Mideast about to face test
One of the most common ways so-called intractable international problems finally get resolved is by artful lying. The opposing sides agree to disagree, or pretend not to notice that the other’s interpretation of key parts of the proposed pact is entirely different from their own, and so allow a momentum to develop that bulldozes aside […]
Paul Martin’s privilege
House Speaker Peter Milliken ruled last Monday that Paul Martin, the former finance minister, was well within his rights to evade a subpoena to appear as a witness before British Columbia Court of Appeal. In doing so, he upheld an obscure Parliamentary privilege exempting MPs from being subpoenaed while the House is in session and […]
Wonder if they’ll be serving beans?
One of the hottest parties on the Hill is coming up this week — the Liberal Quebec assistants’ summer bash — and this year it is going to be environmentally friendly. Oh, there will still be beer and wine and dancing and whatnot, but the twist is the party organizers are going to calculate how […]
Latest AG report speaks to frustrations of MPs: Audited departmental performance reports show MPs, Senators get bad information
Last week, Auditor General Sheila Fraser reported that the federal government departments continue to provide bad information in their annual performance reports which are normally tabled in the fall. Of the nine departments her team of auditors looked at — whose mandates are geared towards protecting Canadians from organized crime and terrorism – all had […]
Collenette: top priorities are airline industry, Bill C-26 and C-27: Federal Transport Minister David Collenette covers plenty of ground
Transport Minister David Collenette is defending his Straight Ahead document which is considered visionary and a first attempt to overhaul the federal government’s transportation policy, despite the fact that transport industry insiders say more money must flow into infrastructure and transit projects three months after the document was released. “That’s not really a criticism obviously. […]
Thumbs up to museum
Despite storm clouds gathering on the legislative and caucus fronts, Prime Minister Jean Chretien should be applauded for his announcement last week to turn the historic Government Conference Centre in Ottawa into a political history museum of Canada. He calls it the Canada History Centre. The new history and politics museum will most certainly fill […]
A close call for PM
Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s government nearly suffered a major embarrassment last Tuesday when it came dangerously close to losing a vote on the estimates in the Committee of the Whole, when MPs met in a special sitting in the Commons to grill Justice Minister Martin Cauchon over his department’s spending priorities. Ever quick on the […]
Canada needs an open and integrated North American transportation system: Alliance MP Moore
PARLIAMENT HILL–The 10th anniversary of the NAFTA recently passed. Canada-U.S. trade is the foundation of our economy, with 43 per cent of our GDP depending upon our trade with the United States, which constitutes 87 per cent of all our exports. Since the signing of NAFTA, Canadian companies have forged into new markets, establishing valuable […]
The Middle East roadmap: No shortage of hard-liners on both sides, only the brave and committed will deliver peace
There is cautious but also growing optimism in the Middle East this week. The credit for it goes to United States President George Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. There is obviously a supporting cast of world leaders who have contributed to this week’s unfolding of historic events. […]
Svend’s way
NDP MP Svend Robinson’s private members’ bill, C-250, which would amend the Criminal Code to include “sexual orientation” in the hate propaganda sections, has moved one step closer to receiving Royal Assent. It hasn’t been easy for the openly gay MP from Vancouver, first elected to the Commons in 1979. Mr. Robinson said his bill, […]
