First Munson, now NewsNet anchor Jones leaves CTV
More bad news at CTV… What is going on at Canada’s biggest private broadcasting corp? Last fall it summarily dismissed popular veteran reporter Jim Munson from its Ottawa bureau — a move that still has most people scratching their heads. Now it has gone after former Ottawa bureau member turned NewsNet anchor Leslie Jones. Another […]
PM Jean Chr&ea;tien returns to very different political climate
Prime Minister Jean Chretien is back from his two-week Team Canada mission in Russia and Germany and the political environment in Ottawa is now very different from the one he left behind. The question is are the events of last week merely, as someone put it, “the action of children without adult supervision” or is […]
Government mandarins ‘feel the heat’ to modernize public service: debate taking place at highest levels on whether to hand PSC’s hiring responsibilities over to Treasury Board
Faced with cynical workers who are wondering whether the current push to modernize the federal public service will come and go like so many other “flavours of the year,” Deputy Minister Ran Quail is pledging that this one will be different. “If we don’t make the recommendations to the government, then the government can’t act, […]
Why is it acceptable for 30,000 children worldwide to die daily? For the cost of a cup of coffee in Canada, a child in Africa could receive needed oral rehydration treatment [International Development Policy Briefing]
On September 11, 2001, an appalling crime against humanity occurred. Thirty thousand children died. There were no media there to document it, there were no speeches made against it, and it was not followed by mass public outcry. It was not heralded as an event that would change the course of world events; indeed, the […]
MPs, take responsibility [Chief Government Whip]
The problem in government these days is no one is willing to take responsibility for their actions. So said fictional U.S. president Josiah Bartlet, a.k.a. Martin Sheen, on last week’s repeat episode of The West Wing. But the remark is powerfully true. Why can’t MPs take responsibility for their actions? Why is it that they […]
‘Our mandate: sustainable development, poverty reduction’. Rookie International Cooperation Minister Susan Whelan says aid effectiveness is critical issue in global village [International Development Policy Briefing]
Africa, poverty and international aid are suddenly at the top of the agenda in this global village and rookie International Cooperation Minister Susan Whelan, 38, has some impressive challenges ahead of her. Canada alots $2-billion a year for international aid, but critics are saying it’s not enough. More critics are saying Canada needs a new […]
Cabinet Ministers’ executive assistants playing musical chairs: veteran staffers Louise Mills and Dan Costello find work with new MPs, other changes in ministerial offices
It’s been seven weeks since the PM’s big shuffle and the reality that most staffers have no more than six degrees of separation between one another has never been more true. When Jean Chretien shook up his government last month by appointing 10 new ministers and expanding his cabinet to 39 — his biggest ever […]
If Canada doesn’t invest in foreign aid now, it will cost us more. It is important for Canada to maintain a separate path from the U.S., even though we are closely associated [International Development Policy Briefing]
There is a popular television advertisement for automotive oil filters that says “you can pay me now or can pay me later.” In other words, investing a little now can save you greater problems down the road. The same could be said for foreign aid provided by developed countries to less developed countries. If Canada […]
Liberal party a Grit country club
In examining the membership battles within the Liberal Party, I cannot help but feel that Paul Martin and his supporters stand against everything their own party encourages. The party’s website states that the “Liberal governments have lifted barriers to participation and ensured that all Canadians benefit from the diversity within Canada’s borders” and more importantly, […]
Enough juvenile and bushleague politics, already. And out unnamed sources
It’s lonely at the top. That’s the case in politics, business and life. Sometimes you’re simply the last person to know what everyone around you knows. Sometimes you’re just the last person able to publicly admit the obvious. Prime Minister Jean Chretien, surely knows — but cannot admit — that the race for his job […]
