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 […]
What was your favourite read in 1999? Politocos open up minds
NDP MP Lorne Nystrom, Saskatchewan “No Holds Barred, by John Crosbie. It was really funny. It’s really John Crosbie and all the Crosbyisms are in it. It was also very frank which was typical of John Crosbie. There were a lot of things about cabinet that we didn’t know about and how Mulroney, for example, […]
Massive election bill turns voters’ lists into cash cow for parties: but MPs say lack of identifiers makes lists useless
The government’s sweeping election reform bill which promises to yank in election spending on third parties also vows to give parties and candidates a new tool to raise money and memberships. Bill C-2, which proposes reforms to the Canada Elections Act, and is at report stage in the House, will officially turn the permanent voters’ […]
Conservative senator Balfour, who captured “Red Square” dies
Saskatchewan Tory Senator James Balfour, praised by the Conservatives as someone who did the impossible by winning a seat in Regina in the early 1970s, died on Dec. 15 after a long battle with cancer. He was 71 years old. Senator James Balfour, who was appointed to the Upper Chamber in 1979 by then prime […]
We must remain our best imperturbable selves in Great Debate
These are the slow days in the news business. There are charges emanating from Ottawa that the Liberals are trying to wreck the country. Nothing new about that. Jean Chretien has become the most controversial prime minister in the history of Canada since Brian Mulroney. at least in Quebec. On second thought, make that Quebec […]
Upper house to get limited role on Clarity Bill: Conservative senator says government wants to keep House control so cabinet commands
The Senate has been relegated to the sidelines in the government’s new referendum bill, despite its many seasoned constitutional veterans who sit in the Upper Chamber. Government House Leader Don Boudria (Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, Ont.) said under the bill, C-20, the Senate has a limit: ed role in the review of the referendum question once it’s passed […]
Senate bagmen should not review Bill C-2: democracy group says fundraising senators should not review election bill
The Senate, a place dominated by party bagmen and bagwomen, should not review the government’s sweeping election bill, says a vocal advocacy group lobbying against the legislation. And a Liberal MP, who is one of the government’s biggest defenders of Parliamentary power, says senators who review the bill should disclose what they do for the […]
Prime Minister’s office took lead on closing generic drug patent: memo says government obligated to protect patents, concerned about risks to government and followed treaty
The Prime Minister’s Office appears to have thrown its weight behind recent drug regulations in an effort to help pharmaceutical giant Merck Frosst beat back competition from the generic drug manufacturers, The Hill Times has learned. Earlier this fall, the government passed drug regulations which closed a loophole used by generic drug manufacturers to get […]
