Locked out CBCers doing good deeds
From picket lines to soup lines… Locked-out CBC employees in Ottawa quietly used their forced time off work this summer to lend a few helping hands here and there. Starting the second week of the lockout, which began in mid-August, the CBCers – on-air stars,”techies,”producers and all – took turns to help prepare and serve […]
O’Brien expected to be named top House bureaucrat after Corbett announces resignation due to a chronic medical condition
Audrey O’Brien is expected to be appointed to the top bureaucrat in the House as the Clerk of the House of Commons following last week’s announcement that current House Clerk William Corbett will retire on Nov. 30 because of a chronic medical condition, House sources say. Mr. Corbett sent a message to his colleagues last […]
Canadian Arts Coalition lobbies ministers for more funding, independent film distributors lobby for more power
After years of lamenting the lack of a cohesive national lobby strategy, some of Canada’s largest arts groups have finally come together to form the Canadian Arts Coalition, which will be heading to Ottawa this fall to fight for more federal funding for the arts. The coalition’s membership roster reads like a who’s who of […]
China surpassing U.S. as Japan’s biggest trading partner should be a wake up call for America
This year China has achieved two important milestones. In 2005, China surpassed the U.S. as Japan’s biggest trading partner and she has surpassed Canada as the biggest trading partner of the U.S. If China’s turbo-charged growth continues, she will become the biggest trading partner of almost every nation. However, China’s astonishing rise as a global […]
Brison launches new Office of Small and Medium Enterprises, says move will help small businesses
Public Works Minister Scott Brison says the government is “working to have our procurement policies open and transparent and accountable,”in light of the $250-million ads and sponsorship scandal at Public Works and Government Services by removing access fees for MERX, the government’s online tendering system, and by implementing the Comptroller General Office. “We’ve taken away […]
Transforming DND administration next challenge for Graham
Without quick and forceful action, the federal government is not going to be able to transform the Canadian Forces into an organization that can execute the demands of the recent Defence Policy Statement. Canada’s future defence policy and military capabilities were signaled in the spring of 2005 by the appointment of General Rick Hillier as […]
Harper’s bum rap is starting to look like a game of dog pile: In the twilight of the 38th Parliament, there is near-universal media consensus that Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has lost an election before it was held. Why?
In the twilight of the 38th Parliament, there is near-universal media consensus that Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has lost an election before it was held. Why? Did you see the film The Sixth Sense? It turns out Bruce Willis was a ghost the whole time! Now that you know the ending, it would be joyless […]
Warren Kinsella on punk rock, his new book and the real Liberal Party, in Ontario [Fury’s Hour, a (sort-of) Punk Manifesto]
Hell hath no fury like a punkedout adrenaline-rushed, pissed off Liberal like Warren Kinsella. The Prince of Darkness made an apparition in town last week pitching his new book – a historical essay on punk rock music entitled Fury’s Hour, a (sort-of) Punk Manifesto,from Random House. Punk music has been a musical passion of political […]
Much-touted ‘new’ Service Canada department not even being brought into existence through federal legislation
Prime Minister Paul Martin is back from lecturing the United Nations about abusive and unaccountable management practices. Home for the opening of Parliament does not unfortunately mean that his government is moving towards opening itself up to greater transparency and accountability. This last week, I received several months late, a large brown package under the […]
Canadian Forces transformation: from vision to mission
The devastation we recently witnessed on the U.S. Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina dramatically underscored the need to transform the Canadian Forces. Meanwhile, the defence of Canada is our first priority, and it is a ‘no fail’ mission. The devastation we recently witnessed on the U.S. Gulf Coast in the aftermath of […]
