Accountability, lobbying and the public interest: Patrick Boyer’s book views lobbyists as a big part of the accountability problem [Just trust us: The erosion of accountability in Canada]
This week will see the launch of the underground royal commission (urc), an ambitious multimedia undertaking financed and directed by the people at Stornoway Communications, operators of cablecaster, the ichannel. It’s a brave and laudable attempt to make comprehensible for the masses what is otherwise broadly seen as one of those issues or themes which […]
Grits want some policy at Liberal convention
It won’t be a policy convention, but a government backbencher says next month’s Liberal leadership convention should definitely include more policy workshops as well as briefing sessions on the impact of the new and controversial Campaigns and Elections Financing Bill C-24 as incumbents and candidates prepare for the next federal election. Grit MP Walt Lastewka […]
Local development agencies could be better-managed: NDP has for years lobbied for an Independent Energy Commission to review gas prices
Small and medium sized enterprises are the cornerstone of the Canadian economy and the numbers are here to prove it. Small businesses employ six out of ten Canadians in the private sector and created 343,000, (or six in 10) new jobs in 2002 alone. They play a major economic role in local communities from coast […]
Manji on her new book, The Trouble With Islam: ‘if God is as majestic as we claim he is then why can’t he be understood in any language? Why?’
It’s not a well-known fact, but Irshad Manji who recently created quite a stir when her new book The Trouble With Islam: A Wake-Up Call for Honesty and Change was released last month, is a former NDP Hill staffer. In her new sensational book, Ms. Manji, 34, currently an author, journalist and media entrepreneur based […]
Small businesses need big tax and regulatory reform: we need to utilize tax and regulatory reform to create a leadership role in Canada’s economy
Small and medium enterprises play an important role in the Canadian economy. They account for 50 per cent of our GDP, and provide over half of all employment. The sector has also been more resilient post-Sept. 11 than many of our corporate giants. While the titans have cut work-forces, SMEs continue to provide strong and […]
Fraser sets sights on small agencies: Radwanski scandal prompts watchdog to pursue small agencies
Auditor General Sheila Fraser, who delivered a sensational and scathing audit of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner last week, plans to turn her focus to small federal agencies next spring. The spending watchdog will begin targeting with increasing frequency the books of the many small organizations within the vast federal bureaucracy which too often […]
Finance Minister Manley says to look at the big picture on SMES: responding to the Economist’s story, Canada’s been ‘cool’ for some time now, says John Manley
The Hill Times Finance Minister John Manley, who recently suggested he can’t map out the next annual fiscal blueprint because he might not even hold the same position in a Paul Martin government, plans to deliver his highly-anticipated economic statement in early November before the House of Commons adjourns for what could be months. While […]
Inside ‘the reign of terror’
[Graph Not Transcribed] [Graph Not Transcribed] [Graph Not Transcribed] Staff who were victims of former privacy commissioner George Radwanski’s so-called “reign of terror” took another step towards putting the scandal behind them last week when Auditor General Sheila Fraser tabled her much-anticipated report detailing a mind-numbing list of staffing and management irregularities. In an interview, […]
The spin doctors: “Should Liberals be worried now that the Alliance and Tory House leaders are working on a joint strategy to take on the government in Parliament?”
“Should Liberals be worried now that the Alliance and Tory House leaders are working on a joint strategy to take on the government in Parliament?” Warren Kinsella Liberal Strategist “These guys couldn’t work together on a three-house paper route. Concerned? Yeah, you bet. Paul and Sheila are up nights, now, and they’ve got the worry […]
Public servants have ‘game’: why balanced reporting rarely emerges from large, lumbering bureaucracies
If you want to understand how organizations work, turn your gaze away from the foibles and quirks (or every inspired leadership) of the persons who lead them. Of course leadership can make a huge difference. But if you want to play the odds, i.e., make better predictions over a variety of different situations over a […]
