Liberals can lead in the ethnic vote if they choose
The only poll on the ethnic vote so far in this election revealed that the Liberals were losing their allure among minorities, although they still remained well in the lead. The poll was conducted by The Strategic Counsel for The Globe and Mail and CTV late last month. As immigrant communities settle in and as […]
Liberals decry own government’s lack of progress on boosting visible minorities in the federal government
“It was a shocker when I got here,” said rookie Conservative MP Michael Chong, first elected in 2004. “After several years on Bay Street, where you see visible minorities at all levels, I was shocked to see their absence in the House of Commons staff and in the public service.” He also said he could […]
How to reform the CRTC appeal process and then some
“The CRTC got it right on VoIP” screams the latest full page ad in the battle for the federal Cabinet to uphold the regulator’s decision on Voice over Internet Protocol. And furious lobbying is underway to have the decision overturned or upheld. It seems the appeals to Cabinet are getting more frantic as the stakes […]
The Prime Minister did good
Michaëlle Jean’s selection for the post of Governor General was greeted with surprise, but reasonably good press back in early August. And then her separatist friends struck and struck hard. As she was taught, there is a tradition for the GG (or GG designates) not to enter the fray, even when they are the subject […]
New GG reflects the new Canada
The upside of the controversy over Michaëlle Jean’s federalist or sovereigntist leanings was that it placed her squarely in the mainstream of Quebec discourse: Are you now, or have you ever been a sovereigntist? Hard line sovereigntists who had taken Jean and her cineaste husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, to be two of their bright lights tried […]
There’s a new consensus on employment equity emerging
If 10 deputy ministers hosted a town hall meeting at the Downsview Public Library in Toronto or the Richmond Public Library in Richmond, B.C., and invited the public to attend, about half the audience would be white and half non-white from various backgrounds. Unless the deputy minister of Environment Canada was among them, the deputies […]
All federal parties stake out multiculturalism positions
On the day Belinda Stronach was announcing her big shocker, Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper was in Montreal introducing his new candidate for Brossard-La Prairie, Tenzin Dargyal Khangsar. This respected member of the Buddhist community in Canada with ties to the Dalai Lama was something of a coup for the party. The Conservatives are trying […]
Time for shift in decorum, open letter to House leaders
Dear House leaders Valeri, Hill, Gauthier and Davies, Canadians are well aware that things in the House of Commons are pretty tense these days and indeed most of us have strong views about whether or not there should be an election this spring. This will undoubtedly be sorted out in the weeks ahead. But in […]
Promoting diversity takes centre stage on Hill
Air India, Ukrainian Canadians, Chinese Canadians, combating racism, diversity in broadcasting, seniors: All in all, it’s been a busy month on the Hill for promoting diversity. * The decision in the Air India courts case which acquitted the two accused British Columbia suspects was a blow to the families of the Air India victims who […]
Conservatives should be held up as great democrats who made minority Parliament work on budget strategy
It’s weird how far we are getting from politics based on cooperation and outreach. The unprecedented abstention by Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party on the final budget vote has been panned all around, rather than being seen as a new cooperative approach to politics. Canadians did elect a minority Parliament, after all, and really […]
