Senators feuding over committee budgets
Changes made to the way travel funds are handed out to Senate committees have several Senators feeling short-changed, particularly high-profile Ottawa Liberal Senator Colin Kenny, chair of the National Security and Defence Committee, who says the changes will make it almost impossible for committees like his to plan for the long-term. Under the new rules, […]
Tell us the ideological biases
TORONTO–One of the time-honoured ways that advocacy groups use to inflict their viewpoints on an unsuspecting public is to create a “non-partisan” group and proceed to do a study on a “problem” of their choosing. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, of course. The problem comes in the reportage. When advocacy groups are right-of-centre, […]
PM to attend his last Gallery Dinner
On Saturday afternoon, Jean Chretien will likely put on his shirt, bow-tie and tuxedo, shine his shoes and tuck one of the year’s most highly-anticipated speeches into his inside breast pocket before setting off to the National Arts Centre for his final Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner as Prime Minister of Canada. Don Martin, a columnist […]
CanWest decimates bureau
A hell of a mistake… Even in these days of regular layoffs of reporters, the Bloody Wednesday axing of six veteran reporters from the CanWest (formerly know as Southam) News Service Hill bureau shocked the Parliamentary Press Gallery and the body politic alike. The condemned were called up to what is fast becoming known as […]
“Will Peter MacKay’s deal with David Orchard help the Liberals in the next federal election?”
Warren Kinsella Liberal strategist “What follows is Warren engaged in a conversation with Warren (something that, sadly, happens too often): “That wily old Paco Francoli… this one is clearly a trick question. It has to be. “I mean, it is so patently obvious that the answer is yes — it is so clear, so self-evident, […]
Bravo to U.S. President Bush: Bush also tackles issue in first term as opposed to waiting until safety of his second term
Bravo to President Bush! Because of his efforts, there is new hope and momentum in the Middle East to resolve the lingering Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has claimed thousands of innocent lives on both sides. The United States President whom some least expected to tackle international issues is doing just that. However, Mr. Bush is familiar […]
Last of Liberal Party leadership debates on Saturday
Parliamentary Press Gallery dinner in Ottawa this Saturday night too MONDAY, June 9 House Sitting–The House is sitting this week and is scheduled to remain in session until Friday, June 20. The schedule could change. For more information on the House calendar, please call the Government House Leader’s Office at (613) 952-4930. Senate Sitting–The Senate […]
Here’s the bottom line on PM’s Campaign and Elections Finance Bill: Highly controversial Bill C-24 back in the House this week
The government’s proposed political fundraising law, Bill C-24, has emerged from the House Affairs Committee and will be back in the House this week, with several key improvements. Perhaps the most significant change made by the committee was a reduction in the individual donation limit from $10,000 to $5,000. While this amount is still far […]
Grits headed for another divisive vote
The federal government is headed for another clash with several members of its own backbenchers this week as it moves to restore $9-million from Transport Canada’s budget, funding which had been removed by Grit MPs on the House Transport Committee during their annual review of the federal department’s spending priorities. Although this latest showdown is […]
Once again the Prime Minister misses the point: ‘They were attacked. We are part of their coalition against terrorism’: Jean Chretien
WASHINGTON, D.C.–In the midst of the current hissing match between Prime Minister Jean Chretien and the U.S. Administration there is no comment that more epitomizes our differences than Chretien’s off-hand rebuttal of criticism, “We are part of their (emphasis added) coalition against terrorism.” Not “our war against terrorism” or even “the war against terrorism” but […]
