[Liberal Caucus Research Bureau loses communications assistant to the international arena of youth politics]
The Liberal Caucus Research Bureau has lost a communications assistant to the international arena of liberal youth politics. Janice Nicholson left the bureau last week and will be heading to Brussels on July 17 to take on the position of executive director with the International Federation of Liberal and Radical Youth, an umbrella organization of […]
Howard Hampton blows a gasket on media
One of the many things which has always amazed — and amused — me about politicians is just how many of them never learn to accept critical reviews. Sure, sometimes the media and others can be unfair, and when they are there’s nothing terribly wrong with pointing that out. But the angry politician should always […]
Senator wins some respect [in battle over bills between Commons & Senate]
The power of the legislator…The battle between the House and the Senate will likely heat up again this fall over how the elected MPs treat private members’ bill from the Upper Chamber. Senators are pushing for changes to how their bills are handled by the House of Commons. Manitoba Liberal Senator Sharon Carstairs has written […]
Question period: What do you think of the decision to increase the pay of heads of Crown corporations by 4%-19% while MPs got a 2% raise?
“It’s not just the heads of Crown corporations that are seeing these increases — it’s senior military people and senior bureaucrats. The government seems to have opened the floodgates and I wonder where it will stop? And will the people at the lower end see this? If not, why?” Reform MP Randy White Langley-Abbotsford, B.C. […]
Goldbloom extends term to September
Official Languages Commissioner Victor Goldbloom expects Canada will still need an official languages commissioner in the next century. Mr. Goldbloom’s seven-year term as official languages commissioner, which was supposed to end on June 23, has been extended by six months. But he expects the government will appoint a new commissioner soon after the House convenes […]
Atlantic politicians focus on jobs, jobs, jobs
Atlantic Canadian federal politicians are spending their time this summer addressing their traditional concerns: jobs, jobs, jobs. More than any other region, politicians from Atlantic Canada only lose focus on their main preoccupation at their own peril. In the last election, the Liberals were punished at the ballot box for their overwhelming preoccupation with the […]
Tobin sets his sights on federal Liberal leadership
Political reporters in Newfoundland can quickly judge the importance of any event or announcement, just by looking to see if Newfoundland Premier Brian Tobin is involved. “Every announcement that has a national flavor to it, Tobin is there,” said Craig Jackson, who covers the legislature for The Evening Telegram. Even when the topic is not […]
The pathetic state of Canada’s Access to Information Act [15 years old on July 1]
Canada’s Access to Information Act turned 15 years old on July 1, but it’s acting like a battered 15-year-old delinquent, slamming doors closed, perpetually late, and willing to disappear altogether out the back door. The act has been through the wringer of several unenthusiastic governments, including two information commissioners who had different styles of taking […]
Political parties rake in the cash [1997 data]
Power may be the ultimate aphrodisiac but it’s also very good for the bank account as the governing Liberals found out last year, racking up $17.5-million for their 1997 warchest when they won their second majority in the House of Commons. That’s about $2.8-million more than they gathered to fight the 1993 election which brought […]
Strategists quietly plan Atlantic Canada visit for Manning
Reform Party Leader Preston Manning will tour the East Coast this fall. A Reform Party worker in Nova Scotia, who asked not to be identified, confirmed Mr. Manning’s upcoming trip, but strategists in Ottawa are keeping the party leader’s fall visit hush-hush. Said Jim Armour, Mr. Manning’s director of communications: “There’s nothing on the books […]
