Environics hosts post-election pollsters meeting, looks ahead
Pollsters from five firms met in Toronto last month for a debriefing on the recent election. It was the fourth such meeting, hosted by polling firm Environics at the Intercontinental Hotel, to discuss polling issues such as findings collected throughout the election period, the impact of party advertising, the effectiveness of daily tracking, media polling […]
Former Tory MP Reynolds joins Asia Pacific Foundation
Former Conservative MP John Reynolds was appointed last week to the board of directors of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. “I am pleased to join the foundation at this important time in Canada’s relationship with Asia,” Mr. Reynolds said in a press release. Mr. Reynolds is a senior strategic adviser for Lang Michener. He […]
‘We haven’t seen much’ of Peter MacKay, say government critics
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay has failed to play a leadership role in the evacuation of Canadians from the Middle East war zone and has been nearly missing in action from a critical international file managed by ‘the Centre’ in Ottawa, critics say. But others say the government is intentionally opting for a lower profile […]
Gonthier appointed as Commissioner of CSE
Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor appointed former Supreme Court Justice Charles Gonthier as the head of the Communications Security Establishment, replacing Antonio Lamer. “Mr. Gonthier is well-qualified to review CSE’s activities to ensure compliance with the law,” Mr. O’Connor said in a press release. As commissioner, Mr. Gonthier will be responsible for reviewing CSE activities and […]
MIDDLE EAST FALLOUT FOR HARPER
As the Canadian government, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, began its evacuation in a war zone of thousands of Canadians from Lebanon last week, the largest ever evacuation from another country in Canadian history, some federal political players are saying the Prime Minister’s policy shift on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict could affect his party’s popularity […]
NPC to open up membership
The National Press Club is planning an overhaul of its constitution to deal with declining memberships, says a press club newsletter sent out to members this month. “Without a new constitution, the National Press Club of Canada remains anchored in the 1960s, and is dangerously close to rusting out and sinking,” Dave Brown, president of […]
The Spin Doctors
Mike Storeshaw Conservative strategist “If the opposition wants to force an election over this deal, they have the power to do so. They have a majority of seats in the House. But they shouldn’t. “The Canadian softwood industry needs an end to this dispute. It’s dragged on for far too long, devastating the livelihoods of […]
Correction from the July 10 issue of The Hill Times
In last week’s Hill Climbers column, it was incorrectly reported that Jennifer Brown, who was recently hired by Heritage Minister Bev Oda as a top policy adviser, most recently worked for Ontario Liberal Culture Minister Caroline Di Cocco. At the provincial level, Ms. Brown worked in the bureaucracy at the Minister’s Advisory Council on Arts […]
Fiscal imbalance, climate change and softwood lumber
The government is committed to addressing three new priorities when the House returns this fall, as well as fulfilling the last of its five priorities from the last Parliamentary session, Chief Government Whip Jay Hill told The Hill Times. “If you reflect on the five priorities, there’s one that we haven’t moved legislatively on,” Mr. […]
Ignatieff still considered in lead, next step is delegate selection
Liberal MP Michael Ignatieff is still considered the front-runner, Liberal MP Joe Volpe will affect the outcome of the next leadership, Liberal MP Stéphane Dion and Gerard Kennedy are two candidates to watch, but Bob Rae’s numbers were lower than expected, say some Liberals. One Liberal said Mr. Rae is still in the top tier, […]
