Diversity issues get some play in Ottawa
Parliament has been back a month and diversity issues were getting a lot of play. The budget provided additional funds for various initiatives over the next five years: $398-million more for immigrant settlement services to enhance the ability of newcomers to more fully integrate into the workforce. Another $75-million will focus on making progress on […]
Tsunami showed that national media are out of touch
Never before have our media seemed so out of their depth, so un-diverse… so white. Not that they’re not good at what they do, but Canada is changing and the world is changing and our media is not. Politicians on the other hand, do get it. First, three ministers, Pierre Pettigrew, Aileen Caroll and Ujjal […]
Liberal Cabinet ministers win on RAI
The CRTC finally had something of a Christmas gift for Liberal ministers and MPs. After much hand-wringing, tip-toeing, frustration and consternation on all sides, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission reversed itself and softened its policy on allowing in foreign television signals recently. Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), the Italian public broadcaster, has been trying to come […]
MPs celebrate employment equity
Despite the acrimony in the House of commons, MPs from all parties showed up for a celebration of employment equity last week. The occasion was the 20th anniversary of the Abella Commission report, officially called the Royal Commission on Equality in Employment. Tabled in October of 1984 the resulting Employment Equity Act passed into law […]
Finally, there’s a real shadow cabinet
Not in a long time has a shadow Cabinet been so real a shadow Cabinet. When Conservative Leader Stephen Harper named his leading critics he called them a shadow Cabinet and had a group picture taken under the glittering chandeliers of Room 200 West Block, the closest thing he could find to the stately ballroom […]
SC appointment process is a work in progress
The process for appointing the Supreme Court judges was far from perfect, but it certainly didn’t deserve the slagging it got. The appointments were all about keeping election promises, and Paul Martin scored pretty well. First was the process of reviewing nominations. As promised it involved Parliamentarians in a predominant role. They formed the majority […]
National auto strategy ready in ‘next few months’
The Liberal government’s national policy on the automotive sector will be ready in the “next few months,” says new Industry Minister David Emerson. The new MP from British Columbia also said he plans to organize a fall meeting of the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council (CAPC), a relatively new group of car assemblers, parts manufacturers, and […]
Liberal Party auto policy plan is in neutral
The Liberals haven’t acted on an auto policy in the decade since the end of the Auto Pact. The end of the Auto Pact and signing of NAFTA created challenges for the auto industry the Liberals just didn’t anticipate or understand. Similarly, Kyoto presents new opportunities and challenges but with the right policies we can […]
It’s crunch time for Canada’s auto industry
The auto industry is one of the crown jewels of the Canadian economy. As a whole, this sector that is made up of the production of finished vehicles, parts and related services, is Canada’s biggest contributor to manufacturing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at approximately $7.5-billion. It is also our country’s largest manufacturing employer. More than […]
Democrats sing from Liberal song sheet at convention
I could have sworn I saw David Herle at the Democratic Convention in Boston… In fact just when Bill and Hillary Clinton were walking off stage the TV camera caught a handler by them who looked remarkably like Herle, snazzy specs and all. But whether or not he was there in person, the Democrats had […]
