Small and medium business: engine for Canadian economy: it’s time Paul Martin step forward for small and medium enterprises and the economy
The numbers show that the growth and prosperity of small and medium businesses is critical to the Canadian economy and job creation. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) provide employment for approximately 60 per cent of Canadians, create the bulk of new jobs and account for almost 50 per cent of Canada’s GDP. It is incumbent […]
There go the TV debates
TORONTO–The worst thing that happened to nationally televised political campaign debates is that the first one actually meant something. Those of a certain age will recall the 1960 showdown between Richard Nixon and John Kennedy, and the impact, in Kennedy’s favour, that it had. It wasn’t that Kennedy articulated his positions more clearly. Quite the […]
Parliament is broken, shows new televised documentary: series part of an ‘underground royal commission’ showing waste, lack of accountability is endemic [Does your vote count?]
As part of its continuing series showing that Canada’s Parliamentary system has broken down, Toronto-based Stronoway Productions is launching a television documentary series on Oct. 7 featuring an impressive array of MPs, bureaucrats and political insiders who lament the sorry state of democracy in this country. It makes for sober viewing. The event kicks off […]
It’s important we grasp NATO’s importance now: NATO is and will remain the cornerstone of the defence of its members
LONDON, ENGLAND–Defence Ministers usually observe or receive reports on exercises from a distance, but sometimes it is good to be put to the test ourselves. This week, John McCallum and I will attend the NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Colorado, we will take part in a study seminar aimed at helping us understand how well […]
Inside House Finance pre-budget consultations: ‘our testimony will take care of whoever is Finance Minister having this testimony on-record’
The House Finance Committee is plowing ahead on its pre-budget consultations and plans to wrap up hearings on Nov. 7 before the House breaks, but it’s uncertain if the usually influential report will be released this year, before the next federal budget, says the committee’s leader. Liberal MP Sue Barnes (London West, Ont.), chair of […]
The spin doctors: “Has Sheila Fraser’s audit on George Radwanski ‘cranked’ up pressure for Parliamentary reform and on making the government and its bureaucrats more accountable?”
“Has Sheila Fraser’s audit on George Radwanski ‘cranked’ up pressure for Parliamentary reform and on making the government and its bureaucrats more accountable?” Warren Kinsella Liberal Strategist “I don’t know where this one is going to go: it has already taken so many unexpected twists and turns, anything is possible. “Mr. Radwanski will answer the […]
Grits want some policy at Liberal convention
It won’t be a policy convention, but a government backbencher says next month’s Liberal leadership convention should definitely include more policy workshops as well as briefing sessions on the impact of the new and controversial Campaigns and Elections Financing Bill C-24 as incumbents and candidates prepare for the next federal election. Grit MP Walt Lastewka […]
Manji on her new book, The Trouble With Islam: ‘if God is as majestic as we claim he is then why can’t he be understood in any language? Why?’
It’s not a well-known fact, but Irshad Manji who recently created quite a stir when her new book The Trouble With Islam: A Wake-Up Call for Honesty and Change was released last month, is a former NDP Hill staffer. In her new sensational book, Ms. Manji, 34, currently an author, journalist and media entrepreneur based […]
Fraser sets sights on small agencies: Radwanski scandal prompts watchdog to pursue small agencies
Auditor General Sheila Fraser, who delivered a sensational and scathing audit of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner last week, plans to turn her focus to small federal agencies next spring. The spending watchdog will begin targeting with increasing frequency the books of the many small organizations within the vast federal bureaucracy which too often […]
Don’t misrepresent Canadian Alliance’s position: Sampson released because of aggressive Brits, not ‘soft diplomacy’ from Canada
Disagreeing with somebody’s position is democratic and expected. Misrepresenting somebody’s position ignorantly is regrettable — deliberately it is unacceptable. Bhupinder Liddar’s recent screed, “Where was the Alliance when Bill Sampson was in Saudi jail?” (The Hill Times, Sept. 29), delivered without fact or tact, assailing a Canadian Alliance policy position should be assigned to the […]
