The ying and the yang of association lobbyists: ‘When you’re everything, you’re nothing’
Every job has its upside and downside, including being an association lobbyist. “When you’re everything, you’re nothing.” These words, from a disillusioned association lobbyist, speak to one aspect of this job: lobbying on behalf of many diverse members. Often, this means the GR message is so broad it’s often ineffective. When they lobby, associations find […]
Leaders’ debates need transparent and accountable rules
Given their importance, setting the televised debates’ rules should not be left to the ratings-obsessed networks and the political parties who have the most at stake. In 1992, U.S. presidential candidate Ross Perot came out as the surprise winner of the televised presidential debate. Previously dismissed as an eccentric by most observers, Perot’s performance in […]
Liberals can lead in the ethnic vote if they choose
So how do the Liberals hold on to this core? The answer most likely lies in three things: vision, people and policies. Diverse countries are not easy to run. The only poll on the ethnic vote so far in this election revealed that the Liberals were losing their allure among minorities, although they still remained […]
Martin fighting windmills like Don Quixote: PM is fending off phantom enemies from the outside and inside
He’s just not a strong and courageous leader. Prime Minister Paul Martin looks more like Don Quixote fighting windmills. If you’ve been listening to his latest rants, Canada is under attack from enemies on the inside and on the outside. But fortunately, Mr. Martin is touting himself as the White Knight ready to defend the […]
Tory turns red over leadership
Tory leadership race? The campaign has hardly begun, and once again there are Tories in Quebec who are looking to replace their leader. Meeting with the Conservative candidate in Mansfield Lawrence Cannon, some locals joked that they wanted him to win in Pontiac riding so that he could take a run at the party leadership. […]
Candidates campaign for more civil servants in Quebec: Proulx warns sovereigntists would move Outaouais jobs to Montreal and Quebec City
But the Bloc is not able to say what would happen to existing or new public sector jobs in the Outaouais region, if Quebecers voted for sovereignty. Taking election promises at face value, some federal civil servants who work on the Ontario side of the National Capital Region might soon wind up seeing their workplace […]
Liberals hoping ethics chill thaws out in Pontiac riding
Liberals warn that fluently bilingual Conservative candidate Lawrence Cannon might leave the staunchly federalist Pontiac riding with an unpleasant surprise on Jan. 23: A Bloc Quebecois MP. FORT-COULONGE,QUE.-With the wind chill, it was somewhere near -20 C on the streets of this Outaouais town last week in the western part of the Pontiac riding. It’s […]
Recently Released Books [Auto Pact: Creating a Borderless North American Auto Industry] [Canada Among Nations 2005: Split Images] [Magnificence at Work: Living Faith in Business]
Auto Pact: Creating a Borderless North American Auto Industry, 1960-1971 , by Dimitry Anastakis. University of Toronto Press, 285 pages, $29.95. Blurb from the back cover: “At a time when Canada’s most important industry faces unprecedented challenges stemming from unregulated global trade, the arrival of Dimitry Anastakis’s Auto Pact could not be more timely. A […]
Home for the election holidays
Think about this over the holidays. Hope. Magnificence. Vision. Leadership.You don’t often hear the word ‘magnificence’ associated with modern day Canadian politics, but John Dalla Costa, author of the recently-released Magnificence at Work: Living Faith in Business, and who was out doing national media interviews last week, says Canada is capable of magnificence if only […]
Quebec byelections offer preview
Quebec Premier Jean Charest’s Liberal party held onto its traditional stronghold Montreal riding of Outremont in last week’s provincial by-elections, but it was soundly crushed in the predominantly francophone riding of Vercheres on the south shore. In Outremont, the Quebec Liberals saw a slight drop in their support, but held onto the riding with 49 […]
