As LBJ once said ‘it’s better having them inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in’
KINGSTON–While I was driving back to Kingston from last weekend’s Tory leadership convention in Toronto, I could only think of one thing — the words of a more experienced Ottawa hand and journalist I spoke with soon after I arrived in the Parliamentary Press Gallery. It was 1994 and the Chretien Liberals had been in […]
Manitoba’s unexciting election could be preview federally
Some senior Liberals are worried Manitoba’s no frills and lacklustre election campaign last week is a preview for the next federal election campaign under the Prime Minister’s Campaign and Elections bill. Manitoba Premier Gary Doer’s NDP swept to victory last week, capturing 35 out of 57 seats — making it the NDP’s largest majority in […]
Senators feuding over committee budgets
Changes made to the way travel funds are handed out to Senate committees have several Senators feeling short-changed, particularly high-profile Ottawa Liberal Senator Colin Kenny, chair of the National Security and Defence Committee, who says the changes will make it almost impossible for committees like his to plan for the long-term. Under the new rules, […]
‘Archives bill could have profound impact on 20th century’: Critics say the bill would extend copyright protection for anywhere from 14 to 34 years
Canadian historians and research librarians are crying foul over legislation before the House of Commons that includes a controversial clause that would extend copyright protection for unpublished works for up to 34 years after the death of the writer. Critics of the move claim that the clause, which is buried within the fine print of […]
PM to attend his last Gallery Dinner
On Saturday afternoon, Jean Chretien will likely put on his shirt, bow-tie and tuxedo, shine his shoes and tuck one of the year’s most highly-anticipated speeches into his inside breast pocket before setting off to the National Arts Centre for his final Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner as Prime Minister of Canada. Don Martin, a columnist […]
Maloney’s riding disappears, Whelan fights to keep farming area: MPs, Cabinet ministers plead their cases to Subcommittee on Electoral Boundaries Committee
A flurry of Ontario Liberal MPs, where the governing Liberals hold 98 of the 103 seats, has descended upon the Procedure and House Affairs Subcommittee on Electoral Boundaries on the Hill armed with maps, pens, pencils — and their own ideas about how the Ontario electoral map should be redrawn. The committee is hearing presentations […]
Tell us the ideological biases
TORONTO–One of the time-honoured ways that advocacy groups use to inflict their viewpoints on an unsuspecting public is to create a “non-partisan” group and proceed to do a study on a “problem” of their choosing. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, of course. The problem comes in the reportage. When advocacy groups are right-of-centre, […]
“Will Peter MacKay’s deal with David Orchard help the Liberals in the next federal election?”
Warren Kinsella Liberal strategist “What follows is Warren engaged in a conversation with Warren (something that, sadly, happens too often): “That wily old Paco Francoli… this one is clearly a trick question. It has to be. “I mean, it is so patently obvious that the answer is yes — it is so clear, so self-evident, […]
Motorcycle Mamma eager to ride off into sunset: Outgoing Alberta Alliance MP Deb Grey loves motorcyling, I mean loves it
If there is one thing that Alliance MP Deborah Grey is looking forward to this summer, it’s that feeling only motor-bikers get when cruising under an open-sky canopy during a serene ride in the Rocky Mountains. Admittedly, this coveted sensation has been difficult for Ms. Grey (Edmonton North, Alta.) to experience over the course of […]
CanWest decimates bureau
A hell of a mistake… Even in these days of regular layoffs of reporters, the Bloody Wednesday axing of six veteran reporters from the CanWest (formerly know as Southam) News Service Hill bureau shocked the Parliamentary Press Gallery and the body politic alike. The condemned were called up to what is fast becoming known as […]
