Bloc Leader Fortin to test Supreme Court nominee Rowe’s proficiency in French
In question-and-answer session with the newest nominee to the Supreme Court of Canada on Oct. 25 at the University of Ottawa, Bloc Québécois Leader Rhéal Fortin says the focal point of his questioning will be to test Malcolm Rowe’s proficiency in French and the Newfoundland and Labrador native’s understanding of Quebec Civil law. “We want to know […]
Too close for comfort: Canadian academics and government
Should social scientists seek the truth regardless of whose toes may be stepped on and cite, up front, possible conflicts of interest regarding matters they study? All academic disciplines claim independence of thought and transparency are principles that guide good research. So, what to make of a Canadian foreign-policy discussion dominated by individuals with ties […]
No more treading water
Patrick Brown has heard it all before. Assertions that the Ontario Progressive Conservative leader’s most defined personality trait is that he’s not Kathleen Wynne; that he’s flip-flopped on policies as starkly as Donald Trump has on immigration; and even that he’s a dead-eyed, brainwashed robot that runs on talking points uploaded to his hard drive […]
Universities emerge as biggest lobbyists in August, according to registry
While students were enjoying their summer breaks last month, university administrators were busy lobbying the federal government on a wide range of issues, including science, aboriginal affairs, and immigration. The University of Alberta was the source of the most communication reports filed on the federal lobbyists registry in August with 25. Second was the University […]
‘I’m incredibly disappointed,’ PSAC talks with government end on sour note
Talks between the federal public service’s biggest union and the Treasury Board last week—the first in many months—ended without progress and with a disillusioned union leader. “I am incredibly disappointed with the Liberal government,” Robyn Benson, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), said in an interview on Friday, Sept. 16. “Their agenda […]
To prosper in China, innovate at home
Canada wants a deeper relationship with China. This was the core message that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took with him on his recent trip where he met with the top Chinese leadership. But if Canada is to succeed, then it has become a much more innovative nation, because that is where China is headed. A […]
How the universities lobby got $1-billion-plus from the feds
The $900-million in federal funds doled out to universities last week was part of a research fund green-lit by a Conservative government looking for an “out-of-the-park” scientific success story, say some of the key players that lobbied for the fund’s creation. The story of that two-year lobbying campaign adds a wrinkle to the anti-science reputation […]
Construction truck impaled by barrier on Parliament Hill
A hulking construction truck towing a trailer was pierced by a ground-level security-barrier pole on Parliament Hill Friday afternoon in a doozy of a collision that disrupted traffic at the Bank Street entrance for hours. The vehicle, owned by Ottawa-based Exel Contracting Inc., was skewered by the black security blockade as it drove from the […]
Poverty reduction didn’t happen under Harper, but it is possible
Last Wednesday’s Ottawa Citizen published an op-ed by Pierre Poilievre, the Member of Parliament for Carleton, Ont., that leaves those of us working in the area of poverty eradication in Canada quite confounded. The article makes the claim that Stephen Harper’s government was successful at reducing poverty, while the Pierre Trudeau government was not. Yes, […]
Unions criticize Foote’s performance throughout Phoenix fiasco, claim she’s ‘disingenuous’ on what she knew
The two biggest federal public service unions say Public Services Minister Judy Foote has been inaccessible throughout the Phoenix fiasco pay system and that she’s being “disingenuous” about how much she knew about the issues facing the payroll program that has affected more than 80,000 public servants. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Professional […]
