Trudeaumania is back because Trudeau had principles, dig, dig: he taught us that we never have to accept any compromises, not even if it’s necessary to win an election
[Graph Not Transcribed] Backrooms Now that Pierre Trudeau rests in peace in the outskirts of Montreal, I want to express my opinion on a person who has been described as the most influential Canadian of the last century. I am doing it as an “ordinary Canadian,” one of those people who, according to the national […]
The girl from the BC Kootenays gives the dope on public life [Interview at the launch of Trade Secrets]
Loyalty in politics? ‘Your loyalty is to the people you represent and to the country,’ say Tory Sen. Pat Carney [Graph Not Transcribed] With the release of her memoirs, the indomitable Pat Carney, former Mulroney cabinet minister, MP, journalist and current British Columbia Tory senator, has grabbed the national spotlight once again. Sen. Carney launched […]
Hate to say it, media create Princess Di-type Trudeau hysteria
[Graph Not Transcribed] Reporting A chance encounter with a senior Toronto editor along the Beaches board-walk prompted this unsolicited sarcastic remark from him: “Well, I’m glad to see the media aren’t overplaying Trudeau’s death.” Ain’t that the truth. With the notable and laudable exception of Toronto Star columnist Thomas Walkom, the unbridled media cheerleading for […]
Liberals to fight against new jerry-built and balkanized Canada [Election call and Stockwell Day]
[Graph Not Transcribed] Talk Politics It breaks me up, all this lugubrious, maudlin whining about the proprieties of calling a federal election so soon after the funeral of Pierre Trudeau. The proposal is this: Out of respect for this great man, and so that we all may find closure, the prime minister should wait until […]
Lynch and Dube foreign affairs’ link to parliament and cabinet [Cabinet & Parliamentary Affairs Division]
Jim Lynch and Roxanne Dube know just about everything there is to know about the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. And if they don’t, it’s their job to find out. At Foreign Affairs, Ms. Dube is the director of the Cabinet and Parliamentary Affairs Division and Mr. Lynch is the deputy director. The […]
Grit Alcock says MPs should lead way in review of access law
MPs should be leading the way in the long-awaited review of the access and privacy laws and not leave it to the bureaucrats, warns a Liberal MP who is one of Parliament Hill’s leading thinkers on Parliament and technology. Liberal MP Reg Alcock (Winnipeg South, Man.) sounded the warning in a speech last week in […]
Trudeau’s death brought out a startling amount of eloquence
“Some people come into our lives and quietly go. Others stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never the same.” As I write, it’s 1:30 in the morning, Sept. 29. Long overdue on the deadline for submission of this column, I’ve spent the last several hours moist and blubbering […]
Chretien to run church vs state campaign
Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who is likely to hold an election before the end of November, will run a campaign on a theme of church versus state, say Liberal MPs. Federal Liberal MPs are still deeply split over going to the polls in November, but Prime Minister Chretien (Saint-Maurice, Que.) left no doubt the theme […]
Day strips veneer and exposes Alliance in old Reform thinking [Attendance at Tamil celebration in Toronto]
Within minutes in one Question Period, last Wednesday, Stockwell Day stripped the veneer and exposed the Canadian Alliance to be a party mired in old Reform thinking. Day’s performance was supported by the same old cast of former Reform MPs: Jason Kenney, Deborah Grey and Gurmant Grewal. In one single sweep, through innuendoes, unsubstantiated allegations […]
Again media promised to do Olympics differently, but didn’t
There’s nothing that the media likes more than set-piece events, things such as elections, conventions and conferences, all the better for editors to hold endless planning meetings and reporters and columnists to pack their bags and head off for some guaranteed “news” coverage. Everybody always says they are going to do things differently the next […]
