House still has to deal with redistribution of ridings: This issue has yet to be seriously debated in House of Commons
In the March 18, 2002, issue of The Hill Times you published an article on the proposed redistribution of House of Commons seats that will see the federal Parliament grow from 301 to 308 seats. This article “House of Commons to jump from 301 to 308 seats after 2004,” dealt with some of the major […]
Global protests against war
The reason so many people braved to the cold to voice their objections last weekend to the war on Iraq is quite simple. Peace is right and this war would be wrong, and yet the simple truth of that does not appear to be clear to many world leaders. So the protesters find it necessary […]
Canada is right to stay the UN course: While the U.S. engages in dialogue with North Korea, it wants to attack Iraq
OTTAWA–Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has no, or hardly any friends left. From the Arab countries to left-leaning regimes, all have seemed to abandon him. There is little doubt his days are numbered as the U.S. President talks of action against Saddam “within weeks and not months.” But, according to polls, public opinion in many Western […]
Clouseau of Cabinet
In a National Post interview with Allan Rock (“Quitting felt right,” – Jan. 15, 2003), the Post quotes the great man as saying that when he arrived in Ottawa in 1993 he “had a lot to learn,” that he did it “in a very public way” and that it “was periodically painful.” Nonetheless, he claims […]
Of Spin Doctors and Spin
Regarding last week’s “Spin Doctors” column (The Hill Times, Jan. 27). Whether you like them or not, The Spin Doctors have a job to do, and three of your four seem to do it well. Whether or not you agree with them, you also have to give credit to Warren Kinsella, Goldy Hyder and Bill […]
Minister Copps to announce Grit candidacy on Feb. 21
TORONTO -Heritage Minister Sheila Copps will announce her candidacy to run for the leadership of the Liberal Party on Feb. 21. Sources close to the minister told The Hill Times last week that Ms. Copps (Hamilton East, Ont.) has made up her mind and will end the speculation in three weeks. “It’s all set and […]
NDP hires a new director of communications and research for the caucus
Newly-elected NDP Leader Jack Layton not only shook up caucus officers last week, but also some of the political staff in the Leader’s Office. Mr. Layton, who was elected with 53 per cent of the vote on the first ballot on Jan. 25 in Toronto, named British Columbia MP Libby Davies, who was one of […]
Marleau’s dissolution argument doesn’t fly
Regarding “PM’s election threats: a dangerous game of ‘chicken’” by Liberal MP Diane Marleau (The Hill Times, Jan. 27). Ms. Marleau’s suggestion that the Governor General’s formal power to refuse dissolution of the House would be proper in the circumstances she discusses is completely incorrect constitutionally. The “circumstances” in question are entirely political: they involve […]
Liberals order revote in hot Perth-Middlesex nomination
In a rare move, the Liberal Party is scrapping the hotly-contested nomination of a former card-carrying NDP member and Presbyterian minister in Perth-Middlesex, Ont., and will rerun it next month, after one candidate claimed there were “irregularities in the voting process.” Members of the Perth-Middlesex Federal Liberal Riding Association will revote on Saturday, Feb. 1, […]
PM should leave political financing bill to successor: Grit MP Harvard
Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s planned and now controversial legislation to limit or ban corporate and trade union donations to political parties should be left up to his successor to deal with, says a Grit backbencher who favours the move but is concerned that riding associations won’t be properly consulted if the bill is brought before […]
