Politicians side-stepping growth of organized crime in Canada: Public Safety Department sound alarms on multi-billion-dollar activities in secret briefings
The impact of organized crime has hardly been mentioned in the current election campaign. This, despite the fact that “Canada’s international reputation is suffering,”since many countries now see it as a growing haven for such activities, according to the Public Safety Department’s own documents from 2005. The briefings were presented to Deputy Ministers sitting on […]
The Spin Doctors: “How important were last week’s televised debates in turning things around for your party?”
Leslie Swartman Liberal strategist “I’m not sure the debates will, in hindsight, be considered the ‘turning point’ for anyone. The effect of debates on voting intentions seems to be nullified by the media in their post-debate commentary. When invariably the debate fails to deliver the much-anticipated ‘knock-out punch’, the debate may as well not have […]
Slim pickings: look at winnable ridings for female candidates: Although 36 per cent of NDP candidates are women, none is running in a winnable riding
British Columbia Liberals currently hold eight seats in British Columbia; only one of these is held by a woman (Hedy Fry). One incumbent is not running, but the candidate seeking to replace him is male. There are 15 winnable seats for the Liberals in B.C., and four female candidates in these ridings. In addition to […]
‘This eight-week marathon, while fun, is starting to get really, really silly,’ say the Wiseguys
Last week’s English and French TV debates Powers: Now I remember why elections are supposed to be shorter than they were in the past.This eight-week marathon, while fun, is starting to get really, really silly. Perhaps the ludicrous behaviour started at last Monday night’s English language debate. Paul Martin’s crazy “Hail Mary”pass on repealing the […]
The return of Lucien Bouchard? It’s just a dream…but: More and more Quebecers have come to realize Stephen Harper is actually not that scary
QUEBEC CITY – A funny thing happened over the Christmas holidays. More and more Quebecers have come to realize that Stephen Harper is actually not that scary.They may even consider him to be a real human being. Up until a few days ago, many voters here were still very put off by the Conservative Party […]
What would Harper’s Federal Accountability Act mean to lobbyists working in his war room?
It was supposed to be a just another photo op for a newly-crowned party leader, but the now infamous snapshot of then-incoming Prime Minister Paul Martin surrounded by a transition team that included some of Ottawa’s most influential lobbyists may go down in Canadian political history as the beginning of the end for the Liberal […]
Mr. Martin, why did you kick out Jean Chretien?
Hardcore Liberals are still asking themselves why Paul Martin forced out his predecessor and almost destroyed Canada’s natural governing party in the process. TORONTO – It’s been more than two years since Paul Martin took over the leadership of the Liberal Party and became Prime Minister of Canada, but hardcore Liberals are still asking themselves […]
You’re online, eh?
The Information Technology Services Branch is responsible for several elements of the federal Government’s On-Line initiative in an effort to provide “a whole-of-government approach to serving Canadians.” – Public Works and Government Services According to a 2004-2005 EKOS survey on trends in internet usage and access: * 78% of Canadians had used the internet in […]
Government changing the culture of governance: Brison: Move toward more electronic commerce will also help cut the time it takes to do business
Bernard Courtois, [in] his editorial called “Don’t stall procurement reform”said, and I quote: “Businesses cannot responsibly advocate lower taxes and more efficient government on one hand while demanding that the government spend more than it should to buy products and services.” He went on to say, “We need to get on with it. Stalling procurement […]
What’s up with information technology in government?
AG’s report in 2005 not good “I’m disappointed that the government still does not meet its own minimum standards for IT security, even though most of them have been well known for more than a decade. It means that government systems and the sensitive data they hold are vulnerable to security breaches.This environment provides more […]
