Grit leadership picks successive balloting for convention
Get ready for a long bloody night. The next leader of the Liberal Party will be elected through successive balloting which means the convention will be long, brokered and could mean a dark horse candidate will emerge the winner next December in Montreal, say Liberals. Liberals say it also means the campaign could be more […]
Conservatives should halt procurement reform initiated by Liberals: lawyer
The federal Conservative government, in its recently-tabled omnibus Accountability Act, is proposing a series of new measures to ensure that the $16-billion to $18-billion it spends on government procurement annually is “fair, open and transparent.” But one critic has emerged to say that the Conservatives should put a halt another procurement policy reform under way […]
Libs, Conservative government clash over timing and enforcement of upcoming bans on political donations
There’s significant confusion over whether the upcoming bans on political donations will affect the Liberal leadership race, but the Liberal Party of Canada and the Conservative government are currently disagreeing over the issue and Elections Canada can’t answer the question. The Treasury Board told The Hill Times that if the proposed Federal Accountability Act is […]
‘It’s an exciting time’ to be a federal public servant: PCO Clerk Lynch
Privy Council Clerk Kevin Lynch says it’s an exciting time to be a federal public servant in the 21st Century, but as Canada renews its organization and recruits the next generation of public servants, it must “make excellence its quest”and it must do a better job of recruiting, retaining, planning and transferring knowledge. Moreover, Mr. […]
MacLeod returns to Hill as Skelton’s
Minister of National Revenue and Minister of Western Economic Diversification Carol Skelton has hired a veteran former Conservative Hill staffer as her director of communications. Fiona MacLeod, who is on a leave of absence from the Transport Department, started her new job in the minister’s office as director of communications last Tuesday, April 18. Born […]
Praise and criticism of proposed Federal Accountability Act are both exaggerated
Media outlets and commentators on the so-called “Federal Accountability Act” (Bill C-2) introduced by the new federal Conservative government have, unfortunately, been exaggerating the good effects of the act or offering unlikely, worst-casescenario criticisms (and sometimes both). Some have called the act “a recipe for true accountability” while others have criticized it as “overkill” that […]
It’s called the new federal government for grown-ups, stupid
The social, political and economic upheavals of the last two decades, from globalization to 9-11, have left many liberals asking what socially progressive government should look like in the 21st century. Here’s a thought: the most progressive thing governments could do is treat citizens like grown-ups. Instead, government today acts more like an over-bearing parent […]
Don’t discount Volpe in Grit leadership race: Wiseguys
Accountability POWERS: In what is supposed to be my real and full-time job, I am a lobbyist. See I can say it. Indeed it is not a deep dark confession and the job is generally one I enjoy. So far I have not been disowned by my family for this career choice. The public should […]
Harper should do more to advance Pacific Gateway Strategy
In designating David Emerson, my former Liberal Cabinet colleague and fellow co-regional minister for British Columbia as minister for International Trade and the Pacific Gateway, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appeared to be recognizing the vital importance of Asia Pacific to Canada. However, there was no acknowledgement of this critical priority in the Speech from the […]
FAA ushers in sweeping new changes to doing politics
As well, the New Access to Information Act could cost $120-million more than it does today. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s massive omnibus Federal Accountability Act promises to usher in bold and sweeping changes to campaign financing, lobbying and whistleblowing and to make federal deputy ministers more accountable to Parliament. Moreover, implementing a new Access to […]
