Welcome to Canada! Leave your training at the door
“To succeed in the global knowledge-based economy a country must be capable of producing, attracting and retaining a critical mass of well-educated and appropriately trained people”. So says the Government of Canada’s Innovation and Learning Strategy. Yet, the reality is a far cry from the lofty goal stated by the federal government as young Canadians […]
Don’t play politics with the lives of public employees
Canada has been blessed with a competent and professional public service, but there is much work to be done from the political level to appreciate and support the thousands who administer public affairs. My experience with reviewing and improving Bill C-25 at the Government Operations and Estimates Committee, reminded me of so many problem issues, […]
Robillard: C-25 represents first major reform of legislative framework governing people management in 35 years
Over the last decade, we have seen a profound evolution in what Canadians expect from all levels of government. Citizens are rightfully demanding greater transparency, more open access to decision-makers as well as faster and more cost-effective services. At the same time, the environment in which public policy is developed is becoming increasingly complex. There […]
Large gaps in skilled labour, says HRDC Minister Stewart
Canada’s Baby-Boomers are retiring and leaving behind large gaps in skilled-labour pools that urgently need to be filled, says Canada’s Human Resources Minister. “Employers — particularly small business — are continually reporting to us that the lack of skilled employees is one of their most significant problems,” said federal Human Resources Minister Jane Stewart (Brant, […]
Creating a public service for the 21st Century
The “performance pay” given to senior executives has garnered headlines across the country. Information that I obtained through Access to Information demonstrated that across the federal government, 96 per cent of all senior bureaucrats received bonuses for their work. This is when we read about scandals every other day from the Radwanski affair to the […]
Bloc wants environmental assessment mechanisms
PARLIAMENT HILL–I would like to remind the House that for Quebec, environmental assessment is a very important matter. Why? It is of course because Quebec adopted its own legislation back in the early 1990s. You must realize that it is perfectly legitimate for the Bloc Québécois and the various successive governments of Quebec to ensure […]
Alliance would massively increase fines for illegal oil dumping
PARLIAMENT HILL–The most powerful force for improving our environment is people. It’s every Canadian’s aspiration to make our environment cleaner, healthier and safer for our future. To that end, the Canadian Alliance environment policy is based on experience, science and wisdom. It affirms that people are the most important natural resource and that we must […]
Breaking Nunavut’s oil addiction
IQALUIT, NUNVUT–The wise use of resources has long been a trademark of Inuit. Inuit hunters have always harvested animals in order to sustain their families. The meat is used for food, while by-products of the animals are used for clothing, tools, shelter, heat and light. The oil from marine mammals provided the precious fuel to […]
Cutting GHG ‘most important challenge facing the world’:
Environment Minister David Anderson says cutting greenhouse gas emissions is “the most important challenge facing the world today,” and that the 2003 budget represents “the cornerstone of this government’s commitment to making a global contribution to addressing climate change.” But Mr. Anderson (Victoria, B.C.), who considers his No. 1 accomplishment in all his years as […]
Time to get tough on polluting summertime tools and toys
PARLIAMENT HILL–Our environment receives a surprising measure of pollution from our summertime tools and toys — lawnmowers, chainsaws, outboard motors and jet-skis powered by two-stroke gasoline engines. The federal government is well aware of the toll. Environment Canada several years ago estimated that a single 70-horsepower two-stroke outboard engine in one hour emits the same […]
