CanWest cuts creates buzz on the Hill
It didn’t take long for political columnist and author Susan Delacourt’s phone to start ringing off the hook after she was cut earlier this month from the National Post. Politicians, political types and colleagues phoned to offer their best wishes, as well as to express surprise over the dramatic layoffs which eliminated her job as […]
Stop the madness in Middle East
Unless both sides in the Israeli/Palestinian continuing destructive war are both determined to end the bloodbath, the violence will continue. Both groups of people face a future filled with turmoil if they are unwilling to step back and say we cannot continue placing our people in graves. It is an unfortunate deadly reality in Israel […]
Senate votes down C-10B changes
An all-party Senate committee rejected several amendments made to cruelty to animal legislation by the House of Commons last week, giving the government another nosebleed over this controversial bill which has been lobbed back and forth between the two Chambers several times since last December. The latest disagreement between the MPs and Senators over Bill […]
Apologies to Omar Khayyam
Our political leaders provide endless fodder for cynics and satirical comedians. Take the PM’s latest legacy, a $100- million Canada History Museum Centre earmarked for the old railway station and Government Conference Centre. This political history museum will be run by the competent but hobbled staff of the National Archives and National Library of Canada. […]
PCO Clerk Himbelfarb, Judd draw audience of two Liberal MPs
The country’s two most senior bureaucrats got the cold shoulder from the Commons Government Operations and Estimates Committee last week, when only two MPs bothered to stick around for the bulk of a hearing on making the federal public service more accountable to Parliament. Alex Himelfarb, clerk of the Privy Council, and Jim Judd, secretary […]
Gun registry beyond redemption
It seems to me that the federal firearms registry is a modern day equivalent to the emperor’s new clothes. Not only will it fail to protect us from the elements (in this case criminal ones), but is also downright foolish in appearance, practicality, and cost. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were the first ones laughing at […]
Nutty complaints dominate Military Watchdog report: National Defence Ombudsman tables his annual report
Being allergic to Brazil nuts could make you ineligible to serve in the Canadian Armed Forces. At least it could up until last year when a private was nearly let go for that very reason but managed to save his job at the last minute by appealing to military ombudsman Andre Marin. The case was […]
Tories walk the walk
Of course Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper is “shocked” and “troubled” by Peter MacKay’s win. In his victory, MacKay reconfirmed there will be no merger or agreement to protect Alliance candidates in some regions of the country. Since the PC Party voted a year ago to reconfirm its commitment to the 301 rule, the Alliance […]
‘Give me some time’: MacKay
Tory MPs say they’re optimistic their newly-elected leader Peter MacKay will soon emerge out of a cloud of criticism fired at him from inside the party, from media and from political pundits for making a controversial deal with leadership contender David Orchard which helped him finally win 64 per cent of the vote on the […]
Let the sun shine in
The House passed Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s highly controversial Campaigns and Elections Finance Bill in a vote of 172-62 last Wednesday evening. The bill is expected to be passed by the Senate in July. The bill is a positive step in the right direction for more accountability and transparency. It also puts elections financing into […]
