I’m no pollster worshipper
TORONTO–As somebody who has not worshipped at the shrine of public opinion pollsters, your correspondent was pleased upon reading three recent columns by nationally-known writers questioning the wisdom of believing everything a pollster says. [Graph Not Transcribed] In The Toronto Star, both Ottawa columnist Chantal Hebert and freelancer Rick Anderson, former campaign director of the […]
The spin doctors: “Now that they’ve opened up George Radwanski’s office, where else should MPs be pushing to allow the sun to shine in?”
“Now that they’ve opened up George Radwanski’s office, where else should MPs be pushing to allow the sun to shine in?” Warren Kinsella Liberal Strategist “After the precedent set by assorted MPs in the Radwanski matter, I fully expected someone — the media, the public, the NDP lobbyists at Democracy Watch — to focus everyone’s […]
‘All the bricks are falling into place’: Stairs
A host of new appointments at Tory HQ in Ottawa means the PC political machine is gearing up for the resumption of Parliament and the next election call. [Graph Not Transcribed] [Graph Not Transcribed] As William Stairs put it: “All the bricks are falling into place.” At the end of July, Mr. Stairs, 46, will […]
Big John has a long row to hoe
Hoover Time… Or, in the technical vernacular, time for Canada’s Finance Minister and Deputy PM to do some major sucking up. John Manley got started last week with his surprise announcement that he was dropping out of the leadership race. He declared Paul Martin the next Prime Minister of Canada and said he would be […]
Riding redistribution process flawed, say Liberal backbenchers: Amend Electoral Boundaries Act, say the MPs who studied the Law
The process for redistributing the country’s federal ridings is flawed and in need of major reforms, say the MPs who just finished their lengthy study into the way the electoral map was re-jigged to add seven new seats. “[We] decided to seek a mandate to come back in September to review what we heard,” said […]
Manley proposes Minister of Lifelong Learning
Having worked since 1993 to bring the federal government back from the brink of financial and political crisis, we are now working to restore this level of government to its proper place in Confederation. While that proper place does not include running the elementary and high schools, the colleges and the universities, it does include […]
Robillard: C-25 represents first major reform of legislative framework governing people management in 35 years
Over the last decade, we have seen a profound evolution in what Canadians expect from all levels of government. Citizens are rightfully demanding greater transparency, more open access to decision-makers as well as faster and more cost-effective services. At the same time, the environment in which public policy is developed is becoming increasingly complex. There […]
Longtime Hill staffer, 67-year-old Jacques Vanasse has no plans of quitting politics after 39 years in the business
When Jacques Vanasse was growing up in his native Hull, Que., he would look across the Ottawa River and ask his mother what the “big clock” was for. At the time, he was too young to know the meaning of the word “Parliament,” let alone predict that he would be working underneath that “big clock” […]
Creating a public service for the 21st Century: libs have not tackled public service reform from a market and motivational point of view
The “performance pay” given to senior executives has garnered headlines across the country. Information that I obtained through Access to Information demonstrated that across the federal government, 96 per cent of all senior bureaucrats received bonuses for their work. This is when we read about scandals every other day from the Radwanski affair to the […]
Sen. Carney in possible conflict of interest
Politically seasoned British Columbia Tory Senator Pat Carney’s involvement in the Senate Transport and Communications Committee’s media study is raising eyebrows and questions about the appearance of a conflict of interest. Sen. Carney is a director on the board of Rogers Media, one of the corporations being studied by the Senate committee. Sen. Carney has […]
