PARLIAMENTARY CALENDAR: Deputy Government Leader Belanger to speak on democratic reform at National Press Club on April 12
MONDAY, APRIL 11 The House-The House of Commons returns. For more information on the House Chamber schedule, call the Government House Leader’s Office at 613-952-4930. Gomery Inquiry-The Gomery Inquiry, or officially, the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, headed by Mr. Justice John H. Gomery, will hold hearings in Montreal until […]
A GNAT’S WHISKER AWAY FROM ANOTHER SOVEREIGNTY REFERENDUM
Parti Time… Amid all the spring election scenarios and speculation – from the Conservatives and NDP trying to engineer one without coming across as bad guys, to the Liberals trying to engineer their own defeat – the most solid involves the Bloc’s desire to see a quick election call. The word from some quarters in […]
Secrecy is undermining Canada’s drug approval process: ‘The cynicism around drug approvals is compounded by the secrecy of important data’: Crowder
It is absolute common sense: a patient is the first person to know about an adverse drug reaction. So why do so few patients report their drug reactions? It is an important question.The Canadian Institute for Health Information estimates that over $22-billion will be spent on drugs this year.That doesn’t include the natural health products […]
Recently Released Political Book [Canada and the Liberation of the Netherlands, May 1945]
Canada and the Liberation of the Netherlands, May 1945, by Lance Goddard/Foreword by Richard Rohmer, Dundurn Press, 236 pages, $29.99. Blurb: “The Nazi Germany invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940 marked the beginning of five years of terror for the Dutch people. They faced oppression and death with remarkable stoicism, but nothing could save […]
Neo-conservatives and raising taxes [Not buying new Conservative Party, says former PC MP Hueglin, March 28, 2005]
Regarding the letter to the editor, “Not buying new Conservative Party, says former PC MP Hueglin” by Joe Hueglin (The Hill Times, March 28). The U.S. Republican Party usually serves as a model for Canadian neoconservatives like Stephen Harper and Preston Manning with their emphasis on tax cuts and greater privatization of health care. But […]
A time for smarter regulation: Telecommunications policy review should proceed quickly, forward-looking
In the budget tabled on Feb. 23, the government announced its intention to appoint a panel of eminent Canadians to review Canada’s telecommunications policy and regulatory framework.The announcement of this review could not be more opportune and is welcomed by Canadian business and institutional telecommunications customers. Speaking on behalf of over 12,000 business and school […]
Memo to Stephen Harper: make nice with reporters: Conservative leader’s antipathy towards media is the emotional legacy of the Reform Party
Stephen Harper may have the worst media relations of any postwar Opposition Leader. Reporters commonly have an affinity for the Opposition – any Opposition. Both are mandated to expose problems in the hope it leads to public good. John Diefenbaker, in his last act as Opposition Leader in 1957, went pickerel fishing with the press. […]
Portrait Gallery of Canada to open in 2007: But Conservative MP Bev Oda criticizes $44.6-million price tag, double original estimate
Plans for the upcoming $44.6-million Portrait Gallery of Canada, which is supposed to open in 2007, were recently unveiled in Ottawa. And the building is going to be big. The Portrait Gallery, to be housed in the old U.S. Embassy right across from Parliament Hill, will be expanded in the vacant parking lot and will […]
Liberals need to gear up for the ‘Ethics Election’: Election will come as soon as Conservative pollsters tell the party the time is right
After last week’s Gomery Inquiry revelations, the tired excuses of the Martin government – that the sponsorship scandal was caused by “rogue elements”that defrauded the Liberal Party, and that even if it wasn’t, it was all Jean Chretien’s fault – simply won’t wash with voters. The Ethics Election may or may not be imminent, but […]
Recent government appointments, fit to print
On April 7, Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed William J.S. Elliot as his National Security Adviser, replacing Robert A. Wright who is now president and CEO of Export Development Canada. On March 31, Canadian Heritage Minister Liza Frulla appointed Robert J. Perry to the board of trustees of the National Gallery of Canada as a […]