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 […]
Reynolds vows ‘a rocky winter session’: Committee travel sacrificed until private members’ business dispute resolved
Alliance House Leader John Reynolds has vowed to continue blocking most standing committees from travelling and to delay the government’s agenda at every turn, in protest over a decision by the Procedures and House Affairs Committee to tie up a proposal to make all private members’ bills votable. In a letter circulated to all MPs […]
Marleau’s dissolution argument doesn’t fly
Regarding “PM’s election threats: a dangerous game of ‘chicken’” by Liberal MP Diane Marleau (The Hill Times, Jan. 27). Ms. Marleau’s suggestion that the Governor General’s formal power to refuse dissolution of the House would be proper in the circumstances she discusses is completely incorrect constitutionally. The “circumstances” in question are entirely political: they involve […]
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 […]
Public Accounts
In a rare occurrence, a member of the opposition got to answer a question during Question Period last Wednesday. Replying to a question posed by colleague Garry Breitkreuz, Alliance MP John Williams announced that the Public Accounts Committee — which he chairs — has called on a number of high-profile witnesses to shed some light […]
Martin’s to blame too
All the letters and news reports recently regarding the gun registry have been properly pointing fingers at Allan Rock and successive justice ministers for the massive cost overruns. One thing I have noticed, however, is the way the media has been pussy-footing around the idea of blaming Paul Martin. I would like to point out […]
End corporate political donations
While the Prime Minister and the government took a courageous step in ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, an even bigger step would be the end to corporate and labour political donations. Canadian politics is dominated and controlled by corporate and union bosses. When political campaigns are totally financed by big business, the interests of Canadians are […]
On Nelson Mandela
Regarding The Hill Times’ Sixth Annual All Politics Poll: 2002 (Jan. 6, 2003). Clare Demerse and Kathryn Ritter’s article, “The ballots are in and 73 MPs have voted the best and worst in Canadian politics,” refers to Nelson Mandela as “the former first black president of South Africa.” How, exactly, does someone become a “former […]
Martha Fusca challenges the Cable giants
Meanwhile, there’s an interesting lobbying campaign going on in Ottawa right now. Dubbed as the battle of David against Goliath, Martha Fusca, president and CEO of Stornoway Communications (considered David), who is a well-known producer and owner of TV stations, include I-channel on digital TV, is going after the big cable companies (considered Goliath). The […]
Cloning for stem cell research unnecessary and dangerous: Any and all advances in cloning technology help the Raelians and the cloning of humans
HALIFAX, N.S.–Just after Christmas, the Raelians announced that they had successfully cloned a human being and that more cloned babies were on the way. In the media frenzy that followed, many academics were interviewed and wrote opinion pieces. Almost all were skeptical about the claims and most condemned the Raelians. We share the skepticism and […]
