Members of Parliament will vote Monday evening on Prime Minister Mark Carney's first budget -- a critical vote that could determine whether Canadians go back to the polls less than a year after the last election. The critical budget vote, expected around 6:45 p.m. ET, is a vote of confidence in the minority Liberal government. The Liberals need the votes...
OTTAWA -- As provincial governments wait to hear details of Ottawa's new immigration targets, some are warning that coming cuts to the number of international student visas will put colleges and universities in a tighter financial bind.
OTTAWA -- The first of three fundraising deadlines for the NDP leadership race landed Friday, with some candidates coming close to not meeting the requirements for remaining in the race.
The first of three fundraising deadlines for the NDP leadership race landed Friday, with some candidates coming close to not meeting the requirements for remaining in the race. A campaign spokesperson for Tanille Johnston, a city councillor in Campbell River, B.C., said she will be able to make the $25,000 payment allowing her to stay in the race and appear...
Former immigration minister Lloyd Axworthy, a prominent global champion for refugees, said he believes Canada is putting its reputation as a welcoming place for refugees at risk through recent federal policy shifts. Those shifts, he said, include the Carney government's new border security bill, C-12, which would limit the ability of individuals who have been in Canada for more than...
OTTAWA -- The first of three fundraising deadlines for the NDP leadership race landed Friday, with some candidates coming close to not meeting the requirements for remaining in the race.
OTTAWA -- Former immigration minister Lloyd Axworthy, a prominent global champion for refugees, said he believes Canada is putting its reputation as a welcoming place for refugees at risk through recent federal policy shifts.
OTTAWA -- Montreal-based activist Yves Engler is applying to enter the NDP leadership race months after announcing his intention to make a bid.
The Conservatives helped the minority Liberal government survive a second confidence vote on the budget this afternoon. The House of Commons recorded a vote of 307 against a Bloc Québécois motion to reject the budget, and 30 in favour. On Thursday, the Bloc and NDP teamed up to vote against a Conservative motion that also called on MPs to reject...
OTTAWA -- The federal government is cutting the number of spots available in its refugee permanent residency streams for next year.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and his fellow Liberal MPs said Wednesday the party is open to talking to any opposition MPs interested in joining their team -- a day after Nova Scotia MP Chris d'Entremont quit the Conservatives to join the government caucus. Carney and d'Entremont were met with thunderous applause and cheers as they walked side by side into...
OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Mark Carney and his fellow Liberal MPs said Wednesday the party is open to talking to any opposition MPs interested in joining their team — a day after Nova Scotia MP Chris d'Entremont quit the Conservatives to join the government caucus.
OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Mark Carney and his fellow Liberal MPs said the party is open to talking to any other opposition MPs interested in joining their team, a day after Nova Scotia MP Chris d'Entremont quit the Conservatives to join the government caucus.
OTTAWA -- One day after Nova Scotia MP Chris d'Entremont quit the Conservatives to join the government caucus, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he'll talk to any opposition MP about joining his team.
Federal politicians of all stripes say they don't want the coming budget vote to trigger a Christmas election -- but nobody's ruling it out, meaning voters might soon have to resist the temptation to drop a lump of coal in a ballot box. Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said recently the government did not yet have the votes to pass...
OTTAWA -- Federal politicians of all stripes say they don't want the coming budget vote to trigger a Christmas election -- but nobody's ruling it out, meaning voters might soon have to resist the temptation to drop a lump of coal in a ballot box.
OTTAWA -- Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says there will be "no surprises" when he tables a federal budget Tuesday that he promises will offer "generational investments."
OTTAWA -- Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says there will be "no surprises" when he tables a federal budget Tuesday that he promises will offer "generational investments."
Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says there will be "no surprises" when he tables a federal budget Tuesday that he promises will offer "generational investments." Champagne told a press conference in Saint-Tite, Que., Monday morning the budget bill will have "something for every Canadian." "We're moving from reliance to resilience, from uncertainty to prosperity. We're going to do the kind of...
OTTAWA -- Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says there will be "no surprises" when he tables a federal budget Tuesday that he promises will offer "generational investments."
OTTAWA -- A trans woman does not believe she would have been able to stay in Canada if the refugee rules outlined in the government's new border bill were in effect.
OTTAWA -- Immigration Minister Lena Diab says the definition of a "public interest" event that would allow her department to pause or revoke immigration applications is "intentionally not defined" in new legislation.
OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Mark Carney said "Canada's new immigration plan" will be in the federal budget next week, but immigration department officials don't know if that includes the annual levels plan outlining how many newcomers Canada intends to admit for the next year.
OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Mark Carney said in his pre-budget speech last week that the upcoming federal budget will include "Canada's new immigration plan," but immigration department officials don't know if that includes the annual levels plan.
Three of the five NDP leadership candidates had their first face-to-face encounter, which serves as a preview for next month's French debate. Rob Ashton, Avi Lewis and Heather McPherson took part in a forum at the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation gala in Ottawa, while Tanille Johnston and Tony McQuail were not able to attend. The three contenders saw degrees of...
OTTAWA -- Three of the five NDP leadership candidates had their first face-to-face encounter, which serves as a preview for next month's French debate.
The NDP leadership contenders are working on their French language skills as they prepare to meet for their first debate on Nov. 27 in Montreal, expected to be held primarily in French. The official candidates have varying degrees of French skills, but none have described themselves as fluently bilingual. However, there is acknowledgment across the field in the need to...
OTTAWA -- The NDP leadership contenders are working on their French language skills as they prepare to meet for their first debate on Nov. 27 in Montreal, expected to be held primarily in French.
The Liberal government tabled legislation this morning that would make it harder to get bail for a variety of offences, including vehicle thefts, extortion and breaking and entering. Justice Minister Sean Fraser is scheduled to talk to reporters about the new legislation this afternoon in Ottawa.
OTTAWA -- The Liberal government is expected to pitch tougher bail and sentencing standards for violent crime in legislation today.
The five official candidates for the federal NDP leadership met for the first time Wednesday night in Ottawa at a forum hosted by the Canadian Labour Congress. Each candidate was given 10 minutes to introduce themselves to labour leaders and the broader party membership and outline why they should be the next NDP leader. Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian...