So that’s what happened to all the pigeons
Truth in humour… Just when she finally gets them laughing, she decides to quit. NDP Leader Alexa McDonough finally got her sense of humour to work on stage with her video presentation at the Annual Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner June 1, and then she quit her day job. In hindsight, it seems clear Ms. McDonough […]
Lib leadership review critically important to Martin’s future
After the recent showdown between Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Paul Martin, the upcoming leadership review will be of critical importance for the former finance minister, especially if Mr. Chretien is successful in getting a decent percentage of approval from Liberal delegates. One Liberal insider said it will be deemed as a failure on the […]
John Manley and Maz: ministers of A through Z
Up the Republic… One person who might have taken heart from the stumbling through of the British anthem was John Manley, the new Minister of Everything. (Tories take note — you didn’t think it was too onerous a deal 19 years ago when the legendary Don Mazankowski held that title and was finance minister, deputy […]
Party execs to PM: lose one vote and you’re out: MPs suspect last leadership review not run on the up-and-up [Delegate vote and riding vote]
In a dramatic twist, top officials in the Liberal Party have decided that a leadership convention will be triggered if the Prime Minister loses either the review vote by party members or the review vote by elected delegates. “If he loses one vote, we go into a leadership convention,” said Aurele Gervais, the federal Liberal […]
Beware of the little guy with the big stick
Fore!… There was no way this week’s column was going to get into any analysis or predictions concerning the now open warfare between Mr. Chretien and Mr. Martin. This is not for a want of information on war councils last week, but merely a recognition of the fact that strategies were changing hourly and no […]
PM pressured to step down: Leadership review risks dividing us to the extent that our party has never been divided before’: MP
Paul Martin’s supporters hope Prime Minister Jean Chretien steps down before next year’s leadership review in order to avoid an ugly, nasty confrontation between the two political titans that could split the country’s “natural governing party” for years to come. “I wouldn’t recommend him to go through [the review],” said Liberal MP Janko Peric (Cambridge, […]
Dawson jumps from Sun Media to National Post
Dawson’s Creek… Parliamentary Press Gallery President Anne Dawson kept quite a secret while presiding over the nibs and nobs at the Gallery Dinner. Unbeknownst to almost everyone else, it was her last big public appearance as Ottawa bureau chief for Sun Media. Ms. Dawson, who took over the Sun job from yours truly 18 months […]
Liberals’ $1 memberships a big boost for Martin’s camp [Ontario wing]
A move by supporters of Paul Martin to drop the price of party memberships from $10 to $1 in the all- important battleground of Ontario has significantly increased their ability to defeat the Prime Minister at the upcoming review vote, say Martinites. Furthermore, they say the move means they can offer free memberships to new […]
Old hacks say Gallery dinner no longer booze fest
Guess who didn’t come to dinner… With all the buzz about the then undecided fate of finance minister Paul Martin that weekend, one might have thought scalpers could have had a field day selling tickets to the Gallery dinner to hobnob with ministers and hear Prime Minister Jean Chretien speak. In fact, tickets went begging […]
Shuffle hints at desire to rein in Crown corporations: Gilles Paquet. Federal Ottawa bureaucrats at a loss to explain nuts and bolts ramifications of June 2 Cabinet shuffle
The decision to place Crown corporations under the control of the Treasury Board is a response to recent criticism by the Auditor General, but the move will destroy the positive aspects of quasi- governmental entities, predicts Gilles Paquet, a leading government expert. Crown corporations, special operating agencies and independent foundations have all come under criticism […]
