Diverse opinions in media?
TORONTO–A funny thing is happening at the God channel. People are taking notice of it. It’s not really the God channel, of course. It’s Crossroads Television Systems, or CTS. And, as the name implies, it is licensed under CRTC’s religious programming, broadly defined by them as “anything directly relating to, inspired by, arising by, or […]
Political finance bill to hurt ‘maverick’ MPs
The Prime Minister’s sweeping legislation to reform political campaign financing could place “maverick” or unpopular MPs at a serious disadvantage, backbench Liberals cautioned last week. The proposed legislation would give registered parties an annual subsidy equal to $1.50 per vote obtained in the previous general election, provided that they obtain either two per cent of […]
A message to First Ministers: From Elston
As Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers deliberate on the future of our healthcare system, we remind them that new medicines are part of the solution and ask for their assurances that Canadians will have access to the best medicines that will save or improve their lives. New medicines are valuable: their discovery means Canadians often […]
Beer and ballots…
Beer and ballots… In olden times, politicians were allowed to get their constituents drunk on Election Day in order to obtain their vote. Alas no more. However, there is still a link between beer and politics, according to a contract abstract currently posted on the Government’s Merx website. The contract calls for collapsible voting compartments […]
Campaign Finance Bill
Government House Leader Don Boudria introduced the long-awaited Campaign Finance Bill last week (Jan. 29) in the House of Commons and some of the top PMO players were out spinning the merits of the bill. Eddie Goldenberg , the PM’s chief policy adviser, briefed reporters in a “lock-up” during Question Period before the bill was […]
House still has to deal with redistribution of ridings: This issue has yet to be seriously debated in House of Commons
In the March 18, 2002, issue of The Hill Times you published an article on the proposed redistribution of House of Commons seats that will see the federal Parliament grow from 301 to 308 seats. This article “House of Commons to jump from 301 to 308 seats after 2004,” dealt with some of the major […]
Global protests against war
The reason so many people braved to the cold to voice their objections last weekend to the war on Iraq is quite simple. Peace is right and this war would be wrong, and yet the simple truth of that does not appear to be clear to many world leaders. So the protesters find it necessary […]
Jimmy, Mac, Dick and Jack… [Ottawa Centre byelection]
Jimmy, Mac, Dick and Jack… The fact that Elections Canada wants $50,000 worth of collapsible ballot booths delivered to the capital region by the end of March might add to the gossip about a byelection in Ottawa Centre this spring. The official line, as always in such cases, is that EC is always in a […]
House takes fight to Supreme Court
The House will fight to prevent Commons’ employees from taking discrimination complaints to the Canadian Human Rights Commission and has decided to bring the battle all the way to the Supreme Court. Canadian Alliance MP John Reynolds (West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast, B.C.), a spokesperson for the Commons Board of Internal Economy which represents the House on […]
Clouseau of Cabinet
In a National Post interview with Allan Rock (“Quitting felt right,” – Jan. 15, 2003), the Post quotes the great man as saying that when he arrived in Ottawa in 1993 he “had a lot to learn,” that he did it “in a very public way” and that it “was periodically painful.” Nonetheless, he claims […]
