Santa Maria! That Ethics Commissioner’s Office works slowly
PARLIAMENT HILL—There is time, and then there is Ottawa time. It can be tabulated by phases of the moon. I know a branch of government, Archives Canada, that takes six weeks to make a photocopy. Delivery in three weeks is called “rush service.” I’m not making this up. Yet even in The Land Where […]
Grit ridings targeted by Tories saw unexplained increases in their number of polling stations
PARLIAMENT HILL—Liberal ridings targeted by Toronto-area Conservatives in the last election saw unexplained increases in their number of polling stations, records show. Five ridings saw dramatic gains in poll sites, including one neighbourhood in Ajax, Ont., where five different ballot stations were placed within metres of each other on the same street. Documents obtained […]
Conservative-friendly balloting helped deliver near half of Alexander’s plurality in last election
PARLIAMENT HILL—Conservative-friendly balloting at a suburban Ajax, Ont., country club gave MP Chris Alexander near half his plurality in toppling a Liberal incumbent last year, documents show. Elections Canada placed 13 polls at the Carruthers Creek Golf Club, advertised as “Durham’s foremost golf and country club.” Alexander won 10 of the 13 polls with […]
Elections Canada allowed ballot boxes in a gated community clubhouse, a suburban supermarket, a lawn bowling club
PARLIAMENT HILL—A Hill Times investigation shows Conservatives harvested thousands of votes after Elections Canada placed ballot boxes in evangelical churches, clubs and other locations that appeared to favour government supporters. Ontarians voted in a gated community clubhouse and a church whose congregation included the local returning officer, records show. Conservatives swept both polling stations […]
Breitkreuz sheds light on life of an MP
PARLIAMENT HILL—Rookie MPs, 111 of them, are into their second year on Parliament Hill. Their brows are a little more furrowed, their shoulders a little more stooped. Year Two is when the exhaustion sets in. MPs tackle issues of national gravity in convivial surroundings with engaging colleagues. Yet the job, for all its privileges […]
Press freedom inspires little passion, but much nitpicking and silliness
PARLIAMENT HILL—Freedom of information, like clean tap water, is taken for granted without a care in the world by those who consume it. “What would it take to get Canadians to give a damn about free expression,” as Ivor Shapiro, chair of Ryerson University’s school of journalism, put it in a recent J-Source commentary. […]
Early evidence suggests Scheer’s not up to the job
PARLIAMENT HILL—Above the tumult of the House a cold eye of scrutiny falls on Andrew Scheer, Boy Speaker of the 41st Parliament. Scheer is 32 and no wiser than his years. Serious people question whether he has the weight for the job. Scheer affects a profile in courage—“If you want a spineless MP…vote Liberal,” […]
We fight for expression so long as it’s not expressive at all
PARLIAMENT HILL—No government may limit thought, word, or opinion without first proving their act is justified in law. It says so right in the Constitution. That’s any word or opinion. “One of our greatest values in this country is freedom of speech,” Government House Leader Peter Van Loan remarked the other day. Yet Canadians […]
Mortgage debt is catastrophic
PARLIAMENT HILL—They are famous last words, in the manner of the Italian cruise director who advised passengers to return to their cabins. “Two Steady Housing Years Ahead,” cheered The Globe and Mail. “Market Will Remain Steady,” headlined The Nanaimo Daily News. “Housing Starts Are Rising,” read The Edmonton Journal, with “stability,” (The Halifax Chronicle-Herald) […]
MPs have been talking about 150th anniversary of Confederation planning for four months
PARLIAMENT HILL—The Commons Heritage Committee met last week to plan the 150th anniversary of Confederation. MPs have discussed it more than four months now. So far they have (a) no budget and (b) no theme. The sesquicentennial year is 2017. “Our government believes this is a milestone,” Heritage Minister James Moore told MPs. […]
