Candidates should push for less secrecy over safety in the skies
With transparency and accountability being an election issue, travelling federal candidates should take a look at what is a longstanding culture of secrecy that’s threatening accountability for airline safety. As a long-time consumer advocate, I’m concerned with the direction Transport Canada is taking. The department is creating a new “safety management system”(SMS) that puts commercial […]
Lapierre’s ministerial staffer Morin campaigning in Eastern Ontario ridings for Liberal federal candidates
Meanwhile, current and former Liberal Hill staffers organize reunion next month at Suite 34 in Ottawa’s Byward Market. There are hundreds of Hill staffers in all parties who are out working on the election campaign. Add one more to the list. Emmanuel Morin, special assistant for Ontario to Transport Minister Jean Lapierre, Prime Minister Paul […]
Debate format disappointing
Some journalists and candidates are still fuming about the format of the two December debates, but there won’t be very much changes in the two rounds of sparring scheduled for this week. “I’m well aware that it wasn’t as exciting as some journalists wanted it to be but that’s not what it’s intent was,” said […]
Party leaders’ campaign travel
Prime Minister Paul Martin’s Tour To Date: Nov. 29: Ottawa and Montreal Nov. 30: Montreal (Coteau-Du-Lac, Dorval, Longueil) Dec. 1: Montreal, Cornwall Dec. 2: Toronto Dec. 3: Day off, spent day in Ottawa Dec. 4: Ottawa, St. John’s, Nfld. Dec. 5: St. John’s, Nfld. Dec. 6: Saint John, N.B., Pooles Corner, P.E.I., Montreal, Que. Dec. […]
Civil servants warming up to Tories
But PSAC Union President Nycole Turmel says she definitely does not want to see a Harper Conservative government, especially a majority one. Conservative candidates in Canada’s National Capital Region are starting to look more “attractive”to civil servants, a senior official from the Public Service Alliance of Canada said last week. As it concludes meetings with […]
The Spin Doctors: “Who won Thursday night’s televised debate and how important will the debates be in January in this campaign?”
Leslie Swartman Liberal Strategist “I think there were two winners. First, I believe that Paul Martin came out ahead, both in terms of substance and expectations. As Paul Wells (who is certainly no fan of the Prime Minister) noted, it’s harder to do the job of Prime Minister than to seek it. So despite the […]
LETTERS
Election campaign polling makes mockery of democratic process Re: “Pollsters warning: political environment ‘very volatile’”(The Hill Times, Dec. 12). Pollsters who ask citizens to divulge their voting preferences are wandering into the sacred territory of the secret ballot. Given that polls do influence the voting choices many citizens make, I believe that pollsters should be […]
At the present rate of progress, women won’t share equally in political power in Canada for another four generations
It’s not just that so few women are running in this election, but so few are campaigning in winnable ridings. The four major parties have already nominated most of their candidates. So far, less than a quarter of those nominated are women.That’s a little better share of candidacies than in 2004 but not by much. […]
Attack campaign on federal Grits spews ‘beer and popcorn’
It’s kind of like hockey. You want the puck to be in the other team’s zone because a good offence is the best defence, explained communications specialist Andre Lafrance. “The choice of the [Liberal] communications team, is to be that of a young party in an attack mode,”said Mr. Lafrance, a professor at Universite de […]
Canada could learn from Iraq elections: author O’Leary [The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq]
Canada stands to learn from the elections in Iraq to apply to its own democracy, explained author and political science professor Brandan O’Leary last week. Speaking at a reception launching his new book, The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq, he explained that Iraq’s mixed proportional representation system might even be more efficient than Canada’s since […]
