The spin doctors: “What do you make of Jean Chretien’s latest ploy to stymie Paul Martin by reforming the Senate, as reported by Maclean’s Peter C Newman?”
“What do you make of Jean Chretien’s latest ploy to stymie Paul Martin by reforming the Senate, as reported by Maclean’s Peter C. Newman?” Warren Kinsella Liberal strategist “Oh, for the love of Pete! I know it’s summer-time, and the silly season and all that, but have the conspiracy theorists gone completely off their medication? […]
Longtime Hill staffer, 67-year-old Jacques Vanasse has no plans of quitting politics after 39 years in the business
When Jacques Vanasse was growing up in his native Hull, Que., he would look across the Ottawa River and ask his mother what the “big clock” was for. At the time, he was too young to know the meaning of the word “Parliament,” let alone predict that he would be working underneath that “big clock” […]
Humanitarian intervention
Although it failed, the Canadian proposal for defining when a “humanitarian intervention” by outsiders into the affairs of a troubled state is legitimate represents exactly the kind of foreign policy initiative that Canada is going to have to undertake if we’re going to make worthwhile contributions to today’s international order. Last week, Prime Minister Jean […]
House ‘privilege’ defence has no merit, says Senate report
A Senate committee has been advised that the House of Commons’ ongoing battle to prevent Parliament’s employees from taking discrimination complaints to the Canadian Human Rights Commission has no basis in law or practice. The controversial issue is currently before the Supreme Court of Canada. Obtained by The Hill Times, the Senate report was prepared […]
Creating a public service for the 21st Century: libs have not tackled public service reform from a market and motivational point of view
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 […]
Farewell to British High Commissioner Sir Andrew Burns and welcome to newcommish
Robbie Burns night in July… If you were driving along Sussex Drive at about 6:15 p.m. on July 20, you may have noticed the flag at the British High Commissioner’s residence, Earnscliffe, being lowered to the baleful sounds of bugles. Fear not. The Royals are all fine, as far as I know. The flag ceremony […]
MPs out to remind civil servants who’s the boss: ‘in the worse possible case, Parliament has the authority to put someone in jail’: Szabo
More than 300 years ago, a group of long-forgotten British MPs adopted the following resolution: “That if it shall appear that any person hath given false evidence in any cause before this House, or any committee thereof, this House will proceed with the utmost severity against such offenders.” The year was 1700. But the words […]
Sen. Carney in possible conflict of interest
Politically seasoned British Columbia Tory Senator Pat Carney’s involvement in the Senate Transport and Communications Committee’s media study is raising eyebrows and questions about the appearance of a conflict of interest. Sen. Carney is a director on the board of Rogers Media, one of the corporations being studied by the Senate committee. Sen. Carney has […]
Grit MP Dennis Mills: he can get some satisfaction, oh yeah…
TORONTO–The field is nearly empty, except for a few trailers. There’s a group of workers cutting the grass and some security guards milling about. But Liberal MP Dennis Mills has a clear picture in his mind of what that empty, huge former Downsview base in Toronto is going to look like on July 30: “That’s […]
Grits to debate Senate reform
The candidates vying for the Liberal leadership are gearing up to address Senate reform at the governing party’s caucus retreat next month. The three contenders – former finance minister Paul Martin (LaSalle-Emard, Que.), Deputy Prime Minister John Manley (Ottawa South, Ont.), and Heritage Minister Sheila Copps (Hamilton East, Ont.) – will each outline their plans […]
