Canada recorded clear, strategic WTO win [Letter]
As an NGO delegate at the recent ill-fated WTO trade discussions held in Seattle, I was intrigued by the media’s interpretation of the results of the meeting, or lack thereof. What I haven’t seen reported is how successful the Canadian negotiators actually were on the culture front. As one concerned about the possible services negotiations […]
Lacklustre leadership, apostles of greed, take your own council
Just a week ago, I reported on Gerald Levin’s comment that whereas governments, their bureaucracies and the regulators had all failed to provide democratic society with the moral and civil infrastructure it deserved, the task of leadership in such an endeavour would fall to the new world media of which Levin, as chair and CEO […]
PM’s legacy over Supreme Court to last generations
The prime minister, who recently named the first female chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, will likely have appointed seven of the nine Supreme Court judges before he exits office, leaving a legacy, for generations to come and a massive influence in shaping the top court’s jurisprudence. Prime Minister Jean Chretien (Saint-Maurice, Que.), […]
MPs talk about killing “irrelevant” Friday sittings
Once again, House committee set to rewrite rules, considers doing away with Fridays Calling Friday sittings “largely irrelevant,” MPs and the powerful Commons Board of Internal Economy are once again looking at killing them in the House. The House Affairs Committee will look at the Friday sitting as part of its massive review of the […]
Martin sings praises of Clarity Bill
Golden boy, heir apparent of federal politics, says he’s not going anywhere Finance Minister Paul Martin, the golden boy of Canadian federal politics and heir apparent to the Liberal leadership, says he has high hopes for the new century in politics and is preparing to defend the controversial Clarity Bill, C-20, once the House returns […]
Hey, CBC TV does a smashing job of ringing in new millennium
One of the problems of being a critic is that people expect you to criticize all the time. Fact is, being critical doesn’t necessarily mean being negative, although that’s the way most people perceive it — and, truth be told, the way your correspondent usually approaches subjects. But, this being a new millennium and all, […]
Bouchard’s fight against Clarity Bill all about his leadership
Quebec MNAs are still home for the holidays. The last session was a rather difficult one for Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard’s government and Jacques Parizeau was in France for most of it. But thanks to a last-minute move by Ottawa, Christmas was not so bad for the Pequistes crowd, at least that’s what they believe […]
Gary O’Brien new deputy Senate clerk, Greene retires at 56
The Upper Chamber table officers, the bureaucrats who form the very backbone of the Senate, are being joined by a new peer — the lone gunman. An amateur historian, who spends his spare time poring over the details surrounding that infamous November clay in 1963 when American president John F. Kennedy’s motorcade passed the Texas […]
House to review lobbyist act, ethics guru says it’s “working well”
Association House’s Jamie Deacey says message has been sent that days of selling access and tollgating are over Parliamentarians will be taking a close look at the regulation of lobbyists next month when the Lobbyists Registration Act goes under committee scrutiny for its five-year review. The act was last reviewed in 1995, and recommendations made […]
Bloc Quebecois kills House defence committee’s travel plans to US: government backbencher wants Mickey Mouse House rules changed, fuming over committee held hostage
Government backbencher wants ‘Mickey Mouse’ House rules changed, fuming over committee held hostage The House’s National Defence Committee chairman is fuming that Parliamentary rules have allowed a lone Quebecois MP to kill the committee’s travel plans to the U.S. and said it’s unbelievable a committee can be held hostage by such tactics. Liberal MP Pat […]
