Don’t put yourselves in knots over all political family ties

My hope is this Ratansi mess does not lead to a politically motivated ill-thought-out reaction. A desire to erase all form of familial-related employment in federal politics would be dumb.

MP Yasmin Ratansi’s sister was rehired to work as her constituency assistant in 2017—a clear violation of the 2012 rule, and she should be called out, writes Tim Powers, but an overdone course correction is not needed. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY TIM POWERS

November 18, 2020

OTTAWA—Time for a true confession. My first job on Parliament Hill was given to me by my cousin, John Crosbie. He gave me an opportunity because my parents were family and they had always been supportive of him. In fact, he was the master of ceremonies at their wedding and he grew up with my mothe...

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