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, […]
The elephant in the room is not Volpe
TORONTO-Math is not an opinion, it’s usually an exact science. But when it comes to Liberal Party’s membership sales, well, math becomes a matter of interpretation. Not many Canadians are too interested in the numbers of new membership sales of the federal Liberal Party of Canada, but, the question that’s intriguing political strategists is how […]
House International Trade Committee members ‘irresponsible’: Guergis
The House’s International Trade Committee members are only interested in playing games rather than studying the newly-initialled Softwood Lumber Agreement, says Conservative MP Helena Guergis (Simcoe-Grey, Ont.), who is also the Parliamentary Secretary to the International Trade Minister. The committee met last week for an emergency meeting to discuss what the opposition calls a “sell […]
Time for an open national debate on sustaining Canada’s health-care system
In an SES poll for Policy Options last month, the health-care guarantee on waiting times was ranked by a margin of three to one by Canadians as the most important of the Harper government’s top five priorities. It is not an exaggeration to say that a genuine transformation of the Canadian health-care system is in […]
Regulate content, not ownership
There is no positive outcome of Bell Globemedia’s takeover of Chum Television, announced last week, says NDP MP Charlie Angus. “The merger brings to the forefront a growing concern over media concentration,” he told The Hill Times. “The market is getting smaller and smaller and there is not a single upside for public interest in […]
Prospect of large numbers of visitors from Chinese mainland revives ethnic stereotyping by domestic, international media
This tourism season it is not asking too much to give foreigners a polite welcome. Just don’t mention the incident at the First World Hotel. Communist China is preparing to place Canada on a government-approved list of holiday destinations. The prospect of large numbers of visitors from the Chinese mainland has revived ethnic stereotyping by […]
MPs make more use of Air Canada’s Maple Leaf lounge
The House’s Board of Internal Economy has allowed MPs a new perk: to buy memberships for access to Air Canada’s Maple Leaf Lounge in various airports across the country to a maximum of $100, which can be charged to the MP’s Office Budget. Most MPs who fly frequently already have free access for achieving “elite” […]
Accountability Act is a long, contradictory and, in the end, impossible menu
Friends of the Harper government are divided on how they got their version of government accountability reform so badly wrong. Some believe that the Prime Minister’s genuine rage at Liberal abuse of power for partisan purposes and his disgust at the role that lobbyists played in helping them got in the way of his strategic […]
When a Canadian soldier dies in Afghanistan
Canadian soldier Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca, 21, was killed and two others were wounded in Afghanistan in what the media reported as “a brutal” firefight in the Panjwei district west of Kandahar City on July 9. Cpl. Boneca, who was fighting as part of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry battle group, was a reservist […]
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Don’t kid yourself: female MPs low in Canada’s House too We believe last week’s depiction of Environment Minister Rona Ambrose on the cover of The Hill Times last week, July 10, could send a mixed message to your readership. The photo of Minister Ambrose indicates that she values the importance of more equitable gender representation […]
