We Read the Record. You Read the Story.
Hansard Files is independent Canadian political journalism built entirely from the primary record.
Every story starts with the actual transcript. The Hansard. The committee Evidence. The Auditor General’s report. The Order Paper. Not the press release, not the clip, not the party line.
I started this publication because I kept reading political coverage that paraphrased the spin instead of quoting the source. The real business of government does not happen in Question Period. It happens in Senate committee rooms, in 300-page audit reports, and in dense legislative transcripts that most journalists do not have time to read cover to cover.
I do.
My professional background is in forensic analysis of complex documents, the kind of close reading where a single definition or a buried clause changes everything. I applied that same discipline to Canadian parliamentary records and found that the gap between what is actually said in Ottawa and what makes the evening news is wider than most people realize.
Hansard Files exists to close that gap.
Each piece is written as longform journalism, not a newsletter digest. Sources are cited by Hansard volume and committee Evidence number so you can verify every claim yourself. Nothing is paywalled. Everything is free.
For journalists and researchers. Press releases describe the announcement. This publication covers the debate: the senators who pushed back, the ministers who deflected, and the figures the backgrounder left out. Every claim links to the original document, so you can pick up the thread where this leaves off.
For parliamentary staffers. Press gallery coverage is thin outside the flagship files. Hansard Files tracks committee evidence, clause-by-clause testimony, and legislative detail that does not make the daily rotation. If you need to know what was actually said in room 257-D last Thursday, this is a useful starting point.
For policy researchers. Federal policy is shaped long before Royal Assent. This publication covers the evidence sessions, the PBO analyses, the departmental spending plans, and the Senate scrutiny that determine what a bill actually becomes. Sources are cited throughout.
For engaged Canadians. You do not need a Hill badge to care what Parliament does with public money. If you want more than the headline and less than a law degree, this publication is written for you.
— Mike B., publisher and writer
Hansard Files
