Government Representative in the Senate Pierre Moreau has known Prime Minister Mark Carney for less than a year, but already their relationship is a close one.

In a wide-ranging interview in French with Le Devoir’s Boris Proulx on Sept. 15, Moreau called Carney a “brilliant student, and curious,” explaining that he’d only met Carney for the first time during the spring election campaign when the newly appointed Quebec Senator was asked by the federal Liberals to help prepare Carney for the leaders’ francophone debates. 

Moreau, 67, said he played the role of Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet during their practice debates.

Now, the former provincial Treasury Board president under the Quebec Liberal governments of Philippe Couillard and Jean Charest is Carney’s point-man in the Senate—a place which, according to Moreau, Carney has “no intention” undoing any of his predecessor’s Senate reforms.

Moreau explained to Proulx that there’s no connection between the federal and provincial Liberal parties, and that Moreau himself identifies as “centre right” in his politics. As the government’s rep in the Senate, he is currently non-affiliated.

Moreau said Carney’s approach to public finances reminds him of Couillard’s “rigorous” budgets, which he hopes that Quebecers can now look back on as something that were good in the long run.

Retired Senators Oliver, Christensen have died

Two retired Senators died last week: Don Oliver and Ione Christensen.

Oliver was a Conservative Senator from 1990 until his retirement in 2013. He was the first Black man appointed to the Senate, representing Nova Scotia. He died on Sept. 17 at the age 86 of cardiac amyloidosis. A memorial service is scheduled in Halifax on Sept. 27.

Born in the Yukon, Christensen was the former mayor of Yellowknife and commissioner for the territory when then-prime minister Jean Chrétien appointed her to the Senate in 1999 until 2006. She was 91 years old when she died on Sept. 15.

Head of LGBT Purge Fund is this year’s Vimy Laureate

The Vimy Gala is still eight weeks away, but the Conference of Defence Associations Institute has announced this year’s Vimy Award Laureate.

Honorary Colonel Michelle Douglas will be recognized for her work to end the formal discrimination against 2SLGBT+ service members.

“Michelle joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1986, excelling as a young officer. In 1989, she was dismissed—not for failure, but for being a lesbian. Her case was part of the systemic purge of 2SLGBT+ members from Canada’s military, intelligence, and security services,” reads the release from the CDAI.

The founding executive director of the LGBT Purge Fund, Douglas’ successful lawsuit helped to restore thousands of careers and lives, and prompted the military to begin its long path toward inclusion.

“Some may ask: does this align with the Vimy Award’s legacy? We believe it does—resoundingly,” wrote former chief of defence staff Gen. Tom Lawson, CDAI’s board chair, and Carleton University’s Steve Saideman in the release.

“Michelle’s story reminds us that courage is not always found in combat—it is found in conviction. In standing up when others are silent. In challenging institutions not to destroy them, but to make them better. Michelle Douglas’s legacy is one of transformation.”

Douglas will be honoured at the Vimy Gala taking place at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa on Nov. 5.

Catherine McKenna’s book launch draws a big crowd

It was reportedly a big crowd of power brokers at the launch of former Liberal cabinet minister Catherine McKenna‘s memoir, Run Like a Girl, at the National Arts Centre on Sept. 16.

Among those who grabbed their copy of the book were Raylene Lang, former national chair of Equal Voice, left; North Grenville Mayor Nancy Peckford; Prime Minister Mark Carney; and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Catherine Fortin LeFaivre.

Ministers Alty, Sidhu and Solomon in latest Maclean’s

Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Rebecca Alty and International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu are among Maclean’s list of “40 nation makers.” 

Noted as being “the youngest member of Mark Carney’s cabinet—and the first federal minister from the Northwest Territories in nearly two decades” Alty’s “weighty” file sees her “urging” the feds to chat more frequently with Indigenous communities.

The magazine said Sidhu is “quickly establishing himself as one of Ottawa’s indispensable dealmakers” as he pursues “fresh markets and new allies” for Canada.

Two PMO staffers grace the magazine’s October edition’s list’s “Power Brokers” section: Audrey Champoux and Braeden Caley. Maclean’s calls Champoux an experienced “rising star” who “has so far been the steady voice of the PMO,” while glazing Caley as “a policy brain and political lifer with Ivy League polish” who has yet to celebrate his 40th birthday.

Assembly of First Nations’ national chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak also makes the list. The magazine said she’s “closely watching Mark Carney’s economic agenda” so as to “respectfully” remind the government that “growth starts with reconciliation.”

Not on the list, but appearing in the magazine’s front half is a feature interview with Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon, who admitted to using AI to turn the text of Bill C-27 into a podcast which he then listened to on his way into the office.

Serge Joyal, Ray Henault among Order of Canada inductees

A retired Senator, a former chief of defense staff, and an ex-public servant are among the Order of Canada’s newest laureates.

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon invested 61 Canadians during a ceremony at Rideau Hall on Sept. 18.

Retired Senator Serge Joyal was the sole “Companion” to be invested.

Among the new “officers” is former British Columbia lieutenant governor Stephen Lewis Point. And three notable new “members” are former chief of defence staff Gen. Raymond Henault, former Health Canada public servant Jeffrey Farber, and Donald MacPherson, the founder and long-time executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition.

You outta know…Alanis Morissette gets honorary degree

Grammy-Award winning, Ottawa-born and raised musician Alanis Morissette, 51, was home last weekend to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa.

“We were very pleased to present Ottawa native Alanis Morissette with her honorary doctorate on our campus,” the institute wrote on Instagram on Sept. 16.

“This distinction highlights her exceptional music career and her commitment to women’s empowerment as well as physical, psychological and spiritual integrity.”

Now based in California, Morissette’s breakthrough album, Jagged Little Pill, celebrated its 30th anniversary this year.

cleadlay@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times