Tory leadership candidates target moribund ridings: PC strategists try to win over voters on Tory-hostile turf
It was supposed to bring direct democracy to leadership selection process. But Tory strategists may be discovering that the new system means the secret to winning this race is to target moribund ridings where the number of active party members is lower, not higher. Under the PC constitution, for leadership election purposes, all ridings are […]
Jake Hoeppner threatens to quit federal politics
Reform Party MP Jake Hoeppner is threatening to quit politics as his party faces a credibility crisis. Mr. Hoeppner (Portage Lisgar, Man.), a 62-year-old grain farmer from southern Manitoba who was first elected in 1993, told The Hill Times last week that he is seriously thinking about not coming back when the House resumes sitting […]
Reform Party in turmoil: official opposition looks into the abyss as it faces credibility crisis [Caucus meeting in Banff]
It was supposed to be a fall session of highs for the Reform Party, the party that swept into Official Opposition in June 1997 and proved capable of tackling some controversial national issues. Instead, it was a summer of hell. The Reform Party’s former star justice critic is facing sexual assault charges, MPs are openly […]
Journalists make little effort in Hull story [Moscow Times allegations of racism]
Those of us of a certain age well remember Bobby Hull as the exciting Golden Jets flying down the ice and launching one of his patented slap shots into the top of the net. Or, a less happy memory, of the hockey star who got into legal problems for domestic abuse. But that was then, […]
[Taking stock: assessing public sector reforms]
Taking Stock: Assessing Public Sector Reforms is the second of three volumes on the subject of governance and public management produced by the Canadian Centre for Management Development. It contains the reflections of 13 academics, including five from the U.S., four from Canada, one from the U.K., one from France, one from Sweden and one […]
A just-the-facts-ma’am site
From time to time I come across a site that I can’t wait to tell others about. It reeks of tangible matters well-presented, well-linked, and free of graphic clutter, a Just-The-Facts-Ma’am kind of place that you know will excite others. Here is one, hosted by the Media Awareness Network. I was recently turned on to […]
Tories score $147Gs in Virtual Pizza takeout: election coffers spill over at $10m [1997 data]
They may be the fifth party in the House of Commons, but when it comes to collecting cash, the Tories can hold their heads high. Last year, the party took in more than $10 million in donations, including 163 contributions of more than $10,000. Topping this year’s list of donors was Virtual Pizza Canada Inc. […]
Critics say appointment “Good” but still want political initiatives [Deputy minister appointed]
A blast from the past will be upon the beleaguered Environment Canada as Parliament resumes sitting on Sept. 21, when Leonard Good takes the reigns as deputy minister. While his appointment is seen as a positive one for the department, critics say he can only do so much without initiatives on the political side of […]
MPs challenge minister over costs [of Parliamentary renovations]
Opposition MPs , furious that the cost of renovating the Parliamentary precinct could shoot up to nearly one billion dollars, want Public Works minister Alfonso Gagliano and his officials to come before the Natural Resources and Government Operations Committee to explain why the estimate has so dramatically increased. Public Works officials have admitted the original […]
Manley focuses cabinet on information future
Hang on to your mouse pad, I am about to dish out some well deserved credit to a bespectacled, mild-mannered, MP from Ottawa-South. He doesn’t need it, but hey, which politician doesn’t like a positive headline now and then. Industry Minister John Manley, once recognized more for being the relative of an Olympic medalist than […]
