Feelgood a tangled web of powerful political relationships: it’s all about Eddie, the press secretary, who tries to put the final touches on PM’s keynote speech
Just in time for the Liberal Party leadership convention, the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) is mounting a production of Feelgood, a political farce by Alistair Beaton, British playwright and former speechwriter to Gordon Brown, the chancellor of the exchequer. Based on the spin-doctoring and backroom blunders of the Labour Party convention where British Prime […]
Layton optimistic about NDP’s prospects in next election run: ‘Alliance is in free-fall and not considered a threat which was a big factor in Grit victory last time’
NDP Leader Jack Layton says he expects a “very significant increase” in the number of seats in the House of Commons for his party in the next federal election, expected in the spring, 2004. The NDP holds only 14 seats in the House of Commons. Mr. Layton, who still doesn’t have a seat in the […]
Small and medium business: engine for Canadian economy: it’s time Paul Martin step forward for small and medium enterprises and the economy
The numbers show that the growth and prosperity of small and medium businesses is critical to the Canadian economy and job creation. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) provide employment for approximately 60 per cent of Canadians, create the bulk of new jobs and account for almost 50 per cent of Canada’s GDP. It is incumbent […]
It’s important we grasp NATO’s importance now: NATO is and will remain the cornerstone of the defence of its members
LONDON, ENGLAND–Defence Ministers usually observe or receive reports on exercises from a distance, but sometimes it is good to be put to the test ourselves. This week, John McCallum and I will attend the NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Colorado, we will take part in a study seminar aimed at helping us understand how well […]
The Arab League faces a choice: live in the past and perish or face the future and flourish
“The Arab World is going through a terrible phase,” the Arab League’s Secretary General Amr Moussa lamented when visiting Ottawa last week. He was talking about the political problems in the Middle East, but he may just as well have been talking about the economic malaise and social discontent in the Arab World. [Graph Not […]
Yankee Doodle Dandy-style hearings to come?
Radwanski paves way for U.S.-style hearings… The spectre of former Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski having his private life torn apart in public may prove to be only the tip of the irony iceberg in this whole affair. For years, the Reform-turned-Canadian-Alliance have called for pre-appointment committee hearings to vet candidates for such positions as Supreme […]
Martin’s generals-in-waiting: who are they?
TORONTO–Now that Paul Martin has succeeded in his quest for the leadership of the Liberal Party, many in the media are still focusing on who will be part of the Martin government. Ministers, however, are not necessarily the real powerbrokers in the federal political structure. In fact, in many cases; they’re only the salespeople of […]
Chretien-Martin condominium
In his elegantly-written biography of Paul Martin, The Power Of Ambition, John Gray describes him and Jean Chretien as, “one of the most effective, if not the most effective, political combinations the country has ever seen.” [Graph Not Transcribed] That’s overdoing things a bit. But for John A. Macdonald and Georges-Etienne Cartier, there would have […]
There go the TV debates
TORONTO–The worst thing that happened to nationally televised political campaign debates is that the first one actually meant something. Those of a certain age will recall the 1960 showdown between Richard Nixon and John Kennedy, and the impact, in Kennedy’s favour, that it had. It wasn’t that Kennedy articulated his positions more clearly. Quite the […]
Don’t misrepresent Canadian Alliance’s position: Sampson released because of aggressive Brits, not ‘soft diplomacy’ from Canada
Disagreeing with somebody’s position is democratic and expected. Misrepresenting somebody’s position ignorantly is regrettable — deliberately it is unacceptable. Bhupinder Liddar’s recent screed, “Where was the Alliance when Bill Sampson was in Saudi jail?” (The Hill Times, Sept. 29), delivered without fact or tact, assailing a Canadian Alliance policy position should be assigned to the […]
