Former justice minister David Lametti returns to the Hill today, but this time he’s in the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Time to officially confirm a rumour that has been circulating for a while now: I have now joined the Prime Minister’s team and on July 14 will assume the role of Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Mark Carney,” Lametti posted on social media last week.

It’s been a year and a half since Lametti stepped down as MP for LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, Que., which he’d held since 2015, and returned to his pre-political career of law at the Montreal firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin. 

Lametti offered “sincere thanks” to his colleagues at Fasken, whom he described as “smart, savvy and truly nice,” with a special shout-out to Alex Steinhouse, Lametti’s former chief of staff at Justice, who left the Hill in August 2023 and is currently at Fasken.

During his nine years as a Liberal MP, Lametti had been a parliamentary secretary from 2017 to 2019, at which point he was promoted to then-prime minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet as minister of justice, a role he held until he was shuffled out in August 2023.

Former Clark, Mulroney-era cabinet minister Jake Epp has died

Longtime former Conservative MP Jake Epp died on July 5, at the age of 85. 

Born in Manitoba, Epp was a high school history teacher prior to his life in politics. He was first elected to the House in 1972 representing Provencher, Man. He served in Joe Clark’s cabinet as minister for Indian Affairs and Northern Development from June 1979 to March 1980, and then in Brian Mulroney’s cabinet first as minister for national health and welfare from 1984 to 1989, and then as minister for energy and mines from 1989 until he stepped away from cabinet in early 1993 as he’d decided not to run in the election later that year.

Post-politics, Epp became a senior executive at TransCanada Pipelines until 2000, and served as Ontario Power Generation’s chair of the board of directors.

Recently retired Conservative Senator Don Plett on X on July 8 called Epp “a close friend and a dear mentor. His many years of public service left a lasting impact on Canada.”

It was through Plett’s father who was working on Epp’s 1965 campaign that Plett got his first taste of politics. “I enjoyed it. I got to meet Jake, started following him a bit in politics, became very good friends, and just kind of caught the bug,” Plett recalled of his time as a scrutineer during his exit interview with The Hill Times.

Epp leaves behind his wife, Lydia, his daughter Lisa Epp-Coleman, and granddaughters Melissa and Mackenzie Coleman. His memorial service will take place on July 22 at Crossview Church in Steinbach, Man.

Last of West Block’s feral cats has died

Coal, the last of Parliament Hill’s feral cats, has died. He was 17 years old, and had been fighting salivary gland carcinoma, a rare and aggressive cancer.

His human caregiver, Daniel Taurozzi, confirmed to Heard on the Hill that Coal died by “Veterinary Assistance in Dying” at Ottawa’s Capital City Specialty and Emergency Animal Hospital on July 8, surrounded by Taurozzi and Coal’s younger adoptive feline brother, Winston.

“His condition had become grievous and irremediable, beyond what love, medicine, or therapies could ease. It was time to let him go,” Taurozzi told HOH by email on July 10.

Despite Coal’s declining health, “he was able to enjoy nearly a year of good quality of life, thanks to the extraordinary care he received and unwavering love,” Taurozzi posted on Facebook.

A post from an X account purporting to be Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cat Nico offerened condolences on July 8: “My fellow Catnadians, it is my sad duty to report that the Last Parliament Hill Cat and my predecessor Coal has passed away at the age of 17. Coal dedicated his life to service as a Parliament Hill Cat greeting visitors from all over the world.”.

HOH had reported on Feb. 5 that Taurozzi had been fundraising to help cover the costs of Coal’s increased health-care needs, raising more than $15,000, according to the CBC.

Coal was the last remaining cat from the former feral cat colony that was first established in the 1920s behind West Block to help deal with the Hill’s rodents. Featuring a bespoke wooden shelter and watched over by a team of volunteers including Taurozzi, the cat sanctuary officially closed in 2013, and Coal had been living with Taurozzi ever since.

‘I just love to hear when the PM says to the bureaucracy ‘no, it’s going to happen,’ happens’

With all current talk of “build, baby, build,” here’s a friendly reminder of how long such big infrastructure projects actually take to complete.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper, Conservative MP Bob Zimmer, Nunavut Minister David Akeeagok, and Harper-era cabinet minister Leona Aglukkaq recently toured the Port of Iqaluit while they were in town for the Arctic Sovereignty and Security Summit. “How does it feel standing in front of the port that was once a piece of paper [and] that’s now a reality?” Zimmer asked his former boss in a 90-second video posted on X, referring to this project’s start 10 years ago during the last Conservative government. “It’s great to see tangible results of all those years of effort,” smiled Harper, looking out at the port which opened in 2023.

“I remember them [the engineers] telling me you can’t put a port in there, it’s not going to work with the tides, but they figured it out.”

Replied Zimmer: “I just love to hear when the prime minister says to the bureaucracy ‘no, it’s going to happen,’ happens.”

cleadlay@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times