Official languages commish up for grabs
And the race is on, albeit a quiet one, for the leadership of the official languages office. While insiders say there is yet to be any active jockeying that is going on at the Prime Minister’s Office for the position, a number of names have surfaced as a possible replacements for Mr. Goldbloom, all of […]
A house divided: a US look at the “two” Canadas
During a U.S. Senate campaign speech delivered on June 16, 1858, former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” This statement was made in reference to the heated debate at that time in the United States concerning the abolition of slavery. However, the same statement could easily apply to […]
PMO shells out pay for staffers on PM’s campaign trail
The Prime Minister’s Office donated $43,389 to the Liberal warchest last election to cover the salaries of some of the prime minister’s top assistants. Liberal Party national director Terry Mercer said the money was used to cover the salaries of some of the prime minister’s assistants during the campaign. “It is the usual people that […]
Financing reforms would mean cash windfall for parties [Report of House of Common’s Procedure & House Affairs Committee]
Political parties could find their bank accounts swelling, in some cases by millions of dollars if Parliament acts on a recommendation by a House committee to double the amount parties are reimbursed after elections. The House’s Procedure and House Affairs Committee spent several months studying electoral reform issues such as financing, the length of campaigns […]
Media has obligation to set Mulroney story straight
In his Friday, July 3 Report on Business column, The Globe’s Terrence Corcoran exposes a chronic media weakness – the inability or unwillingness to follow up on sensational stories which turn out to be, well, not true. Headlined: “The windfall scandal that wasn’t,” Corcoran writes that “It was big news back in 1995 when the […]
Lobbyists dole out $250,000: dinners lure in lobbyists’ dollars
They attend more committee meetings than some MPs, they held lobby days on the Hill and they have clocked mile after mile around the corridors of power, trying to build support for their respective positions. They are Canada s trade, industry and advocacy associations, and last year they handed out more than a quarter of […]
Pot, fundraising and breastfeeding: not talked about in public
I was listening to my son the journalist on the radio the other day. He was interviewing a woman who teaches nursing, but whose activity is as a volunteer canvassing local restaurants in an effort to persuade their management to allow mothers to breast-feed their children when dining out, and to make their approval of […]
Tobin sets his sights on federal Liberal leadership
Political reporters in Newfoundland can quickly judge the importance of any event or announcement, just by looking to see if Newfoundland Premier Brian Tobin is involved. “Every announcement that has a national flavor to it, Tobin is there,” said Craig Jackson, who covers the legislature for The Evening Telegram. Even when the topic is not […]
The pathetic state of Canada’s Access to Information Act [15 years old on July 1]
Canada’s Access to Information Act turned 15 years old on July 1, but it’s acting like a battered 15-year-old delinquent, slamming doors closed, perpetually late, and willing to disappear altogether out the back door. The act has been through the wringer of several unenthusiastic governments, including two information commissioners who had different styles of taking […]
Political parties rake in the cash [1997 data]
Power may be the ultimate aphrodisiac but it’s also very good for the bank account as the governing Liberals found out last year, racking up $17.5-million for their 1997 warchest when they won their second majority in the House of Commons. That’s about $2.8-million more than they gathered to fight the 1993 election which brought […]
