We Read the Record. You Read the Story.
Hansard Files is independent Canadian political journalism built entirely from the primary record.
Every story here 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.
If you are a journalist, a Hill staffer, a policy researcher, or a Canadian who wants to know what is actually happening in Ottawa, this publication is for you.
— Mike B., founder and writer
Hansard Files
