Race for Speaker heats up: Kilger considered front-runner, McTeague an upset
While most MPs are still dealing with the aftermath of the Christmas drinkathon in Ottawa, others are already back into the political fray, especially those aspiring to be the 34th Speaker of the House of Commons. There are already four official candidates in the running, but Chief Government Whip Bob Kilger (Stormont-Dundas-Charlottenburg, Ont.) and former […]
Hampton attacks Buzz Hargrove
The federal NDP is on the right track and should stop letting Buzz Hargrove, the powerful president of the Canadian Auto Workers, and his negative views of the party get all the ink, says Ontario NDP Leader Howard Hampton. Moreover, with a strongly-worded attack against Mr. Hargrove, Mr. Hampton dismissed the request for a radical […]
Martin missed in Liberals’ election win: Grits name every reason under the sun for win, but not Paul Martin
Federal politicking is over for the year and as former U.S. ambassador to Canada James Blanchard once said in his book, Behind the Embassy Door, the Canadian “long, floating drinkathon” Christmas season is on. Government MPs have already forgotten the last federal election, Parliament, the Official Opposition, tax reduction, legislation and the cabinet shuffle. Well, […]
The only Trudeau collector’s book worth buying is Maclean’s
Pierre Trudeau was still warm when editors at several of the country’s top publishing houses started working on the quickie commemorative P.E.T. books that are jamming the book-stores this Christmas season. And, if you think that’s in bad taste, then you won’t want to go near most of the stuff that publishers have churned out […]
Not a single new visible minority MP elected in House this fall: Canada’s minorities under-represented in new Parliament of 2001 with loss of Ray Chan and Gordon Earle
In the wake of the Nov. 27 federal election, everyone outside of the governing Liberals seems to be disappointed with one thing or another. One thing that deserves-more attention is the lack of diversity within the House of Commons. There were no more than 15 visible minority Members of Parliament prior to this fall’s election. […]
There’s no poll like an old poll, Camp discovers its propinquity
I came across an old poll the other day — a 17-year-old poll conducted by by Arthur J. Finkelstein & Associates and commissioned by the National Citizens’ Coalition. The survey sample was 1,014 voters and was taken in May, 1983, on the eve of the Progressive Conservative leadership convention that would choose Brian Mulroney from […]
It’s a coat of many colours for Canada’s first Chief Herald
Six to eight-month waiting list of Canadians willing to pay up to $2,300 for their own coat of arms, busy busy Robert Watt says it was simply a hobby that somehow turned into a job. In fact Canada’s Chief Herald, the person responsible for approving all the country’s colourful coats of arms, admits he can’t […]
New Grit MPs vow to put constituents first and to toe party line
All they want is to be pointed in the right direction so they can get down to business. Parliament’s 47 newly-elected MPs arrived in Ottawa last week full of new ideas and excitement, spending their first day on the Hill meeting their caucus mates and finding out where the bathrooms are. Out of the lot, […]
Speaker’s job higher profile: Grit MP Tom Wappel throws hat into Speaker race, Peter Milliken urges MPs to look at the big picture
House Speaker candidate Tom Wappel is promising a much higher public profile for the job, especially in explaining the decisions of the secretive and powerful Commons Board of Internal Economy. Mr. Wappel (Scarborough Southwest, Ont.), who is one of a handful of Liberals running for the job on Jan. 29, said the Board of Internal […]
The night CTV’s Ivan Fecan gushed over the prime minister
Is it just me, or did anybody else find it odd that Ivan Fecan, chairman and CEO of the CTV television network, played the role of lead cheer-leader at a Toronto fundraising dinner for Prime Minister Jean Chretien last week. Just a day before the CRTC approved the $2.3-billion takeover bid by BCE Inc. of […]
