Harper the ‘man in the arena’, deserves more flowers than brickbats
Recently, perhaps reflecting an “end of days” silly summer season, we have seen a certain number of stories designed to fill column inches rather than enlighten. These include the non-meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Francophonie head and the prime minister’s role in evacuating Canadians from Lebanon. Regarding the former, the Canadian Press […]
Parliament needs Middle Eastern associations, partnerships: MPs
Parliament should establish full-fledged Parliamentary associations with the world’s Middle Eastern countries and, at the very least, should revive the less influential Parliamentary Friendship Groups, say some MPs. NDP MP Alexa McDonough (Halifax, N.S.), who is trying to re-establish the Canada-Palestine Friendship Group, said Parliament needs to give these associations more financing and complained that […]
Scarpaleggia backs Dion, after ‘months of serious reflection’
Grit MP Francis Scarpaleggia (Lac-Saint-Louis, Que.), chair of federal Liberal Quebec Caucus, says he’s backing Liberal leadership candidate Stéphane Dion (Saint-Laurent-Cartierville, Que.) “after months of serious reflection,” noting that Mr. Dion’s bilingualism was an important factor in his decision, along with his “intellectual honesty,” and his understanding of federalism and environmental issues. “The environment, especially […]
Former B.C. Liberal Cabinet minister contemplates running as Conservative in next election
The Liberals took Canada’s ethnic minorities’ support “for granted” for nearly 13 years while in government, but based on the Conservatives’ first five months in power ethnics are now willing to give the Tories a chance, says a former B.C. Liberal Cabinet minister who’s considering running as a Conservative in the next election. “At this […]
Liberals want to hear from Amb. Wilson on Softwood
Canadian ambassador to the United States must appear before the Commons International Trade Committee to explain why the governing Conservatives went ahead with a deal on the contentious softwood lumber dispute “that is disastrous for the Canadian softwood industry and its workers,” say Liberal MPs on the House International Trade Committee. “Canadian Ambassador Michael Wilson, […]
Liberal MPs to release ‘Pink Book’ at Grits’ retreat in Vancouver
Liberal MP Belinda Stronach, who led a Liberal Women’s Caucus last week in her Newmarket-Aurora, Ont., riding, said Grit women will come out with a so-called “Pink Book,” at next month’s national caucus meeting in Vancouver, B.C. Ms. Stronach told The Hill Times that the book will contain key policy platforms including those on the […]
Pity there’s not more humour in all government records, eh?
There’s only been rare instances of unintended humour in all those government replies to access requests I have filed over the decades. The gags usually have to do-sadly-more with suppressing government data which usually makes you fume more than chuckle. But just recently, there it was, on page 414, tucked away among the largely exempted […]
Prime Minister Harper’s full Cabinet has not met over Mideast crisis
At least 12 Cabinet ministers were engaged in discussions with the Prime Minister’s Office over the last few weeks about the potential political fallout of the government’s support for Israel, according to a source close to the government’s foreign policy on the Middle East. Sources confirmed that there have not been any full Cabinet meetings […]
Bush and Blair’s live microphone chat
U.S. President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were caught unaware on July 17 chatting over a live microphone at the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia about the crisis in the Middle East. The conversation was then transmitted to the world. Bush: Yo, Blair. How are you doing? Blair: I’m just… Bush: […]
Liberals to be briefed on early leadership contingency plan
Claiming Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservatives “can’t be trusted,” federal Liberals will get a detailed briefing later this month from party officials on a contingency plan to elect their next leader much earlier than scheduled, if the Prime Minister suddenly calls a snap fall election, says the chair of the B.C. Liberal Caucus. […]
