Media hype anti-Semitism
TORONTO–Maybe it’s just a coincidence. When former prime minister Brian Mulroney told a conference on anti- Semitism in Toronto that Canadians must confront growing anti-Semitism at home and abroad, and that “Israel has, in effect, become the new Jew,” it was front page news. When University of Arizona historian Leonard Dinnerstein, an expert in the […]
MPs’ and Senators’ Birthdays
*Bloc MP Ghislain Lebel, 57, Feb. 17, 1946 *Bloc MP Michel Gauthier, 53, Feb. 18, 1950 *Secretary of State David Kilgour, 62, Feb. 18, 1941 *Tory Sen. David Tkachuk, 58, Feb. 18, 1945 *Alliance MP Art Hanger, 60, Feb. 19, 1943 *Liberal MP Guy St-Julien, 63, Feb. 19, 1940 *Tory MP Bill Casey, 58, Feb. […]
The Mommy Returns…
Commons Speaker Peter Milliken apparently loves directing Question Period so much, he won’t even let pneumonia keep him away. He took only two days off at the end of January when he came down with the illness and has been at work ever since, even though he is still recovering, says his director of communications […]
Membership rules leave door open to marauders: Hostile takeover attempts by issue activists could become common event
OTTAWA–In 1998 David Orchard jolted conventional party politics. He targeted left-leaning, single-issue activists from the environmental and anti-free trade movements, signed up 12,000 new members, and found himself in a second ballot run-off with Joe Clark for the leadership of the Conservative Party. What if he throws his hat in the ring again–and wins? It […]
It’s show time for Mr. Manley
TORONTO–When Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister John Manley tells us how the federal government plans to spend more than $170-billion this year in his first budget to be released at 4 p.m. in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Feb. 18, it will be the result of months of complicated talks and the work […]
Grit pollster Marzolini takes aim at Liberals’ Campaign Bill
OTTAWA–Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s proposal to make polling an election expense – a provision contained in his controversial and much-debated Campaign Finance Reform Bill – will make it even harder for backbench MPs to keep in touch with their voters through polling activities, says the Liberal Party’s pollster. “It certainly does put a ceiling or […]
Jack Layton ran against Dennis Mills only once
In his Feb. 3 “Heard on the Hill” column in The Hill Times, Sean Durkan writes “So Mr. Layton wins in a byelection, but goes back to his hometown Toronto at general election time to try, for the third time, to unseat veteran Liberal MP Dennis Mills in the city’s Toronto Danforth riding.” In fact, […]
Call in the Copps to Tim Hortons
The Keystone Copps? There’s a whole lotta head-shaking going on over Heritage Minister Sheila Copps’ decision to run against Paul Martin for Jean Chretien’s job. Is she really so blind, or so full of herself that she really thinks she could even get close enough to see the dust? Is she setting herself up to […]
Minister Vanclief hires a new executive assistant: Sylvie Millette LeDuc says a secret to a minister’s success is a great team
When Christine Donoghue decided last month to leave her job as executive assistant to Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief to move to a job inside the Department of Agriculture, Mr. Vanclief didn’t have to look too far for her replacement. He decided to hire Sylvie Millette LeDuc who was working in his ministerial office as a […]
Happy with Hoy
Regarding Claire Hoy’s column, “Diverse opinions in the media?” (The Hill Times, Feb. 3). This was a pleasure to read. J. Visser R
