Veteran Liberal MP Terry Duguid has his eyes set on becoming the new co-chair of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentry Group when Parliament returns in the fall. 

The group—which builds important links on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.—has been without a leader in the House of Commons since the last election as previous co-chair John McKay did not seek re-election. Its Red Chamber leader is Conservative Senator Michael MacDonald. 

Previous House co-chairs have called the vacancy “very concerning” and a “significant detriment.”

Duguid confirmed to The Hill Times that he would be seeking the role.

He won re-election in his riding of Winnipeg South, Man., in the last federal election, earning 58.7 per cent of the vote. He has held the riding since 2015. 

Duguid has previously served as the environment and sport minister, and as the minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada. 

Under the constitution of the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group, a meeting to appoint a new executive is supposed to be held within 60 days of the opening of Parliament, but that didn’t happen.

As previously reported by The Hill Times, the Joint Interparliamentary Council sent a notice in late 2024 that delayed annual general meetings until the fall of 2025, and suspended the constitutional provision on holding a meeting within 60 days.

—by Neil Moss

New book tells story of Southeast Asian refugees

A new book hitting shelves this month spotlights the stories and experiences of the more than 210,000 refugees who came to Canada from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, fleeing violence, genocide, and government collapse, between 1975 and 1997.

Co-authored by former Immigration Canada director Peter Duschinsky, Carleton University professors Colleen Lundy and Allan Moscovitch, former Canadian immigration official Michael J. Molloy, and Canadian Mennonite University associate professor Stephanie Phetsamay Stobbe, Hearts of Freedom: Stories of Southeast Asian Refugees is being published by McGill-Queen’s University Press. 

The book features firsthand accounts and interviews with 145 former refugees to Canada, and includes a foreword from former prime minister Joe Clark. Roughly three million people are estimated to have fled the trio of Southeast Asian countries over that more than 20-year period. The book explores the “remarkable experiment in civic compassion” that was the private sponsorship program that helped bring more than 200,000 of those refugees to Canada. 

“Survivors recount their perilous voyages across storm-lashed seas, the inhumane horrors of re-education camps, and fortifying private moments of hope and gratitude,” reads a release from the publisher. 

Along with highlighting “the complex realities of resettlement,” the testimonies help “illuminate the strengths and blind spots of Canada’s refugee policies and the profound human consequences of bureaucratic practices.” 

Among the upcoming events to promote the new book is an Oct. 4 gathering at Ottawa’s Atrium Art Gallery, which will feature a keynote address from Clark. 

NDP rebuilding from ’14-year slide’: Davies

Potential candidates are making moves in the federal NDP’s leadership race, but in the meantime, interim New Democrat Leader Don Davies said the party has some “naval gazing” left to do as it prepares to enter its new era.

Speaking on the Aug. 28 episode of The Paikin Podcast, Davies told host Steve Paikin and panellists former Conservative MP Tony Clement and former Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay that “one of the few advantages of being burnt to the ground is that you get to recreate your foundation.”

The party’s 2025 campaign was “one of the worst” Davies has seen, he said, but added that it wasn’t just about external pressures. “We’ve been in a secular slide since 2011, if we’re honest. … So, we can’t blame it all on the last election. It has been a 14-year slide.”

Davies told the podcast the party may have to re-examine the balance between class and identity issues.

“I think one of the questions is: have we veered too much from our sort of class-based analysis to identity politics? My own view—this is just me speaking—is that we have. And it’s not that those intersectional issues aren’t important—they are. It’s just a question of the right balance,” Davies said. “And I think the NDP’s at our best … when we are bringing a perspective to Parliament that is coming from working people.”

On Aug. 27, The Toronto Star reported that MP Heather McPherson and prominent activist Avi Lewis are actively prepping their leadership bids. Author and activist Yves Engler, and activist and farmer Tony McQuail have already announced their leadership intentions. The first major deadline for the race was Aug. 20, when application packages became available.

“I know who the potential candidates are. They’re all magnificent,” Davies said on the podcast.

Ottawa park gets name swap to honour GG

The green space currently known as Whitewood Avenue Park in Ottawa’s Manotick neighbourhood will be renamed to honour Governor General Mary Simon.

Ottawa City Council approved the change during an Aug. 27 meeting following a motion from Rideau-Jock Councillor David Brown to “recognize [Simon’s] outstanding contributions to Canada and celebrate her legacy as an advocate for Indigenous Peoples.”

As per the motion, Mary Simon Park, at 5490 Whitewood Ave., will feature an “appropriate stand and plaque be installed displaying the name and including a brief history of Mary Simon’s contributions,” which will be funded through the mayor’s office.

Simon was installed as the country’s 30^th vice-regal representative in July 2021, and is the first Indigenous person to hold the role.

“Mary Simon’s leadership and dedication have inspired countless Canadians and fostered a greater understanding and appreciation of Indigenous cultures,” the motion reads.

New envoy to India set

Following through on a promise to renew the Canada-India relationship, Foreign Minister Anita Anand named Canada’s newest high commissioner to India last week.

Christopher Cooter will be the new mission lead in New Delhi, filling a vacancy left by predecessor Cameron MacKay. MacKay left India in 2023 after completing a three-year posting, shortly before the bilateral relationship hit a nadir after then-prime minister Justin Trudeau rising in the House of Commons that September to announce allegations that New Delhi was involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist leader, in Surrey, B.C. The Indian government has denied involvement in the killing.

Acting high commissioner Stewart Wheeler was pulled from the chancery in October 2024 as part of the reciprocal withdrawal of diplomats as tensions continued.

Cooter has 35 years of diplomatic experience, having served most recently as Canada’s chargé d’affaires to Israel, and as high commissioner to South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Mauritius, and Madagascar. He previously also served in India as first secretary at the Canadian High Commission to India, Nepal, and Bhutan from 1998 to 2000.

On Aug. 28, the Indian government also announced that Dinesh Patnaik will be its envoy in Ottawa. Patnaik will be coming to Canada from his post as the top diplomat in Spain, where he’s been stationed since 2022. Patnaik previously led India’s missions in the United Kingdom, Morocco, and Cambodia.

cleadlay@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times