White guys asking all the questions
Three white men did what three white men stereotypically do. They didn’t talk about issues that white men are not immediately or personally concerned with. This is not to say that Craig Oliver, Keith Boag and David Vienneau did not do an extremely professional job in the English leaders’ TV debate last week. But was […]
Where are all the visible minority reporters on hustings?
Whether you see the cultural and racial diversity of Canada in the coverage of the election is the subject of a national survey currently underway. The diversity of the following will be examined: *the reporters assigned to cover each party leader; *reporters assigned to do other election coverage; *the political experts and pundits interviewed and […]
Adrienne Clarkson’s defining hour may yet be ahead
It is often said that some of the best work of Parliamentarians takes place in committees, and indeed the recent committee report on the Governor General’s expenditures was an example of a committee at its best — the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, chaired by Liberal Mississauga South MP Paul Szabo. It was […]
Promoting, not defending supply management
Recently I shocked a group of farmers by telling them: “I’m tired of defending supply management!” As a Member of Parliament often known as “the chicken farmer,” I caused a stir in the room until I quickly added: “No, I want to promote supply management.” Supply management has been under attack in international trade negotiations. […]
Rookie Agriculture Minister Speller suspects Canada-U.S. border to open ‘very soon’ to transporting live cattle
Agriculture Minister Bob Speller, who went to Washington, D.C., with the Prime Minister and other Cabinet ministers to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush, told The Hill Times that he believes the Canada-U.S. border will be opened up to transporting live cattle “very soon” and likely before the summer. “Well, the comment period just […]
Ottawa must respect Quebec’s differences in agriculture
This is a difficult period for agriculture. The mad cow crisis in Alberta is just the latest in a series of blows that have led to a steady drop in farmers’ incomes. The Farm Product Price Index (FPPI) is lower today than it was eight years ago, while production costs continue to rise. When Paul […]
Bio-security protocol breached by humans in avian flu crisis, according to chief veterinarian of CFIA, says NDP’s Proctor
In politics, it’s good to be lucky and lucky to be good. Recently-minted Agriculture Minister Bob Speller has enjoyed some of each. Although the second case of mad cow disease last December was devastating for cattle farmers the timing for the minister — nine days after being sworn into Cabinet — could not have been […]
Agriculture in Canada needs a framework for prosperity
It has been said the road to hell is paved with good intentions and though the Liberal government hasn’t paid much attention to paving roads lately, the destination they have in mind for rural Canadians seems to be the same. Struggling with an endless stream of misdirected regulations, excessive taxes and costs, and curious forms […]
Where do the Conservative leadership candidates stand on urban diversity?
Could it be that the new Conservative Party is becoming more mainstream, more like its Progressive Conservative side and less like it Reform-Alliance past? A new survey on urban diversity priorities of the three leadership candidates found that they all now subscribe to several of the old PC policies on some key diversity issues, while […]
‘Commercialization gap’ will require more dollars: Fontana
The Paul Martin government is working on possibly creating a new source of funding or seed money to help Canadian businesses better market their research ideas, says the Prime Minister’s new Parliamentary secretary on science and small business. Liberal MP Joe Fontana (London North Centre, Ont.) says it’s his new job to create […]
