
You might not know much about Steven MacKinnon, but for the past six months, his job in the House of Commons has been to take the questions the Prime Minister would rather avoid. Those are the ones without easy answers where the government wants to deflect blame, drown debate, or stall.
As the government’s acting House Leader, filling in during the maternity leave of Karina Gould, Mr. MacKinnon fielded all manner of uncomfortable questions. And right after he was sworn in as Labour Minister on Friday, he was doing the same thing outside Rideau Hall.





Like clockwork, in the months before each federal election is called, a number of MPs from each party will announce they are not running for re-election, each with his or her own particular reason. This time around, the numbers tell an interesting story.







