Hey there, Georgie Boy could be off to the Senate
Stranger things have happened…The Rock is alive with speculation that Gander Liberal MP George Baker will soon be appointed to the Senate to create an opening for fresh blood in Ottawa. Certain members of Newfoundland’s Legislature have been whispering the “news” to reporters, apparently in the hope of positioning themselves as a likely candidate to […]
Marianne Goodwin quits the Prime Minister’s Office
Marianne leaves Gilligan’s Island… Late, late extra…this just in under the deadline wire: PMO Press Secretary Marianne Goodwin has stepped down from the job less than a year after taking it on, and the official word is she’s looking “to expand her horizons to international horizons.” Sadly dear readers, we got the information too late […]
Some 49 RCMP officers sent to Ottawa, Manning ‘Fort Bank’
SOME 49 RCMP OFFICERS SENT TO OTTAWA, MANNING’FORT BANK’ Four month stints… As part of the ongoing state of heightened security on Parliament Hill, 49 RCMP officers from across the country have been plucked from their current assignments to protect the nation’s capital. Ottawa’s new officers are from right across the country and have been […]
Bureaucrats look out! MPs want action [More emphasis on issue-based subcommittees, not regular Commons committees]
A leading House reform advocate and government backbencher says if MPs want greater legislative muscle then it’s time they realign themselves and put more emphasis on issue- based subcommittees, not regular Commons committees. Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett, a respected medical doctor in Toronto who has been trying to fight for more MP relevance, says she […]
Why Hill hacks pass on half of Parliament’s legislation
The Canadian public could be forgiven for thinking there weren’t many bills being debated in Ottawa this year. While the national media were rightly focused this past fall on Bill C-36, the Anti- terrorism Bill, the government was still plowing through its legislative menu. As a columnist tasked with keeping an eye on the steady […]
SGRO not far from cellphone but far from Ottawa
Shuffle devil… Prime Minister Jean Chretien is supposed to shuffle his cabinet this week, Tuesday, to be specific, and it’s supposed to be much smaller than previously thought. Meanwhile, most MPs aspire to be in cabinet and during heavy cabinet shuffle rumour times MPs’ whose names are being bandied about usually stick around Ottawa and […]
Chretien is a heavy-duty travelling Prime Minister
Maybe he should use that Ricky Nelson song as his theme… Canada’s Travellin’ Man is back on track. It didn’t take long for Jean Chretien to become Canada’s most widely- travelled Prime Minister after taking office in 1993 — for the first few years he was abroad on business anywhere from one and a half […]
Shawinigate? It does make a difference to know if PM is honest
[Graph Not Transcribed] [Graph Not Transcribed] To hear The Toronto Star tell it, “there is not a shred of proof” that Prime Minister Jean Chretien benefited personally from the $615,000 loan to his pal Yvon Duhaime from the Business Development Bank. Indeed, in its Tuesday editorial, Canada’s largest newspaper — and most consistent Liberal apologist […]
What happened to those Liberal “stars”?
[Graph Not Transcribed] They were described as political “stars,” but don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard too much about them since last November. Four Liberals who were touted as potential cabinet ministers by the media during the last election says they are enjoying life on the backbenches. In fact, it seems more and more […]
Fontana says immigration bill not good enough: House Immigration Committee chairman warns own minister
[Graph Not Transcribed] Liberal MP Joe Fontana says the new immigration bill needs some work and is warning his own government not to jeopardize “a fantastic asset for this country.” Mr. Fontana (London North Centre, Ont.), chair of the Commons Immigration Committee and the former chair of the National Grit Caucus, said he thinks the […]
