The skinny on the PM’s Campaign Finance Reform Bill: Boudria says it will make electoral system ‘more transparent and fair’
Government House Leader Don Boudria introduced the Political Finance Bill in the House on Jan. 29, saying it would make the electoral system “more transparent and fair by reforming significantly the rules on financing of political participants.” The bill, introduced as an Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Income Tax Act (Political […]
Perceived or seen
Regarding Claire Hoy’s column “Manley’s big gaffe,” (The Hill Times, Jan. 13). I can’t resist the temptation to correct him in a phrase in his article to date — “what’s this phrase that justice should not only be done but seen to be done.” The word is “perceived.” My Funken & Wagnel has it: “perceived: […]
NDP hires a new director of communications and research for the caucus
Newly-elected NDP Leader Jack Layton not only shook up caucus officers last week, but also some of the political staff in the Leader’s Office. Mr. Layton, who was elected with 53 per cent of the vote on the first ballot on Jan. 25 in Toronto, named British Columbia MP Libby Davies, who was one of […]
Of trust funds and fiefdoms
A few years ago, when then-Alberta Reform Party MP Ian McClelland wanted to publicly release his riding association bank account sheets to The Hill Times, he had to ask the riding to take a vote. His Edmonton Southwest riding association president initially asked The Hill Times to pay “10 bucks” to see it and said […]
Let’s try ‘thematic’ Question Periods, says Don Boudria: Modernization Committee to tackle another round of Parliamentary reforms
A single issue rarely dominates Question Period in the House of Commons. That’s because opposition MPs prefer to hammer away at the government on a number of fronts. But when they do mount a common line of attack – whether coordinated or by accident – it’s a sure fire sign the government is in deep […]
Fed up with Libs
Is it not time to make our elected officials accountable for their action? A Cabinet minister sells Canadians on the idea of gun control at a cost of $2-million. The cost to taxpayers escalates to $865-million. The minister now has a new job and accepts no responsibility. Who is running the show? Who is ultimately […]
MP spams ‘toxic’ email to thousands of bureaucrats: But controversial independent MP blames House’s antiquated email system
An e-mail sent to thousands of federal public service employees by controversial Independent Saskatchewan MP Jim Pankiw, asking them “bogus” and “leading” questions about the bureaucracy’s bilingualism policies, has rankled Grit MPs as well as public service union leaders who have taken up the case with the Speaker of the House of Commons. The matter […]
Really, we’re just like you: It is occasionally useful to celebrate similarities between U.S. and Canada
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Throughout most of last year, Canada and the United States celebrated differences. Indeed, we have belaboured them, sometimes in pointedly political terms. Examining differences is useful and helpful; after all, even identical twins raised together will have clear differences to a discerning observer. And U.S. diplomats have been cautioned for years that saying, “You’re […]
Why do MPs amass hundreds of thousands of dollars in riding bank accounts or in personal trust funds without issuing tax receipts? And how big a problem is it?
Warren Kinsella Liberal strategist “As far as any of us know, the practice is not widespread. And that’s the problem — no one knows, precisely, how widespread this practice is. “Technically, as the law stands now, money raised at the riding level — outside an election — doesn’t need to be reported. And, allegedly, some […]
Jaded about Chretien’s campaign finance bill
Canadians should be upset with a Prime Minister using flawed electoral reform legislation as tool to maintain his control of the Liberal Party. On the surface, we all agree that the influence of money needs to be removed from Parliament, but such a move should not create a further tax burden for the voters. As […]
